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Pierce expects to rebound this week
Courtesy Vancouver Province:
Watching quarterback Buck Pierce get savaged in the B.C. Lions’ season-opener, head coach Wally Buono was reminded of Anthony Calvillo, although most of us were thinking Terminator.
It wasn’t just that Pierce kept coming back to life during a nine-sack onslaught by the Saskatchewan Roughrider defence that so impressed Buono, but that his fifth-year quarterback did not cower from the abuse or look on the Lions’ final drive that he was worried about sack No. 10.
“We played a team and had 12 sacks,” Buono said Wednesday, referring to but not naming the great Calvillo and the Montreal Alouettes in 2006. “And by the end of the game, the quarterback was shell-shocked.
“Here’s the good thing: On the second to final play of our game, Buck still had the wherewithal to have the confidence, the poise, the composure to throw the ball vertically downfield to help us win. The individual who got hammered — he probably was dazed and probably uncertain — still had the composure and the skill to stand back there and wait, wait, wait, wait and still throw the ball to put us in position to win.
“Try to understand the psyche of growth. You can’t measure a guy’s success when he’s successful. You must measure his success on how he deals when it’s adverse. And believe me, it was quite adverse for him.”
B.C. receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen failed to adjust to a catchable bomb from Pierce with 15 seconds remaining that would have given the Lions a 31-28 win instead of a dismal 28-24 loss in Regina. Two plays earlier, Pierce stood in the pocket on third-and-20 and made his best throw of the game to Paris Jackson for 29 yards.
Since bursting upon the Lions as a rookie revelation in 2005, Pierce has shown this kind of fortitude and spark — that intrinsic something — that great quarterbacks possess.
Yet, now 28, the likable Californian hasn’t been healthy or consistent enough to become great. He is good. But more than ever, the Lions need him to be great because they are not the team they were.
Given the departure of several impact players since last season, the growing sense around the CFL that B.C. has slipped and the horror show in Regina, the Lions suddenly seem to have a lot at stake in their home-opener Friday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
As always, Pierce has something to prove. It took him five years to get healthy and trustworthy enough for Buono to make Pierce his starter, no strings attached. But another performance by the Lions like they had last week and the Vancouver summer pastime of second-guessing Buono’s quarterback selection will be renewed.
“That’s the job,” Pierce said after practice in Surrey. “It’s on me. That’s what you ask for. Obviously, you want to play well every time. I didn’t play poorly, but I didn’t feel I played the way I can play.
“I still feel like I’m one of the premier quarterbacks in this league. It’s a growing process and you have to learn. I’ve seen Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks go out there and not play well. It’s how do you respond to those types of things. I’ve always felt I respond very well.”
Even behind a crumbling, confused offensive line, Pierce responded well the final 35 minutes against Saskatchewan. But as the Roughriders bolted to a 25-7 lead in the first 25 minutes, Pierce completed just four of 10 passes, fumbled twice, threw an interception and was sacked four times. He finished 17-of-33 for 186 yards, two intercepts and a touchdown.
The nine sacks Pierce sustained equaled the number of times he was dropped behind the line of scrimmage during his 2007 season.
It was an impressive case of survival by a guy who last season would have required a priest or mortician by halftime after such a beating.
Asked if his quarterback would have survived the assault last season, when Pierce was coming back from a shoulder injury, Buono said: “I could say the politically correct thing — ‘I’m not sure, we’re not talking about last season’ — but probably not. Probably not.”
Instead of rehabilitating injuries last winter, Pierce was able to train seriously for the first time in three years and dropped 16 pounds of body fat to arrive at a leaner, stronger, quicker 204 pounds.
“My endurance is a lot better for sure,” he said. “I was able to actually avoid some of the big hits. I was able to preserve myself a little bit on the field. I feel good that I can withstand some hits and keep getting up and giving us a chance to win.”
A little less of the “getting up” part would suit Buono fine.
“The quarterback helps to make us all better and we all help to make the quarterback better,” Buono said. “I believe Buck helped us more than we helped him. At the end, Buck still made some plays. We make a catch for him and we’re talking about a very gritty performance and all that stuff.
“Am I worried about my quarterback getting killed? The good thing about the hits is he showed he can take the hits. That’s a negative into a positive. But once is enough.”
