Buck’s high risk rewarded

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This article was published 15/07/2010 (5776 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hate to be a killjoy, but it’s too bad the CFL named Buck Pierce offensive player of the week. Honestly.

Not because the Blue Bombers quarterback didn’t deserve it based on performance, mind you. I mean, 366 yards passing and another 103 via his twinkle toes is pretty impressive.

It’s just that Pierce shouldn’t be encouraged. He shouldn’t be leading the Bombers in rushing, either. That’s Fred Reid’s job. And he’s pretty good at it, too.

Of course, everyone around Maroons Road is trying to justify why Pierce has been so proficient on the ground — that he’s taking advantage of man coverage that’s opened up gaping chunks of real estate, that the vast majority of his overall 192 yards rushing has come from 20-, 30- and 40-plus yard rambles.

"He doesn’t have that many carries," Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice reasoned Tuesday about his pivot’s 13 attempts. "He’s really scrambled for big yardage. I’m sure it’s going to right itself throughout the course of the season."

Oh, it’s going to right itself. Just don’t come crying to me when they’re scraping Pierce off the turf after one of his bipedal adventures. And this opinion has absolutely nothing to do with Pierce’s medical history. No quarterback can continue to expose himself to much larger, meaner mammals in enemy territory without eventually paying a heavy, long-term price.

Maybe it’s all coincidence, but go figure that someone with Pierce’s penchant for daredevil heroics, who has spent the last few months hearing about his fragile history, comes in and throws caution (and pretty much everything else) to the wind.

Is Pierce trying to prove something to skeptical Bombers fans?

Is he trying to prove something to himself?

No, countered the head coach. Said LaPolice: "I think Buck Pierce is being who he is."

Again, fair comment. And LaPolice did add that Pierce has so far taken every measure to protect himself — if he can — on most occasions. Those long dashes have almost all ended with feet-first slides, save into home.

But anyone who tells you that Pierce and the Bombers aren’t playing with fire is in Egypt. Or at least near denial.

Yeah, every CFL team is one hit away from losing the starting quarterback. And every one of those teams would be at a severe competitive disadvantage without their No. 1 pivot. That’s true of almost any professional football team anywhere.

However, if Pierce has proven anything in his five years with the B.C. Lions and opening two games with the Bombers, it’s that, well, he doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody.

It’s pretty simple: If Pierce is healthy, the Bombers will contend. Period. Offensively, they will be better than average and, at times, prolific. That would explain the 83 points in just two games.

In the Bombers’ first five games of 2009, the team scored 90 points in total. Then it got worse.

Look, this isn’t about lobotomizing Pierce’s game. That 43-yard option scamper by Pierce against the Argos last Friday night was not only worth the price of admission, it was one of the most memorable athletic and instinctive feats performed by a Bombers quarterback in… far too long.

But that doesn’t ignore Pierce rolling right late in the game, unable or unwilling to check down to an open receiver on the sidelines and taking a meaningless shot after refusing to simply run out of bounds untouched.

That, too, is Buck being who he is.

Then again, maybe no one should be surprised. If you corral a wild bronco, don’t be shocked if he kicks down a few fences.

It’s just that the Bombers don’t need Pierce to be the offensive player of the week; they need him to be the offensive player of the year. Trust us, those two accomplishments can be mutually exclusive for players with targets on their helmets. Even LaPolice conceded, "We need him for the first 18 and move on from there."

OK, Buck, you’ve made your point. Congratulations on the award and everything.

Now how’s about handing the pig off to Fred Reid a few more times? Maybe dumping the ball off instead of tucking it. The sideline is your friend.

After all, people keep saying you can’t tame or change reckless spirits.

Well, if those reckless spirits rarely start and finish the same season, maybe common sense is telling you that change is long overdue.

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

today’s bomber report C3

Randy Turner
Reporter

Randy Turner spent much of his journalistic career on the road. A lot of roads. Dirt roads, snow-packed roads, U.S. interstates and foreign highways. In other words, he got a lot of kilometres on the odometer, if you know what we mean.

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