Jim Mullin
CFL.ca
Do you remember what you did, what you said, how you acted, what you survived when you were 24 years of age?
Well, Casey Printers did not have his game together in his head or in the room the first time around here in BC and he’s been the first one to admit it.
In the pack of the frothing media horde, Printers will never live his first stop in Vancouver down.
We should not be surprised then, when Tuesday morning evolved into the height of silliness at Kamp Kamloops.
Any reporter who has covered this game knows that quarterbacks end up with “camp arm” at some point. When Printers was a no-show for the morning workout, Twitter accounts started to roll. This led to some speculative stories about Printers status published on-line, which had to be rewritten when facts and logic dictated otherwise.
After Printers took the ice bag off his shoulder and bicep, he looked just fine in the afternoon workout.
Headline crisis averted.
All of this was established last Monday, when reporters had their first shot at Printers in camp. One reporter in particular started with a volley of needling, leading and ego-tweaking questions about Printers being ‘the face of the team’. Even in the midst of answering the question, the reporter jumped into the middle of his reply with the exclamation, “But, Casey. You’re the man.”
Obviously the quest was to get an egocentric quote to be used in a borderline context for a feature. Done right (or wrong depending on your perspective) it would trigger the whole Casey-versus-the-world story line all over again.
Printers did not back down an inch. He flat out disagreed on the line of questioning and didn’t try to sidestep. If you did not believe it before, you had to buy his response on the spot. All of his talk of putting the team-first, and being only one of 12 guys on the field was truly a philosophy that he has placed his stock in.
The battle for number one that was Printers versus Dickenson in the 2004 is simply an issue that fails to fade appropriately with time. Printers was the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in ’04 after guiding the Lions to the Grey Cup. All Grey Cup week long in training, Printers looked like he was not ready for prime time, disabled by a wonky shoulder. Dickenson was on the mend, and was the surprise starter that Sunday in Ottawa. The same day the Toronto Argonauts led by BC-exile Damon Allen won the championship.
The 2005 campaign was a disaster for the on-again off-again Printers, who was oddly employed in the final minutes of a Western Final loss at BC Place to the Edmonton Eskimos, who managed to stay in town the following week and win the national championship in OT over Montreal.
Printers’ meltdown in Kansas City and implosion in Hamilton after choking on some introductory press conference hubris rolled him out of the game entirely.
He would admit later to being terrified of failure. His greatest moments in 2004 where he was improvising with his athleticism was done out of pure panic and fear, not a joy of sandlot football.
He continued work with a life coach, which allowed him to manage the highs, the lows and the message. Although the Anthony Robbins tone is a little much for the media scrum to bear, that’s not his problem.
The effusive enigma that is Printers has grown up.
Knowing the game and knowing the weaknesses on this team, Printers is correct to assume he is only a fraction of the equation of success.
The offensive line is still an enigma and will keep Printers running for his life in the first third of the season until they come together. The defense needs to be capable of making a stop once in a blue moon, and it will take a while before the revamped front seven establishes an identity.
He can repeat the fractional equation as much as he wants, but certain reporters just won’t listen until they hear what they want.
Because it is clear that it isn’t just seven other rush ends want to rip off his head this season.
Hopefully Printers – and the rest of the offense – can do their talking on Empire Field and get away from the movement when “the question” is trying to be the star.
That is best reserved for Alex Trebek on Jeopardy!
