Offensively speaking, the 2016 BC Lions season had it all: there was Jonathon Jennings living up to the preseason hype and expectations, as he finished third in the CFL in both passing yards and TD’s, career years for both Manny Arceneaux and Bryan Burnham and a new backfield arrangement where Jeremiah Johnson and Anthony Allen shared the duties. Keeping it all together was a vastly improved offensive line that included another all-star season from Jovan Olafioye and a stellar performance from CFL rookie Antonio Johnson at the always difficult right tackle position.
Leading the pack was offensive coordinator Khari Jones, promoted back to his old position after serving as receivers coach under Jeff Tedford’s staff in 2015. How much did that one -year transition help him in his new/old role?
Matt Baker from bclions.com sat down with Jones to get a recap and perspective of how the offence performed in 2016.
MB: I’ll get this out of the way first. When you watched Ottawa pull off the big Grey Cup upset, was there a sense of “what could have been?”
KJ: Always. It’s always hard to watch that game, especially when you feel you had the ability to be in that game. I’m happy for Ottawa and feel they did some very good things against Calgary that other people would be able to take some of that blueprint and use to their advantage. But it’s always a little bit tough when you’re not there. Despite being in the beginning phases of things we still felt like we had a team that was capable of being in that game. It always hurts a bit but our goal is to be in that conversation each and every year. You’re not going to win it every year, no one does, but the big thing is to be in the mix and conversation every year.
MB: You were back where you belong in 2016, running the offence. How much did the one season as receivers coach change your approach and help you get better?
KJ: I think it helped. Every year you pick up something different, something new. It was my first time specifically coaching the receivers. I got a good sense of what they specifically needed to be successful and it helped my overall outlook. I’ve seen the game form a quarterback’s perspective most of my life and from an offensive coordinator perspective but it was nice to see it from a different view. I think it helped my overall view of the game and coming into this year I felt even better prepared, just because of the experience.
Khari Jones in his first taste of pre-season action at Saskatchewan on June 11th. After enduring an hour-plus long power outage at halftime, the Lions prevailed 28-16.
MB: The offensive staff is full of guys not coaching their natural positions. Adam Blasetti, a former offensive lineman, handles the running backs. And we know offensive line coach Dan Dorazio never played the position, despite being one of the best in the business. Marcel Bellefeuille is the receivers coach and obviously knows everything after serving as a head coach and coordinator at the University and pro level. Is it safe to say football is like any other profession? The more you know, the better off you’ll be?
KJ: I think it does help, only because you’re able to see everything from all perspectives. With Marcel, he has coached everything so he has a global perspective of the offence. The same thing with Dan, he’s been a coordinator over time and Adam has in junior football as well. There’s also nothing wrong with having someone like Dan who is so devoted to the o-line and probably knows more than anybody on earth about offensive line play. My specialty is quarterbacks because that’s what I played, but it’s nice to branch out and be able to recognize what other groups need?
MB: Speaking of quarterbacks, you have a pretty good one in your arsenal. Did Jonathon Jennings exceed your expectations in 2016?
KJ: I don’t know if he exceeded them because I had very high expectations for him. I think the world of Jonathon and believe he has only kind of scratched the surface of how he is going to be as a quarterback. I’m not saying he’s going to throw for 7,000 yards next year or anything like that, but just his knowledge of the game is going to continue to grow. As that grows, he is going to be in more control of the game. That’s exciting for me as his coach to see that development and see where he is going to end up as a player. The sky is the limit with him and he’s a talented individual, very humble and he comes to work every day. Those are the qualities you want in a guy leading your football team. He’s going to be somebody for a number of years.
Jennings celebrates his acrobatic, game-winning touchdown run to complete the amazing 4th quarter comeback against Winnipeg in the Western Semi-Final.
MB: One thing I was very impressed with Jonathon was his ability to immediately file away the last game, especially his knack for brushing it off and bouncing back after a tough loss. Are those the other qualities you must have as a pro?
KJ: I think that’s a big quality to have, as far as not holding on to things and not taking things with you, not just game- to- game but sometimes play- to -play. There were times when he’d throw a ball that maybe he shouldn’t have thrown but he realized it and was able to bounce back quickly from it. That takes some doing. Quarterback is a tough job and you’re asked to make critical decisions every play. You’re not always going to be right but the ability to brush it off is big. As the year went on, he got even better at that and the coaching staff was impressed with it.
MB: A big part of your exciting brand of football this year was Emmanuel Arceneaux. I did a story on him in training camp about his new attitude and new approach now that he is a veteran and taking care of his mother, aunt and nephew back home in Louisiana. How much of that change did you notice and how did it help him lead the league in touchdown receptions?
KJ: I definitely noticed. Manny was probably our MVP on the offence. He was very valuable to what we needed to do this year. Jonathon as well, but Manny a bit more because we asked him to take on a leadership role and he was not only open to that but he was great at it. You knew what you were going to get out of Manny every day. If there was a minor criticism it was that maybe he was a little up and down in the past. He was fantastic, a big part of what we did and we probably could have used him more, even though he got the ball quite a bit. But any role we asked him to do during the season, he did it and he did it well. That’s the mark of a true professional. Some guys in his position might not want to block as much as he did or do some of the little things but he took on all challenges. I was very impressed with Emmanuel this year.
Manny Arceneaux led all CFL receivers with 13 touchdown catches in 2016. HIs 105 receptions were the most by a Lion since Geroy Simon in 2006. Manny also notched a career-high 1,566 yards.
MB: What can you say about the breakout year Bryan Burnham had? There were times where it seemed he caught everything in site. How much have you enjoy seeing his development?
KJ: I was as happy for Bryan as I was for anybody on our team this year. I have seen the amount of work he has put in because we came in together at the same time; I was at that free agent camp in Seattle (2014) where we first saw him and I was very impressed with him then. I pushed to have him here. To see him blossom here and show the things he can do, I was just so proud of him. He works hard and always tries to figure out the best way to do things. This year he was able to bring everything together and like Jonathon, he is also still scratching the surface on his talents. He is a guy you can build the team around and we’ll see what happens in the future. If he makes the NFL great and if he comes back here it’s great for the organization and myself (laughs).
Bryan Burnham’s highlight reel catches were a staple of the offence in 2016.
MB: Eight questions in and we haven’t covered perhaps the best storyline on offence. Many observers didn’t warm up to the two running backs system at the start of the year but it paid massive dividends as you had more rushing yards than any other team in the league. What can you say about how well Jeremiah and Anthony performed as well as how great both players handled the arrangement?
Mike Edem crashes the running backs’ group shot at training camp in Kamloops. The wide smiles were only a sign of things to come in the backfield.
KJ: That was the biggest thing: they had to be accepting of it and they were. That was really special for me to see, how the guys made it not about them individually but more about the team. They really took that to heart and whenever either one of them was called upon they gave us exactly what they needed. It allowed us to stay fresh throughout the season and both guys were able to fight off injuries. When they were in, they were 100 percent. It didn’t matter which guy was in. I had confidence in both of them; I called the same plays for both of them, which was nice. Both of them are very solid backs and it worked out better than I could have imagined.
MB: As far as what the offence accomplished in 2016, what are you most proud of?
KJ: There are a few things. I like the fact that we were able to stick to our game plan as far as being a balanced offence. We ran the ball well, we threw it well and that was a positive for us. Our 4th quarter play was something we were happy about for the most part; we were able to score at the end of games and win games. That’s when you really make your hay as an offence, when you are able to get points when you need them. We did a great job of that, especially in the playoff game against Winnipeg. Plus, we learned a lot. I think we took a step forward from the previous couple of years and now moving forward we have something definite to build upon. Overall, I was happy with the buy in from players. They put the team first, more so than individual stats. I plan to get better this offseason, just like the players and be better prepared coming in.
MB: You men
tioned while we were making small talk that you and the family are driving home to the Bay Area for Christmas and you were looking forward to catching up on some reading. What books are taking up your time these days?
KJ: I’m not reading anything right now because the season just ended, but I do have a stack of books I need to get to. I am mostly a biography guy. I love books about other sports leaders (Phil Jackson and Bill Walsh are among those on his shelf), one I really like is Andrei Agassi’s. I thought he was as open as anybody I have read. I like out of the box thinking, I am always looking for that. I enjoy light reading by the pool. I want to read Girl on the Train and I just bought one in the airport called All the Light We Cannot See. I am looking forward to starting that.
MB: What about TV Shows? Are you a Netflix guy?
KJ: Like books, I am just getting started on that again. I just began Making A Murderer. It’s interesting. I am a big Saturday Night Live guy, that’s one of the few things I watch religiously. Ray Donovan I like as well.
Stay tuned to BCLions.com for a similar sit down with defensive coordinator Mark Washington. It was a memorable season on that side of the ball as well!