NOW WHAT

i dont know if this is a good thing or a bad thing after watching the last 3 quarters of play last night at bc place, now that Printers is starter til dickensons shoulder is unslighty dislocated. After watching printers play last night, i saw that he was distant from the players, didnt really celebrate the TDs with the team, just started to walk away towards the bc sidelines. now watchin Pierce play that last play.... i think we have a great QB starter once the kid gets some experince, his first shot durin the reg season, and he does it with a TD great job i think.

HOWEVER, i would like to hear from anyone that was at the game last night, how do you feel about printers game last night. did you see what i saw? or is he jus out of "practice"? like he said on TSN after the game,

This is only Printer's second game for 9 months. Give him some time, I doubt he'll disappoint. Practically pre-season for him. We'll see how Dickenson is doing after the weekend. Who knows, maybe we'll see him up against the Riders? And yes, Pierce looked awesome, and I hope he gets more play-time throughout the season.

I don't think there are issues with how he interacts with the players from the players perspective - but that is just a guess. Casey is Casey - a lot of that is his personality and to be fair he is still young and learning how to handle the pressures of his job in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers at the stadium and on tv. Some of how he likely feels right now comes from being the star last year to being on the sidelines this year. That is tough for any QB and it must be a whole lot worse knowing you have the MOP from last year on your trophy shelf and how exciting your play is and how much it sparked the interest in the BC Lions last year.

There are probably times when he feels he is being screwed by the Lions based on last year, his ability to inspire fans, etc. If he didn't feel that way inside I'd say he has taken too many hits on the head without his football helmet to use a line coined by Lyndon Johnson line about Gerald Ford. But each day he has a choice to make. Does he come to practice and games and do his best no matter how much he disagrees with the coaches decisions and make the best out of a tough situation or does he get pissed and decide to wait out his contract or the Lions get mad and trade him. This has been done by others in sports. Get them so pissed at you for attitude that they trade you for a carton of tape or field whitener. My sense is that Casey inside has to fight off those feelings of negativity and he has a done a good job of not making his situation an issue for the club, the GM, the coaches, his teammates and their fans. It is mostly fans who speculate on his situation. I suspect that no one in that locker room is concerned with anything more about Casey than his health. They love this situation with great QBs including both Buck Pierce and Jarius Jackson. This is not a team issue or concern as they see these QBs as being a major part of reaching the Grey Cup in Vancouver this year.

Yes, Casey was rusty which is to be expected. I thought his first series was awesome and he led them to a td including a great run for 26 yards. After that when he struggled I felt he tried to force passes to spots the rust wouldn't allow him to succeed. That is something he should have backed off from nd just took what was there like Dickenson did so effectively in the first half and how Buck Pierce played on that one series.

This is a QB who is a good person from what I hear of him in the media. He won't screw this up as he is also a good team guy despite how much he has been tested for this including not playing in the Grey Cup in the same week the CFL named him League MOP.

We have to ask ourselves how we'd feel and how we'd react if we were in Casey's shoes. Would we handle it with the dignity and grace he seems to be employing with the fans and media? I know from my own experience I'd have been challenged hugely not to react badly even if it was behind closed doors with the GM/coach. To his credit, Casey says all the right things and I think he knows he has the fans behind him along with the team and club.

I read in the paper that Dickenson said Pierce was getting "antsy" to get some game time. I suspect that is normal when you have shown what he has in the two exhibition games and practices. But Buck Pierce too, has a choice, not unlike Casey and Jarius Jackson. Do you show patience or let frustration during the game ruin your judgment when you do get to play? Or, or do you show interest in learning and keep your head in every game so that when you are called like Buck Pierce was last night, your head is clear, your emotions are in check and you take your team 40 yards downfield for a super TD on an excellently executed play on your FIRST series as a professional football player?

From where I sit in the stands and as a coach myself in sport, I do not want a player going in who is more focused on the ME than the WE. If it is about him and not the team then I 'd let the guy sit and I'd be honest with him as to why.

I think both Casey and Buck show their true character and their professionalism during games and practices. Their personalities, backgrounds and experiences in life may differ but they the same share common goals in team sports - to do well personally and contribute to something bigger than just yourself - a team. Both these guys are successes and have more opportunities in football ahead of them than behind. What a great future for both and they are handling their situations well - at least what we see in public.

I think we are watching one or more of the future CFL greats in the making in both Casey Printers and Buck Pierce. We already know Dave Dickenson is. The issue for these guys is less the football if given playing time but how they manage their careers and here I am thinking NFL tryouts, etc.Those don't always work out well - ok so far Ricky Ray is an exception as is Dave Dickenson but has it set back others like say Henry Burris?

These special players don't come by every year and we are fortunate as Lions supporters, to be fans of a team with a bunch of them not only at QB but at a lot of different positions.


Pierce-I learned a lot about perseverance. Things aren’t always going to go your way. I’ve become so much more aware of the realities of the game and life…Things can be taken away from you. You can either sit back…or overcome it and fight through it....

thanks for your input u 2, i like to hear from guys that have deep football experince, im still tryin to learn it as i go, so if i say things about how i see it. im still learnin, and i wil mostly ask, from me its all opinion, it wont be fact, til i get the handle on it. im still learin NFL as well, im no expert with football, just have a deep love for this game.

with that said. i know it was said above, and i realize casey has a problem with attitude, but dont u guys think that this can ruin the vibe that the lions have with DD? or is he just being a baby about not being number one ?

I hope you didn't misinterpret my post about Casey. I don't think his cockiness is a negative attitude that affects this team at all. Each one of us has our own way of dealing with things.

Casey is dealing with this just fine. He isn't squawking about anything at all. He is just doing his job. I think the first guy just was asking the question if he was with the team or not.

I am sure CP is a good team guy, respected and valued by all of BC Lions players and coaches.

Pierce-I learned a lot about perseverance. Things aren’t always going to go your way. I’ve become so much more aware of the realities of the game and life…Things can be taken away from you. You can either sit back…or overcome it and fight through it....

no football16 i didnt, it was just a question. i like cp, but i thought i saw neg on the field friday night, and i think ur right abou pierce, HOWEVER i feel it will be learning from CP, i know hes rusty, it seems like the chemistry is gone that he had last year. do you think this will ruin the perfect record if he plays vs riders next week?

I don't think the chemistry is gone at all. I am so impressed with the offence this year. It doesn't matter who is in the QB position, the offence responds, and responds well to each & every one of them.

I met Casey at the football camp he held here in White Rock last April, along with Simon, Glatt, and a couple of the other guys. My son, who plays linebacker for the Titans, got to work with Glatt for the entire day, learning what he had to teach.

All the guys were great & friendly, had really good attitudes, and had a lot of fun with the boys.

This is a really together group of guys and this includes Casey Printers. I can see where you- Lionsfan12- might think he is not with the squad but I doubt any player feels that way. I am far from knowing any member of this team and this is only observations from games, some practices looking through the fence and listening to players talk in the media. So you have to take all this posting stuff from me as somewhere between nonsense and conjecture because at the end of the day all that matters is how this team and how this player performs and acts as part of this winning team.

Sometimes it is not so much what players say but what they don't say. If they never comment about Casey at all when asked then you might suspect that the reticence to say anything is for reasons that bad stuff is going on that we can't see. But...all I have heard from the Lions players on radio is positive about Casey Printers and all I have heard Casey say on radio is positive about the team. You can't read too much into how Casey hangs out during games. It is tough not to be playing.

Unlike Buck Pierce who is watching, learning, listening to coach/qb talks and chomping to play, Casey is the reigning CFL MOP until November 2005. Buck can be patient in the knowledge that QBs with Wally's teams like Jeff Garcia came from a back up role to the NFL. I put my binocs onto the bench and look at the outward demeanour and actions of players and the coach when I am wondering if Casey might be going in or like on Friday if my favourite player, Buck Pierce, might be getting in or warming up. On the outside, Buck shows nothing but you have to believe that inside the guy is thinking like I am in the stands - PUT ME IN!!! Casey is a different guy and looks can be deceiving.

Casey vs Riders will have to go back to doing what he did for us all last year. Make good reads and better decisions... that is don't force the ball in passing situations to make that one great pretty play. Be more like Dave Dickenson than the batter going for the fence. Casey needs Vic Rapp telling him that when he throws long - "three things can happen and two of them are bad" so be judicious when tossing the long bomb.

In part, what Casey has to overcome is his desire to be the Casey of 2004 who was connecting on all those long shots. This is another year and things are different due to circumstances and his injuries. We will love this guy more for keeping the offence on the field and scoring points and winning than him trying to be the MOP of last year.

The decision for Casey is quite simple really.

Did he learn from the Hamilton game what his limitations are or did he not?

All a QB will ever need to know to do well is the wisdom of Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood in Magnum Force) who couldn't have said it better than this:

"A man has to know his limitations".

If you want to learn about love and relationships then you have to watch Seinfeld episodes as you will learn it all there.

Buck Pierce-I learned a lot about perseverance. Things aren’t always going to go your way. I’ve become so much more aware of the realities of the game and life…Things can be taken away from you. You can either sit back…or overcome it and fight through it....

Casey will get all the reps in practice this week. He'll look better against Saskatchewan.

Well, Printers has played 1 and half games in the past few weeks and gets all the reps in practice so let's see if he can continue on for DD. This is his chance to show he's the real deal. And for all you calling for Printers to start, I don't want to hear about how you want DD back if he stinks the joint out.

I hope Printers does well for the sake of the Lions. Don't get me wrong, I like Printers but hated hearing about him when the Lions were doing fine with DD.

I doubt that Casey will get "all the reps" as the Lions don't seem to work that way. He will get more if Dave Dickenson is not able to play which I guess he won't this week, but all 4 QBs take some reps if just the scout team.

When I have seen these guys practice, they do a good job of ensuring the backups at all spots are involved.

One thing I didn't mention and this is not a huge knock on Casey is that he was not aware or forgot in the first half when he came on that BC had no time out left to take. If I can know that and I am sitting in the stands, how come he missed it? The point - concentrate and focus so that doesn't become an error that costs - although in this case no harm was done and no time count issues occurred.

With his being sick last week he didn't get much in the way of reps last week I guess.

Pierce-I learned a lot about perseverance. Things aren’t always going to go your way. I’ve become so much more aware of the realities of the game and life…Things can be taken away from you. You can either sit back…or overcome it and fight through it....