It’s a delicate situation that B.C. Lions head coach Rick Campbell is trying to navigate through.
Guiding a team through a CFL season is tough enough but Campbell also has to deal with the distribution of playing time for two elite quarterbacks in Nathan Rourke and Vernon Adams Jr. as was the case this past Friday when the Lions lost 33-17 to the Toronto Argonauts at BC Place Stadium.
With the Lions trailing 19-10 at the half, Campbell decided to insert Adams Jr. to start the second half.
“I just wanted to try and get a spark. I didn’t think our energy was where it needed to be. It’s nothing on Nathan and I told him that. We have two starting quarterbacks and when things aren’t clicking the way we want, I want to see if we can get a spark,” Campbell told us on our post-game show on CKNW 980.
What had some questioning the change was that Rourke had just led the Lions on a four-play 49-yard touchdown drive that he capped off with a nine-yard run.
In fact, the Lions had scored on two of their final three possessions in the first half as Sean Whyte had kicked a 47-yard field goal that was followed by two-and-out and then the Rourke touchdown.
That major had pulled the Lions to within two as the Argos led 12-10 with 1:13 remaining in the half.
The Lions would have been more than satisfied to go into halftime just down two considering how poorly they had played but their defense, which was resilient until that point in holding the Argos to four Lirim Hajrullahu field goals, gave up a six-play 82-yard drive which ended when Argos quarterback Chad Kelly hit Makai Polk with a 11-yard touchdown pass with just six seconds remaining in the half.
Any momentum the Lions had was lost…and so was the game.
So now the Lions have a bye week to regroup for the final four games of the season.
It also gives Campbell some time to think in how he wants to proceed with the quarterback position moving forward.
He’s been through this two-quarterback scenario before in Ottawa in 2016 with Henry Burris and Trevor Harris, so Campbell does have that experience to draw from but the ultimate goal is still the same – win football games.
Campbell will do what he believes gives his team the best chance to win.
He also has to walk a fine line in that the last thing he needs is a quarterback controversy.
Rourke and Adams Jr. have a great relationship and support each other fully.
The locker room, however, is what Campbell has to be mindful about.
Players will say the right things to the media and claim that they have faith in whoever is playing but they’re human. They will have ‘their guy’ and hope for him to succeed.
These emotions can be easily neutralized by one thing: winning.
When you win – as the Lions recently did against Ottawa and Montreal – it solves a lot of potential conflicts.
Losing, however, is another matter.
Whereas winning suppresses any issues or problems, losing brings those same issues and problems to the surface.
That’s where Campbell has to be mindful of making decisions that legitimize his decisions regarding the quarterback position, and in the process, suppress any potential locker room divide.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how he handles this situation moving forward.
“It’s not going to be a competition. It’s a unique situation where we have two excellent quarterbacks. I’ll be the guy making the call but I will talk with (offensive coordinator) Jordan (Maksymic) and literally try to find ways to win games,” said Campbell.
Oh yeah.
In case you are wondering how that situation in Ottawa worked out in 2016?
They finished 8-10.
But they also won the Grey Cup.
OVERTIME
* The Lions offensive line had a very tough night giving up seven sacks to the Argos defense. A key role in that total was that the Lions were behind schedule on second down. The Lions offense was a paltry 6 for 17 on 2nd down conversions and a big key to that was the inability – or the lack of commitment - to run the ball on first down. Running back William Stanback was held to 21 yards on six carries, which clearly hurt the Lions.
* The team lost wide receiver Alexander Hollins to a left shoulder injury in the game. According to Lions General Manager Neil McEvoy, Hollins is “week-to-week” and will be re-evaluated after the bye week.
* Vancouver Canucks Head Coach Rick Tocchet attended the game as a guest of Lions owner Amar Doman. Tocchet is a huge football fan, and while growing up in Scarborough, Ontario, watched Condredge Holloway and the Argos. Tocchet actually attended the New York Jets training camp last month as a guest of Jets General Manager Joe Douglas, who is a good friend. Tocchet shadowed the coaching staff during his visit, sat in on meetings and watched practice.
* The Lions honored their 2000 Grey Cup Championship team at halftime as they were named to the team’s Wall of Fame. Head Coach Adam Rita and quarterback Damon Allen were part of almost two dozen former players and coaches who showed up for the event.
* The Lions (7-7) conclude their season with home games against Hamilton (Sep.27), Calgary (Oct.4) and Montreal (Oct.19) with a visit to Saskatchewan (Oct.12) being the lone road game.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob “the Moj” Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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