Lulay hoists pressure on his wonky shoulder
As the B.C. Lions prepare for their most crucial stretch of the season, offensive co-ordinator Jarious Jackson is building his game plan around Travis Lulay, a 35-yearold quarterback who returns to the lineup after separating his left shoulder four weeks ago. So there’s that.
Lulay is also stepping in for Jonathon Jennings, who was called out by Lions general manager Ed Hervey last week for his perceived lack of preparation. This occasioned a public spat with Jennings’ agent, which has since died down, but, given the fragile state of Lulay’s shoulder, the Lions might need Jennings again before this season is out and the job of building him back up falls to Jackson.
That’s another item on his todo list.
Now, if that’s all Jackson had to worry about — did we mention the Lions’ next game is in Calgary against the 12-2 Stampeders, where they win as often as the Hale-Bopp comet comes around? — he’d have his hands full. But, last weekend, Jackson also had his Lions’ work computer, which included his personal hard drive, boosted from his car and for a football coach, that’s like losing your brain. The Vancouver police informed Jackson that they may have identified a suspect in Saturday night’s theft, which at least offers some hope that he’ll be able to retrieve the thousands of files that are essential to his job.
But it also sounds like he’s preparing for the worst.
“I’m hopeful, but the computer is probably dead,” he said. “Right now it’s a wish and a prayer. It was a lot of stuff that was important to me. It doesn’t mean anything to anybody else, but it was important to me.”
And that’s in the professional and personal sense. Jackson had stored game and practice film going back to his first year as a coach in 2013 and those clips helped form the core of his coaching philosophy. But it’s the loss of the other things that cut more deeply: pictures of his partner Jaynine and their two kids, pictures of friends and
colleagues, a copy of Bill Walsh’s Find the Winning Edge.
“You feel violated,” Jackson said. “It’s like someone walked into my house, put their feet up on the couch and took the last beer. It’s been a tough week.”
And it’s not about to get any easier.
After winning four of their last five games, the Lions find themselves occupying the fourth and final playoff spot in the CFL’s West Division, half a game up on the Edmonton Eskimos and half a game back of the third-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers. For a team that has been woefully inconsistent this season, that is no small feat, but now the real work starts, beginning Saturday.
Their last four games, in order, are in Calgary, at home to Edmonton, in Saskatchewan and home to the Stamps, and there isn’t a cookie in the bunch. They do, however, have a chip and a chair in the bigmoney game and it’s instructive to note that they’ve turned to Lulay for the stretch drive. The indomitable veteran hasn’t exactly torn up the league this season, but, since returning from off-season knee surgery in Week 5, he’s provided a level of competent, consistently professional quarterbacking that Jennings hasn’t. It hasn’t always shown up in the win column — late losses to Ottawa and Toronto with Lulay at the helm put the Lions in a hole that they’re still digging out of — but there is a comfort and confidence factor with Lulay that isn’t there with Jennings.
Jackson, of course, didn’t come right out and say that. But there was no misinterpreting his message when he was asked about the quarterbacking change and what it means to the Lions.
“I think Travis gives the guys the confidence they need at this time of year,” he said. “Guys can feel your energy. They can feel leadership and the intangibles he brings. Travis has been doing this for a long time. He’s the consummate pro and leader. Guys just gravitate towards that.”
Even when his left shoulder is one hit from popping out again? The answer, apparently, is yes. On Wednesday, both Lions head coach Wally Buono and Lulay said the shoulder is as stable as it’s going to get. True, there might be a risk factor involved — which makes the Jennings drama all the more compelling — but the Lions have given the ball, and their season, to Lulay.
Besides, he’s had some experience at coming back from serious injuries.
“He’s at a point where it won’t be any different if you play him today or Nov. 25,” said Buono. “He’s strong enough.”
“It just a matter of it staying stable,” said Lulay. “If it were to come out again, obviously that would be a problem. But I can do everything I need to do.”
That might change a lot of things for the Lions in the endgame to their season. It would also give the offensive co-ordinator one less thing to worry about.