I have never liked coaches or managment dumping on players publically because its an abuse of power.notahomer wrote:Me too, maybe for slightly different reasons but all in all, I agree. I really like our players and hope they win and climb back into a battle for the division. I know they are not out of it yet but its time. The meat of our schedule is here and hopefully its time to feast.......MexicoLionFan wrote:I HATE how the Lions coaches and front office handled this week...
At the same time, I think its so much easier for football fans to identify with players rather than coaches. In any dispute between which of the two are most responsible, when a team or unit is not playing well, fans find it more convenient to dump on coaches or management.
I;ve played and coached and coaching is a lot tougher than playing.
Here is an interesting story on Buck. He is presently living out of a hotel room. He used to live at Dave Dickenson's house. Dickenson now rents the house to Rich Stubler..so it looks like Dickenson is still extracting a price from our Lions.
Even though Buck will play in B.C. again he will make Winnipeg his home. He;s engaged to a Winnipeg girl and Buck opened a business in Winnipeg last year. Buck hopes to return to Winnipeg as a coach when his playing days are over.
MONTREAL — Much has changed in the life of quarterback Buck Pierce since he left British Columbia in March 2010. The White Rock residence, owned by Dave Dickenson, he once called home is now being rented by Rich Stubler, the Lions’ defensive coordinator.
Or so the story goes, meaning Pierce will have to grow accustomed to room service and hotel life until he can find a place near the beach to call his own.
Professionally, Pierce has come full circle in the interval. He was released by general manager Wally Buono following the 2009 season — Pierce's fifth with the Lions — deemed somewhat unreliable, and certainly expendable, due to his inability to stay healthy for extended periods of time. He was part of a carousel of quarterbacks that included Dickenson, near the end of his career, Jarious Jackson, Casey Printers and Travis Lulay.
Reacquired by B.C. last Sunday from Winnipeg for non-import receiver Akeem Foster, Pierce again has become infamous for the litany of injuries he has sustained — everything from concussions, ribs, toes, hands, legs and shoulders. If it's a part of Pierce's appendage, it probably has been hurt.
The Blue Bombers reportedly began shopping Pierce following an Aug. 24 loss to the Tiger-Cats, new general manager Kyle Walters not hesitant to make the move his predecessor, Joe Mack, appeared reticent to complete. Buono, at the same time, was seeking depth and experience behind starter Lulay.
That should have been the end of the story, a rare Canadian Football League trade. Except last Monday, an emotional Pierce sat at a table, blinking into the television lights and choking back tears — in Winnipeg, the city from which he was departing, and a full 24 hours before he would meet Vancouver media.
It was a scene rarely seen in this league, a scenario duplicated perhaps only once before, last winter, when Geroy Simon departed B.C. following 12 seasons with the Lions, and before making his way east, to Saskatchewan.
Pierce never won a Grey Cup with Winnipeg, although he took the Bombers to the title game in 2011.
He never was named a CFL all-star, never became one of the league's elite pivots. His critics complained the team never would win with him, his litany of injuries the albatross around his neck.
But somehow, Pierce embraced Winnipeg, the community's love affair with the native of Hutchinson, Kan., reciprocated. Pierce never met an event, a charity affair, he could turn his back on. He never said no to just one more photo, one more piece of paper shoved in front of him for an autograph. He seemingly had time for everyone.
The routes he has established are deep. He's engaged to a Winnipeg girl, the wedding scheduled for May 2014. He and a partner opened a barbecue smokehouse and sports lounge about a year ago, not far from the site of the old Winnipeg Stadium. The Manitoba city will remain his home, despite its frigid and interminable winters. Pierce even hopes to return to the Bombers organization in some capacity — perhaps as a coach — once he retires.
"It's funny. I just really related with the people there," Pierce said during a telephone interview this week. "They're football fans and hard workers ... people that are passionate about their sports. When I got there, they really took me in as one of their own. They embraced my style of play, embraced me as a person and my competitiveness. That really hit home. I was searching for a place to settle. They've given me so much off the field as well.
"It was tough (leaving). Emotions really start to set in. Winnipeg has given me so much in four years — on and off the field. When I came to Winnipeg, I was looking for some stability in an unstable profession. To be given that there was very critical and good for me. I formed a bond with the fan base and people of the community. It was my style of play, (me) embracing the heritage there of tough players and blue-collar atmosphere. We just hit it off."
And so, when a grocery store giant had a fundraiser, Pierce was there. When there was a spaghetti-eating competition with — heaven forbid — members of the media, Pierce was there. A smoothie-making contest for charity last winter? Pierce was there. When it was over, he remained for an hour, talking to fans, signing autographs and posing for photos. When former teammate Chris Cvetkovic asked CFL players to travel to Mexico, working at a volunteer spay and neuter clinic, Pierce didn't hesitate.
"We should all be so lucky and do this," Pierce once told the Winnipeg Free Press.
"It's just as important to me as what I do on the football field."
In a purrfect world, it all would have turned out differently, but the Bombers haven't won a championship since 1990, many great quarterbacks before Pierce also unable to lead the club to a title.
In 2010, his first season with the Bombers, he was limited to five starts — only three of those coming consecutively. He wasn't great statistically in 2011, passing for 14 touchdowns despite being intercepted 18 times, but remained sufficiently healthy and won.
The optimism of 2012 quickly evaporated. Pierce sustained a leg injury in July, forcing him to miss multiple games. Two games into his return, Pierce took a violent hit to the head and was concussed. He played only seven of 18 games.
As a college player at New Mexico State University, Pierce gained 75 yards on his first run from scrimmage. The style and reckless abandon — never fearful for the state of his body — would come to personify him.
"That's just the way I was brought up," he said. "My folks taught me to play a certain way, no matter the position. Play as hard as you can. At the end of the day, you're exhausted and you've competed. That's what I've done.
"People say it has been detrimental to my career, but that's the only way I know how to play."
When he's asked about concussions, Pierce scoffs, suggesting the number isn't nearly as high as people speculate.
"People see you taking these big hits, with your helmet flying off. They assume things," he said.
"It's something I'm very aware of. Every player should be aware of it and be honest about it. I've never denied that I've had one or that I'm worried about it. I think about it. But I also know how I feel."
It became clear Pierce had reached the end of the road with the Bombers this season. Although he was the only quarterback on the team's roster with CFL experience, he lost his starting job to Justin Goltz after the fifth game, Pierce eventually falling to third on the depth chart. He started only four games and failed to throw a touchdown since the season-opener, against the Alouettes, despite completing nearly 61 per cent of his passes. He spent his final two weeks with the team on the injured list, suffering from an undisclosed upper-body ailment.
Of 32 starts in Winnipeg, he finished but 20.
"Was I disappointed with the way things were handled? Absolutely," he admitted. "Do I hold any ill will? No. That was the situation I was in. The best thing I could do was be a pro about it.
"It was hard and tough to do. You want to stand up and say: 'Hey, I don't think this is right.' But I also felt it wasn't my place to be a negative influence on the organization."
And so, Pierce returns to the scene of his prime, somewhat wiser and definitely older, about to turn 32 in November and now in his ninth season. Earlier this week, Buono said Pierce isn't coming to be the Lions' saviour. Head coach Mike Benevides said Pierce won't be taking 60 snaps a game.
But Lulay, not averse himself to playing on the edge, has been taking more and more hits with each subsequent week, especially on the road, where the Lions have won only one of five games. So, stay tuned. Anything's possible.
But for now, when B.C. entertains the Als Sunday afternoon, Pierce is expected to dress as the team's third quarterback.
As for the future, Pierce said that's anyone's guess.
They thought he was finished when he left Vancouver years ago, and he proved them wrong. He proved he could win, proved he could persevere and bounce back.
"Look at the things I've learned to play through," he said. "I've learned to be a better leader. We had a young locker room, but I helped lead. I helped teach them how to be pros. I helped lead a team to a (division) championship. I learned a lot about myself as a player, coach and teammate. That contributed to my growth as a player.
"I have no regrets. None at all. I've done things my way. People are going to question you. That's the business we're in. But I've thoroughly enjoyed what I do. This is another chapter and experience."
