The seeds of doubt that had been planted in John Beck’s mind began to take root this year.
After six years bouncing around the NFL, not playing for a season, then missing most of this year’s B.C. Lions’ training camp with viral hepatitis, the 34-year-old quarterback was wondering if his playing days were over.
Maybe that explains the big smile on Beck’s face as he prepares to be the starting quarterback when the Lions (4-5) host the Ottawa REDBLACKS (5-4) Sunday at B.C. Place Stadium. It will be Beck’s first start since the 2011 season when he was with the Washington Redskins.
“There were days when I wondered how much football was going to be left,” the Brigham Young University graduate said after practice this week. “When I didn’t get signed by a team in the 2013 season . . . when I was sitting in a hotel over here a few months ago with hepatitis, I wondered are my football days done.
“So to be standing here now, it does put a smile on my face. It’s surreal. To think I have an eight-year-old son, a six-year-old and a four-year-old, that get to watch dad play, that really make me happy inside.”
Beck took over the Lions’ controls when starter Travis Lulay suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of B.C.’s 25-16 victory over the Montreal Alouettes last week. While not spectacular, Beck got the job done, completing 14 of 22 passes for 114 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He was helped by a Lions’ defence that made five interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
Being thrown into the fire last week should help make Beck better this Sunday.
“They say this is going to be my first start,” said Beck, who spent last year as B.C.’s backup. “It’s not going to be much different than what I played last week.
“I think that helps me going into this game. I played three quarters. That was the first time in a long time I played that many snaps, made that may decisions on throws.”
At six-foot-two and 215 pounds Beck has the size coaches like and a powerful throwing arm. He doesn’t possess Lulay’s mobility, which could hurt his ability to scramble out of trouble or run the ball down field.
Head coach Jeff Tedford said Beck’s familiarity with the B.C. offence is a bonus.
“It doesn’t change the offence what so ever,” said Tedford. “He’s been here throughout the year in the meetings and preparation. He’s a professional.
“He knows what we are doing, which is critical. He has poise. Last week he showed, coming off the bench, things a lot of people take for granted as far as controlling the huddle, snap count, formations.”
Running back Andrew Harris said there will be some adjustments.
“It’s a different person,” said the CFL’s rushing leader. “A different voice, a different rhythm.
“Usually in practice all his reps are with the second group. Now he’s just getting adjusted to the first group. It’s little things, like hearing his voice in the huddle. You have to get used to it. His cadence, everything.”
How long Beck remains the starter remains to be seen.
Lulay, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury, is expected to miss three to six weeks with a sprained knee ligament. Some believe rookie Jonathon Jennings, a 23-year-old who threw for over 10,000 yards and 96 touchdowns at Saginaw Valley State, is the Lions’ future and should be given an opportunity.
Beck takes over a Lions’ offence that has sputtered this season. B.C. is ranked sixth in scoring (204 points); eighth in net offence (2,760 yards); eighth in passing (1,981 yards); and ninth in time of possession (28:50).
Harris has been a bright spot, leading the league in combined yards (983) and rushing (630). On the flip side, the Lions’ top receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux is 13th (29 catches for 473 yards) and is the only B.C. player in the top 25.
Beck is one of those players who struggled to live up to his potential.
After a successful college career at BYU, the Miami Dolphins selected him the second round of the 2007 draft. He started five games that year for a 1-15 Dolphins team. He didn’t play in 2008, then was released in 2009.
Beck spent 2009 with Baltimore before being traded to Washington in September of 2010. He was released in April 2012 and signed by Houston in May. The Texans released him in October.
In six NFL seasons Beck has seven starts. He threw for 1,417 yards and three touchdowns.
Convinced he could still play Beck signed with the Lions as a free agent last year and won the backup position. He dressed for 18 games, completing 19 of 41 passes for 287 yards and five touchdowns.
Beck’s string of bad luck continued. He missed last year’s playoff loss against Montreal with a concussion. Then, he spent training camp quarantined from his teammates with a case of viral hepatitis.
He lost 20 pounds while sick and it took him months to regain his strength. A devote Mormon (he served a two-year mission prior to attending BYU), Beck wondered if a higher power was telling him to quit football.
“I exactly thought that,” he said. “I had a wife that was pregnant back home and three little kids she is taking care of. I wondered.”
Beck will get another chance to prove himself against Ottawa. He believes the quarterback that will take the field Sunday is wiser than that one that last started a game four years ago.
“If I wasn’t something would be wrong,” he chuckled. “I think we are the sum of our experience.
“I had some very challenging situations that, back then, it was hard to look at them as learning opportunities to help me grow. They seemed more like situations that were making it hard for me to succeed in something I wanted to succeed in. In going through them, and being here now, the lessons I learned I am grateful I got to go through.”
While excited, Beck has no expectations.
“I make sure I don’t put expectations on anything,” he said. “No one knows how it’s going to go.
“I try to put my best work in each day, (then) when game day comes, I tell myself to play football.”
