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You are here: Home / Archives for Ernest Jackson

Lions Not Busy But Talent Is There

February 12, 2015 By Brian Wawryshyn

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Chris Rwabukamba should give the Lions ratio flexibility.

 

The first three days of CFL free agency are done, and the BC Lions appear to be finished sifting through what’s out there and will now focus their efforts on the draft and upcoming free agent camps.

While they only added one player from the available pool of league talent, the addition of Chris Rwabukamba is one the Lions have been trying to make for a couple seasons now.

The former Edmonton Eskimos DB has the flexibility to play the corner or at safety and with comfort of having Canadian Matt McGarva, the Lions may finally have that national safety they’ve been coveting for two years. McGarva is coming off a second major knee injury, but if he can have a solid return to the lineup it gives the Lions great roster flexibility.

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Ernest Jackson

In the loss column, the Lions say goodbye to Ernest Jackson, who in the second half of last season took on a major role in the offence. The Lions wanted to have him back, but the money paid by the Redblacks closed that window. While Jackson may continue to thrive, the body of work didn’t necessarily reflect his new deal with Ottawa. The Lions have Lavasier Tuinei and Bryan Burnham waiting in the wings and both showed promising talent in their appearances last season. The off-season signing of Austin Collie, a healthy Courtney Taylor and Manny Arceneaux, combined with improved numbers from Shawn Gore and Marco Iannuzzi should mean that the Lions should be ok without Jackson.

The Lions might have wanted to add an offensive lineman and were reported to be talking to Stanley Bryant prior to Winnipeg securing the two-time all-star. But most of the top tier players had already re-signed with their clubs or found NFL deals south of the border. While fans (including myself) are pining for improvement with the offensive line, I don’t think the cupboard is as bare as people think.

The key for the Lions will be to have their young guys make strides of improvement, while at the same time, stay healthy. Hunter Steward impressed in his limited action last year and Kirby Fabien was having a stellar rookie season before his injury. Last season, Fabien struggled both mentally and physically returning from that injury, and will hopefully rebound. T-Dre Player also showed some promise and will be attending his second training camp. After a strong rookie season, Matt Norman will be under scrutiny at training gamp with talk that the Lions may try Cameron Thorn under centre. At tackle they are solid on the left with Jovan Olafiyoe and on the right Jermarcus Hardrick provided some stability in the second half of last season.

The Lions would also like to find a kicker after releasing Ricky Schmitt and losing prospect Rich Leone to the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. Of course Paul McCallum will be back at camp, but to ask him to both jobs will be a stretch. Ideally the Lions would like to find a kicker that can handle all duties.

Travis Lulay is the key.
Travis Lulay is the key.

Of course the big question is at quarterback and the status of Travis Lulay. The Lions have spoken with Dan LeFevour and Lowell Ullrich reported that they will wait and see what they have at their April offence camp before deciding if more help is needed. John Beck will return with a better knowledge of the CFL game and newcomer Jordan Rodgers will be evaluated as well. Should LeFevour still be out there, and the Lions decide they need help, don’t be surprised if they look at bringing him in.

There will be more players added through the draft and free agent camps and don’t underestimate the contacts that new coach Jeff Tedford has south of the border. The Lions may not have been busy to start CFL free agency, but they do have the nucleus to make strides in 2015.

And that will be critical in the tough CFL West Division.

Filed Under: CFL/League, Den Talk, Featured Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Chris Rwabukamba, Ernest Jackson, Free Agency, Travis Lulay

From the Stands: Lions 41 Redblacks 3

October 23, 2014 By Brian Wawryshyn

How do you spell relief? For the BC Lions and their fan base, relief was spelled O-F-F-E-N-C-E Saturday at BC Place Stadium. Kevin Glenn had arguably his best game as a BC Lion and got support from his receivers as the Lions went on to thrash the Ottawa Redblacks 41-3. Here is how I saw the game, From the Stands.

Rising to the Challenge

When Glenn appeared to injure his throwing hand on the first play of the game, my first thought was, “Sure, why not?” The way Lions have been falling by the wayside of late it only seemed fitting that another player would be added to the pile. But thankfully Glenn not only returned, but went onto a 20-27, 345 yard, 3 touchdown performance.

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Ernest Jackson had plenty to celebrate against the Redblacks. Photo: The Province.com

 

Glenn wasn’t the only performance to be thankful for on Thanksgiving weekend. The Lions receiving corps needed to step up to help a struggling offence and they were led by the 195 yard effort of Ernest Jackson. Jackson was in the zone Saturday, with big plays and timely catches all night long. I’ve often wondered why the Lions haven’t attempted to use Jackson more, and after this performance he may have forced them to consider it, even when injured receivers return.

Jackson wasn’t alone as Lavasier Tuinei turned in a strong game and Shawn Gore made some key catches as well.

The running game also came to life with Keola Antolin looking much more comfortable in his second start and the offensive line opening the holes the diminutive running back needed. Antolin also gets high marks for the surfing routine he did to celebrate his first professional touchdown, a result of a 56 yard run on the same drive. Stefan Logan will likely return after the bye week, but the Lions now have some comfort without Andrew Harris in the running department.

Credit to the Coaches

No one escapes criticism when things aren’t going well and the Lions coaches have received their fair share over the last few weeks. But not only did Mike Benevides and his staff have to find ways to generate offence with so many starters injured, they had to keep the team united as one. They accomplished both. After the game Lions players spoke of the fact that no one believed in them, but as Gore said earlier in the week, that doubt and criticism was deserved from outsiders. So too is the praise they should receive for rallying as an organization, and hopefully this was the tonic the teams needs to play out the final three games of the season and enter the playoffs on a roll.

Special Teams

After a poor outing in Hamilton the Lions did a much better job on special teams. Tim Brown looked maybe a half step behind speed wise coming off his groin injury, but the coverage downfield was solid all night long and gave the Lions much better field position to work with defensively.

Better Call Sol

I spent a lot of time watching Solomon Elimimian Saturday, because not only is he my favourite player, I just wanted to watch and see what makes him so good. His pursuit of the ball on every play is relentless, he’ll go over, through or around any obstacle in his path to make a tackle. Elimimian has really settled into the CFL game and it shows. Solomon became the Lions record holder for tackles in a season, and the league record will be next to fall if Elimimian can stay healthy.

Props to Paul

Paul McCallum was also in the spotlight Saturday as he moved into second place on the all-time CFL scoring list. It’s unlikely that McCallum will catch Lui Passaglia to take over the number one spot, but it’s pretty cool that two BC Lions are one/two on the list.

Speaking of Passaglia, it was great to see him at BC Place on Saturday night as the club’s honorary captain. He’s been in Lions fans’ thoughts since his recent battle with cancer was made public, but Lui looked good and it was great to see the Lions bring him out to a standing ovation and chants of Luuuuu for the coin toss.

Looking Ahead

The Lions were finally able to take advantage of their position and move four points ahead of the Bombers. But the Riders are in a freefall as well and got spanked by the Alouettes, meaning that the Lions are now just two points out of third in the CFL West and they hold the tie breaker over the Riders.

The Lions should be getting some bodies back following the bye week, and now have some confidence in their pocket when they head into Winnipeg in two weeks. That game could be the defining moment of the season for BC, who close out the season versus Edmonton and Calgary.

Going through the West or the East doesn’t matter, because in the end the Lions will have to beat two good teams to get to the Grey Cup. However, travel wise the club would be better off to keep their playoff streak alive by qualifying in the West.

What are your thoughts? Your comments are always welcome. The Pawdcast will be taking a break this week along with the Lions, but we’ll be back with a show before the Lions take on the Bombers.

Filed Under: 2014 Game Recaps, CFL/League, Den Talk, Featured, From The Stands, Game Recaps Tagged With: BC Lions, BCLionsDen.ca, Brian Wawryshyn, CFL, Ernest Jackson, Game Recaps, Keola Antolin, Kevin Glenn, Ottawa Redblacks, The Fifth Quarter

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