BC Lions Thread

[jerrym]

Elimimian discusses the additions to their defence and the loss of Adam Bighill.


http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/elimimia...saints~1082866

[jerrym]

Hearing #BCLions would get a starter and neg list player from Als for Olafioye if he gets new contract from Montreal.

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) March 23, 2017

Hearing if Olafioye can't agree to terms with Alleouttes, there are 1-2 other teams interested in trading for him. #BCLions

— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) March 23, 2017

[jerrym]

Geroy Simon video on being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"This is the Big Kahuna for me. I was shocked."@geroysimon after getting THE call to Hall of Fame 🏈 🦁

READ 👉🏻 https://t.co/DjoH2Ga1GF pic.twitter.com/bmWn5Q8P72

— BC Lions (@BCLions) March 24, 2017

[jerrym]

Lowell Ullrich discusses Simon's induction into the Hall of Fame below.

http://www.tsn.ca/radio/vancouver-10...-hall-1.703387

[jerrym]

Wally Buono discusses how the CFL has evolved during his career, noting that in order to attract fans you not only have to win, but also entertain people today.

“Two things you’ve got to do in football are win and win,” Buono, the B.C. Lions head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations, said during CFL Week in Regina.“But in this day and age, that’s not all you have to do. You have to entertain people and make people want to come to your games.” ...
Over all these years, Buono has experienced and been at the forefront of many changes, such as unrestricted free agency.Player movement has increased since one-year contracts became an option for veterans, one result of a collectivebargaining agreement negotiated in 2014.“We’ve just caught up to other leagues,” Buono said. “If you haven’t learned from how (GMs) in the NHL and NFL have been building their teams, then you haven’t been paying attention.”
Buono said the NFL has taken note of several changes the CFL has implemented in recent years, such as expanded video review and a lengthening of the distance from which an extra point must be kicked.Along the way, the CFL has taken a few lumps. Video review, for example, has required considerable tweaking and generated criticism.“When you are pioneers, sometimes you will have to find your way,” Buono said. “Sometimes you have to adjust, and we did.”
One adjustment — and a pleasant one at that for the CFL — is that the discussions Thursday with the coaches did not pertain to any burning crises.Buono was in the league when it seemed to be on life support in the mid-1990s.
Now the teams are generally stable, the television contract with TSN is lucrative, there is a stadium construction boom, and most of the chatter pertains to the on-field product and the league’s personalities, as opposed to crisis management.“The league is in good shape but, at the same time, we realize we need to be aggressive in our approach as well,” Alouettes head coach Jacques Chapdelaine said.The biggest trouble spot has been Toronto, where the Argonauts continue to struggle to make inroads in a traditionally tough, competitive market.But even there, optimism is buoyed by the recent — albeit belated — introductions of GM Jim Popp and head coach Marc Trestman, both of whom enjoyed immense success as a tandem with the Alouettes. Popp stood in at the East Division coaches’ media conference for Trestman, who is back in Toronto trying to make up for lost time. ...
The Saskatchewan Roughriders could also be considered a concern, despite their abundant wealth and a new stadium opening for CFL action in June. The problem: Dating back to the midpoint of the 2014 season, Saskatchewan has a 10-35 record, including a 5-13 mark in 2016 in the first season under head coach, GM and vice-president of football operations Chris Jones.Jones is optimistic the Roughriders will be much improved this season, noting the quarterback situation will be “interesting” to follow after the departure of Darian Durant (now of Montreal) and the additions of 37-year-old Kevin Glenn and former NFL and University of Texas Longhorns star Vince Young.
Among the coaches, there was a consensus that the league needs to focus on being entertaining, with an emphasis on engaging a younger audience.The inaugural CFL Week, which began Tuesday and continues until Sunday, is widely viewed as a progressive step.
“I think it’s a great event,” Ottawa Redblacks head coach Rick Campbell said, “and something that we should continue to build on.”

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/c...82312499897527

[jerrym]

In addition to OL David Foucault obtained in the Olafioye trade, the Lions also got OL Vincent Brown from the Als.

Foucault (6’8”, 315) was the Als’ first-round selection (fifth overall) in the 2014 CFL Draft. A standout at the University of Montreal, he signed as a free agent with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in 2014. Making the club’s 53 man roster, the Quebec native appeared in five games that season seeing action at both right and left tackle. After spending all but one week of the 2015 season on the Panthers’ practice roster, he was waived during training camp last year. ...
“Acquiring David allows us to possibly develop a plan to play four Canadians along the offensive line and perhaps more importantly, it ensures there is a depth of talent backing up each position,” said GM and head coach Wally Buono. “He’s a former first-round draft choice with two years of NFL development, so we expect him to come in and compete at a very high level.” ...ovan was a big part of our team,” noted Buono. “He has been a true professional throughout his time with us and during this entire process. We wish him the very best as a member of the Alouettes.”
International offensive tackle Vincent Brown (6’6”, 350) spent his collegiate days at Southern Mississippi and Pittsburg State, saw action in the Als’ season finale that year and also attended training camp with the club in 2016.
“As we close in on training camp, we are determined to create the highest level of competition at every position on the field,” added Buono. “Vincent is a young lineman and he’s going to come in here and fight for a roster spot.”

https://www.bclions.com/2017/03/27/l...rade-montreal/

[jerrym]

Wally's and Foucault's comments on the Foucault trade:

“When you look at trying to strengthen your football club you have to look at trying to give yourself more options, one with the ratio. To do that you have to give up a quality player to get a guy like David Foucault who played in the NFL for a year and half.”
The next step is signing the fifth overall pick by Montreal in the 2014 CFL draft. Foucault himself is operating under a routine he will be with the club when camp begins.
“It’s very exciting to know that a team wants me and it gives me good motivation to play football,” adds Foucault.
“I’ve talked to friends and coaches that have said BC is definitely one of the better organizations in the CFL. The team is very good, the city is beautiful and I am excited to get over there.”
“I fully expect him to be at training camp,” added Buono. “He’s excited about coming. We have talked. He sees the opportunity and so do we.”

http://www.bclions.com/2017/03/28/fo...for-adventure/

[jerrym]

With 3 of the first 24 draft choices, Buono things has an excellent change of picking up some fine players in what he sees as a very good 2017 draft in the video below.

http://www.bclions.com/2017/03/28/bu...ry-good-draft/

[jerrym]

Today's Jovan Olafioye trade means if they like #BCLions can push up retirement announcement of Shawn Gore. Ratio needs had to be addressed.

— Lowell Ullrich (@FifthQtr) March 27, 2017

[jerrym]

Olafioye says he was shocked by his trade to the Als. At only 29 and a CFL All-Star for six straight years after his rookie season, Jovan has an excellent chance of ending up in the CFL Hall of Fame in the future.

Since arriving in the Canadian Football League in 2010, Jovan Olafioye has missed zero games, zero practices and, in selected seasons, surrendered zero sacks.
It’s an amazing record of durability, longevity and sustained excellence for the league’s most outstanding lineman (2012), a six-time All-CFL selection who plays in the wrecking yard known as the offensive line. ...

Until a few days ago, before Olafioye was traded to the Als for Canadian tackle David Foucault and import lineman Vincent Brown, he expected to attend Friday’s Orange Helmet Awards dinner at the Westin Bayshore, the Lions’ annual salute to developmental football in B.C. Olafioye had spent most of the winter here, training at the team’s facility in Surrey, while starting a second career doing promotional work for Porsche of Langley.
Olafioye admits he’s still in shock about the trade, ostensibly a salary dump by the Lions. He was aware of the rumours on Twitter. He contacted his agent, Dan Vertlieb, to check out the buzz. ...

According to Olafioye, Lions’ GM Wally Buono told him he was quoted inaccurately in a speculated report. But there was no outright denial from Buono that a trade might happen.
“I was shocked, like everybody,” Olafioye says. “I’ve always been a good pro. I never cause anybody any problems. I’m very respectful. I went to work every day and did what I had to do. Me, I don’t understand it.
“I don’t see how you can trade a franchise left tackle, one of the league’s most consistent players for seven seasons, who never missed a game. I really don’t understand Wally’s decision. But I still have a lot of respect for the man.”

http://theprovince.com/sports/footba...e-to-alouettes

[jerrym]

Braley discusses the Lions future in the video below.

🚨 BC Lions Exclusive 🚨

"It has to be sold"

David Braley on his health, his team and the future of his @CFL franchise 🦁 🏈 pic.twitter.com/B9bhI4CeQp

— BC Lions (@BCLions) March 30, 2017

[jerrym]

Buono wil have hotly contested competition at weakside LB in TC with rookie Micah Awe challenging for a job.

Tony Burnett, a free-agent signing from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, has the inside track, but the competition for a starting spot at WILL will be fierce, with second-year players Cameron Ontko and Dyshawn Davis returning and rookie Micah Awe a captivating sleeper.
If the Lions’ player personnel people drone on and on about Awe (pronounced: Ah-way), it’s because he has a knack for knowing where the ball will be and then blazing a trail to it. ...
Over the years, there was so much synergy between Bighill and middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian that a bro hug became a staple of their relationship. Yet, as back stories go, Awe and Elimimian have much in common, even though they have yet to be introduced.
Both Nigerian-born, they emigrated to the U.S. at an early age and were raised by parents who stressed the importance of education before athletics. Elimimian’s father, Isaac, is a retired university professor. Awe’s parents, Charles and Abigail, earned master’s degrees stateside after they left West Africa in 1997 by way of the visa lottery system. “My family is high on education. It’s priority No. 1,” Awe said. “Honestly, I went to college with the idea of doing pre-med but I fell into the engineering route. My dad helped me with the decision.”
“Their stories (Awe and Elimimian) are similar, but their style of play is different,” explained Ryan Rigmaiden, the Lions’ director of U.S. scouting.
“Solly is more of a striker, a pure hitter in the box. That’s what sold him to the fans — impact hit after impact hit. It’s hard not to fall in love with that. Micah is capable of some of that, but he’s got more range and speed. He’s a chase and tackle guy — and a special player. He’s instinctive and smart, and I don’t just mean on the football field. He’s really suited to our (Canadian) game.”
In his senior year at Texas Tech, Awe led the Red Raiders with 126 total tackles (77 solo) and ranked second in the Big 12 in both categories. Considered undersized by the NFL at 6-0, 220 pounds (he’s added 10 pounds since then), Awe went undrafted in 2016 but later received an invite to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ rookie mini-camp.

Signed to a contract, he was with Tampa Bay throughout the main training camp and pre-season and assigned to the practice squad, only to be released in September. Awe later had workouts with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets before turning his sights to Canada.
“If you watch my tape, I have the speed to get there,” Awe said. “I’m aggressive and I don’t miss tackles. The thing that’s most exciting about playing in the CFL, honestly, is the bigger field. It usually means you need more speed — and that’s always been a part of my game, especially in the Big 12.”
His off-season workout partners include Adrian Phillips, a safety with the Los Angeles Chargers, and Jamar Wall, a defensive back with the Calgary Stampeders who, like Awe, played his college ball at Texas Tech.
“Jamar is not only pushing me, he’s speeding up my knowledge of the CFL,” Awe said.

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/bc...955/story.html

[jerrym]

Here is an interview with Nick Moore on his rehab from his ACL injury that caused him to miss most of last season and his expectations for the upcoming season.

http://www.bclions.com/2017/04/04/moore-than-ready/

[jerrym]

Director of Football Operations Neil McEvoy discusses how important BC Lions free agents camps have been to the Lions signing some of their most valuable players in the past and their upcoming camps below.

The prime focus right now is the club’s annual slate of free agent camps across the United States. The fun begins Sunday with a stop in New Orleans- severe weather in parts of the United States caused Saturday’s Las Vegas workout to be cancelled- with the stop in Seattle on April 30th .In between is the club’s three-day mini-camp with first year players at the Surrey Facility April 26-28th.
McEvoy took a few minutes from magnet duty to talk about the exciting and important month ahead.
“It’s always cool to be at the start of this process,” said McEvoy. “The first one (free agent camp) is always the exciting one because we haven’t seen any of these players yet. It’s cool to get there with your scouts to meet and talk about the scouting process and start of the season.”
The free agent camps are essential for a couple reasons, the most important being the need to fill out the club’s roster for main camp in Kamloops starting at the end of May. Those who get the invite and are lucky enough to stick around could potentially find work on the practice roster for 2017.
“That’s what you’re looking for. Our main roster is pretty much solid,” added McEvoy.
“We probably still need two spots for every position for training camp. Obviously injuries are part of professional sports so we have to find the next group of guys that are able to compete at a high level to make sure you don’t miss a beat when you need them to step up.”
You can look down the current roster and find outstanding examples of players who first got to know the BC Lions at a US free agent camp. The list includes Jonathon Jennings, Travis Lulay, Bryan Burnham and Solomon Elimimian.
Cameron Wake and Adam Bighill headline the group of former Leos discovered at these open tryouts. Not a bad free agent crop.
“It gives us opportunities and ideas of what might happen for the guys coming out,” added McEvoy. “At the end of the day, players have to be at a pro level to get an invitation to training camp or OTA. The reality is we have signed guys who are currently with us who have gone through this process in the past. We’ve been very fortunate to find players and build our football team around it.”

http://www.bclions.com/2017/04/06/ap...-gets-rolling/

[jerrym]

The Lions have signed 2014 fifth overall draft choice OL David Foucault, who was previously with the Carolina Panthers, through 2019 after acquiring him in the Olafioye trade with the Als.

“Getting David under contract is both a positive and vital first step toward having him compete for a spot on our roster this season,” said GM and Head Coach Wally Buono. “A longer term deal, as this one represents, is also a very encouraging sign that David is committed to our organization and we look forward to seeing him later this month at our mini-camp.”

http://www.cfl.ca/2017/04/11/lions-f...act-extension/

[jerrym]

Below is second sophomore Charles Vaillancourt.

http://www.bclions.com/2017/04/12/ch...ncourt-primed/

[jerrym]

In the video below Geroy Simon discusses his selection to the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/12/07/ge...hof-induction/

[jerrym]

The article below is an interview with the Lions LB and 2016 leader in ST tackles, Cameron Ontko, in which he talks about training and playing with Bighill, Elimimian and Arakgi, as well as his family.

Perhaps there is a little irony in the fact he has done plenty of work with Adam Bighill as part of Rob Williams’ Vancouver Sports Core Performance training. After all, it should be a pretty juicy competition to fill Bighill’s spot at starting inside linebacker.
“It motivates me beyond belief,” Ontko said of the possibilities to start. “It was absolutely amazing training with Biggs this whole offseason because I understood what it takes to be the player he has been on and off the field. With his open spot I am going to come in and compete. I am ready to strap it on and get going.”
Ontko represents just one possibility to replace the one-time CFL Most Outstanding Player and four-time league all-star. The Lions went hard after former Blue Bomber Tony Burnett in free agency. There is also Dyshawn Davis who no doubt learned a lot on the practice roster in 2016. Micah Awe comes highly regarded out of Texas Tech and spent part of last season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’’ practice squad.

http://www.bclions.com/2017/04/13/on...way-yet-close/

[jerrym]

The Lions have signed International QB Bryan Scott.

Scott (6’1”, 225) was a four-year starter (2013 -‘16) at Occidental College and enjoyed an incredibly productive 33-game career as a member of the Tigers. A four-time team MVP and two-time first team all-conference selection, his 763 completions and 9,073 career passing yards set both a school and Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference records. Scott’s biggest season came as a senior in 2016 when he completed 253 of his 381 passing attempts for a conference-best 3,058 yards and 27 touchdowns.

http://www.bclions.com/2017/04/18/li...i-camp-roster/

[OV Argo]

The Lions have signed International QB Bryan Scott.



http://www.bclions.com/2017/04/18/li...i-camp-roster/

Interesting; Occidental is a Div III US college ball team I believe; the good ole Ottawa Renegades with clown Tillspin in charge once used a nepotism late round draft pick to select coach Joe Paopao's son who was a star QB out of Occidental. Good ole Wally - maybe this guy is his nephew or something. ;o)