‘Best buds’ and that’s about it
Lions quarterbacks keeping a lid on any controversy surrounding B.C.’s starting job
As far as quarterback controversies go, this one will need some work.
“You never have to worry about me and Travis (Lulay),” said Jonathon Jennings. “There’s a friendship and a bond that’s never going to be taken away. He’s the guy who got me going in my career.”
OK, nothing there. What about you Travis?
“I was thinking if Jon and I could drum up some drama, but we’re just not that interesting,” said Lulay. Tell me about it. Jennings and Lulay, it seems, aren’t going to help the headline writers with this one. Their priority is making the quarterback position better. They’re all about what’s best for the team.
I mean, that mutual respect thing is admirable and all, but it really doesn’t make for the most gripping prose. Right JJ?
“We’re best buds and that’s never going to change,” said Jennings. “He’s a phenomenal guy, a phenomenal player and a phenomenal teammate.”
Yawn. Where’s Casey Printers when you need him?
So if you’re looking for fireworks, you’ve come to the wrong place. But even if the relationship between Jennings and Lulay is strong enough to withstand the pressures of the quarterback position, there’s still something here.
Maybe it’s not a story on Sunday night, when Jennings will get the start against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina. And it might not be a story Friday when the Lions host the Calgary Stampeders. But all this needs is a loss or a couple of interceptions and suddenly this will become a full-blown thing for the Lions. And we can credit Lulay for that. Four weeks ago, the 33-year-old veteran picked up for an injured Jennings in Hamilton and since then has produced Madden-like numbers while recording the CFL’s highest quarterback rating. He threw for 436 yards against the Ticats and 404 yards the next week against Winnipeg. Yes, there was a loss to Edmonton in there, but the Lions went 3-1 with Lulay at the controls and their offence was more explosive than it had been in Jennings’ three starts.
Again, this doesn’t mean much this weekend. Lulay injured his ribs in the 30-15 win over the Roughriders last week and Jennings, who has rebounded from his shoulder injury suffered in Hamilton, took virtually all the reps in practice this week.
But you just have to read the CFL stats sheet to understand that Lulay has complicated things for the Lions, even if he’s done it with a smiley emoji.
“It was important for me and, I think, the club to understand if something were to happen to Jon, we’re going to keep rolling,” said Lulay. “There are a lot of guys on this team who haven’t been around me playing at a high level. I think the guys respected me and all that, but to see it on the field is the biggest change.”
Lulay, in fact, had become something of a forgotten man before his renaissance in 2017. The league’s most outstanding player in 2011, he endured two catastrophic shoulder injuries and had settled into a role as Jennings’ mentor when the younger man took over the starting position midway through the 2015 season.
Still, if Lulay was finished as an elite quarterback, someone forgot to tell him. During the Lions’ training camp, it was apparent he was throwing the ball with more authority and confidence than at any other time since his first shoulder injury in 2013.
Four games into this season, Jennings went down on the Lions’ first series against the Ticats and Lulay has been a revelation ever since.
Lions head coach Wally Buono, who has been through about 38 of these quarterback deals in his career, said Jennings is still his starting quarterback and that’s understandable. The kid from Columbus, Ohio, is eight years younger than Lulay and has the look of a franchise quarterback about him.
Lulay also understands his position, just as he understands it can change in one play.
As for next year? Well, you don’t have to be Frank Clair to understand there are teams who would cheerfully line up with Lulay as their starting quarterback. The Montana State product has deep roots in this community and the presumption has always been there will be a coaching job waiting for him with the Lions when he retires.
But it could be he’d like one more shot at being the man before his playing career is done.
“Honestly, I haven’t gone there yet,” Lulay said, before adding, “we’re worried about winning in Saskatchewan this week.”
That’s OK. This story will be around for a while.