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You are here: Home / Archives for Ben Archibald

Lions lose two good ones in McKenzie and Archibald

March 28, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

740x300_archibald
Photo: BCLions.com

As Lowell Ullrich pointed out on the The Fifth Quarter, the Lions took another hit to the depth of their leadership group with the retirement of Ben Archibald and the release of LB Anton McKenzie.

There is a re-tooling happening in BC, and it looks as though the Lions are looking to become a younger more aggressive team in 2014. To be sure there is still plenty of leadership in the Lions locker room after today’s losses, but when you throw Korey Banks and Angus Reid into the discussion, you can see why some are concerned.

Reid certainly feels the loss of Archibald will be a big one for the club, tweeting;

I'm not sure #BClions fans really realize what a HUGE loss @BenArchibald65 retirement really is. Both on and off the field. #leader #truePro

— Angus Reid (@angusreid64) March 28, 2014

The Lions do have some young talent coming on the offensive line which received a boost when 2013 draft pick Hunter Steward signed with the team. Kirby Fabien looked fantastic before his injury last season and the Lions will hope he comes back 100% for training camp. They’re also talking to the agent for 2010 draft pick Danny Watkins, who isn’t sure he wants to play football any more after toiling for a couple of seasons in the NFL.

But it’s going to have to be up to Jovan Olafioye, Dean Valli and Patrick Kabongo to be the leaders and guide the youth of a new look offensive line. Matt Norman enters his third season with the Lions and must have absorbed a ton of experience in 2013. There is no reason to expect he won’t continue to improve as the heir apparent to Angus Reid.

McKenzie’s loss will also be felt. The consummate team player, McKenzie was a solid option for the Lions in many situations. His play down the stretch in 2011 was outstanding and he was a big part of the playoffs that year. The writing was on the wall though and with Adam Bighill and Solomon Elimimian in the lineup and the addition of Jamall Johnson, the Lions can afford to go with a younger option to bring along.

While some are suggesting that the Lions may feel these departures when it comes to leadership, the fact is there are players ready to assume that role. Dante Marsh, Ryan Philips, Shawn Gore, Travis Lulay, Khreem Smith, Paul McCallum, Adam Bighill, Andrew Harris are all still here among others. One only has to point a young player in the direction of Marsh or Bighill to see what being a professional entails.

Leadership shouldn’t be an issue and as always, the decisions of Wally Buono will be judged in November. He usually gets pretty decent grades.

Filed Under: Den Talk, Featured, News Tagged With: Angus Reid, Anton McKenzie, BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Ben Archibald, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Korey Banks, The Fifth Quarter, Wally Buono

Musings from the Den: Ben Archibald and egg on my face!

February 23, 2011 By Brian Wawryshyn

There has been a lot of CFL news of late with the release of the 2011 schedule and the opening of the free agency period.

The BC Lions added key pieces to both their offensive and defensive lines in signing import left tackle Ben Archibald (Calgary) and defensive tackle Eric Taylor (Toronto).

The signings addressed two areas where the the Lions had hoped to improve. Not since Rob Murphy left for Toronto two season ago have the Lions had two solid tackles on the offensive line. With the emergence of rookie Jovan Olafioye, who will move to right tackle and now the addition of last years most outstanding offensive lineman, the hope is that QB Travis Lulay will be well protected from the get go this season. The two import bookends leaves the Lions with some decisions to make on the offensive line and my signal trouble for Justin Sorensen who has struggled to impress when filling in for injured players the last two seasons.

Eric Taylor will be slotted in on the defensive line to team with Aaron Hunt on the inside and bring experience. The 29 year old Taylor signed a 3 year deal with the Leos.

Egg on my face

A rumour making the rounds Wednesday originating from a tweet by Sportsnet’s Perry Lefko (one that he’s since deleted) suggested that Lions DB Stanley Franks would not be playing in 2011 due to a family issue and would be released by the Lions proved to be false. I found the tweet by Lefko odd since earlier that day The Province’s Lowell Ullrich had written the 24 year old Franks had signed an extension with the team.

Priding myself as a blogger that likes to get things right, I sent Lowell and other media people I trust a message on Twitter, asking if he had heard the rumour and he replied saying he would would post something later. He did and labelled the report as false.

When I originally read the post, I took issue with this paragraph:

“As for whether Franks is coming back at all, which made the rounds in cyberspace Wednesday, two words: Paper shuffle. Players receiving contract extensions, by definition, need to be released before their new deal is registered. Teams must wait until the legal stuff is done for making announcements. Bloggers aren’t under quite the same conditions.”

What? I didn’t post anything about the rumour! I tried to do the right thing and check my facts! Another shot at the blogger! How dare he!

I sent Lowell another message asking “Why the shot at bloggers?” Again he replied…”You shouldn’t be so defensive. I am a blogger too. I am referring to myself.”.

I crawled back into my blogger hole, rather red faced, after an apology to Lowell of course.

Great start to Grey Cup ticket sales

Reports also surfaced this week that the Lions have sold 22,000 plus Grey Cup season ticket holders so far, with tickets yet to go on sale to the general public. With the renovated BC Place in the picture, you can be sure the game will be a quick sell-out so get your tickets fast when you get the chance. It’s going to be a helluva show! Tickets to the general public are expected to go on sale in late spring.

Camping in Kamloops

The Lions will once again be holding training camp in Kamloops. Camp will open June 5th at Thompson University. BCLionsDen.ca will once again be up at camp for a few days and will attempt to bring you as much of the action as we can.

Filed Under: Den Talk Tagged With: BC Lions, Ben Archibald, CFL, Eric Taylor, Lowell Ullrich, Stanley Franks

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