BC Lions Thread

[jerrym]

Lulay now sees himself as a mentor to the younger Lion QBs.

As the B.C. Lions prepare for training camp and a new year, Travis Lulay is excited about a lot of things.
He’s excited that, for the first time since 2012, his off-season didn’t revolve around rehab and his focus, for once, was on his game, not whether his oft-repaired shoulder would detach.
He’s also excited about the changes the B.C. Lions have made since last season: the revamped offensive line, a new backfield, at least one new receiver. And he’s excited about the return of Wally Buono as head coach and everything he represents.
As for his newly minted role as backup quarterback/mentor/locker-room Yoda/apprenticing offensive co-ordinator, well, that might take some getting used to, but know this. In facing this new career phase, Lulay understands all the forces in play and what’s expected of him and, to borrow a term from his vernacular, he embraces all of it.

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/bc...907/story.html

[R.J]

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/24/li...dd-linebacker/

The BC Lions Football Club announced this morning that defensive back Steven Clarke has re-signed with the team.

The Lions also announced that international linebacker Auston Johnson has also been signed. The son of former Lions and Stampeders linebacker Alondra Johnson appeared in 24 games over two seasons at South Dakota recording 67 solo tackles, 11 of them for a loss along with eight sacks.

[R.J]

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/25/li...iors-for-camp/

The BC Lions Football Club announced today that they have agreed to terms on contracts with seven members of their 2016 CFL Draft class.

draftpicksconfirmedOffensive linemen Charles Vaillancourt and Dillon Guy, receivers Brett Blasko and Shaquille Johnson, defensive back Brennan VanNistelrooy along with fullback Nathan O’Halloran and defensive lineman Boyd Richardson will arrive in Vancouver with other first-year Lions later this morning before making their way to Kamloops for mini-camp.

As part of the CFL’s ongoing efforts to develop elite Canadian quarterbacks, the Lions are pleased to welcome UBC pivot Michael O’Connor to his second BC Lions Training Camp.

#BCLions sign 7 of 8 picks from #CFL draft; only waiting on 2nd rnd S Anthony Thompson, whose agent, Jonathan Hardaway, has him holding out.

— Lowell Ullrich (@FifthQtr) May 25, 2016

[R.J]

Looks like Thompson signed.

I've been told @Athompson_1 has signed his contract with @BCLions and is now on his way to camp. #CFL #BCLions

— Moe Khan (@MoeKhan19) May 25, 2016

[jerrym]

The Lions are still missing three prospects as training camp starts.

The B.C. Lions left Wednesday for the start of a three-day rookie camp in Kamloops, minus three prospects who never made it into Canada, never mind missing the bus.
Linebacker Victor Aiyewa, the oldest rookie camper at age 29, was hung up in Houston, Texas, with passport issues while defensive-end candidate Jacques Smith never got out of Memphis, after his car broke down en route to the airport.
Another linebacker, Auston Johnson, the son of Canadian Football Hall-of-Famer Alondra Johnson, is expected to be another late arrival. He’ll be flying directly to Kamloops from his home in Southern California. The younger Johnson, whose signing was announced Tuesday by the Lions, plays as a Canadian, having been born in Calgary, when his dad played for the Stampeders.
“We wanted to draft a linebacker (in the 2016 CFL draft) and we didn’t,” explained Lions head coach and GM Wally Buono. “A spot opened up (after the Lions traded the playing rights of quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to Montreal), Auston has progressed nicely, so here we are.”

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...o-isnt-worried

[jerrym]

Training camp is here and Brian and Mojo take a look at some of the key battles to keep an eye on in Kamloops.
For part two of our CFL West division preview we’re joined by Travis Currah of the 2 and Out Podcast and Darrin Bauming of TSN 1290 as we check in with the Riders and Bombers.

http://bclionsden.ca/2016/05/26/the-...st-episode-74/

[jerrym]

Guess who.

#TBT: Before earning @CFL Grey Cups as a coach, as a @MTLAlouettes player he won 2 - it's 2016 inductee @GM_Brillo! pic.twitter.com/LYo2IEtPWG

— BC Sports HallofFame (@BCSportsHall) May 27, 2016

[jerrym]

Who Stood Out on Day 1 of BC Lions TC.

On offence, receiver Kendrick Ings dazzled his teammates and coaches by running good routes and hauling in a pair of acrobatic passes, one of which was deflected by a defender before falling into his hands. Kamloops Jr. Broncos product Derek Yachison proved he can make an impact at this level by making a diving catch on a deep ball thrown by Keith Price. Geraldo Boldewijn, one of a few mini-camp attendees with Lions game action under his belt, made a couple of good plays in one-on-one drills as well.
Running back J.C. Coleman turned a few heads with his speed and a couple of long gains in team play. As camp progresses, that will be an interesting competition to watch once Anthony Allen and Jeremiah Johnson report on the weekend.
Defensively, Anthony Gaitor picked up where he left off from his solid Surrey mini-camp by intercepting a pass for a touchdown in team play. Darius Allenproved he can be a very speedy defensive end and was singled out by Buono post-practice for his stellar performance.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/26/tr...ni-camp-day-1/

[Will]

Guess who.

Nice hair.

[jerrym]

Buono talks below about why this is a critical year for the Lions and what he's doing about it.

Now, he is about to confront his own legend, his larger-than-life image, with the aim of righting the fallen star the Lions have become on the football field — and in the consciousness of many Lower Mainland sports fans.
He has to make more of them start caring about the Lions again.
“We live in a superstar market,” Buono admits. “People want you to win. People want you to be exciting. People want you to be competitive. This is not a market that necessarily supports you whatever. You have to earn the right for people to spend their dollars on you.” ...

Never been in the habit of paying retail, Buono engaged in what amounted to a post-holiday spending spree In February. He signed eight CFL free agents. By comparison, he signed exactly zero for six straight seasons — from 2005-2012 — and just one in 2013.
Buono is bringing back receiver Nick Moore, whom he lost to Winnipeg in 2014, and adding Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen as tag team replacements for departed feature back Andrew Harris. The Lions also made a ninth off-season transaction, dropping import centre Jason Foster and trading with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to acquire 36-year-old replacement Tim O’Neill, a Canadian.
The signing binge had the Mastercard people concerned.
Hey, big spender, what’s got into you?
“There’s an urgency every year,” Buono says. “But how you respond to it every year is different. Is there a (special) urgency this year? Yeah, you’d be a fool to think there isn’t. This year, we had to improve our football club instantly. This is not a five-year plan. We’re trying to build a team that’s competitive from the get-go.”
In the May 10 draft, he scored high marks for trading down, acquiring an extra draft pick, yet still ending up with Charles Vaillancourt, perhaps the best offensive lineman in the first round. Last week, Buono pulled off another potential coup, trading the playing rights of quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. to Montreal for an extra first-round pick in the 2017 draft.
Like a producer opening a promising show out of town before taking it to Broadway, he’ll have a better idea of what he has wrought when the Lions break camp on June 15, two days before a pre-season game against the Calgary Stampeders at B.C. Place Stadium and 10 days before the Stamps return for the season opener.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/buono+knows+critical+revive+lions+survive+27supers tar/11947877/story.html

[jerrym]

Auston Johnson talks about his impressions of Lions TC.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/27/au...everything-in/

[jerrym]

One RB trying to make the Lions in TC is J C Coleman.

You can scan the list of famous athletes from the state of Virginia, and it won’t take long to see how impressive it actually is. Included are the likes of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Bruce Smith, current standouts Percy Harvin, and Tyrod Taylor and even NBA legend Allen Iverson. One man looking to climb the ladder on that list is Lions rookie running back J.C. Coleman. ...
Although being only 5-foot-6 and 192 pounds may not be to his advantage, Coleman makes up for the lack of size with his giant work ethic and superior athleticism. From a young age, he started following and studying the habits of smaller NFL running backs, his favourite being Darren Sproles. “Those guys always caught my eye and gave me the idea that I could play as well,” Coleman added. ...
Although the NFL wouldn’t come calling after his senior year, Coleman viewed playing up north as an excellent option after Lions brass attended his college pro day. “They showed heavy interest in me from the start,” Coleman recalled. “Talking to them and knowing what I already did about the CFL I knew signing here would be a great opportunity. Looking at all the scenery of what Vancouver and BC has to offer made it a great decision as well.”

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/28/197734/

[jerrym]

A description of who stood out at the Lions TC:

WHO STOOD OUT:
On offence, receiver Devonn Brown hauled in two long touchdown passes during scrimmage play while managing to cause early separation from the defenders. His speed caught a lot of people’s attention on day three. The second catch was a nice, deep spiral thrown by Keith Price. 2016 draftees Brett Blaszko and Shaq Johnson both did well in the scrimmage as well as ‘skelly’ drills.
On defence, Anthony Gaitor once again showed his speed in the secondary and had the hit of the day on Uzoma Nwachukwu. To the receiver’s credit, he got up right away and ran right back to the huddle. Andrew Hudson set the tone early with a nice tackle for a loss on JC Coleman. Hudson and the entire defensive line unit showed sparks over the last three days.
On special teams, second-year kicker Anthony Fera took advantage of the windy conditions with a few 50-yard plus kicks during special teams drills. It will be interesting to see how he performs in main camp with one year of pro action under his belt.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/28/tr...ni-camp-day-3/

[jerrym]

The Lions traded Adams in order to avoid a QB controversy and because they were already near the cap limit, according to the Mike Beamish.

Who wouldn’t want a quarterback on their football team like Vernon Adams Jr.?
The B.C. Lions, apparently.
Knowing that few developments can divide a team faster than a quarterback controversy, the Lions avoided one by trading the playing rights of the flamboyant Adams to the Montreal Alouettes before the start of training camp.
Nobody is saying the former Eastern Washington Eagle and Oregon Duck doesn’t have all the qualities to be a Canadian Football League star — he can scramble, he can run, he can throw. And what team doesn’t need that, or more guys like that?
The Lions had been high on Adams — passed over in the 2016 NFL draft, presumably because of lowered dimensions (he’s 5’10” or 5’11”) — since his sophomore year in college, when he was placed on the Lions’ negotiation list. It was a smart move, as Adams’ status grew in the estimation of other CFL teams, who plied B.C. with offers to trade his rights.
Head coach and GM Wally Buono finally bit when he obtained a first-round draft pick from the Alouettes for Adams in the 2017 draft.
Thus, a potentially tense team situation, to say nothing of a one-ring media event, made for a business-as-usual start to training camp Sunday, just the way Buono wants it.
“It was unfortunate the way it happened,” he explained. “But I was of a mind not to start training camp with a controversy. If a player wasn’t here, if a player wasn’t happy, we don’t need that.
“I wouldn’t blame a player for having notoriety. What I wouldn’t want is a player, who had never played a down in our league, to be a disruption.”
There was more to it, of course.
Michael “Mook” Williams, Adams’ agent, wanted a two-year deal, setting up his client for a possible early return to NFL consideration, and more money.
The Lions were invested in Jon Jennings and Travis Lulay, and they are strapped against the cap, at least when it came to quarterbacks.
Moreover, Buono maintains the Adams’ trade was a vote of confidence in his returning quarterbacks. And, on a practical level, it’s easier on everybody when there are four QBs — Greg McGhee and Keith Price are the others — taking throws in practice.

http://www.canada.com/sports/footbal...023/story.html

[jerrym]

Wally Buono has a grand and heavy legacy in the Canadian Football League. And yet, it is within the realm of possibility that it could be endangered or diminished if he should fail as the head coach of the B.C. Lions, the second time around.
He has said before that “I don’t care about legacy. What legacy do I have? Legacy sometimes isn’t about what you accomplish. It’s about being a man of your word.” On Sunday, he began to live up to that credo.
Addressing the media on the opening of the Lions’ 63rd training camp, his first as head coach since 2011, Buono admitted that when he stepped down then he never really believed he would be back to coach again — only if it became absolutely necessary, he told owner David Braley and president Dennis Skulsky.
“I was mentally and emotionally tired,” Buono said, of passing the baton to Mike Benevides four seasons ago. “Doing it for 22 years took its toll. I’m at the point now where I’m much more refreshed. I’m cognizant that you have to treat people (players) differently, but I don’t think much has changed.”
Showing that he can adapt to the times, Buono is allowing players to take cellphones into team meetings, with one important proviso: “I’ve got a beeper on me. What do you do? You turn the damn thing off. I’m going to treat these guys like men, until they tell me they can’t respond like a man.”
When Buono coaches the Lions in their season opener June 25 against Calgary, he will establish another CFL milestone — as the longest tenured coach in league history. This will be his 23rd season, as a head coach in Calgary and B.C. ...
In 2009, Buono became the all-time wins leader, a year after Matthews returned for a third stint with the Toronto Argonauts. It did not go well. He went 0-8 as the replacement for Rich Stubler, then he got out of coaching for good. Matthews was 69 at the time. Buono turned 66 in February.
“My legacy, would be, to me, ‘Even though he didn’t have to, he came back,’” Buono said. “And maybe it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. The easiest thing would have been to sit on the sidelines and see it through, cruise through, get paid (as general manager) and move on. For me to coach, there is no benefit. I’m not getting paid more. Why? Because I made a commitment to David (Braley).”
He is humbled to be inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame on June 9, yet another citation for a man who has been a towering and transcendent presence in Canadian football. Buono already has his Order of Canada pin and Canadian Football Hall of Fame jacket, which he wears on occasions such as the annual CFL draft.
“Are they going to take away my Hall of Fame jacket, my Order of Canada, my B.C. Sports Hall of Fame induction?” Buono responded, when asked against about the possibility of his legacy being tarnished.

http://vancouversun.com/sports/footb...ersonal-legacy

[jerrym]

Jennings discusses the next step in his development as QB in this video.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/30/je...t-of-the-game/

[jerrym]

Day 2 of Lions TC:

It began with a depth chart tweak as Auston Johnson moved from linebacker to fullback and also switched jersey numbers form 77 to 34. Johnson’s non-import status could prove to be valuable at the new position and it also provides a little more internal competition for 2016 seventh round pick Nate O’Halloran. In the final day before padded practices begin, the emphasis remained on teaching, fundamentals, and continuing to play an “up tempo “style. ...
WHO STOOD OUT:The running back race promises to be one of the more intriguing storylines at camp. In morning session,Shaquille Murray-Lawrence took some reps on the second-team offence. Free agent signing Jeremiah Johnson ended the day with first-team reps. Seeing that it’s only day two, Buono reminded the inquiring minds that nothing should be read into it. Chris Rainey, also expected to be a factor in the backfield, looks more lean and once again was fast during special teams drills.
On defence, rookie defensive back Chandler Fennercontinues to impress. He spent part of the morning session jogging with Ryan Phillips and picking up a few pointers from the twelve-year veteran. Mic’hael Brookslooked sharp and focused during individual drills and also made an impression on the rookies looking to make strides on that defensive line.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/05/30/tr...eport-day-2-2/

[jerrym]

Former Argo Jeremiah Johnson is in a Lions TC battle with former Rider Anthony Allen for RB.

It remains to be seen whether Lions fans will warm to Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen, two CFL veteran free-agent RBs competing for touches at B.C. Lions training camp this week. ...
“I don’t know how the front office numbers go,” Allen said Monday. “But, if I could have my way, we would both be on the roster. When the other guy comes off the field, he could show you what he saw.
“But, we’re in a battle. We don’t know how many guys they’re going to keep. It’s just a matter of making the battle fair, so that everybody has the same information.” ...
“We’re different backs,”Allen said. “He’s five-foot-nine. I’m 6-1, 220. It’s a little different. I’m longer. I set up cuts a little bit longer. I already knew Jeremiah was signed before I joined them. They had Shaq here (Shaquille Murray-Lawrence). They had Chris Rainey here. That’s what I like about training camp. You have to compete. I’m never afraid of competition. If I had to, I’d go and compete against Adrian Peterson (Minnesota running back).”
Johnson is no Adrian Peterson, but he does have a nose for the end zone. He ran the ball into pay dirt nine times last season in Ottawa — in only 10 games.
As well, the former Oregon Duck is joining the Lions on a manageable ticket. While the CFL doesn’t publish player salaries like other professional sports leagues, Johnson is believed to be earning $75,000 this season. You can see the cap appeal for Lions’ management.
“My time in Ottawa was great. I loved being there,” Johnson said. “But, when it came to personal needs, I was far away from my family (Eugene, Ore.) You want to save money. You’re not getting paid as much. But it’s a blessing to be only a seven-hour drive from Eugene. And it’s real easy on the I-5. My wife (Chanelle) is waiting for me to make this team. She’ll be on the first drive up.”
Both Johnson and Allen don’t want rookie J.C. Coleman overlooked. The 5-6 speedster is from Virginia Tech. He dressed for 46 games with the Hokies, started 14 and wore a gold wristwatch on national television against No. 1 Ohio State to declare: “This is my time.”
“He’s a downhill runner with a nice little wiggle,” Johnson said. “He can get lost at the line. That’s a great advantage to have.”

http://www.canada.com/sports/footbal...055/story.html

[jerrym]

"We have the potential to do whatever we want, but we just have to come out here & work." - Brandon Stewart #CFLTChttps://t.co/emuIUWc9qy

— BC Lions (@BCLions) May 30, 2016

[jerrym]

Buono comments on Day 3 of TC

"You don't get too excited or too down."@GM_Brillo recaps first three days of camp. 🏈 👊#CFLTChttps://t.co/qdY5KNvhhq

— BC Lions (@BCLions) June 1, 2016