Reilly or McPherson: Best Candidate for Starting QB?

[pennw]

Wally Buono cut Peirce loose years ago due to the very reasons you're talking about Blue' . Bombers gambled in that they could turn the track record around , but have been proven wrong . Another season with Peirce no doubt , will be another season of the same results or maybe worse for Peirce . WB thought he should retire for his own good back then , as did many BC fans .

As far as whose fault it is , that he gets hurt so much , at least some of it has to be on the QB . His back-ups fare better , than you have to look at the QB . Just like in BC , once Lulay became starter most of the QB woes were gone . Lulay is not a big time hook slider , yet he's remained relatively uninjured even though he has taken a lot of big hits . RB's and receivers take lots of big hits too and many of them are no bigger than QBs , yet they are able to absorb the hits and keep on playing . Lulay seems to be made of that sort of thing too , Peirce does not . Lulay also knows when to throw the ball away .
Having said that of course you don't want your QB taking any shots . Guys like Damon Allen seemed to have an ability to lessen the hits on himself , almost like a fighter rolling away from punches . Peirce does not seem to have such ability . And no reason to think that will change .

[Hambone]

Biggest difference between the likes of Calvillo and Allen vs Pierce is they rarely put themselves in a position to take the big hit. Pierce frequently does that. AC has a sense of self-preservation and lives by the theory that there's always another play or series. He knows the game's outcome doesn't rest on one play unless he's down to crunchtime and it's 3rd down. If he senses protection breaking down he doesn't wait to get through all his reads. He'll throw the ball away before the defender can lower the boom. Lulay has shown much of that too. He seems to have a 10 year veteran's sense of when to use his legs or throw the ball away. He's taken some good shots but I don't recall him really getting rocked. I think his ability to make the right run or toss it away decision has been as much a factor in the reduction of QB sacks in BC as any changes in scheme or OL personnel. As crafty as Dickenson was he took a lot of licks in the same manner as Pierce because he also stubbornly refused to give up on a play until it was too late to avoid the big hit.

[JohnHenry]

Watching Buck, he lands like a sack of potatoes, with the back of his head often bouncing off the turf. While a good scrambler, I don't think Buck is that athletic and can't protect himself, which contributes to his injuries. At least with the new padded-helmet Buck switched to a couple years, he hasn't had a concussion since I don't believe, despite taking several head-shots and hard landings.

Buck could still have a place with the Bombers. They love him there but he just can't be relied upon as the starter. He'd make a great backup or alternate starter in a 1A - 1B scenario, perhaps with a up-and-coming QB like Mike Reilly?

Speaking of QB injuries, I'd like to see Travis become more like Doug Flutie, who after passing the ball, would crouch his shoulder to brace himself against the hit. Flutie had that down perfectly, knowing exactly when to get rid of the ball, while giving himself enough time to brace himself. That's why the little man lasted so long in pro football and was very rarely ever injured...despite holding onto the football and scrambling with the best of them. Travis has that all down pat, except for the bracing at the end part. Travis is probably a better scrambler than Flutie and a more elusive runner, that's why he rarely needs to hook slide and can pretty much run away from anybody. I'll bet Travis would have made a great slotback if he wasn't such a good QB!

[Hambone]

Watching Buck, he lands like a sack of potatoes, with the back of his head often bouncing off the turf. While a good scrambler, I don't think Buck is that athletic and can't protect himself, which contributes to his injuries. At least with the new padded-helmet Buck switched to a couple years, he hasn't had a concussion since I don't believe, despite taking several head-shots and hard landings.

Buck could still have a place with the Bombers. They love him there but he just can't be relied upon as the starter. He'd make a great backup or alternate starter in a 1A - 1B scenario, perhaps with a up-and-coming QB like Mike Reilly?

Speaking of QB injuries, I'd like to see Travis become more like Doug Flutie, who after passing the ball, would crouch his shoulder to brace himself against the hit. Flutie had that down perfectly, knowing exactly when to get rid of the ball, while giving himself enough time to brace himself. That's why the little man lasted so long in pro football and was very rarely ever injured...despite holding onto the football and scrambling with the best of them. Travis has that all down pat, except for the bracing at the end part. Travis is probably a better scrambler than Flutie and a more elusive runner, that's why he rarely needs to hook slide and can pretty much run away from anybody. I'll bet Travis would have made a great slotback if he wasn't such a good QB!

Funny thing re: Buck is there seems to be lots of talk about head injuries but I'm sure I saw a graphic right about the time he was returning from his head injury this season. It listed the injuries and games missed as a Bomber. Seem to me there was only the one instance of the noodle being hurt. All the rest were things like ribs, shoulder, leg, knee. I think he's missed time for just about every part of his anatomy. As for Flutie he had to be a lot better at it back then. Not only was he smaller but the rules didn't give him near the sort of protection today's QBs receive.