Lionbackers.com

Hambone wrote:

WestCoastJoe wrote:On the roster

Internationals: Arceneaux, Burnham, Moore, Williams, Long, Richards

Nationals: Gore, Iannuzzi, Adekolu, Blaszko, Johnson, NORWOOD, Peterson

Norwood is an International. While his dad Brian did have a cup of coffee with Calgary back in 1989 Levi didn't come around until a few years later. He was born in Richmond VA while Brian was an OLB coach with U of Richmond Spiders and graduated from high school in Midway TX when dad was DC at Baylor.

Yes. Peterson is also an International, not a National. Transcribed from the roster list, mistakenly.

Blitz wrote:I believe our offence has the most talent in the CFL for 2017. The offensive line is all back and if we wanted to, we could move Steward to his natural position at left tackle, move Olifoye back to right tackle, play Fabian and Vaillencourt at guard, and use four import receivers. Johnson and Rainey at tailback, Jennings at quarterback, Lumbala at fullback when we insert him, and this offence is loaded.

However, if we just use one running play (inside zone read) and only throw deep and deep intermediate most of the time, as we did last season, Chris Williams will not solve those issues with our offence. Our offence will beat down the weak teams but it won't beat a Calgary or a good defence that plays us man with a two deep safety configuration.

To me, the key to getting to the Big Dance in 2017 is a better pass rusn and more aggressive pass defence (and they go hand in hand). We had the least turnovers of any defense last season and struggled to get a good pass rush without blitzing and our passive zone pass defense was too conservative. A better offensive scheme, a better pass rush, and more aggressive pass defence and we have more than enough talent to win it all.

Yes. Very talented offence, Blitz. It starts with Jennings, of course. We look amazingly good at receiver, and very, very solid at running back. OL should be fine. Dan Dorazio had his guys playing smart football last year, with confidence, not overloaded with brain work.

Mixing it up on offence would be nice to see. Attacking the vulnerabilities of defences with detailed planning.

Defensive pass rush is a concern, as are creating turnovers. This will be one more year where some fans wonder if Mark W will ever bring the aggressive, attacking defensive approach he has talked about at times. IMO Mark W is very, very capable as a DC. As time goes on, I am sure he gets more and more of Wally's trust. Hopefully that translates into more of an attack-style defence. And, of course, some fans may prefer more of the play it safe, zone pass defence, that Wally prefers.

FYI


BC Lions Den ‏@BCLionsDen

Sounding more and more like Shawn Gore will be retiring from football.
#BCLions #CFL

Qman wrote:FYI


BC Lions Den ‏@BCLionsDen

Sounding more and more like Shawn Gore will be retiring from football.
#BCLions #CFL

Not so fast. Mike Beamish goes behind the scenes with Gore, who says he is not leaning toward retirement but hasn't yet made a decision.

Mike Beamish: Veteran Gore in no rush to return, or retire from Lions

WestCoastJoe wrote: Yes. Peterson is also an International, not a National. Transcribed from the roster list, mistakenly.

For whatever reason CFL.ca and the team websites had a lot of players listed incorrectly. Lumbala and I think Maxx Forde were both listed as Internationals most of last season.

Hambone wrote:

WestCoastJoe wrote: Yes. Peterson is also an International, not a National. Transcribed from the roster list, mistakenly.

For whatever reason CFL.ca and the team websites had a lot of players listed incorrectly. Lumbala and I think Maxx Forde were both listed as Internationals most of last season.

blame sully at cfl hq

Even though this is a Chris Williams thread -- his healthy presence being a wonderful (if unexpected) prospect for us Leo fans -- I'd like to chime in on the Shawn Gore mentions that have come up here. Just to simply say I sure hope he hangs in here playing ball for us for another year anyhow (that is if he's confident about his concussion stuff being over).

There's nothing I enjoy more about this game then when one of our Nationals rises through the roof and becomes truly outstanding! So outstanding that National/International designation becomes immaterial. It's exciting to see any player excel -- but for me (and I'd guess for a lot of us) it's utterly thrilling to see a Canadian fellow find his stride and become truly outstanding.

When I reflect on those sensational surges of emotion in the stadium crowd of now several years back watching DL Brent Johnson lightning-quick zip in and thump the opposing pivot, or watch that tower-strong speedy specimen Jason Clermont haul one in and take it all the way, swatting DBs aside as he did... it's special. Those two are exceptional examples, I realize. They are among those who regardless of nationality were deemed to be by their peers and the powers that be 'outstanding' and in fact took that award.

Shawn Gore, when he got rolling -- and it has happened a few different seasons (but not consistently) -- was very close to getting me excited to that same degree. Very close a time or two. Just a few seasons ago I remember telling my comrades -- Gore is my favourite. I loved to see him fly! But then there would be an off-spell, or an injury, or whatever. He was going at a good clip for us until this latest concussion. If he feels right about doing it, I'd love to see him out there come this next campaign. With all our other very special receivers flanking him out there this year he might just shine the way I hope and believe he can.

I'm glad to hear via that Beamish interview (thanks for link -- B.C.FAN) that he's not quite yet leaning toward retirement. I'm leaning in the opposite direction -- willing him to see if he can dazzle, and even if it's his last hurrah -- have some real good fun out there, showing his special stuff.

B.C.FAN wrote:Mike Beamish: Veteran Gore in no rush to return, or retire from Lions

Kudos to Beamish. He's written some really informative pieces lately. This story was timely given the recent 'retirement' rumour. Nice to get the player's perspective and have him clarify this persistent and unsubstantiated "leaning toward retirement" rumour.

Well done, Mike.



DH

Shawn Gore and Travis Lulay was at my niece's school last week talking to the students. Both very approachable.

David wrote:

B.C.FAN wrote:Mike Beamish: Veteran Gore in no rush to return, or retire from Lions

Kudos to Beamish. He's written some really informative pieces lately. This story was timely given the recent 'retirement' rumour. Nice to get the player's perspective and have him clarify this persistent and unsubstantiated "leaning toward retirement" rumour.

Well done, Mike.



DH

Yes, terrific work by Mike after the retirement rumour was mentioned in Ed Willes' column earlier this week (can you imagine that being a Seahawk starter without any kind of sidebar story providing more detail?). I was concerned when I noticed Shawn's twitter account is no longer available as well.

It's been a very productive stretch for Wally — signing his own FAs and bringing in players such as Williams. But make no mistake, national talent is a critical component of CFL teams and losing Westerman and Gore at essentially the same time would be a significant blow. Hope to see #85 back on the field in 2017.

Kind of cool to see Chris Williams' exploits on an NFL field during his brief stint with the Chicago Bears CLICK HERE.

We all know what he's done up here, but interesting to see that explosive speed against NFL teams.


DH

Williams has signed his contract.

CFL.CA STAFF
VANCOUVER — The BC Lions have made a loud statement in the free agent market, signing international receiver Chris Williams, the team announced Friday.

The news was initially reported on Wednesday before being confirmed two days later. Williams, 29, was the 11th-ranked free agent according to CFL.ca’s top-30 list released back in January.

“When you think of players who possess pure speed and the ability to get up the field, Chris Williams tops that list,” said Head Coach and General Manager Wally Buono. “An effective and complete offence includes a combination of proven possession receivers and legitimate vertical threats. The addition of Chris makes our offence more complete and adds another level of excitement for our fans.”

Even after an ACL injury cut Williams’ 2016 season short, he still managed to surpass the 1,000-yard mark – one of the four REDBLACKS to do so last year.

The 29-year-old caught 77 passes for 1,246 yards and 10 majors in 14 games and was also named a CFL East Division All-Star. He also broke the record for the most receiving yards in the first three games of a season, collecting 493 yards and scored six touchdowns in the first three contests of the year.

Williams signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2011 and had an excellent rookie season. In 15 games, he caught 70 passes for 1064 yards and six touchdowns and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Rookie.

In 2012, Williams set a new CFL record for the most return touchdowns in a single season with six after he returned on in the Labour Day Classic. That score was also the third consecutive game in which Williams returned a punt for a touchdown, setting another record. He was awarded the John Agro Special Teams Award that season and also hauled in 83 passes for 1,298 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Here's hoping Chris Rainey and Chris Williams can work together productively on the same team. Happy to have both, but my preference at this time is more towards Chris Rainey.

Along with another CFL Super Smurf, here are their respective times in the 40, along with their height and weight from the NFL combines.

Brandon Banks 5'7'' 149 lbs, now apparently 153 4.43 in the 40

Chris Rainey 5'8'' 180 lbs, 4.36 in the 40

Chris Williams 5'7'' 175 lbs, 4.39 in the 40

Rainey has the fastest time in the 40, and is the "biggest."

These guys all do kick returns and receiving, with Rainey slipping out of the backfield.

We have seen Rainey run the ball very, very well, here with the Lions, reminiscent for some fans of Willie Fleming years ago.

As noted on the depth chart from another thread it looks like there is room for Williams as a receiver, in the spot held by Sinkfield at year's end.

Chris Rainey and Chris Williams play different positions. Rainey is a returner and backup running back. He had 138 returns of all kinds last year, 36 rushes and 30 receptions.

Williams is a wide receiver who has had three straight 1,200-yard seasons despite missing four games in 2016 and two games in 2015. He had 77 receptions last year, averaging 89 yards receiving in the games he played. His 10 receiving touchdowns tied for second in the league behind Arceneaux's 13. Williams was used sparingly as a kick returner in Ottawa last year. He had only 6 kick returns and 12 punt returns.

Still, it would be fun to see Rainey and Williams on the field together, if only for a dozen or so plays each game. Wally seems to be thinking of that possibility, according to Beamish.

Envisioning Williams stretching the field and exploiting mismatches on offence, Buono also would consider using him as a kick return threat (Williams set a CFL record with six return touchdowns in 2012).

“That puts, I think, fear in the cover teams,” Buono said. “It takes some of the pressure off (CFL all-star) Chris Rainey. Now, maybe we can use him more as an offensive weapon. You can’t have too many big-play guys. When a defence has to worry about a lot of them, it’s tough.”

Mike Beamish: Lions add star receiver Chris Williams to their den of ‘big-play guys’

I love the way Wally is stacking the offence this year. The defensive line and secondary still have question marks but the offence is loaded to put up points and entertain fans.

http://theprovince.com/sports/football/ ... -play-guys

From Mike Beamish, some excerpts ...

“My understanding is other offers were on the table that were higher than ours,” said Lions general manager Wally Buono. “We could only do so much. But, for him, this was a place where he wanted to be. That’s what you want. You want players who want to be here.”

“We gave him what I thought was a very, very nice offer (in 2015),” Buono recalled. “But Ottawa came in a little bit higher. Not a little. A lot higher. They were a new (expansion) team. And they had a lot more money.”

“You don’t want to go to a team where that position (quarterback) is in flux or not established,” Williams said. “Even though (Jonathon) Jennings is young, he’s established already. He’s got experience. He’s only going to get better. And he’s got a guy like (Travis) Lulay behind him, a former MOP (most outstanding player) who’s been invaluable in developing him. You look for situations like that.”

“Coming off two seasons when I’ve reached the Grey Cup both times, winning one, that’s what I’m hungry for — to play with a good, young developing quarterback and just a plethora of talent on offence. This is the right time, and the right place with the right pieces.”

"A plethora of talent" ... He's got that right. Amazing speed as with these two guys, Rainey and Williams, and such talent as with Manny, Burnie, Moore, Johnson, et cetera. All orchestrated by the brilliant young Jonathon Jennings. Yowsuh ...

“That puts, I think, fear in the cover teams,” Buono said. “It takes some of the pressure off (CFL all-star) Chris Rainey. Now, maybe we can use him more as an offensive weapon. You can’t have too many big-play guys. When a defence has to worry about a lot of them, it’s tough.”

Wally did seem a bit reluctant to "overuse" Rainey last year. I expect Rainey felt he could contribute even more.