Backup battle heats up

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This article was published 08/06/2013 (4498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are settled on Buck Pierce as their starting quarterback.

Head coach Tim Burke said Friday that Pierce can expect limited game action when the Toronto Argonauts visit Investors Group Field for a pre-season game Wednesday.

“I anticipate the first game we’ll see anywhere from two series to a quarter,” Burke said about Pierce’s role in the first outing. “We haven’t made a decision about the second game (eight days later against Hamilton).”

Pierce, who started seven games last season, seems to be hitting most checkpoints so far at training camp.

“Buck obviously really knows the offence, inside-out,” the coach said Friday. “I think he becomes more and more comfortable with it. If there’s an area that we’d like him to improve, it is making the decisions a little bit quicker.

“I think sometimes he wants something out of a certain route instead of just taking what’s given. I think that delays his decisions a little bit.”

That’s fine-tuning, whereas Wednesday versus the Argos, it’s clearly audition time for Justin Goltz, Chase Clement and Max Hall in the matter of who’s the Bombers’ backup.

Just four days away, it’s clear the game is going to matter.

“Certainly, the pre-season games tell you a lot about guys,” Burke said. “It’s hard to go to war with somebody if they haven’t performed in a game setting. So that weighs pretty heavily, probably at least 80 per cent.

“Certainly guys put together a body of work in practice, but there are guys who are great practice players, but then the pressure’s on and they fold. So that’s why those games are really important.”

Here’s an update on the three contenders for the backup role:

Justin Goltz

Experience: He’s been in 28 games for the Bombers over the last three seasons but has thrown just 14 passes.

What Burke said: “You can see his athleticism and his arm out there every day. And he’s really learning the package as well.”

What Goltz said: “There’s a little more structure to the stuff that coach (Gary) Crowton is implementing this year. He had a full off-season to kind of organize his offence and teach it the way he wanted to. Obviously last year there was a transition from (former head coach Paul LaPolice) to his. It was kind of a fire drill last year and now that it’s organized, he’s got his verbiage, his language and the way he wants to run it.

“It’s a little bit to learn; we did change up some terms, some numbers and obviously with some protection schemes and whatnot, there’s a lot more on the quarterback’s shoulders.

“I feel like I’m establishing myself as the second guy but I feel there’s still going to be learning on-the-job experience every day. I’m excited for this exhibition game. It’s an opportunity to show the progress I’ve made personally and the progress that this team has made.”

Max Hall

Experience: 27-year-old’s first crack at Canada; played six games for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals in 2010, making the team as a free agent.

What Burke said: “He’s a really quick decision-maker. The ball’s out of his hands really fast. He’s got such a great anticipation. His experience is with Gary’s offence and at the NFL level, same kind of offence. He really knows it inside and out and he gets the ball off so fast.”

What Hall said: “I’m still learning. I think I’m happy with where I’m at and I think I’m throwing the ball well and I think I’m being accurate.

“Right now I just have to be patient because I don’t get a ton of reps, but when I do, I’m learning. I’ve been in this situation before in the NFL. You just have to be really good in the classroom and study, but when I figure this thing out and feel comfortable, I think I’ll do really well.

“I’m getting better at that (motion and the wider field). Now I think I have the cadence down and the flow down, getting in and out of the huddle. Now I have to get to the point where I’m not thinking about all that.”

Chase Clement

Experience: First crack at Canada; a 26-year-old out of Rice.

What Burke said: “Chase is kind of a combination of Max and Justin a little bit in that he gets the ball off fast and he’s really athletic.”

What Clement said: “Plenty of things to continue to work on. Obviously there are certain plays you’re not going to get as many reps, so when you do get them, you want to make sure you focus on your keys and make your throw. Still a lot of learning to do but it’s been going well. We’re learning the offence. As a whole, the offence looks pretty good and we’re moving the ball.

“It’s one thing to learn (the offence) on a book. You read the playbook, study it, write it up on the board in the air conditioning with a cup of coffee, feet up, it’s a little easier situation. But once you come out here, bullets are flying and all those little details, those are the things you start to perfect and work on, the little mistakes that you figure out and get better at.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca