Breaking News... Printers cut!

[Hambone]

I've been an on the fence person about CP. In 2004 under Burratto he was simply awesome. I don't think that Casey could flourish with the unimaginative,simple offensive scheme the Lions use. None of the other QB's are shining either. That being said there was no excuse for that kind of an outburst in a public area such as what happened. TSN got to show a lot of the Lion's warts to the rest of the country. Wally,whom I dislike as a HC by the way, had to do something and Casey was it. Was it deserved..I think so. If pigs could fly and we had an imaginative OC, maybe this wouldn't have happened. We'll never know.

I don't know if there was anything significantly different about the BC offence then and now. In 2004 Casey ran around like crazy before flailing a hail mary somewhere down field. It made for excitement but very little of that had to do with scheme. This year he seems reluctant to scramble around or run but still tends to throw blindly or off his back foot. Folks want to blame the scheme for Printers' reluctance to run. Yet where he's using his legs once per every 18 pass attempts Lulay is tucking the ball and going once every 5 pass attempts. Why is it Lulay isn't shackled by this same scheme? Contrary to popular belief among some Travis is by far more dangerous as a scrambler than is Printers.

[longtimefan]

WELL SAID LFITQ

[Hambone]

Interesting takes on all of this. There has to be more to the story than we are getting out of the Lions office. There is no excuse for CP to get ditched like this while others that have coasted for years on this team (Wilson I am looking at you) get a free ride.

According to Mullin's report the tirade against Wilson was small potatoes compared to his rant in the locker room after. Apparently he had removed the T and A from TEAM and the rant was all about ME and I.

[ziggy]

Bottom line this decision is not based on publicly ripping Wilson a new one after the game. A factor? Yes. The only reason? No way. But it does raise a big red flag. It shows a definite lack of leadership and professionalism from somebody who should be considered a team leader. Good leaders simply don't publicly berate team-mates in such a fashion. Good leaders don't do that in any line of business or work. If Printers carried any respect in the Lion locker room he lost it with that tirade. Other reports seem to indicate he continued his tirade in the locker room after the game too.

I think you nailed it here. Casey's rant seems like something you'd expect from someone who has a total lack of confidence,is frustrated and is looking for someone to shoulder the blame for his lack of success. Face it Casey went to the NFL with dreams of glory (perhaps planted by his agent ) and failed. He returned to the CFL with huge expectations in Hamilton and failed. He was given another chance in BC, but he no doubt saw the writing on the wall when things weren't going his way, talk about pressure.

I feel sorry for him, a very young guy with dreams of glory (fueled by his uncle agent?) who took a shot at the big time, failed and was never the same. I thought you could see the new Casey in last weeks game when he was facing a rush and rather than throw or try to escape, he simply turtled. Probably too afraid he would fumble? I guess not all injuries are physical.

[Rammer]

Interesting takes on all of this. There has to be more to the story than we are getting out of the Lions office. There is no excuse for CP to get ditched like this while others that have coasted for years on this team (Wilson I am looking at you) get a free ride. I know he's not the most popular player anymore, but look at what Ricky Foley had to go through to get around Butler to actually play. Why is Wilson still around when we cut Armstrong who was our #2 receiver? Many of you may also consider the situation of RGM who got lots of chances while we let other receivers languish on the practice roster to eventually be picked up by another team. It doesn't make any sense to me standing on the sidelines watching these games why some players get a golden handshake and others are given the shaft. In this case I think Casey was shafted - BASED ON HIS PLAY. Anything in the locker room I am not privy to and cannot make judgment on.

You can't tell me that ANY of our QB's have done ANYTHING in the last few years under Chapdelaine. Take your pick of the bunch. I don't care who you choose, but just realize that they all have produced inferior numbers compared to the elite QB's of the League. There seems to be one common denominator in all of this - the offensive gameplanning and preparedness. And that falls on Chapdelaine and Dorazio. Is it surprising that the years Chapdelaine wasn't running the show were the best offensive performing?

Wally likes to blame execution by the players and that he can't execute for them. He is right, it does come down to execution between the white lines. BUT as a coach it is HIS responsibility to make sure he puts the players into a position where they can succeed - where they can execute positively. And that's where this team has been failing the players, not just this year, but in years past. He (and I mean his coaching staff) has not put the players in a position where they can succeed. It is almost like he has set them up to fail. How can you expect an offense to get anywhere when the Oline has never been the same twice? You hear analysts talk about it, you hear players talk about it and you hear coaches talk about how an Oline needs to have time to gel, to get to know each other and how they work. This coaching staff has not put this team in that position one little bit. Look at Lapolice and Kavis Reed with Hefney. Lapolice tells Reed to talk to Hefney and get him calmed down. We all saw that exchange on TV. Wally's response about lack of discipline: he's not paid to do that. Huh?? I know he is not an X's and O's type of coach but he has preached time and time again that he "manages" his coaches. Well obviously Lapolice is a better "manager" of his coaches based on the Reed/Hefney situation. So if Wally isn't an X's and O's type of coach, and can't seem to "manage" his assistant coaches - just what does he do???

Why is it that our QB's (this year excluded for some strange reason) seem to have the most injuries, are hit the most often and seem to have to run for their lives EVERY down? You hear Wally say it is because the QB's are holding onto the ball too long. Well, why are they hanging on to the ball too long? Is it because the receivers aren't open? Is it because the oline hasn't opened a throwing lane? If the receivers aren't open - why not? Is it because their routes are being run wrong? Are they too slow at getting off the ball? Can they not break free of coverage? Are their routes too long for the play being called? Is the protection scheme to short for the routes the receivers are expected to run? do we just have lousy receivers?

I wasn't much of a Printers fan, but I did not think he was given the opportunity to excel. And I believe that Casey is just the latest victim in the black hole that is the Chapdelaine "inspired" offenses. Until this is rectified I think the Lions will still sit in turmoil. And releasing Casey is NOT silver bullet that will turn this team around. But might be the one that puts it out of its misery...

I don't know if there was anything significantly different about the BC offence then and now. In 2004 Casey ran around like crazy before flailing a hail mary somewhere down field. It made for excitement but very little of that had to do with scheme. This year he seems reluctant to scramble around or run but still tends to throw blindly or off his back foot. Folks want to blame the scheme for Printers' reluctance to run. Yet where he's using his legs once per every 18 pass attempts Lulay is tucking the ball and going once every 5 pass attempts. Why is it Lulay isn't shackled by this same scheme? Contrary to popular belief among some Travis is by far more dangerous as a scrambler than is Printers.

LFITQ sums up my viewpoint on the CP version II. But I will add a point that will also give Hambone a possible explanation the way I see it anyhow. The reason that CP hasn't tried to do the Lulay run at will, is that is exactly what Chapdelaine's offence isn't, and I am sure that CP was trying to execute the Chap ball this time around. I am also pretty sure that his injured leg hurt him taking off at least for a couple of games and a portion of a couple of others. That said, Lulay struggled trying to do the Chap ball version as well, his second go around this season, he was probably told to tuck the ball away if you don't get your first two reads in, and he was able to do so with some success.

As for CP, I wouldn't blame him for calling out the OC game plan that he has had to endure here in BC. This would add to the heated locker room situation and as we have seen in the past, cause quite the falling out if you question the coaching in BC. It sure adds up to a convenient smoke screen on the Lions past weeks performance to help cover the coaches tracks on that debacle.

[TheLionKing]

Wow, I didn't see this move coming at this junction of the season although I expected changes in the off season. I guess Printer's rant on Wilson was the last straw for Buono. Printers had never looked comfortable with Chapdelaine's offence since day 1.

[joe kapp22]

Well for me, we are heading into the home stretch of the season and this was a dramatic move on Wally's part, if things go wrong, Wally B also has earned the bullseye on his back.

He has made our bed with Travis Lulay, if he swims, great, if he sinks, well, Wally B will have some explaining to do.

[Lion Guy]

Well for me, we are heading into the home stretch of the season and this was a dramatic move on Wally's part, if things go wrong, Wally B also has earned the bullseye on his back.

He has made our bed with Travis Lulay, if he swims, great, if he sinks, well, Wally B will have some explaining to do.

Why? We weren't exactly swimming with Printers. Unless we catch lightning in a bottle we will be going home early this year. This move is about next year and I wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson gone either.

[joe kapp22]

Well for me, we are heading into the home stretch of the season and this was a dramatic move on Wally's part, if things go wrong, Wally B also has earned the bullseye on his back.

He has made our bed with Travis Lulay, if he swims, great, if he sinks, well, Wally B will have some explaining to do.

Why? We weren't exactly swimming with Printers. Unless we catch lightning in a bottle we will be going home early this year. This move is about next year and I wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson gone either.

Um, where is it written we make the playoffs anyway?

Calgary twice and the Riders once, we could easily finish 1-4 down the home stretch.

[Tighthead]

I think Casey's error was when he chose the TiCats upon his return to the CFL. That team was a mess and he really regressed there, physically and maybe in terms of attitude as well. Had he signed with Montreal, everything may be different today.

[Toppy Vann]

So in Wally's world it is okay for Messam to break (?) Paris Jackson's draw in the dressing room in a non-football incident but not okay to toss your helmet and lose it in the heat of actual football?

[Lion Guy]

Well for me, we are heading into the home stretch of the season and this was a dramatic move on Wally's part, if things go wrong, Wally B also has earned the bullseye on his back.

He has made our bed with Travis Lulay, if he swims, great, if he sinks, well, Wally B will have some explaining to do.

Why? We weren't exactly swimming with Printers. Unless we catch lightning in a bottle we will be going home early this year. This move is about next year and I wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson gone either.

Um, where is it written we make the playoffs anyway?

Calgary twice and the Riders once, we could easily finish 1-4 down the home stretch.

Yes I know. That's exactly what I said.

[LFITQ]

So in Wally's world it is okay for Messam to break (?) Paris Jackson's draw in the dressing room in a non-football incident but not okay to toss your helmet and lose it in the heat of actual football?

I think the difference is what came after the fact in the dressing room where apparently Printers lit into all of his teammates and couple that with his berating of Wilson on the field in public. Might have been similar to Casey's "chicken salad" rant or worse from what I am gathering from other sources.

[mightybuck]

I am holding my tongue today