BC has a ‘pivotal’ decision to make

Casey Printers? Jarious Jackson? Travis Lulay?

Who will the British Columbia Lions start at quarterback in their game against Calgary after their bye week? That decision will be up to head coach/general manager Wally Buono, who is in the unenviable position of trying to fix something that is clearly broken.

You could blame a number of things for BC’s poor start – the drop-off in the run game, the poor run defence, the shaky offensive line, or the struggles of Paris Jackson – but it is pretty clear that the inconsistent play of the quarterbacks has been a major factor in the Lions shocking 1-6-0 start.

"Printers has not played like his 2004-self just yet"

First their is Printers, who was basically named ‘the saviour’ after returning to the Lions last season. This was the man who, in 2004, threw for 35 touchdowns, over 5,000 yards and rushed for 469 yards and nine touchdowns en route to being named the most outstanding player. Though he lost all three of the regular season games he played in 2009, a 34-27 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East semifinal, during which Printers threw for 360 yards and one touchdown, gave fans hope for 2010. Though Montreal devoured BC 56-18 in the East final, fans hoped that Printers could captain the ship in 2010.

Printers, who hasn’t played since Week 3 but could return after the bye week, didn’t exactly dazzle when he was the starter. In the 25-10 victory over Edmonton in Week 1, it was the running game and the defence that secured victory for the Lions. Printers was 20/34 for 218 yards. Nothing spectacular. Before he was injured in BC’s 37-18 loss to Saskatchewan in Week 2, Printers was putting a decent game together statistically, but wasn’t generating many points against the Saskatchewan Roughriders defence. Finally, in the ugly 16-12 loss to Montreal at home in Week 3, Printers completed only 50 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions.

While he may have improved his attitude a bit, Printers has not played like his 2004-self just yet. His running abilities – which have been dazzling in the past – have not been utilized this season. He has been OK in the passing game, but is not dominating like he once did.

So far this season, Printers has gone 50/88 for 591 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Then there is Jarious Jackson, a quarterback who has struggled with inconsistency and, more recently, injuries. The fact that he has never had a quarterback rating over 90 shows that he isn’t a top level quarterback. Throughout his career, Jackson has been battling with quarterbacks like Dave Dickenson, Buck Pierce, Printers and Lulay for playing time.

"The major concern with Jackson has always been his accuracy"

After battling through an injury this season, Jackson saw his first bit of playing time in Week 6, when the Calgary Stampeders defeated BC 27-22. Coming on for an ineffective Lulay, Jackson went 8/17 for 99 yards and one interception. He seemed very interested in testing his arm strength, as he threw deep ball after deep ball, many of these falling harmlessly to the turf. Then, in his first start of the season the next week against Saskatchewan, Jackson did not test the defence deep and threw two interceptions in a 37-13 loss.

The major concern with Jackson has always been his accuracy, especially in the short/mid-range game. While he does throw a decent deep ball, he seems to rely on long throws far too often. Against Saskatchewan, he tried not to rely on the deep game and was highly ineffective. For a quarterback to be successful in this league, he needs to be well-rounded.

So far this season, Jackson has gone 26/48 for 293 yards and three interceptions.

Finally, there is Lulay. Though his career has just begun, the pivot has been compared to former greats Jeff Garcia and Dave Dickenson. In his first start in the CFL last season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Lulay went 13/24 for 177 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, leading the Lions to a 24-21 victory. BC had enough confidence in him to get rid of Pierce this season.

Lulay got a chance to start this season much sooner than he likely expected. Following the injury to Printers, and with Jackson injured, Lulay got a couple of starts. In his first start this season against the Toronto Argonauts, Lulay went 26/40 for 330 yards and two interceptions. Unfortunately, one of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown and cost the Lions the game. The next week, Lulay threw for under 150 yards and two interceptions as BC fell 28-25 to the Eskimos. Before he was pulled in Week 6, Lulay threw for only 159 yards and one interception.

Does Lulay have potential? Sure, but for now that’s all it is. The fact is Lulay is throwing too many interceptions, not enough touchdowns, and has failed to lead the Lions to a victory during his time under centre. Perhaps Lulay needs to mature further before being a starter.

"Does Lulay have potential? Sure, but for now that’s all it is"

So far this season, Lulay has gone 66/109 with 820 yards, one touchdown and five interceptions.

If you look at the total numbers for all three quarterbacks, it is 142/245 for 1,704 yards, three touchdowns and 10 interceptions. I think those numbers pretty much sum up the quarterback situation in BC.

So, who gets the start for the Lions? While none of those options look appealing, Printers will likely get the nod. He was the starter going into the season and Lulay and Jackson have looked brutal in relief. Still, one has to wonder when the Lions will pursue other options at the quarterback position. Kerry Joseph, perhaps?

Of course, the quarterbacks can’t solely be blamed for Lions struggles. The running game, which was so effective in Week 1, has cooled down, the offensive line has allowed 20 sacks and has hung the quarterback out to dry in basically every game, Jackson is on pace for only 732 receiving yards after two consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns and the defence is giving up 139 rushing yards a game.

Still, the quarterback is responsible for helping his team win games. It hasn’t been happening for BC. Buono, who has suffered through quarterback problems for most of his tenure in BC, has got to be scratching his head wondering how to fix the problem under centre.

At 1-6-0, there isn’t a whole lot of time to figure it out.

Hamelin’s work can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

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Tags: BC Lions, Three Downs with Jonathan Hamelin

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