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Pour Some Sugar on Joey Elliott

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 10/26/2010 9:26 PM | Comments: 0

The title is actually a line from a friend of mine, after I told him the Bombers were forced to use their third-stringer in Saturday’s game. The reference, of course, is Def Leppard front man Joe Elliott. My friend – much like myself – automatically thought of the British band and Union Jack T-shirts with the sleeves cut off when he first heard the name. Seriously, he did. No F-F-Foolin.’

Note: that will be the last Def Leppard pun I’ll make here. Bringin’ on the Heartbreak, Hysteria, Too Late for Love – all these songs could be worked into the discussion but I’m not going to bombard you with that.

Back to Elliott. Lots of praise for the rookie quarterback at practice today, which I guess isn’t that surprising considering how well he played against the Argos (8-of-16 for 75 yards). Not exactly Calvillo-like but all things considering, something for the Bombers to build on for the season finale in 10 days.

I thought this was an interesting comment from Bombers offensive co-ordinator Jamie Barresi: "(Elliott) always has a good reason as to why he did what he did out there – which is the sign of a good quarterback. He’ll tell you why he made a throw. He’s not just searching for an open guy."

Why is that interesting? Well, one of the knocks on Steven Jyles has been his reluctance to trust his first read and get rid of the football. Have to wonder if the staff has been looking for a more sensitive trigger back there.

Three more things:

1. Notice the pressure difference between Elliott’s first start and Alex Brink’s first start. Elliott is forced to come in with no chance for a playoff spot. Brink was chosen over the incumbent, with a post season spot still up for grabs. As we all know, Brink struggled mightily with the starting task, never looking comfortable as the game continued to drag on. It will be interesting to see how Elliott manages in his low-stress, road assignment – and whether those circumstances factor into the post game evaluation.

2. Head coach Paul LaPolice said today that the jump for a No. 4 QB to a No. 3 position on the depth chart is an easy one. In those spots, no one really expects you to play, anyway. The bridge between the No. 1 spot and the No. 2 position is equally short, the coach feels, as the back-up should also have an strong grasp of the offence. The big disparity comes when promoting a No. 3 to a No. 1 position, which is essentially what Elliott is doing here (technically he’s the No. 4 guy but Buck Pierce has been on the shelf for so long that everyone has moved up the chart). My point: Don’t really have one.

3. Finally, here’s some Def Leppard. Don’t say I never do anything nice for you. As the commentary on the YouTube page says: "This is impossible to dislike."

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