BC Lions Thread

[DanoT]

In the video and article below Jennings and Buono discuss his contract with the best line being Jennings response to the question "Any big purchases?"
Jennings responds "No, trying to be cheap like Wally".

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...with-b-c-lions

That comment was hilarious and sort of gutsy and that was Wally in the background correcting him by saying "frugal". Jennings teammates are going to love watching that video.

[jerrym]

Mark Washington looked over at Bo Lokombo after one of the B.C. Lions' mini-camp sessions last week and marvelled. ...

"Bo's a very talented young man," said Washington. "It's time to let him loose."
The Lions knew they had an impressive physical specimen when they drafted the University of Oregon linebacker in 2013, but it wasn't clear where he fit in three-down football when he finally joined the club partway through the following season. A chiselled six foot two and 233 pounds, was he better suited as a linebacker or as a safety?
Heading into a third CFL campaign, Washington made it clear where he expects Lokombo to line up in 2016. "He's a linebacker," Washington said, before repeating himself: "He's a linebacker. I mean, look at him."
Lokombo — who was born in Congo, but moved with his family in 1996 to Montreal and then eventually Abbotsford, B.C. — led the CFL in special teams tackles last season, and said he's confident he can handle more responsibilities on defence after spot duty the last two years. ...
Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono, back on the sidelines this season for the first time since 2011, is eager to see what Lokombo can do.
"His role last year was more significant," said Buono. "When you look at his production, it's warranted looking at getting him more involved. He's a tremendous athlete. "When he played on defence he made plays for us."
But as with most young players, the learning curve from college to the pros can be steep. The Lions are confident Lokombo is ready to take the next step where he simply reacts on the field without having to think.
"We had a firm idea of what he was, but until you see it on the field you don't know," said Washington. "More importantly, he needed to figure out what he wanted to do here on the field and get used to the CFL game. "He's starting to catch up to speed now." ...
"We definitely want to expand his role," said Buono. "When you look at the athlete and you look at the fact he helps you with the ratio, there's lots to be excited about."

http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/sports-...sh-bo-lokombo/

[R.J]

Lokombo is a very impressive player IMO; I just don't see how he'd start at linebacker. Bighill and Elimimian are entrenched at wil and mike, and I just don't see him playing sam, so what's left ?

[jerrym]

Wally Buono says the Lions "have to hit the track running. We have to start fast, win football games, and put a competitive team on the field. We have to give fans a reason to support us". Wally says Jon Jennings will report to camp and he's confident the two sides will get a new deal done.

http://www.tsn.ca/radio/vancouver-10...rt-us-1.480178

[jerrym]

Here's a review of Wally's BC Lions draft picks.

Selecting a player who is an invitee to two National Football League rookie mini-camps didn’t dissuade the B.C. Lions from making Charles Vaillancourt their first pick in Tuesday’s Canadian Football League 2016 draft.
A three-time CIS all-star at Laval, Vaillancourt became the fifth overall pick after the Lions traded their No. 3 selection to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who used it to select offensive lineman Brandon Revenberg from Grand Valley State.
The Lions acquired the Ticats’ third-round pick (23rd overall) and gave up their fourth-round pick (30th) to Hamilton as part of the draft switch. Later, the same dancing partners exchanged more picks, the Lions reacquiring the 30th and 32nd picks from the Ticats. Hamilton used B.C.’s 21st pick to select UBC Thunderbirds’ linebacker Terrell Davis.
With their second pick (12th overall), the Lions claimed Anthony Thompson from Southern Illinois, a versatile defensive back who can play safety or cornerback, and used the 23rd pick (third round) to land long-striding Calgary wide receiver Brett Blaszko.
Small risk, big reward? Coming off reconstructive knee surgery, Buffalo offensive lineman Dillon Guy — B.C.’s fourth round pick — could go either way: a value pick, or a wasted one. At No. 7, Guy was rated ahead of Vaillancourt (No. 10) in the first of three draft rankings put out by the CFL Scouting Bureau. That was before the knee injury wiped out his final season with the Bulls.
“It (Guy) protects you a little bit,” said Lions GM and head coach Wally Buono, alluding to the NFL’s interest in Vaillancourt. “We want to get bigger and more physical (on the offensive line). Both Vaillancourt and Dillon Guy are physical.”
At 6-4 and 329 pounds, Vaillancourt has NFL size, as the New York Giants have noted. He participated in their rookie mini-camp last week in New Jersey. On Thursday, he’s off to do the same with the Oakland Raiders.
“We felt it was worth taking the risk,” Buono said. “To go to the NFL, and have a cup of coffee, means nothing to me.” ...
END ZONE — Simon Fraser offensive lineman Michael Couture was the first Vancouver area university player selected in the draft. The Burnaby native went 10th overall to Winnipeg. Kelowna native and UBC safety Taylor Loffler (No. 19) is also joining the Blue Bombers. Saskatchewan picked UBC punter-kicker Quinn van Gylswyk, a junior football graduate from Victoria, 29th overall.
LIONS DRAFT PICKS
Charles Vaillancourt, OL, Laval: Fifth overall pick received rookie mini-camp invites from New York Giants, Oakland Raiders.
Anthony Thompson, DB, Southern Illinois: Lions pass on UBC safety Taylor Loffler to draft Thompson 12th overall (second round).
Brett Blaszko, WR, Calgary: At 6-4, Blaszko (third round, 23rd) fits bill for team looking for long bodies to stretch the field.
Dillon Guy, OL, Buffalo: Six months from reconstructive knee surgery, Lions’ fourth round pick (30th) was rated No. 7 prospect in first of three Scouting Bureau rankings.
Shaquille Johnson, WR, Western: Second of two Lions’ picks in the fourth round streaked to a 4.39-second clocking in the 40-yard dash at CFL combine.
Brennan van Nistelrooy, DB, Alberta: Distant relative of retired Dutch star striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, former Okanagan Sun junior taken in sixth round (48th overall).
Nathan O’Halloran, RB, Windsor: Written off after two early knee surgeries, seventh-round pick (57th) earned reputation as hard-nosed blocker and pass protector.
Boyd Richardson, DL, UBC: Lions’ eighth-round pick (No. 65) was a member of the 2015 Vanier Cup champion T-Birds, who had five players taken in the draft.

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...t-in-cfl-draft

[jerrym]

Dillon Guy, a talented OL, who has knee surgery and therefore fell in the draft selection, says he is healthy and ready to compete for a job in BC.

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/05/10/dillon-...himself-in-bc/

[R.J]

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...ore-lions-roar

[jerrym]

As the BC Lions annual attendance figures in the article in the last post point out, Lion attendance peeked in 2008 at 34,000 per game, the year Bob Ackles died. Definitely not a coincidence. Ankles, who started as Lions waterboy at age in 15 in the Lions first of existence in 1953, had returned to his beloved Lions in 2002 from the the NFL and had helped rebuild the woeful attendance typical of previous years. Following his death there was a gradual decline in attendance until 2014, followed by a precipitous fall last year from 28,000 to 21,000 per game, mimicking the trajectory of Braley's other team. Hopefully, the team can come back, but IMO new ownership has to be part of the solution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Ackles

[R.J]

http://www.tsn.ca/ex-oregon-qb-adams...lions-1.490560

This kids a gamer. Has Wally found yet another ?

[OV Argo]

http://www.tsn.ca/ex-oregon-qb-adams...lions-1.490560

This kids a gamer. Has Wally found yet another ?

I believe this is the guy who really impressed me in the Shrine game this past January? - seemed like a real QB talent and maybe suited for the CFL.

[jerrym]

I believe this is the guy who really impressed me in the Shrine game this past January? - seemed like a real QB talent and maybe suited for the CFL.

You're right OV. Here's more info on Vernon Adams.

The list of successful height-challenged quarterbacks in the National Football League is a short one, perhaps because the league remains skeptical of anyone not meeting a certain minimum requirement.
Generously listed at 5-11, the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson and the Saints’ six-foot Drew Brees have both won Super Bowls, but they are outliers in a market where the average quarterback is 6-3 and trending higher.
Vernon Adams Jr., the former starter for the University of Oregon Ducks, could fall into the laps of the B.C. Lions for that very reason: he is being sold short.
After failing to land a contract following rookie mini-camps with the Seahawks and Washington Redskins, the 5-10 Adams told ESPN.com that he will probably sign with the Lions, who hold his CFL rights.
“I could be like a Warren Moon or Doug Flutie,” Adams said, referring to the former CFL greats turned great NFL quarterbacks. “All I need is a chance. If they can stop looking at my height and give me a chance they’d get a teammate with a lot of energy and a great leader.”
On Monday, Lions’ GM Wally Buono said the club is prepared to wait a couple of days before starting negotiations with Adams’ agent on a CFL contract. “We’ve allocated a fifth (quarterback) spot for him for training camp, not necessarily for anybody else,” Buono said. “But we want him to exhaust his NFL options first. We don’t want to put a gun to anybody’s head. It’s no way to start a relationship.”
The Lions initially reached out to Adams at the East-West Shrine game in January, a college all-star game in Tampa, Fla., where the Oregon quarterback fired three touchdown passes to three different receivers in the first half. ...
“He’s (Adams) a very athletic player, a prototypical (CFL) quarterback with the ability to throw the ball, the ability to run, and the ability to throw on the run,” said Neil McEvoy, the Lions’ player personnel director. “Wherever he’s played, he’s won. When you talk about quarterbacks, he’s the type you like to see.”
Adams averaged 339 yards passing and three touchdowns per game during his final two seasons at Eastern Washington, an NCAA Division 1-AA school, before transferring to Oregon for his senior year. In 2015, he completed 65 per cent of his passes, his adjusted yards per attempt, an advanced football statistic, second only to NFL first-round draft pick Marcus Mariota in the Chip Kelly/Mark Helfrich era at Oregon.

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...-lions-shortly

[jerrym]

Adams may turn out to have a very successful career in the CFL, but I don't think it's wise to say you could be like Moon or Flutie, as mentioned in the previous post, before you've even played a preseason, let alone regular season game. The comparison might not end up being to your advantage.

[argolio]

Great prospect for the Lions, assuming he can adapt to the pro game.

[ArgoRavi]

Adams may turn out to have a very successful career in the CFL, but I don't think it's wise to say you could be like Moon or Flutie, as mentioned in the previous post, before you've even played a preseason, let alone regular season game. The comparison might not end up being to your advantage.

He will likely have to sit on the bench for a while before he gets his chance to play too. Moon played a decent amount in his rookie season while Flutie had many starts in his first CFL season.

[KCargosfan]

I believe Adams went to the same I-AA school as Bo Levi Mitchell before transferring to Oregon. He threw for a million yards in I-AA and was on pace to do so at Oregon before getting injured. Good runner as well.

The NFL GOBs probably think he is too short.

[jerrym]

Below is a video showing the Lions helping to develop talented young Canadian players.

The top young football players in B.C. worked out at the B.C. Lions training facility on Friday to learn what it means to train like a professional.

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...f-pro-football

[R.J]

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...in-brett-boyko

“I’m weighing my options,” Boyko said in telephone interview from Philadelphia. “I feel like there are options for me. If, for some reason, they don’t come to pass, I’ll come to the CFL. No matter what, I’m going to be playing football this year.”

“Right now, this is such a new process for me,” he admitted. “I didn’t talk with the Lions last year. I’d already signed with the Eagles by the time they drafted me. I still haven’t spoken with anyone there (B.C.). That’s kind of what I have my agent for — the middle man. I’m just going to wait to see how everything plays out.”

END ZONE: Defensive linemen George Uko (USC) and Jacques Smith (Tennessee) were added to the Lions’ roster for a three-day rookie camp next week in Kamloops.

[R.J]

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/19/195484/

The BC Lions Football Club has announced the signing of international defensive linemen George Uko and Jacques Smith this morning.

[jerrym]

Bighill and Elimimian expect to be duelling it out again for leadership in tackles.

The former Central Washington University star also has plans of a big encore to his award-winning 2015 season. He led the CFL with 121 tackles and earned a third all-star selection to go along with his first career Most Outstanding Defensive Player award. “I can’t wait to get back on the field with the guys and start hitting people again,” Bighill declared.
One thing is clear: with Solomon Elimimian returning from his Achilles tendon injury suffered last July, ‘Team 100’ will once again be ready to take opposing offences to the wood shed. Bighill expects Elimimian to be more motivated than ever to prove he is still an elite game breaker.

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/05/22/heart-l...pick-left-off/

[jerrym]

The Lions think Dillon Guy could be a sleeper in the draft.

The football “sleeper play” — where a man could lose himself in a crowd by the sidelines, yet remain an eligible receiver — has been banned for decades.
Still, “sleeper” plays continue at draft time.
The B.C. Lions feel they pulled one off by selecting Dillon Guy in the 2016 Canadian Football League draft, held last week.
Already regarded as a light sleeper because of his injury history, Guy became a deep sleeper when he fell to the fourth round.
How much risk were teams willing to accept for a player just months removed from reconstructive knee surgery? Not much. The Lions got the Hamilton, Ont., native with the 30th overall pick, a point in the draft where teams are beginning to throw the dice and hope for the best.
“It don’t mean sh …,” says Guy, an offensive lineman from the University at Buffalo. “Once you step on the field, everyone is equal.”
Guy was the No. 7 prospect in the initial rankings put out by the CFL Scouting Bureau last September — rated three spots ahead of Charles Vaillancourt, an offensive lineman from Laval University who eventually became the Lions’ first-round pick, fifth overall, in 2016.
Now, they’ll be competing for spots on the Lions’ playing roster at training camp, likely at centre or guard.

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...on-sleeper-guy