Pierce better get better

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/07/2011 (5224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The fortunes of the Blue Bombers rest directly on the shoulders of a player who is dealing with his third significant injury in eight career starts as the Winnipeg quarterback.

Said reality — the one that currently has Buck Pierce suffering through what the team is calling a left thigh bruise heading into the week of practice at Canad Inns Stadium — doesn’t change for the Blue and Gold now that backup QB Joey Elliott is lost for the season due to a ACL tear in his left knee.

Since 2010, it’s always been this way: Pierce is the best chance for success. In real-time discussion, he is considered the only one who can lead the Bombers over the hump and back into the CFL playoff picture.

Right or wrong, this feeling continues, even after the first three games (or 21/2 games if you want to get technical) where Pierce has provided below average quarterbacking. His numbers (42-of-76 for 465 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions) have enjoyed the benefit of the doubt; many willing to look past what they’re seeing from him on the field thanks to the giddy relief of actually seeing him run onto the field.

Beneath the surface, though, another reality started to germinate.

For as beloved as Pierce is, he’s just as likely to be on the sidelines, which put even more value on what Elliott provided as the No. 2 guy.

Elliott was the rising star; the safety net. A second-year prospect out of Purdue, he is a favourite of GM Joe Mack and his high ceiling played a small part in the club’s willingness to deal Steven Jyles to Toronto in the off-season.

Pierce may be the present, but Elliott represented the future — the developing-a-young-quarterback mandate the current Mack administration assigned itself before the 2010 season. Things were right on schedule, and it wasn’t hard to picture Elliott commanding a bigger role when the club moved into its new stadium next season.

Now, because of the injury (he tore the ligament while making a tackle on a fumble return in Thursday’s 21-20 loss to Calgary), any game seasoning Elliott would see this year — a near-certainty given Pierce’s inability to stay upright — gets pushed back a season and in turn, delays Winnipeg’s quarterback future accordingly.

Ouch. His injury hurts on an entirely different level.

That’s not to say the Blue bullpen of sophomore Alex Brink, along with rookies Justin Goltz and Brandon Summers — all with exactly one CFL start between them — won’t step up and give the Bombers a capable security blanket. With Brink promoted to backup, maybe he finds his stride with the increase in reps and responsibility.

But ask yourself this question:

Did you feel better about the quarterback situation before Thursday’s loss or do you feel better after the fact, knowing Elliott is no longer available if Pierce can’t answer the bell?

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All this doesn’t mean the Bombers are cooked. Hardly.

Winnipeg (2-1) still holds a top-shelf defence and a vastly improved special teams unit. As the Argos proved last year, CFL teams can win their fair share of games on those strengths.

The only thing the Elliott injury does is increase the risk factor of having Pierce as the only experienced pivot on the roster, while adding to the mystery of what’s behind him should he miss any extended time.

With that, reality just got a little more real for the Bombers.

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca