All of us BC Lion fans remember what happened in that game against the Toronto Argonauts. Last Friday, Jackson came out of the game with the Lions at a 19-7 deficit. Coach Wally Buono took Jackson out for third-string quarterback Travis Lulay, who hadn't made a CFL snap last year. It was surprising to me, though, after my post I made about a month ago for the case of Jackson at starting quarterback.
“Here’s a guy who was put down,” Buono said. “I don’t want to say we didn’t embarrass him, we must have. He was devastated at half-time in the locker room. But my job isn’t to worry about how they feel, unfortunately. My job is get them to win. It’s really a tough process.”
I believe it was a really tough process. Said Jackson after being put out for Lulay:
“I was disappointed. I was very angry. I wanted to stay in there. But I took that anger, I guess, and just channeled it in a different way. I guess that gave me focus.”
It wasn't that big of a deal as Lulay only survived six plays. Coach Buono's decision was to bring Jackson back in again. Many of you may think that Jackson would just fire at Wally, but he came in and played strong after throwing three touchdown passes and stunning Toronto in a 36-28 win.
“Everybody knows that Jarious is a good guy,” Buono said. “But that showed true character. When things were the lowest for him, what did he do? He could have easily quit on us. He could have done all of the things that bad character people do. But he didn’t. He isn’t a turd. He can deal with adversity.”
And that is why I like Jarious Jackson. Just a week after the win against the Toronto, BC lost to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers a week after, 37-10. On September 4, the Lions will face the Montreal Allouettes. Let's hope Jackson performs well, like he has been all year.
Sources
The CFL Report
Vancouver Sun
BCLions.com
