LaberFred » do it in 16. Somebody is getting skipped over

KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- As backup quarterbacks go, hes not an obvious choice. Thomas DeMarco completed only nine of 13 passes for the B.C. Lions in 2012, but other than starter Travis Lulay, he has more experience with the CFL club than any other signal-caller on the roster. Exactly one season. So DeMarco, a second-year pro, has the inside track on the Lions No. 2 quarterback position -- for now. "Ive got a headstart with that," he said Sunday as training camp opened. "Anyone whos been here for a little bit should be a little bit farther ahead." DeMarco is listed as No. 2 on the depth chart, but he and coach Mike Benevides stopped short of saying the backup job is his to lose. "I would never say that," said DeMarco. "But I would say that, as a competitor, when that spot is open, the first thing youre thinking about is that I wanna be that guy." Hes vying for the backup spot with Joey Elliott, who spent three seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers until he was released. Chris Hart, a product of Florida-based Webber International who signed in April, is also vying for a job behind Lulay. Benevides says DeMarco has as an edge on Elliott as the former Blue Bomber learns the B.C. offence. "Certainly, (DeMarco) has got the inside track," said DeMarco. "Theres no doubt about it. But I am not going to commit to that -- either way -- for a long time. I need more information. I want go through the pre-season games." The No. 2 spot became vacant when former backup Mike Reilly was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos in January. Reillys departure, inevitable after Lulay signed a lucrative new contract, makes the backup QB battle the most compelling storyline at training camp. "Theres no doubt that this game, this league is about the quarterback," said Benevides. "You need strength at the backup position. Normally, they are called upon at some point in the season, and we have to find who that guy is. "Theres a lot of important decisions to make, but the quarterback position is, certainly, the one thats going to get the most attention, and is important to the quality of our depth." Reilly excelled on the field in Lulays absence, but the former Lions backup was also a strong sideline presence. He bounced ideas off the No. 1 signal-caller and gave him feedback. A loose, talkative character who was quick with a jab, Reilly had a close relationship with Lulay, both professionally and personally. Lulay believes DeMarco can fill the role, with the No. 1 quarterback noting that his understudy has become more assertive as he approaches his second season. DeMarco agreed with the assessment, adding more of his personality will be displayed as the season unfolds. "The biggest thing is, last year I didnt want to speak up or say things unless I knew (the offence)," he said. "I want to make sure Im teaching the guys the right way. Otherwise, I was very quiet ... Now that I know, Im a bolder person in general." DeMarco wants to provide the same "supporting act" as Reilly did, while still being himself. "You definitely have to balance," he said. "This is Travis team. As a quarterback, youre used to having your team, coming from college. Its a humbling experience to understand that guys have been doing this for a long time. "Firstly, I have to learn to be a backup. Its not something that Ive ever done, and its going to take a little bit of getting used to whats helpful for Travis. Im a different player from him." Benevides says that Elliott, whose obvious appeal is his CFL experience, also has a loose personality, similar to Reilly, that can suit the team well. Stressing that all of the quarterbacks are simply learning from Lulay, Elliott adds he can provide a calm presence when called upon. Based on his brief time with the organization, Hart faces long odds to stick with the team. He joined the Lions in April following former NFLer Rudy Carpenters release. Benevides says Hart likely would not be at camp if Carpenter had stayed around longer. The Lions will go with three QBs on their active roster, but Benevides is still deciding whether he will keep one more on the practice roster. B.C. also has new quarterbacks coach Jarious Jackson, a former B.C. and Toronto backup who retired after helping the Argonauts win the Grey Cup last season. "For me, I saw the relationship that Mike Reilly had with (Lulay), and that quarterback position is extremely critical and vital, and it needs constant eyes," said Benevides. "Adding (Jackson) to that is going to really help Travis Lulay do better." Note: Defensive lineman Adrian Awasom, acquired from Toronto in the Khalif Mitchell trade, was suspended on the weekend because he did not make it to camp due to a passport issue. Benevides says the move was just "paperwork" and Awasom still figures in the clubs plans. 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American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Darius Leonard Womens Jersey . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- Its only mid-November, but Davis Love III already knows what he wants for Christmas this year.Some quiet time.Its tough to blame him. In the past month and a half alone, Love has successfully captained the United States Ryder Cup team to its first victory in eight years, was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame and returned from hip surgery to begin competing again on the PGA Tour.Flanked by the Ryder Cup trophy at his side, Love spoke with ESPN.com from the clubhouse patio at Sea Island Golf Club, site of this weeks PGA Tour event, the RSM Classic. As if he wasnt already busy enough, he will serve as tournament host once again.Q: Winning Ryder Cup captain, elected to the Hall of Fame, playing golf again. Its been a pretty nice little six-week stretch for you.A: Yeah, its been an incredible year, really. I could talk for hours just about Bubba Watson or hours just about Tiger Woods or hours just about Brandt Snedeker. Even Brandt was saying, Hey, we lost the momentum on our text messages. I said, I know, weve all got to get together somehow and talk about it.Like, 99 was incredible to be on a winning team, but there wasnt this six years of angst building up to it and all this pressure on the guys. There were a few guys like Brandt that had Medinah [and the 2012 Ryder Cup loss] in their head all the time. Honestly, it was not a part of this. This was a new era; this is a new deal. Ive got to get these guys support, so they can win. I was like, This is your team. This team has never played together before. It has no history. Twelve strong is going to mean more to you guys than it did to [Tom] Watsons team [two years ago]. You guys take this and take ownership of it.There was just so much to it this time. It just seemed like it was more pressure and a bigger relief after they won. It was a long journey to a win, and obviously, I was part of both sides, as a loser and a winner.Q: What was the difference between this U.S. team compared with previous versions? Why did this one succeed, where others didnt?A: Mike Cowan, Fluff, he came up and congratulated me. I said, They played great; they really deserved it. He said, Youre always going to give somebody else the credit, but they sure as hell gave you credit for losing, didnt they? Why dont you take some credit for winning?These guys took what all of us wanted them to do -- just be prepared, just play your game, and go out and prove that you are the best team. So Im really proud of the way they played. I dont think that we had an impact on them, but we freed them up a little bit, I think, this time.I think one of the main reasons they picked me out of this task-force group to do it was because everybody, from media to staff to players, would be comfortable. It wouldnt be, What are we going to do? Whos the new captain? How do we approach him? Ive done it before. Obviously, were going to have a lot of guys on the team that played for me before and could be really comfortable.But Im proud of the way that they took ownership of it. They came in for practice rounds, prepared, did everything they could. Guys were calling me and texting me from the Tour Championship at dinner: We think we ought to play this guy with this guy. They took responsibility and ownership. We really all came together.I watched [Bill] Belichick and [Tom] Brady at their charity dinner one night, and then watched them get on the bus and leave for a trip. They made us some videos, so I saw behind the scenes a really, really successful team. You think its going to be all business and rules and regulations and structure, but it was more like a family. They were all pulling together. They were all hugging each other and glad to see each other, whether it was the locker room or at dinner. And I said, Thats what we need more of; we need more trust.I think Bubba at the last minute kind of brought us all even closer. Arnold Palmer, obviously, was an emotional thing. (Editors note: Palmer died days before the Ryder Cup.) We were all together. I think a lot of things added up that bonded this team better than any team Ive been on in the past.Q: You talk about that family atmosphere. I know you mentioned earlier today that you havent watched the whole thing on TV yet. Maybe you need a big viewing party for the whole team to get together.A: It would be great. Were trying right now to get the whole team together to go to the White House, and I dont even know if we can do that. We need to, whether its in small groups or a big group, we all need to sit down and celebrate. We had a pretty good celebration Sunday night, but maybe celebrate without quite as much partying. We need to break it down and say, All right, Brandt, that was great. You played unbelievable. Tell us how we did. What are your memories of it? What can we do better?I know five, six things already that I want to do better to help whoever the next captain is, and we dropped the ball several places. We certainly werent perfect, but getting guys together and continuing this momentum is really, really crucial. Then adding in Justin Thomas and Smylie Kaufman, and we had Daniel Berger come play a practice round; he thought that was the greatest thing ever, that he got to see inside the ropes [with] a Ryder Cup team. Theyre telling everybody, theyre telling the story, so getting them involved and getting our guys involved in talking about Paris [for the 2018 Ryder Cup]. Instead of a year out, lets talk about it two years out. Lets start getting ready.Q: You mentioned the White House trip. When might this happen?A: Well, were working on a day.Q: In the next 60 days or after that?A: I asked that question, yes. The sitting president invited us, and we won during his presidency, so thats what were going to do. But its like herding cats. Im not very good at this. I told the PGA of America, You try to herd them to this thing. Guys are going all over the world in December, playing in different tournaments, so I dont know how many well get. But they told me the last time, when [Paul] Azingers team won [in 2008], that they didnt get all 12 guys to go.Q: Four years ago, when you captained for the first time, Europe came from behind on the final day to win. Two years ago, there was a lot of turmoil within the U.S. team afterward. How much pressure did you personally feel to win this time around?A: You know, I felt a lot of pressure to take care of the plan that we came up with in the task-force meeting. I didnt feel any pressure to win. Phil [Mickelson] kept saying, Look, as long as we do this for the next 10 Ryder Cups, were going to win seven out of the 10. Were not going to win them all. We even said, We might not win this one, but we have to trust this is the right direction that were going.I was feeling a lot of pressure that the players were feeling. You know me a little bit; its not about my record, its about their record. I would have given anything to go back and have a win in 12 just for Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker to quit apologizing to me. And I know Tom Kite would love to have a win, so I would quit apologizing to him, and Justin Leonard would quit apologizing to him for screwing up 97.Tom Kite did a fabulous job, and he gets criticized for running a bad Ryder Cup, and Tiger Woods and Justin Leonard and Davis Love won majors that year and didnt get him a point. Its not Tom Kites fault. We screwed up, and we screwed up because we were trying too hard to win for Tom Kite, because we loved Tom Kite and we wanted him to get a win.I didnt do a great job in 12, but I did a better job in 16. Its not about mme.dddddddddddd. Its not about Tiger Woods or Jim Furyk. This is your team, and thats why in the closing speech, I made a point of saying, 12 Strong, because thats what they did. Rickie [Fowler] was a big part of that with onesies and T-shirts. Zach [Johnson] was a big part of that. Matt Kuchar got up Saturday night with a whiteboard; hed told us, Tonight, bring two things to dinner that youre thankful for, and it cant be your family, faith or friends.It started out, Heres my two, and then the next thing you know Bubba is crying and Steve Stricker is crying. But Matt stood there for an hour and a half holding that board. He never sat down, and he wrote things down, and then [in the] end, he said, Tomorrow, lets just be thankful for these things and take the pressure off.Everybody took a role and played a part in it, so I was proud of all those guys for handling the pressure and pulling the team together in their own way. They did. They took ownership of it. And they understood that they had to bond as 12, because they were the ones out there on the golf course.Q: Every player sat out at least one session at Medinah; every player sat out at least one session at Hazeltine, except for Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth. Ive heard that Patrick walked into the team room at some point and said, Im not sitting at all. True or false?A: No, not in the team room. Well, he told me and Tiger, How could you sit out your best player? Why would you sit him out? We love you, Patrick, but everybody is going to sit out. I get it. I was that guy in 1993. I go, Why would you sit me out? Im smashing it. Put me with Tom Kite, and well never lose. Well, we played Seve [Ballesteros] and José [Maria Olazabal] and lost two in a row, and Watson goes, Youre out.Werent going to play him, but Patrick had such a great attitude. He was so confident. He was so confident in his partner that we ran his partner into the ground. I apologized to Jordan. I said, Look, Im sorry. I wore you out. But your man was rolling.It was all about singles, really, and we wanted everybody to be ready. Nothing works out perfect, but the only real consequence of how well Patrick was playing was we ran Jordan a little ragged. But he loved it. I mean, he knew the deal going in. Jordan is an ultimate team guy, because he gets it. He said, I will do whatever you want me to do. Ill play with Patrick until the cows come home. And he did.Q: How do you explain Patrick basically jumping in the phone booth, and instead of Superman, Captain America comes out?A: When he came out on tour, the tour guys came to me and said, Hey, heres a young kid that you ought to talk to. You ought to go put your arm around Patrick Reed and get to know him. I tried several ways. Im not real aggressive. Then hes winning tournaments. I go, He seems to be doing fine.Hes a misunderstood guy. He and J.B. [Holmes] were my two guys that I could put up against anybody, and they just wanted to punch them in the face. They wanted to fight. Thats the main reason we picked J.B. Same thing with Ryan Moore, but in a different way. One on one, you want Patrick Reed or J.B. Holmes or Ryan Moore, who is just quiet -- confident I dont need any help, Ive got this.Patrick, I saw it in 14. This guy in the right role is unbeatable as a teammate. And I think Jordan saw that, too. Patrick asked for Jordan and Dustin [Johnson]. Patrick is no dummy. Put me with Jordan or Dustin. OK, great idea. But Patrick was a big part of our emotion and our confidence. Phil Mickelson is the same way. Why would you sit me out? Im going to win. Thats the attitude you want.Q: How did Tiger Woods the assistant captain differ from Tiger Woods the player?A: Early career, Tiger was like me. My job is to win five points, and I dont have to talk to anybody. If I win five points, everything takes care of itself. He learned that being a good teammate is important. He learned, really, a lot from watching Phil lose every point at some Presidents Cup and still be a good team guy. So he became a good teammate.Then he realized that his contribution to this team was probably not going to be with his clubs, and he was going to make a contribution. Out of friendship and respect that we have for each other, he said, Look, I will do whatever it takes to make this successful. For him to commit to the task force is one thing. Then to commit a year out that hes going to be an assistant captain, that was a big thing.He doesnt do anything halfway -- lift weights, ride bikes, whatever. He jumps in. We almost had to back him off, like, Calm down, you cant make the Saturday pairings yet. Hes like, Well, were picking this guy, this guy and this guy. Were like, They havent even played the BMW Championship yet!But he was so focused and driven. I can just flip through his text messages and show you pictures of pairings, plan A, plan B, cold weather pairings versus hot weather, wet versus dry. No wonder the guy is so successful.Half the team said, Were in his head. This is unbelievable. Hes telling us things that he used against us in the past. Why? Because he wanted to win. He was on a mission. He said twice to the team, I watched Davis do this twice. I dont know if I really want to do this. This is a lot of work. But what did he do right after the Ryder Cup? He committed to the Presidents Cup as assistant captain. He didnt want to say, I want to play. He said, I want to be Steves assistant. So hes become a leader.Now, is he going to ever be the Arnold Palmer role? I dont know. Would he ever have that kind of respect from the rest of the world? But I can tell you, in our team room, he earned an incredible amount of respect from the players that were there and from me.Q: Are you ready to do this again?A: I will not do it again unless they twist my arm.Q: They twisted your arm last time, and it worked.A: Well, Tiger and Phil and Jim [Furyk] made me do it.Q: Couldnt they make you do it again?A: I was honored that [former PGA of America president] Allen Wronowski asked me. I was humbled and blown away when [PGA of America president] Derek Sprague and my peers asked me to do it the second time. That meant more to me, because they said, Youre the right guy to do it. That gave me a lot of confidence the second time around.I argued -- and theyll tell you -- Im taking somebodys turn if I do it in 16. Somebody is getting skipped over, whoever it is, and they said, No, this is the right thing to do. We lost Payne [Stewart]. This is Paynes spot that you filled in somewhere.But we have a plan leading out, and Im not in the discussion. I get one of six votes to vote against me, so at least I can start the ball rolling.Q: During the past six weeks, with the Ryder Cup win, the Hall of Fame election, how much have you thought about your father? (Editors note: Loves father was a club professional who died in a plane crash in 1988.)A: A lot. Its a part of everything we do. Jack Lumpkin just gave me a 20-, 30-minute lesson, and he cant give me a quick lesson without saying, Well, your dad would have said to do this, or Your dad would have been proud of that. So its part of everything we do, part of our legacy.Everywhere I go around here, everything I do in golf is connected to him. Watching my grandbaby with her putter, I just wish great-grandpa could teach her, not me. But yeah, hes part of everything we do, and theres great memories.The only thing, really, that will be sad about the Hall of Fame induction is that my dad wont be there. ' ' '