Dickenson down, not out
10/31/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
When he's not on the practice field, B.C. Lions' second-string quarterback Spergon Wynn occupies his time playing chess in the locker room. So it's easy for him to make an analogy about losing the queen, the most powerful piece on the board, personified by starter Dave Dickenson.
Wynn, the rook, the second most versatile piece on the Lions' chess board, briefly moved into dominant position Wednesday when Dickenson crumpled to the soggy turf and was helped off the practice field following a drill as the Lions prepared for Sunday's playoff game in Toronto.
"I like chess because of the way the pieces all work together for a common goal, like football," Wynn explained. "You have to sacrifice some people. Some people get the glory one day. Some people get the glory on another. The queen can be like a quarterback, but sometimes you can win without your queen. And in football you can win without your No. 1 quarterback."
That possibility indeed was staring at the Lions after Dickenson was quickly whisked away for a medical exam and Wynn, his backup, was told to take off his football gear in the unlikely event that he should suffer a similar injury.
Dickenson later returned after practice had ended and eased some concerns that the injury wasn't as ominous as it appeared.
"I just threw one on the run and twisted the knee a little bit," he said. "It was kind of a freaky thing. Nobody touched me. I just wanted to make sure I had it looked at by the doctor. Hopefully, we'll come to a conclusion that we'll be out here, ready to go [in practice today]. It's one of those things I kind of did last week [in a 26-23 loss to Saskatchewan] but I played through it. I can't see it being a problem again."
Then, adding a shred of doubt to that optimistic scenario, Dickenson cautioned: "I'm going to get some further tests. I'm just hoping nothing is serious, and we can move on from there."
Wynn would like nothing more than a second chance to beat the Argonauts, knowing full well that the opportunity will only come if Dickenson is unable to play.
He made his first CFL start in relief of an injured Dickenson Aug. 1 in Toronto, completing 21 of 31 passes for 212 yards in a 28-26 overtime loss, the only defeat suffered by the Lions against an East Division opponent this season.
"Sure, I'd like another crack at them, but it doesn't matter who we're playing," Wynn said. "Being in a playoff game is even more of a challenge. Everything that happened in the regular season goes out the window. This is as much pressure as it gets. If I have an opportunity to go in and play well, I can prove that we're the right team to be in the Grey Cup."
Wynn saw limited action in relief of Dickenson in seven other games this season, never throwing more than nine passes in a game, excluding Toronto. But add up all those spot appearances and the sum total looks rather impressive. His pass completion percentage of 70.8 per cent surpassed Edmonton's Ricky Ray (67.6), the leader among CFL starting quarterbacks. Granted, Ray had eight times as many throws. Yet, coupled with his excellent touchdown to interception ratio (4-1), Wynn's passing stats made him the CFL quarterback leader in efficiency.
"If Spergon has to play [against Toronto], he's really anxious to play," says Lions' offensive coordinator Steve Buratto. "He left a lot of stuff on the plate when we were there the last time. First of all, it was his first kick at the cat, and I coached him to be ultra-conservative, because Toronto's a team which gets a lot of interceptions. He didn't get a chance to make a lot of long throws. There were a lot of things available down the field had he been a little more experienced in terms of running the offence. He's a lot more ready now."
There has never been a question about Wynn's arm strength. The 6'4", 230-pound quarterback throws a heater that does justice to Brent Favre.
"Spergon throws as nice a ball as you'll see," says Scott Linehan, the quarterbacks coach of the Minnesota Vikings, where Wynn last appeared in the klieg lights during the 2001 NFL season.
The reason he's still not in the NFL is the reason why Dickenson is the all-star quarterback in the West Division -- consistency. Wynn showed flashes of great physical potential in stints with the Browns and Vikings, but he was overwhelmed by the requirements of running a sophisticated offence. (He made his first start for Cleveland as a green 22-year-old in the 2000 season in relief of an injured Tim Couch.)
Wynn, the rook, the second most versatile piece on the Lions' chess board, briefly moved into dominant position Wednesday when Dickenson crumpled to the soggy turf and was helped off the practice field following a drill as the Lions prepared for Sunday's playoff game in Toronto.
"I like chess because of the way the pieces all work together for a common goal, like football," Wynn explained. "You have to sacrifice some people. Some people get the glory one day. Some people get the glory on another. The queen can be like a quarterback, but sometimes you can win without your queen. And in football you can win without your No. 1 quarterback."
That possibility indeed was staring at the Lions after Dickenson was quickly whisked away for a medical exam and Wynn, his backup, was told to take off his football gear in the unlikely event that he should suffer a similar injury.
Dickenson later returned after practice had ended and eased some concerns that the injury wasn't as ominous as it appeared.
"I just threw one on the run and twisted the knee a little bit," he said. "It was kind of a freaky thing. Nobody touched me. I just wanted to make sure I had it looked at by the doctor. Hopefully, we'll come to a conclusion that we'll be out here, ready to go [in practice today]. It's one of those things I kind of did last week [in a 26-23 loss to Saskatchewan] but I played through it. I can't see it being a problem again."
Then, adding a shred of doubt to that optimistic scenario, Dickenson cautioned: "I'm going to get some further tests. I'm just hoping nothing is serious, and we can move on from there."
Wynn would like nothing more than a second chance to beat the Argonauts, knowing full well that the opportunity will only come if Dickenson is unable to play.
He made his first CFL start in relief of an injured Dickenson Aug. 1 in Toronto, completing 21 of 31 passes for 212 yards in a 28-26 overtime loss, the only defeat suffered by the Lions against an East Division opponent this season.
"Sure, I'd like another crack at them, but it doesn't matter who we're playing," Wynn said. "Being in a playoff game is even more of a challenge. Everything that happened in the regular season goes out the window. This is as much pressure as it gets. If I have an opportunity to go in and play well, I can prove that we're the right team to be in the Grey Cup."
Wynn saw limited action in relief of Dickenson in seven other games this season, never throwing more than nine passes in a game, excluding Toronto. But add up all those spot appearances and the sum total looks rather impressive. His pass completion percentage of 70.8 per cent surpassed Edmonton's Ricky Ray (67.6), the leader among CFL starting quarterbacks. Granted, Ray had eight times as many throws. Yet, coupled with his excellent touchdown to interception ratio (4-1), Wynn's passing stats made him the CFL quarterback leader in efficiency.
"If Spergon has to play [against Toronto], he's really anxious to play," says Lions' offensive coordinator Steve Buratto. "He left a lot of stuff on the plate when we were there the last time. First of all, it was his first kick at the cat, and I coached him to be ultra-conservative, because Toronto's a team which gets a lot of interceptions. He didn't get a chance to make a lot of long throws. There were a lot of things available down the field had he been a little more experienced in terms of running the offence. He's a lot more ready now."
There has never been a question about Wynn's arm strength. The 6'4", 230-pound quarterback throws a heater that does justice to Brent Favre.
"Spergon throws as nice a ball as you'll see," says Scott Linehan, the quarterbacks coach of the Minnesota Vikings, where Wynn last appeared in the klieg lights during the 2001 NFL season.
The reason he's still not in the NFL is the reason why Dickenson is the all-star quarterback in the West Division -- consistency. Wynn showed flashes of great physical potential in stints with the Browns and Vikings, but he was overwhelmed by the requirements of running a sophisticated offence. (He made his first start for Cleveland as a green 22-year-old in the 2000 season in relief of an injured Tim Couch.)
Griz Football Spring Game Highlights - 4/10/26
Friday, May 01
Griz Football Spring Practice - 3/2/26
Monday, March 30
Griz Football Spring Preview Press Conference
Monday, March 30
Griz Football Winter Condo - 2/20/26
Monday, March 30
