Khari Jones is in paradise. He’s been smiling for almost a week. The whiteboard in his office has a higher than normal amount of X’s and O’s scribblings and imaginary plays. Who can blame him? The Lions’ offensive coordinator was already in pretty excellent shape in the first 48 hours after free agency. His starting offensive line from 2016 was intact.
Running backs Jeremiah Johnson and Chris Rainey were long since re-signed. As for the receiving corps, Bryan Burnham, Nick Moore, and Marco Iannuzzi had put pen to paper as well. And then Chris Williams came along. Of the CFL’s most electrifying playmakers of this decade, yes we’ll go that far, was officially locked up on Friday.
His addition goes a long way in determining the fact Jones could have the most potent offence to work with in 2017. Any way you slice it, he has an embarrassment of riches at the receiver position. ...
“We have a group that I am excited about,” said Jones about the makeup of his projected offence. “It’s similar to last year where teams have to decide on who they’re going to try take away. It’s great to have this many options. We know what Manny can do, we know what Chris can do, we Burnham can do, we know what Jeremiah can do and JJ is coming into his own as a quarterback. It’s a very exciting time but it’s still going to take a lot of work.”
It shouldn’t take Jones long to re-establish a rapport with Williams. The two worked together in Hamilton in 2010 and 2011 when Jones served in the similar capacity of OC. Marcel Bellefeuille was the Ticats head coach and now the trifecta is officially reunited.
“I am very excited,” said Jones of the Williams signing. “He still is pretty explosive. He’s a great person to have on your team because you can do a lot of things with him.
Moore could prove to be a huge wild card in all of this. The 30-year old’s highly anticipated return was cut short after he suffered a torn ACL while celebrating a touchdown during a week three victory in Saskatchewan. He recorded 15 catches for 205 yards and the ill-fated major before being sidelined for the season. When you add it all up, it’s almost like a whole new addition.
“He feels great. He was in last week and there was just a great energy about him,” said Jones. “The things he did for us early in the season were very positive and made me feel very comfortable knowing we were going to have him back. All indications are that his knee is good and he will be ready for camp.” ...
It’s one thing to be able to have a great group of receivers. The challenge now will be the idea of having everybody buy in and not have any of them disappointed in not getting their fair slice of the pie. Jones insists the “team first” culture will be established from day one of training camp. ...
Jones pointed to Arceneaux as a prime example of putting the team first last year. Despite totalling 1,566 receiving yards and leading all CFL players with 13 touchdowns there were also some games where he didn’t get as many touches and made a difference with his blocking abilities. Proving to be a good asset when you are not making highlight reel catches is exactly what Jones is referring to. ...
You can’t mention the work done on offence without bringing up the re-signing of Hunter Steward. That move ensured the starting offensive line for most of 2016 is intact to start training camp on the final weekend of May.
“It’s very big. That was probably one of the top priorities in my mind, making sure those guys can be together for another year,” said Jones.
“I have some much respect for both Hunter and Kirby Fabien for coming back into the starting lineup and how they performed for the last half of the season. It was outstanding. They know what it takes to be not only a professional in this league but a high-performing offensive lineman.”
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