BECK TO THE RESCUE
Lions beat Als, but Lulay hurt again
MONTREAL — John Beck’s first-year stats in the Canadian Football League are not a misprint. He completed 18 of 41 passes in spot duty with the B.C. Lions in 2014, a success rate of just 46.3 per cent.
He wanted a do-over — and he’s getting one.
After starter Travis Lulay left Thursday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes with a knee injury, Beck got his first significant minutes as a CFL quarterback. It totalled more than three quarters of the game as the Lions defeated the Alouettes 25-16. B.C.’s maligned defence feasted on five interceptions by beleaguered Montreal quarterback Tanner Marsh before 21,885 fans at Percival Molson Stadium.
Beck looks as if he’ll be the Lions starter for some time.
Preliminary indications are that Lulay suffered a seconddegree MCL tear to his left knee after he was hauled down on a scramble play by Alouettes’ linebacker Kyries Hebert in the first quarter.
While unlikely to require surgery, Lulay could be gone anywhere from four to six weeks because of the injury. He is scheduled for an MRI after the Lions arrive home today.
“I felt him (Hebert) coming up behind me (on a running play) and I tried to stiff-arm him,” Lulay explained. “He just grabbed me. My bottom half was going forward, he pulled my top half back, and I wrenched my knee.”
Lulay, who has had a series of problematic shoulder injuries since tearing his rotator cuff in 2007, playing in NFL Europa, said it’s the first knee injury he’s experienced in his career.
“I’m able to walk around,” he said. “I had a brace on it. I had it iced down when I was on the sidelines. It’s not overwhelmingly painful. The MRI will confirm the course of treatment. But the early indication is it won’t need surgery.”
Beck, weakened by viral hepatitis, missed all of training camp with the ailment and had been using practice sessions as his personal boot camp. He relieved Lulay in an ugly 52-22 defeat to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 15, throwing seven completions on 12 passes, which included a touchdown.
Against the Alouettes, he threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins, playing in his first CFL game, and followed that up with an 11-yard score to Austin Collie, staking the Lions a 17-6 halftime lead. Coincidentally, Beck, Hawkins and Collie are all former NFL draft picks restarting their careers in Canada. Beck, drafted in the second round by the Miami Dolphins, recruited Collie, a fourth-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts, for the Lions. Hawkins was playing his first regular-season game since the 2012 season, when the fourthround selection was playing for the Tennessee Titans. Thursday was the Hawk’s first trip to the end zone since 2011.
“I thought John did a good job, stepping in,” Lulay said.
Beck learned about humility — if he didn’t possess it already — as a 19-year-old missionary in Portugal, spreading the word of his faith — the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints — that built more character to the layers that were already there.
And Thursday’s game was another levelling experience, despite Lulay’s encouraging words.
Beck threw for just 114 yards on 14-of-22 passing, and the Lions’ only touchdown of the second half came on a 56-yard interception return by safety Eric Fraser. He also threw a pair of interceptions, one that led directly to a touchdown by Jonathan Hefney, to cut the Lions’ lead to 24-13 in the third quarter.
Thus, Beck was not in an exultant mood, given his performance and the fact that he’s getting his shot to start because of another man’s misfortune.
“I came back this year to see if a situation like this would present itself,” Beck said. “Obviously, I didn’t want something to happen to Travis. But, knowing the game of football, you never know when a backup is needed. When I was stuck in a hotel with hepatitis, I wondered, ‘Will I get a chance to play any more football?’ I’ve been really trying to condition myself at practice, trying to do everything I can to get in shape. I don’t feel like the sickness is with me now.”
Throughout the CFL, young quarterbacks such as Trevor Harris (Toronto), James Franklin (Edmonton), Brett Smith (Saskatchewan) and Rakeem Cato (Montreal) have been tossed into the deep end because of injuries to established starters and been asked to perform.
Now, it’s Beck’s turn. And he’s a little different than the rest. He’s 34, with seven starts, playing quarterback for middling to inferior teams, in his starcrossed NFL career.
“He’s (Beck) done a really nice job of taking the mental reps in practice, staying in focus and preparing himself for a situation like this,” said head coach Jeff Tedford. “He’s a pro. He knows it’s only one play, and he can be in there. Having a good backup is something you can’t take for granted.”
With starters dropping like flies, having a capable caddy at the ready has become a necessary coaching art form.