Kadie Smith
Mark Washington has never been an extravagant type of guy, not as a player, not as a coach and seemingly not as a defensive coordinator. So when his defence presented him with the game ball after his first win, he did what one would expect him to: he nodded his acceptance, quietly, humbly.
“I respect him to the utmost,” said Ryan Phillips, who, along with Dante Marsh, has the longest-standing relationship with Washington. “When I came in [in 2003] he took me under his wing and showed me the right way of doing things. He saw something in me then that I maybe didn’t see in myself.”
The two have a unique relationship, one that spans team mates to a coach/player bond, and one that has endured for 10 years, a rarity in this league. “From day one he’s been a constant professional, said Washington of Phillips. “I love him as a football player, as a person, as a man.”
It was only fitting that Phillips presented his long-time friend with the ball. As Phillips put it, it was a way to pay homage, a way to show the former defensive-back coach that the win, and not the losses, was his. “It was overdue,” said Phillips. “Mark had been calling great games all season and we didn’t get it done for him.”
Anybody for a Rematch?
For their part, the defence has been strong for the Lions through the first three games of the season, but as Phillips will tell you, none of that matters if you can’t get a win. If the offence isn’t scoring, it’s just as much on the defence. The Leos will need to keep that in mind when they take on the Als Saturday in their own den.
Playing angry has been the theme around the Lions’ training facility this past week, and likely will be a factor Saturday. “This team is a good football team,” said Washington. “And not only that, they beat us bad. After that, you better have something in your gut going. That fire should not just lead to a fanatical play, it should lead to fanatical effort in your preparation in your focus in your ability to play that day.”
Montreal played the Lions to the tune of 24-9 in Week 2. As any player will be the first to admit, BC was embarrassed. The Als held them to a slow, scoreless first half, the first for the Lions since a game against the Bombers back in 2010. “That’s on all of us,” said Phillips. He knows how important the defence is and will be for success in this rematch.
The defence factors heavily when you consider that since 2012, the total league-wide net-offence average has steadily decreased 10% as clubs are turning to defence as their main focus. With a strong corps of vets and a leader in Phillips, the Leos look to be in good position in that regard.
“We have to take care of field position,” the DB said. “That doesn’t get valued as much as it should. We need to keep things on our side of the 55 so that we put our offence in a position to score points.” To put that into context, in Week 3 against the Riders, the Lions pushed them to start five times inside their own 20, forcing them to six straight two-and-outs.
To the Lions’ credit, the Als have only won once in the last 12 meetings in Vancouver, but Montreal has the W in the teams’ last meeting. That should bode well for BC. Since 2007, neither team has won any of the two-game series between them.
For Phillips, the factor, as it was last week, will be the will to fight. “I feel like everybody still has that fire. Everybody still has that bad taste in their mouths from the previous game with Montreal.”
Of Note:
The Lions are #2 in field position with a league leading eight times forcing opponents to start inside their 41-yard line
Adam Bighill and Solomon Elimimian exploded last week with Elimimian totalling seven tackles and two special teams tackles. Bighill has 16 tackles in his last two games and the two are #1 and #2 in CFL defensive tackles
Jason Arakgi needs one more special teams tackles to hit 141 and break the Lions’ record of 140 held by Sean Millington.
Kevin Glenn needs two more yards to hit 40,000 passing yards. He is currently ranked 10th among quarterbacks. Henry Burris and Ricky Ray are the only two active QBs ahead of him.