Lions vs. Roughriders June 16, 2017

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WestCoastJoe
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Here is the article about Chris Jones that I mentioned in an earlier post. It humanizes him. It reflects well on him, IMO. He is a tough guy, a competitor. His coaching style draws some criticism and creates some controversy.

Walking for health. Walking to think and plan about football.

From his time with the Argos, 2012.

https://www.thestar.com/sports/football ... calls.html
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Argos coach Chris Jones’ life-changing phone calls

Argos defensive coach Chris Jones makes a phone call to his cousin in Georgia every morning during their 5 a.m. walks and the calls have been life-changing for his cousin, who once weighed 300 pounds.

Toronto Argonauts defensive coach Chris Jones taking his morning walk on University of Toronto campus in Mississauga earlier this month. During his walks, Jones calls his cousin in Georgia who is also taking a daily constitutional.

Toronto Argonauts defensive coach Chris Jones taking his morning walk on University of Toronto campus in Mississauga earlier this month. During his walks, Jones calls his cousin in Georgia who is also taking a daily constitutional. (Aaron Harris / For the Toronto Star)


By Bob MitchellSports Reporter

Mon., Sept. 17, 2012

Rain or snow, just like the postman, Argos defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones has been going for 5 a.m. walks since the mid-1990s when he coached at Tennessee Tech.

He reflects on how he’s going to approach players at practice. He thinks about what new defensive schemes to use against teams and which players to rotate in and out of the lineup.

Whether he’s on his way around the University of Toronto’s picturesque Mississauga campus or around a hotel on the road, Jones makes a cell phone call about 10 minutes into his walk to his cousin Keith Mickler in Rome, Ga. It’s a call that has been life-changing for the 5-foot-9 Mickler, who once weighed 300 pounds and had health issues.

“I don’t know if I saved his life but I know I extended it,” said Jones, 45, who knew he had to do something for his cousin, also 45, when he realized he was headed for trouble if he didn’t dramatically change his life. Their family has a history of heart problems.

They had gone for a walk when they were visiting family for the Christmas in 2009 back home in South Pittsburgh, Tenn., where they were more like brothers than cousins growing up.


“We were three blocks into our walk and I realized he was way behind me. I turned around and went back and got right up in his face and told him that he needed to get his butt in shape because he had a little boy, who depended on him,” Jones said. “He couldn’t even walk three blocks without being out of shape and red in his face. We walked for the next six days. I’d walk and get ahead of him and then go back and then get ahead of him again and go back.”

Jones couldn’t be there to make sure he got in shape. He decided to call his cousin every morning so they could exercise together even if they were hundreds or thousands of kilometres away.

Now 2 ½ years later, Mickler walks about four miles every morning around his subdivision, six days a week. He takes Sunday off although Jones walks seven days. Mickler now weighs just over 200 pounds.

“You can’t go on vacation with Chris. If you do and you try to sleep in late you have to turn your stinkin’ phone off because you can’t get away from him,” Mickler said. For the past two months his 8-month old Australian Sheppard named Ellie May also walks a few blocks with him before he returns her home and then continues his walk, all the while waiting for the call from Jones.

“If I don’t pick up the phone, he’ll keep calling me until I do. He always asks me the same things every morning. What am I doing? And I tell him I’m the dumbass walking at 5 a.m. talking to a guy from Toronto.”

Mickler felt pretty embarrassed that day back in Tennessee.

“My feet felt like I was wearing diving fins. They hurt so bad. Chris found a lot of hills. I don’t know if he was trying to kill me or prove just how bad a shape I was in,” Mickler said. “It’s embarrassing when somebody, who is six months younger than you walks down the street and is two or three blocks ahead of you and has to come back and circle behind you.”

By the time Jones starts his walks, he’s already been at the Argos training facility since about 3:30 a.m., watching films and going over the playbook. He usually tries to get to sleep about 9 p.m. As one of the most aggressive defensive coaches in the CFL, Jones literally lives and breathes football 24 hours a day.

“The walks allow me to clear my thoughts but I’m still always thinking about football. I can’t think about anything else,” said Jones, who often sees deer and skunks on his walks around the Erindale campus. “When I’m walking I think about whether I’m going to be a field general, a tough guy with the players at practice later that day or be a little more relaxed with them.”

Mickler has become a big CFL fan. He follows the Argos online and reads about them in the Toronto newspapers. But he never gives Jones advice although he asks him for some because he now helps coach his son Zachary’s little league football team.

“It’s tough coming up with crap to talk about every morning. We talk about the black sheeps and the not-so black sheeps in our families. The crazy family members and the not so crazy ones and we talk about the weather and how hot it is or cold it is down here and up there,” said Micker, a horticultural specialist for the University of Georgia. “We make fun of ourselves. We’re equal opportunity at making fun at our family members at our expense but we take it too.”

Living in the south where eating fried food is a way of life and where people usually die from heart failure or cancer, Mickler now eats better in addition to walking.

“Diet alone doesn’t cut it. It is truly a lifestyle-changing attitude, pushing things back from the table, like that big piece of pecan pie or that baked potato with lots of cheese,” Mickler said. “You look in the mirror and you’re not happy with yourself. My doctor kept telling me that if I didn’t do something he was going to introduce me to a heart bypass specialist.”

Jones’s CFL teams have never missed the playoffs. He’s coaches in five Grey Cup games, winning in 2002 with Montreal and 2008 in Calgary. He arrived with the Argos in the off-season and has completely revamped the team’s defence into an aggressive, attack-oriented group.

The weather in southern Ontario should be a lot better for walking than it was out west.

“I remember walking in Calgary one day and there was a sign that said the temperature was minus 18 Celsius. I didn’t know what that was but I knew it was cold,” Jones said. “People thought I was an idiot. Another time I was walking and I saw these big flakes coming down. It looked like somebody was burning cardboard. By the time I finished my walk there was a foot of snow on the ground.”
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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Toppy Vann wrote:
Mon Jun 19, 2017 7:26 pm
B.C.FAN wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 11:18 pm
CardiacKid wrote:
Fri Jun 16, 2017 8:57 pm


All the more puzzling when you consider he did the exact same celebration all last year with no infractions. Has the league altered what constitutes unsportsmanlike?
Apparently. Wally took the blame after the game for not communicating it to the players, but he didn't understand himself that Roh's traditional sack dance is now outlawed because it simulates a weapon. Even without a warning from Wally, I thought Roh should have learned from the first penalty and not done the same move on the next play, right in the face of the referee. That's like taunting an official to call a penalty, which he did.
TV and IIRC later Moj, Burns, Farhan (?), Lowell (?) said that Roh might not have known that that was what the first penalty call was for.

I found it strange that if the officials discussed this prior to the game (Roh celebration) you'd think they'd have spoken to him prior to the game.
That was my thought too. In the excitement of the first sack I don't think he even realized it was him who drew a penalty and if he did what it was for. I was puzzled myself on why the flag. I would've understood had he been hovering over top of Bridge but he had walked well away from him.
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DanoT
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Since it took two sacks and two penalties in a row for most of us to figure out that what was ok last year for a celebration is not ok this year, it is very fortunate (very lucky actually that it happened the way it did) that it happened in pre- season.
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Blitz wrote:
Tue Jun 20, 2017 7:25 am
Rigarmortis needs to set in on Craig "Death' Roh's right hand sword thrust celebration. It looks dum anyway
When Roh first showed us his sack dance, I distinctly remember thinking "what the hell are you doing?!?! Why the hell are you emulating a weapon?" I thought he was damn lucky not to get flagged last year. Yes, it is weird to have the same celebration go from kosher to non but why tempt fate?

And yes, it pales in comparison to my all-time fave sack dance, namely Aaron Hunt's. It was simple but it conveyed so much; it was happy, it was fun, it invoked the heavens and it had the righteous moves. Sorry Mr. Roh but yours is kinda clunky.....
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Gridiron Ernie
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CardiacKid wrote:
Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:08 pm
Blitz wrote:
Tue Jun 20, 2017 7:25 am
Rigarmortis needs to set in on Craig "Death' Roh's right hand sword thrust celebration. It looks dum anyway
When Roh first showed us his sack dance, I distinctly remember thinking "what the hell are you doing?!?! Why the hell are you emulating a weapon?" I thought he was damn lucky not to get flagged last year. Yes, it is weird to have the same celebration go from kosher to non but why tempt fate?

And yes, it pales in comparison to my all-time fave sack dance, namely Aaron Hunt's. It was simple but it conveyed so much; it was happy, it was fun, it invoked the heavens and it had the righteous moves. Sorry Mr. Roh but yours is kinda clunky.....
Ditto that.
Like Blitz said; "dum". Like CardiacKid said; "clunky". And, IMO, altogether too dark -- distasteful. Out of step with the times (or should I say, sad to say too much in sync with them?) especially at a family event.
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David
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Funny, I liked the sack dance. Quick, memorable and effective. But maybe because I am a big Roh fan.

For a league that recently went on record as saying they want to reduce flags, especially those that don't have any effect on player safety, they could start there. More innocent than a Saturday morning cartoon.


DH :cool:
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TheLionKing
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I too like Roh's celebration. Original and fits his nickname "Death Roh"
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TheLionKing wrote:
Thu Jun 22, 2017 3:23 pm
I too like Roh's celebration. Original and fits his nickname "Death Roh"
I'm sure the officials were told before the game to penalize it--they didn't suddenly notice it for the first time.

I have to admit, I like it. It's very easy to tell what he's miming--a gladiator putting his sword back in it's sheath. Of course, we don't hear if Roh vocalized as well though, but it's no where near as offensive as the infamous Khalif Mitchell "throat slash" gesture.
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David wrote:
Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:59 pm
Funny, I liked the sack dance. Quick, memorable and effective. But maybe because I am a big Roh fan.

For a league that recently went on record as saying they want to reduce flags, especially those that don't have any effect on player safety, they could start there. More innocent than a Saturday morning cartoon.


DH :cool:
Roh's sack dance was innocent in one way but a line has to be drawn or you can get the throat cutting, knifing, shooting, gestures. I'm all for celebrations (and would hate our CFL to be like the N(o)F(in)L(eague) but CFL players will have lots of licence to be creative in their celebrations. Geroy didn't need to simulate weaponry nor does Manny so Roh can handle it.

I've always considered you a cool guy David but if we ever play some flag football together in the future, I think we may have to screen your touchdown dance first. :wink:
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http://www.tsn.ca/radio/vancouver-1040- ... h-1.785520
Enlightening LU article that explains Roh was well aware of the intent of the first flag and wanted to be fined to make a statement.
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