Casey Printers is once again the man for the B.C. Lions.
The veteran quarterback's football future was in doubt when he was released by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats prior to the 2009 season but got a new lease on life with the injurty-plagued Lions late last year.
The six-foot-two, 216-pounder showed flashes of brilliance in his return to B.C., completing 43 of 68 passes (63.2 per cent) for 686 yards with three touchdowns against two interceptions. Although he only earned one win in his five starts for the Lions, that victory was a 34-27 overtime decision over Hamilton in the East Division semifinal.
That win was vindication for Printers, who never lived up to expectations during two miserable seasons in Hamilton upon his return to the CFL after being released by the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. More importantly, Printers showed enough to convince the Lions he was their full-time starter as the club released veteran Buck Pierce and signed Printers to a new deal in the off-season.
Printers' tenure in pro football has been eventful.
He joined the Lions as an unheralded free agent in 2003 and spent the season on the sidelines.
He got his chance when incumbent Dave Dickenson was injured the following year. Printers stepped in admirably, completing 65.8 per cent of his passes for 5,088 yards while also rushing for 469 yards en route to earning the CFL's outstanding player award.
But when the Lions faced Toronto in the Grey Cup, it was Dickenson who earned the start in the Argonauts' 27-19 victory in Ottawa.
A quarterback controversy ensued in B.C. the following year, with Printers being hampered by injuries. At season's end, Printers turned down a reported three-year, $1.2-million offer from the Lions to sign a three-year deal with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs said to be worth US$1.03 million.
After spending most of the '06 campaign on the Chiefs' practice roster, Printers was released prior to the '07 season. He signed a long-term deal with Hamilton on Sept. 6, 2007 reportedly worth $500,000 annually that would have made him the league's highest-paid player.
But that didn't translate into on-field success as Printers dressed for just 23 games over the next two years with Hamilton, registering nearly three times as many interceptions (17) than touchdown passes (six). The Ticats released Printers on Feb. 19, 2009.
Here's a look at other CFL players to watch this season.
Ken-Yon Rambo, WR, Calgary Stampeders: The Stampeders were the CFL's best team in 2008 and Rambo was a big part of that success. The six-foot-one, 207-pound former Ohio State Buckeye led the league in receiving with 100 catches for 1,473 yards and also had a CFL-high 10 touchdown grabs. But Rambo's 2009 campaign was cut short -- the result of a season-ending knee injury in a 48-10 victory over the B.C. Lions. Rambo required surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament after his right leg buckled while being tackled by Lions linebacker Javier Glatt. With the Stampeders dealing veteran receiver Jeremaine Copeland to Toronto this off-season, the club needs a healthy and productive Rambo in 2010.
Buck Pierce, QB, Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Pierce spent five productive years with the B.C. Lions but also battled an assortment of injuries during his time with the CFL club and became expendable with Printers' re-emergence in B.C. Last season, Pierce suffered a concussion in a game against Toronto and had his season end due to a shoulder ailment. But when healthy, the 28-year-old is a solid quarterback, something the Bombers are counting on. The former New Mexico State star compiled a 21-12-1 record with the Lions, passing for 8,734 yards and 48 touchdowns with 31 interceptions.
Barrin Simpson, LB, Saskatchewan Roughriders: A tackling machine for most of his CFL career, Simpson became embroiled in a messy public spat last year with Winnipeg head coach Mike Kelly following the decision to place Simpson on the nine-game injured list and thus end his season. The five-foot-11, 230-pound Simpson is entering his 10th CFL season and despite last year's controversy shows no signs of slowing down. He led the Bombers in tackles with 84 and three times in his career has accumulated 100 or more tackles in a season. Simpson, who is an ordained minister, leads by example and that leadership is something the Riders will be looking to fill the void created with the off-season retirement of defensive back Eddie Davis.
Jason Clermont, SB, Saskatchewan Roughriders: Much was expected when Clermont signed with the home-town Riders last year after being released by the B.C. Lions. But the six-foot-two, 227-pound Clermont, three times a 1,000-yard receiver during seven seasons in Vancouver, had just 23 catches for 317 yards and no TDs, all career lows, in a very trying first year with the Riders that included being a healthy scratch for two games. The expectation this year is Clermont, the CFL's top rookie in 2002 and its outstanding Canadian in 2004 and '07, will become a bigger part of Saskatchewan's offensive game plan.
Rob Maver, K, Calgary Stampeders: Cracking a starting lineup as a rookie is pressure enough but Maver faces having to replace a departed all-star in Sandro DeAngelis, now with Hamilton. DeAngelis was a big part of Calgary's Grey Cup-winning team in 2008, kicking five field goals in the 22-14 win over Montreal to be named the game's top Canadian. In five seasons with the Stampeders, DeAngelis hit 218-of-260 field goal attempts (83.8 per cent). In his final season at Guelph, Maver led the Ontario University Athletics Conference in field-goal percentage (92.9) and punting (41.3-yard average) as Calgary took him fifth overall in this year's draft.
Anthony Calvillo, QB, Montreal Alouettes: At age 37, Calvillo is showing no signs of slowing down. He's captured the CFL's outstanding player award the last two seasons and led Montreal to consecutive Grey Cup appearances, winning last year. The 16-year veteran has flourished the last two years under head coach Marc Trestman, passing for more than 10,000 yards with 69 TDs and just 19 interceptions over that span. Calvillo has 63,322 career passing yards with 350 TD tosses, leaving him within reach of Damon Allen's career marks of 72,381 yards and 394 TD strikes. Although whether Calvillo plays long enough to break those records remains the question because he has always said he takes his football future one year at a time.
Jamal Robertson, RB, B.C. Lions: The veteran tailback was one of the few bright spots last year with a Toronto Argonauts team that posted a league-worst 3-15 record. Robertson, 33, ran for 1,031 yards and averaged a solid 4.9 yards per carry. He ran for 1,676 yards and scored 15 touchdowns in two seasons with Toronto, adding 86 catches for 753 yards and a TD. The Lions are in the market for a hard-running tailback after last year's starter Martell Mallett, who rushed for 1,240 yards, signed with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in the off-season, and veteran Ian Smart was released.
Otis Floyd, Jamall Johnson, Markeith Knowlton, LBs, Hamilton Tiger-Cats: This trio forms what's arguably the top linebacking corps in the CFL. Johnson led the league in tackles last year with 108 -- the only player to surpass the century mark -- while Knowlton was third overall with 94. Floyd, an 11-year CFL veteran, finished third on the team with 67 tackles but that total was just two less than his career high, registered in 2007 with B.C. The three linebackers anchored a defence that last year allowed 23.8 points a game -- second-lowest in the CFL -- and helped guide Hamilton to its first home playoff game since 2001 and first playoff appearance in five seasons.
Cleo Lemon, QB, Toronto Argonauts: He comes to the CFL with prior experience as an NFL starter, but Lemon embarks on his first season of Canadian football with the weight of a rebuilding franchise on his shoulders. Toronto has won just seven games the last two years combined is looking to return to the CFL playoffs for the first time in three seasons. The harsh reality is Lemon's ability to learn on the fly will help determine the Argos' fate this season. The six-foot-two, 215-pounder, who spent six seasons with four teams in the NFL, has the arm strength needed on the wider, longer Canadian field but is also very mobile.
