Training camp 2021

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BC 1988
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DanoT wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:16 pm
Reg18, sorry but I find attempting to translate your posts into readable English is too tedious for me, so I don't bother anymore.
Translation:
Rick Campbell impresses me on so many fronts. Having American rookies sing O Canada to the grandstand was inspired. So many new Canadians are amongst the ranks of rookie Lions. And his civilized approach to practices in the heat and smoke. He sounds and acts like a leader who will have the players respect. I met his parents when they first came to the Riders. Class acts both of them and it looks like Rick reflects his parents. i think we have a winner!

I would guess the poster is typing on a small smartphone screen and/or doesn't know how to use the red underlining to correct keyboarding errors.
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BC 1988
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Rammer and B.C. FAN--your reports are great for those of us down here far away.

I suspect at least the first 4 games of this season will be a trainwreck for the entire league--coaching staffs have never had to deal with a situation like this. Players will be of varying degrees of fitness/readiness from the long layoff and training camp alone is not enough to expose those weaknesses. At least there haven't been any more Achilles injuries (another sign of not being properly acclimated to the physical demands).
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BC 1988
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Spoke too soon--another season-ending Achilles injury--this time WPG DB Mercy Maston.
https://www.bluebombers.com/2021/07/19/ ... -achilles/
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Hambone
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DanoT wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:16 pm
Reg18, sorry but I find attempting to translate your posts into readable English is too tedious for me, so I don't bother anymore.
He must be using the same sort of Samsung Galaxy keyboard I have on my phone. If you don't tap directly on top of the key right all kinds of goofy stuff happens. I'm forever having to correct texts etc. Hit the space bar and more often than not it takes is as "b". After 8 months with the Samsung I still badly miss my Blackberry keyboard. :wink:
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SammyGreene
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And the first wave of cuts has been released:

The BC Lions Football Club announced today the following players have been released from the training camp roster:

QB D’Angelo Fulford (A)
LB Kendall Futrell (A)
DB Damon Hayes (A)
DL Bryant Jones (A)
WR Shane Leatherbury (A)
WR Tim Lukas (A)
DB Ben Minaker (N)
DL Lewis Neal (A)
WR Devin Phelps (A)
RB Andrew Pocrnic (N)
LB Noah Robinson (N)
DB Isiah Swann (A)
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BC 1988
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I've got an ancient (by today's disposable electronics standards) Galaxy Note 3. I love it for browsing-who needs a tablet with this much room? The only negative is the onscreen keyboard has always seemed to be slightly off center-- I learned to lean over to the right a bit to make up for that. Of course, the OtterBox case it's encased it might be a factor, but I would have smashed it long ago in it's ridiculously slippery bare form.
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After a great weekend, things changed in a hurry for the Air Quality Index at TRU.

Readings of 10+ from 10am and still hasn't lessened.
https://weather.gc.ca/airquality/pages/ ... 007_e.html
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B.C.FAN
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SammyGreene wrote:
Mon Jul 19, 2021 3:13 pm
And the first wave of cuts has been released:

The BC Lions Football Club announced today the following players have been released from the training camp roster:

QB D’Angelo Fulford (A)
LB Kendall Futrell (A)
DB Damon Hayes (A)
DL Bryant Jones (A)
WR Shane Leatherbury (A)
WR Tim Lukas (A)
DB Ben Minaker (N)
DL Lewis Neal (A)
WR Devin Phelps (A)
RB Andrew Pocrnic (N)
LB Noah Robinson (N)
DB Isiah Swann (A)
There were a few surprises in that list, most notably Lewis Neal, who was highly touted in the offseason and took first-team reps at defensive tackle last week. Shane Leatherbury was one receiver who stood out to me in the opening days of camp but the Lions seem to have an abundance of rookie talent at that position, including Jamal Custis, Alex Wesley and Jimmie Robinson Jr., plus high-profile free-agent signings Dominique Rhymes and Lucky Whitehead, three returning nationals and national free-agent Jacob Scarfone.

Linebacker Noah Robinson was another surprise as a returning national player. His release is a sign of the national depth on this year's camp roster.
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SammyGreene
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Mon Jul 19, 2021 4:44 pm
There were a few surprises in that list, most notably Lewis Neal, who was highly touted in the offseason and took first-team reps at defensive tackle last week. Shane Leatherbury was one receiver who stood out to me in the opening days of camp but the Lions seem to have an abundance of rookie talent at that position, including Jamal Custis, Alex Wesley and Jimmie Robinson Jr., plus high-profile free-agent signings Dominique Rhymes and Lucky Whitehead, three returning nationals and national free-agent Jacob Scarfone.

Linebacker Noah Robinson was another surprise as a returning national player. His release is a sign of the national depth on this year's camp roster.
Surprised to see Neal on the list too BC FAN. By all accounts, Kamalu has had a solid camp thus far and is poised to land one of the DT spots. That leaves Josh Banks (6-4, 290 lbs 27-years-old), Cam Kitchen (6-3, 290 lbs, 25-years-old) and Kevin Thurman (6-3, 298 lbs 24-years-old) as the contenders for the other DT position that at least have the size.

With FA signings Tavai and Casher seemingly locks at DE, they still have Americans Obum Gwacham (6-5, 250 lbs, 30 years-old), Trevon Hill (6-3, 238 lbs, 23 years-old) and Dana Levine (6-4, 235 lbs 24 years-old) in camp and all seem too undersize to shift to tackle. The well-traveled Oregon State grad Gwacham has apparently impressed too.
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B.C.FAN
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The Lions held a three-hour practice with several crisp team sessions on a smoky, 26-degree Tuesday morning.

The most evident concern with the team is the health of four injured starters on offence. QB Michael Reilly took part in non-throwing drills only. He is reportedly resting a sore shoulder and hasn't thrown since last week. He is expected back in action soon but the situation is eerily reminiscent of what happened in 2005 with Casey Printers and 2014 with Travis Lulay, when they were hampered by sore shoulders in camp and never fully recovered.

Receivers Bryan Burnham and Lemar Durant joined Reilly on the sidelines, taking a few spins on the exercise bike but not much else. Burnham, who is believed to have a minor ankle injury, briefly tossed a few balls back and forth with Reilly on the sideline. He struggled to catch the ball in Saturday's scrimmage and has been replaced on the first-team offence since then by rookie Keon Hatcher. I'm told the coaches are high on Hatcher, and he took advantage of the opportunity with several catches in team play Tuesday. Free-agent national receiver Jacob Scarfone stepped in for Durant and had a couple of catches and a drop in team play. Second-year Lion Jevon Cottoy, who dwarfs other skill position players at 6-5, 230 lbs., made several sure-handed catches on the second team but is still mainly used a special teamer.

Also sidelined since last week is tackle Ryker Mathews. Phil Norman has stepped in seamlessly. Norman is a rare lineman who can play all positions on the O-line. He can expect to earn a full paycheque this year even if he's not on the active roster each week.

The injuries have given other players a chance to step up and impress the coaches but this team isn't going anywhere without four key starters.

Will Arndt and Nathan Rourke split first-team reps at QB. Arndt is the only backup QB on the roster with CFL experience but I'm intrigued by the upside of Rourke, who has a strong arm and quick feet and seems to handle the offence as well as any of the other backups on the roster. Shea Patterson took third-team reps and wasn't sharp.

On defence, Josh Banks took first-team reps at defensive tackle after the release of Lewis Neal on Monday. Obum Gwacham took first-team reps at defensive end in place of J.R. Tavai. The rest of the defence was unchanged since the start of camp and looks solid, although first-year starter Victor Gamboa has been targeted often at field corner. Boundary corner Garry Peters had an end-zone interception off Arndt in a goal-line session. Kiante Hardin had a nice end-zone knockdown of a Rourke pass in the same session.

Backups who got a lot of work on special teams, in addition to those mentioned in Friday's report, include American DB Bejour Wilson, American RB James Butler, rookie national RB Kayden Johnson, American DB Nydair Rouse and global D-lineman Nik Gustav

Japanese placekicker Takeru Yamasaki showed a strong leg and good form on all his kicks but struggled with accuracy, hitting only 2 of 6 attempts. One kick hit the right upright. Others were wide left or right.

Linebacker Bo Lokombo triggered a scuffle when he flattened RB Jamel Lyles on a pass over the middle. Despite there being no tackling and only limited hitting allowed, Lokombo has flattened several receivers who have entered his area in camp. Several offensive players jumped on Lokombo after the hit but he and Lyles shook hands at the end of it.
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David
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Bad news on the coaching front. D-line coach Leroy Blugh is not going to coach this year. He has gone home to Kingston to deal with personal matters (sounds like there may be a health matter but not absolutely certain).

Former DLman Claudell Louis will take over the unit. He was an assistant DL coach but will take over the reins. We're losing a lot of experience here.


DH :cool:
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Bosco
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Losing Leroy Blugh is an absolute loss for Rick Campbell and the Lions D-Line. Campbell was counting on Blugh's playing & coaching experience to guide the rebuilding line.
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DanoT
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I wonder what two time former Lion D-Line coach Randy Melvin is doing. He last coached for the Lions in 2018 and was also the D-Line coach when the Lions won the GC in 2011.
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Hambone
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DanoT wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:35 pm
I wonder what two time former Lion D-Line coach Randy Melvin is doing. He last coached for the Lions in 2018 and was also the D-Line coach when the Lions won the GC in 2011.
DLC with Hamilton since 2019.
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DanoT
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Hambone wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:04 pm
DanoT wrote:
Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:35 pm
I wonder what two time former Lion D-Line coach Randy Melvin is doing. He last coached for the Lions in 2018 and was also the D-Line coach when the Lions won the GC in 2011.
DLC with Hamilton since 2019.
Melvin is a good one. Glad to see he is working for my second favourite team.
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