Jason Clermont Article

[Rammer]

By Jason Clermont The Leader Post

Scroll down to the bolded part, maybe that will shut up the small minority here who complain about Durant, but I doubt it

When the 2009 CFL schedule came out, I doubt that many fans had circled last week's game between the B.C. Lions and Toronto Argonauts to see Cody Pickett and Travis Lulay go head to head.

Nothing against these two fine young quarterbacks, it's just that most people expected to see Jarious Jackson (or Buck Pierce) square off against Kerry Joseph.

The most surprising thing about that scenario is that it has become not at all surprising in the CFL this year.

The price of leashes must have gone through the roof, forcing teams to keep very short ones for their quarterbacks. Which, I am told, has nothing to do with the NFL's reinstatement of Michael Vick.

Anthony Calvillo and the Montreal Alouettes excluded, every team has come under pressure to make quarterback changes. That includes Henry Burris of the Calgary Stampeders and Ricky Ray of the Edmonton Eskimos earlier in the season, the tandem who combined for over 800 yards and six TDs in the Calgary-vs.-Edmonton barnburner last week.

Michael Bishop was airlifted into Winnipeg to take over from Stefan LeFors, the same Lefors who unseated Kevin Glenn who now finds himself taking over for Quinton Porter in Hamilton.

That B.C.-vs.-Toronto game saw Buck Pierce replaced by Jarious Jackson after suffering his second concussion of the year. Then Jackson was pulled at halftime to make way for Lulay, who suffered a concussion of his own which re-opened the door for Jackson to step back in on NO LEASH at all.

Coincidentally, he finished the game like a dog in heat, asserting his alpha dominance on the Argos and collecting a Movado watch as the game's Gladiator from the TSN crew.

That was the second time Jackson stepped in and snatched a victory this season to move Wally Buono closer to being the winningest head coach in CFL history. A whole other column could be written about the unfavourable quotes that came out of Vancouver in reference to Jackson even after that performance, but I will bite my tongue instead of looking like I have an axe to grind with my former head coach.

The reason for this column is not to criticize the decisions of these teams, but to appeal to coaches at the amateur level to stick with your quarterbacks and let them develop. I am hoping that the objective of football does not get forgotten along the way, that coaches realize that a quarterback has the responsibility of guiding his team to victory and not simply to compile statistics.

In a society of instant replay, live stats and fantasy football pools, we are sometimes too quick to pull the trigger on making changes rather than letting our quarterbacks work through a game with their teammates and grinding out a win.

If a quarterback is constantly being tugged by his short leash every time he takes a risk, he will most likely become conditioned to not take any risks -- and thus not reap any of the associated rewards for his team.I have played with some great quarterbacks -- guys who always gave you a chance to win at the end of the game. Jarious Jackson is one of those quarterbacks, and so is Darian Durant.

When the dust settles on our season, most people will forget that Darian leaves the field after leading our offence inside the five-yard line on most occasions. Steven Jyles comes in and throws the touchdown pass to Keith Shologan, or crashes into the end zone on the QB sneak. And while Durant doesn't get to share those statistics with Jyles, he does get to share the one statistic that is most important to him with his entire team -- the win.

Anyone else think that would make a most interesting article for JC to expand upon....

From his PoV, it must be somewhat frustrating to be the third wheel in essence, however the team is tied for first place, so you can't rock the boat by asking for more balls/opportunities. Pointing out the attacking style of O with positive results certainly helps support his theory, however I am sure that for every success their are several failed attempts of attacking football, just look at the Stamps season so far.

[Lionut]

For a guy who says he will bite his tongue, Jason certainly has a lot to say.

When someone says that, "it's not about the money", you know it's about the money. Similarly, when someone goes out of their way to say they don't have an axe to grind, they have an axe to grind. Jason's is fairly large, something that is clear from this article and from his comments on Vancouver radio.

Like most pro athletes, Jason is a proud guy, and he is ticked off at the way he was let go in BC. That's understandable, but publicly at least he should stop stoking the fire. It doesn't reflect well on Jason at all. He is a heart and soul player who gave the fans of BC seven great years - he should leave his reputation intact, and stay away from petty sniping at his old coach. That bolded sentence could have been removed, and the column still would have been a good one.

[mrs.joesports]

For a guy who says he will bite his tongue, Jason certainly has a lot to say.

When someone says that, "it's not about the money", you know it's about the money. Similarly, when someone goes out of their way to say they don't have an axe to grind, they have an axe to grind. Jason's is fairly large, something that is clear from this article and from his comments on Vancouver radio.

Like most pro athletes, Jason is a proud guy, and he is ticked off at the way he was let go in BC. That's understandable, but publicly at least he should stop stoking the fire. It doesn't reflect well on Jason at all. He is a heart and soul player who gave the fans of BC seven great years - he should leave his reputation intact, and stay away from petty sniping at his old coach. That bolded sentence could have been removed, and the column still would have been a good one.

These were my thoughts also, upon reading the article this morning. I think the general public had the impression that Clermont & the Lions had a mutual parting of ways....the Lions were moving forward, and he was more than happy to play & live at "home" (Sask.). It seemed to be pretty tidy. I think it was handled well, by all outward appearances.

Not sure why he is feeling the need to muddy the waters now...

[ziggy]

Personally I'd like to hear him expand on how he thinks the lobbying to bring back Jacques has worked out for BC or how he sees Millers musical QB's working out in Saskatchewan. If he wants to talk about unfavourable quotes coming out of Vancouver he should maybe just post it on the Riders website.

[PigSkin_53]

By Jason Clermont The Leader Post

Then Jackson was pulled at halftime to make way for Lulay, who suffered a concussion of his own which re-opened the door for Jackson to step back in on NO LEASH at all.

Coincidentally, he finished the game like a dog in heat, asserting his alpha dominance on the Argos and collecting a Movado watch as the game's Gladiator from the TSN crew.

A whole other column could be written about the unfavourable quotes that came out of Vancouver in reference to Jackson even after that performance, but I will bite my tongue instead of looking like I have an axe to grind with my former head coach..

God that was rewarding hearing him say that!

[Toppy Vann]

Putting aside any reading between the lines here (hahah...that part is not hard to do in this column) he does have a point that teams need to be patient developing QBs. Don't forget he has some experience does he not as a junior QB? It is as much a message to coaches as it is to fans where he talks of the need for instant gratification these days. Well before he was born, BC Lions had no patience with their QBs or their coaches. One of their early coaches (not Stuke) was rumoured to not like blacks which of course reduces the pool of talent significantly when you look at who plays the game. In those days, not so many black QBs as now.

Yes, it 'd be nice to get a column on the the mutiny of the offence or the revenge of Jacque C and the role of the malcontents about Kruck-Dorazio play calling. I laughed at that ziggy comment! Those guys had some decent plays and schemes that are long gone especially the runs.

He may be thinking that he is underutilized and frustrated at limited play but let's face it...that bonus payment was a guaranteed ticket back home. It might have been written up but the chances of getting it were likely very slim. It is far better and safer to be a lower paid Canadian than a higher paid one as far as job security goes.

[hutch]

Maybe it's time for JC to put down the pen and focus on being a bigger part of the riders offence. Is he just a little bit bitter now that his career is on the decline?

[PigSkin_53]

Personally I'd like to hear him expand on how he thinks the lobbying to bring back Jacques has worked out for BC or how he sees Millers musical QB's working out in Saskatchewan. If he wants to talk about unfavourable quotes coming out of Vancouver he should maybe just post it on the Riders website.

Jason has been guilty of having had an influential hand in the reinstitution of Jacque Chapdelaine on the Leos coaching staff again. On this team that is a telling statement why we got Shanghaied into his rejoining the team and how and why we lost site of our objective to reclaim our 2006 title since he returned to usurp control of the offense again.

For his part in this Clermont has got to take some responsibility its having happened.

But in the case of Buono vs. Jackson criticisms post-Argo win Friday, like a skilled blacksmith he smites the iron when it is indeed white hot and malleable.

I don’t see any bitterness here, but instead warning to wise, those to would do well to listen for a change.

[Rammer]

A player can lobby all he wants to about another player, a coach or whatever, ultimately it is the GM/HC's role to make the final decision. Wally either takes the credit or gets the wrath from the fanbase or more importantly his employer.

[Blitz]

Certainly Clermont was a huge "Chap" supporter.....not that it helped Clermont in his release from our Leos...

There were some who were upset when we let Clermont go in the off-season but I felt it was a good move at the time and it still is. Clermont wanted too much money for a receiver on the downside of his career and he didn't get close to the same money in Regina..nor has he cracked their staring lineup.

Clermont was a valuable addition to our Leos for most of his time here but we really needed more speed inside at slotback, especially with the speed of today's defenses. Clermont also took a lot of punishment by being utilized as a receiver running crossing patterns in Chap's offence.

Clermont really shouldn't be bitter. He was paid a high salary here in B.C. during his time. He also gave it his all as a Leo but his salary demands were far too high to be able to remain here and he would not have taken a salary cut to stay...and yet was willing to play for a lot less salary in Regina.

[TheLionKing]

What Clermont lost in salary he probably gain back by the publicity for his real estate business. In the long run all is good.

[ziggy]

A player can lobby all he wants to about another player, a coach or whatever, ultimately it is the GM/HC's role to make the final decision. Wally either takes the credit or gets the wrath from the fanbase or more importantly his employer.

True, but wouldn't you like to hear from that players perspective why he lobbied for that change, in retrospect how he felt it all worked out and perhaps would he do it again? That to me would be more interesting than having a player from another team get involved in an issue as divisive as his former teams QB situation. Contoversy sells papers, fanning it sells more, its great for paper sales not so great for the team involved. I think if he truly isn't bitter he should look at his own organizations shortfalls as opposed to his previous one. How ideal is the QB situation in Regina? Perhaps I'm just erroneously reading between the lines but I think he included a not so subtle parting shot.