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Lions’ DB Ryan Phillips accuses Alouettes of “running up the score” in a 24-9 game
It's not surprising to see accusations of running up the score levied this week, but it's hilarious to see them brought up against a team that won 24-9. That's right; complaints haven't yet been heard from Kuwait about their 91-0 loss to Canada, or from Saskatchewan about their 48-15 loss to Toronto, but some of the B.C. Lions are up in arms after losing by 15 points to Montreal Friday. Via Lowell Ullrich of The Province, here's what DB Ryan Phillips said:
Ryan Phillips thought about it for awhile and agreed if the tables were turned, his team might have done the same thing, but the veteran Lions defensive back ultimately concluded the Als were guilty of trying to run up the score in the rout.
Second-year Als quarterback Troy Smith was in kneel-down mode at the end, but Phillips contended Montreal tried to convert drives on third down too often.
Phillips also took issue with a deep pass attempt to S.J. Green that was both figuratively and literally out of bounds.
"You're already up by two full scores, and you're still throwing deep balls? You have no choice but to take it as disrespect. They were trying to embarrass us," Phillips said.
"I can't blame them. But in a couple of weeks, I don't care if we're up by 40 points, let's go for the embarrassment. If you're going to be throwing deep balls with your starting quarterback late in the game, we might as well keep blitzing and go ahead and knock his head off."
First off, setting aside how silly most of the "running up the score" debates are in general, it's completely ludicrous to bring them up after a 15-point loss in this league. There's an oft-used CFL motto of #NoLeadIsSafe for a reason (in a league analysis a while back, 68 per cent of games were decided in the last three minutes), and while the Lions were completely outplayed against the Alouettes and unlikely to make a comeback, 15 points is only a two-score deficit (two touchdowns with at least one two-point conversion). We've seen plenty of comebacks from those kinds of deficits inside the final three minutes, so it's not like Montreal had an insurmountable lead. Moreover, it's not like the Alouettes were piling on the points late; they scored 20 in the first half, none in the third quarter and only four in the fourth quarter. As noted in the story, they even knelt down at the end. Accusing them of running up the score is ridiculous.
What about Phillips' specific accusations against deep balls and third-down conversions? Those also are pretty dumb. First off, throwing deep balls has caused far more problems for this Alouettes' offence than solutions; Smith has a great arm, but needs to improve his accuracy. As a defensive back who often drops deep into coverage, Phillips should have been thrilled with Smith continuing to chuck the ball deep; given his inaccuracy, that could have provided plenty of opportunities for interceptions that could get the Lions back in the game. Blasting Montreal for going for it on third down is also funny; while offences should go for it more on third down in general given the probabilities of success, an attempted third-down conversion gives the defence a chance to make a play, get a stop and get their team back in contention. It's exceptionally odd to see a defender criticizing something that gives his unit more chances to get his team back in the game, and that brings up the larger question here; were the Lions even trying late?
Going by Phillips' comments, it's hard to conclude that he was playing hard till the final whistle, and plenty of his teammates may have joined him. As mentioned above, though, giving up when only down by two scores is ridiculous; leads can vanish so quickly in this league, and a two-score one wouldn't seem completely safe until at least inside a minute (and maybe not even then). You have to wonder why some of the Lions were so eager to give up on their chances of winning this game. Yes, they were completely outplayed, and yes, their chances of winning never looked good given their offensive struggles, but that can provide even more motivation for the defence to make a play. Phillips' comments here make them sound uninspired to do anything but get to the locker room, and that's an awful attitude, especially in a game where so much can change so fast.
Of course, Phillips is just one player (and fellow DB Dante Marsh told Ullrich he had no problem with the Als' actions). These are still remarkable comments, though, and they make you wonder what's going on inside that B.C. locker room. If the Lions' players can't stay motivated when only down by two scores, are they going to write off this season after starting it 0-2? It seems unlikely you'd find many of them saying that, as there are still plenty of chances to turn things around in an 18-game season; after all, B.C.'s 2011 team started 0-5 and went on to win the Grey Cup. However, if they're not giving up on the season, why would they give up in a particular game? The CFL's typically full of players who fight to the whistle and battle whenever they have a chance, no matter how small that chance is, and that's why we've seen so many bizarre last-second finishes in this league. Some of the Lions obviously decided they no longer had a chance partway through this game against Montreal, and that's a concerning stance that should be looked at by their coaches. It's an attitude that seems unlikely to get them too far this year.
