| To me, just to hear Lawrence Phillips’ name
brings about the same uneasiness as when I hear Darryl Strawberry’s, Mike
Tyson’s or Shawn Kemp’s. Tons of talent, but no such thing as any restraint on
bad habits. Off the playing field, these guys just haven’t been able to see the big
picture pertaining to life as a law-abiding citizen or even a mildly behaved, productive
member of the world as we know it. Yes, cover your ears because Lawrence Phillips is
back in football. Sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard, doesn’t it? How many
second chances are too many? Second chances for George Bailey in "It’s a
Wonderful Life" are one thing. Second, third and fourth chances for the likes of
Phillips is quite another.
No, he’s not bound for the NFL. He’s headed north, to the CFL. The former
first-round pick, who arguably is one of the NFL’s biggest busts to date, signed a
one-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes last week. The base salary is worth about
$43,000, a far cry from the amount of his rookie salary with the Rams, or even the
one-year deal he signed with San Francisco after running wild in NFL Europe in 1999.
Phillips, who has piled up a laundry list of off-the-field problems and whose attitude has
been called into question by more than one team, hasn’t played football since being
cut by the 49ers in November of ’99.
Of course, Phillips isn’t going to be guaranteed anything in Montreal. Based on
his past transgressions, which are several in number and quite serious in nature,
he’s about as worthy of guaranteed money as Tyson is the week before a fight.
Phillips’ contract with the Alouettes was contingent upon him being able to secure a
"minister’s permit" from Canadian Citizenship and Immigration officials.
Phillips previously had failed to receive the document on three separate occasions.
Montreal general manager Jim Popp placed Phillips on the team’s negotiating list
after he was released by the 49ers, giving the team his exclusive CFL rights. Phillips
finally was successful in being allowed into Canada on Friday morning. He was scheduled to
practice with the team this week at the start of training camp, where he will test the
waters of competitive football again in hopes his skills haven’t eroded beyond repair
during the two-plus years the game of football left him in the rearview mirror.
Phillips, the sixth overall pick in the ’96 draft by the Rams, turned 27 last
month and has rushed for only 1,453 yards in four NFL seasons. And it’s not like he
is going to be handed Montreal’s starting RB job, which belongs to Mike Pringle, one
of the CFL’s most productive and popular players.
"I'm just focusing on my play," said Phillips, who is said to be in
phenomenal shape at 6-0 and 212 pounds. "All that negative stuff, all the stuff about
this being my last chance, that's for (the media) to worry about. My job is go play
football, and I'm grateful to have another chance."
As well he should be. And as far as that "stuff" about this being his last
chance, that’s not just for the media to worry about, Lawrence. That’s for you,
too. You’ve earned it. Of course, Phillips’ agent, Andy Silverman, is adamant
about his client being a changed man. Chalk that up as a phrase we’ve heard one too
many times in the sports world.
"He has been out of trouble for a long time and has turned his life around,"
Silverman told the Montreal Gazette. "He doesn't go out. He's not a partier.
He's in bed at a certain time. He's changed. Can something happen? Of course, just like it
can to you or me. But he thinks things through with a calm head and gets out of
situations. When you're a pro, you've got to act like one. At 27, he's ready to do
that."
At 27, he’s ready to do that. And because he waited until he was 27 to make this
so-called commitment toward living a more pure existence, he finds himself in Montreal.
The Alouettes were the only interested party, and even Popp admitted he has no idea how
this experiment will pan out.
"He'll get a chance (to compete)," Popp said. "When he's focused, he is
in an elite group of backs. Canadian football hasn't had a back with his kind of speed and
talent."
Nor has Canada had one with his track record of misbehavior. But the CFL apparently has
the total package now: a mature, talented running back who is turning over a new leaf.
I can understand some level of excitement for the Alouettes’ franchise, but
you’ll have to pardon me if I’m not sold on this new-and-improved version of Mr.
Phillips. We’ll have to wait and see if the move north of the border does anything
for his demeanor. But I’m sure since he’s in bed at a certain time now and
because he’s just focusing on his play, everything will be positive for all involved,
right?
Somewhere, I still hear fingernails on the chalkboard. |
