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May 27, 2017

2017 Training Camp Preview | Buckle Up

Wally Buono is loud and clear when he sends the message to his players: As great as last year was, file it away. Pronto. We’re paraphrasing but you get the point. It’s the old classic line from Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Billy Beane in Moneyball: “If you lose your last game of the season, nobody gives a you know what.”

Sure there was lots of things to like about the 12-6 turnaround campaign and thrilling come from behind victory over Winnipeg in the Western Semi-Final. As mini-camp broke in Kamloops Saturday morning, it was all about looking ahead.

“Last year we started something, this year we need to get better at it,” Buono said as the first wave of practices came to an end.

“We’re not going to get better just by hoping and praying. You’ve got to put in the time and energy and you’ve got to sacrifice.”

If it is indeed about focusing on the present, the club got off to a pretty good start with the rookies and select veterans showing many signs of promise in the mini-camp workouts.

“You could see growth every day, you could see promise every day and at least for me it gives great opportunity to evaluate what we have, how we’re going to fit in and what the next step is.”

Part of that next step is figuring out who may stand out once the veterans join them at Hillside Stadium for the opening practice Sunday morning.

In no particular order….

Five Key Performers From Mini-Camp

Douglas McNeill III– The lanky slotback seemed to catch everything and site and looked confident in his slants and routs. He was the oldest player on hand- McNeill turns 29 in August- so the experience for sure helped.

Tevin McDonald– The safety and son of former San Francisco 49ers all-pro Tim McDonald had two interceptions on day one and narrowly missed two others. He was heavily involved on the sidelines, which gave the indication he has picked up the Canadian game pretty well.

Frank Alexander– Just what the doctor ordered as the club looks to beef up the pass rush. The ex- Carolina Panther (below) proved to be a dominant force and looked good alongside Luther Maddy on the interior of the defensive line. The line of scrimmage battles should only get better from here.

Brett Blaszko– As the quest to push Marco Iannuzzi on the starting depth chart at national receiver begins; don’t rule out the second-year Calgary Dinos product. He already looks faster and stronger than last year and has more of a mean streak in his game.

Keith Price/Alex Ross– Ok, we’ll cheat a bit. As we mentioned in our day one recap, Price looks to have taken advantage of having one year under his belt. His scrambling ability was shown on day three. Ross, a former Coastal Carolina Standout, threw plenty of nice deep balls and showed plenty of athleticism against a heavy pass rush.

Training Camp: 5 Key Battles to Watch

Weaskside Linebacker– The question will linger for days: who replaces Adam Bighill? Although losing the four-time CFL all-star and 2015 Most Outstanding Defensive Player was not ideal, there is no shortage of candidates. Returnees Dyshawn Davis and Cameron Ontko will each make a case and Texas Tech product Micah Awe faired well with the rookies in Kamloops. Free agent signing Tony Burnett- a Lions camp attendee in 2014- may be the clubhouse leader. The former USC Trojan recorded 33 tackles with the Blue Bombers last season. This will no doubt be the most intriguing storyline early on.

Safety– Steven Clarke looked right at home when he moved to the position at April OTA but McDonald has performed really well heading into main camp. Nothing is set in stone. It will be interesting to see if fellow first-year Americans such as Cleveland Wallace and Mondo Williams move over from halfback in the coming days.

Defensive Line– A few factors are in play here. First comes the ratio situation after tackle Jabar Westerman departed to Montreal via free agency. Incumbents David Menard and Maxx Forde will continue to get looks while ex Saskatchewan Roughrider Dylan Ainsworth headlines the additions. Then of course there is 2017 first round pick Junior Luke who seemed to improve each day in OTA. Much has been made of the performance of Alexander in OTA and mini-camp. He and a few of the other imports will push the likes of Bryan Turner Jr. and Mic’hael Brooks. All eyes will be on Craig Roh as the club looks to replace the production of Alex Bazzie at rush end. This has been Buono’s bread and butter all along: line of scrimmage is where you separate yourself from the rest of the pack.

Left Tackle– They won’t underestimate the task of replacing seven-time all-star Jovan Olafioye. David Foucault, the centrepiece of Jovan’s trade to Montreal, has transitioned nicely into that spot for now but the options stretch beyond that. There is always the possibility of moving Hunter Steward back to his natural position and have Focault battle it out with Charles Vaillancourt. These options are the benefit to potentially starting four non-imports on the offensive line. Depth will be key.

 

Number 3 QB– Last year Greg McGhee was the returnee before Price won the job following pre-season. Ross has shown great promise and no stone will be left un-turned when it comes to working behind Jonathan Jennings and Travis Lulay. We won’t know too much after the pre-season opener in Calgary June 6th.

Quotable

“Man, these guys are flying. It’s a real athletic group. These guys can catch the ball and offensive line, these guys are towers. It will be fun for the vets to get in here and challenge these guys. I’m super excited. I remember watching Chris Williams last year and as really impressed with what he was doing. He was catching five-yard hitches and taking them 80. I think that’s an important dynamic to a great offence.”-Price on the mood heading into training camp.

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Injury Report

Receivers Shaq Johnson (hamstring) and Deon Long (Foot) both spent time riding the bike for much of day three of mini-camp.

Bake’s Take on 2017 Training Camp

It’s easy to be confident this early but the way Buono and his staff are handling it needs to be commended. The confidence was there to start last year. The questions were also there to go with it. How would Buono adapt in his return to the sidelines? Would Jennings pick up where he left off in 2015?

Would they survive injuries? All of those boxes were ticked off. Now it’s all about finishing. There are questions on defence and why wouldn’t there be after a couple of key departures? If one thing is clear, there are plenty of capable bodies to fill those spots. As Buono heads into the final year of his contract, it could shape up to be one of the more memorable training camps in recent memory.

Day One Schedule

The two a days begin at 8:30am Sunday at Hillside Stadium. The second two-hour practice begins at 3:30PM. Both will be non-padded workouts.

 Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com