Perhaps it’s the start and stop nature of the game. Each time, before the ball is snapped, a play is called by the offence and the defence counters with its own scheme. Football is a sport that lends itself to second guessing every single decision; an armchair quarterback’s dream.
So in my humble opinion, sitting comfortably on my oversized barcalounger, the BC Lions need to make a major change this week.
You can see it in the way Travis Lulay has stepped it up and run the scout team the past few days.
You can see it every time he takes off and does a bootleg by himself, even though the play that’s called on the practice field is for someone else.
The Lions starting quarterback is finally ready to return to active duty after off-season shoulder surgery.
He feels it in his heart of hearts. The Lions faithful feel it in their heart of hearts. And if he’s completely honest, offensive coordinator Khari Jones feels it too. When Jones drew up the Lions offensive game plan and philosophy before the season started, it was for a big, strong, athletic mobile pivot. It was for Travis Lulay.
“If you spin it positively, its good to see the plays play out and see what coverages pop in and where to maybe take an extra look at a certain guy,” Lulay said when asked about being inactive for the first five games of the year. “It’s been good to see the capabilities of what we are trying to do here. But I’m ready to start learning with some real reps coming up here so hopefully, yeah, sooner then later.”
One small problem—Lulay isn’t eligible to suit up against the Stampeders on Friday night in Calgary. He can’t come off the six-week injured list until next week. But John Beck is eligible to play. And John Beck should play ahead of Kevin Glenn. Beck, a 32 year old former second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, is BC’s best option as a Lulay clone.
“Travis and I were roommates in training camp” Beck said. “As he couldn’t be out there practicing, he was always available for me to ask questions. What I saw from my perspective I got to bounce off him and Travis could tell me what he was seeing. He’s been playing at a high level in this league for a long time and he sees it the way you got to see it and I’m trying to get my eyes that way.”
Let’s be clear. Calling for an audible like this isn’t designed to put a chip on Glenn’s other shoulder. It’s well documented that the 35-year-old under-sized gunslinger, who’s tossed for over 40,000 yards in his 14 CFL seasons, feels underappreciated. But his numbers this year with the Lions suggest that maybe Glenn has been tripped up by Father Time.
In five games so far Glenn has thrown a league leading eight interceptions. Last year, he was picked off just seven times. His quarterback rating is down significantly as well, to 74.7 this season from a career-best 100.5 last campaign in Calgary. To be fair to Glenn, playing behind a beat up and very green offensive line hasn’t helped him or the Lions (2-3). But for a QB who’s made a career of managing the game and cleaning up other pivots’ messes, Glenn hasn’t mopped up well in BC after being traded to the west coast from the expansion Ottawa RedBlacks.
“You can do everything better. Nobody is perfect,” Glenn said. “We can always make better reads. We can always understand the play a little bit better. You can call one play and get a million different results because of the way the defence plays us. That’s what professional football and sports is about, getting better every week.”
But pro sports is also about winning. Picking the right players so that your team can succeed. It’s possible Mike Benevides will start John Beck against the Stamps. But its more then likely he will go with Kevin Glenn again and have him on a shorter leash. Not the right choice in this armchair quarterback’s opinion.
Glenn’s lack of mobility under centre doesn’t keep the other team honest. The defence can just pin its ears back and rush the passer. So why not give Beck a chance to try and escape McMahon stadium with a win? It will be a good way to warm up the Lions offence for when Travis Lulay returns to action next week.