2016 Training Camp Thread

[B.C.FAN]

The depth chart is up for Saturday's preseason game in Saskatchewan. Several veteran starters are not going to Regina, including Solomon Elimimian, Ryan Phillips, Mic'hael Brooks and Brandon Stewart on defence, and Nick Moore, Marco Iannuzzi, Levy Adcock and Anthony Allen on offence. Otherwise, all the presumptive starters play.

Players to watch include:
No. 39 Chandler Fenner. He is pushing for a roster position, at least as a backup DB.
No. 72 George Uko at nose tackle. He has taken a lot of reps at training camp due to injuries to Brooks and Zach Minter and has been dominant in the middle of the line.
No. 83 Stephen Adekolu at WR for Iannuzzi. He is going into his third year and is pushing for a bigger role on offence.

Finally, broadcasters won't like that there are two Clarkes starting at linebacker. Backup Adrian Clarke replaces Elimimian in the middle and Steven Clarke gets his first start at nickelback after getting several starts at corner and halfback last year.

[squishy35]

The depth chart is up for Saturday's preseason game in Saskatchewan. Several veteran starters are not going to Regina, including Solomon Elimimian, Ryan Phillips, Mic'hael Brooks and Brandon Stewart on defence, and Nick Moore, Marco Iannuzzi, Levy Adcock and Anthony Allen on offence. Otherwise, all the presumptive starters play.

Players to watch include:
No. 39 Chandler Fenner. He is pushing for a roster position, at least as a backup DB.
No. 72 George Uko at nose tackle. He has taken a lot of reps at training camp due to injuries to Brooks and Zach Minter and has been dominant in the middle of the line.
No. 83 Stephen Adekolu at WR for Iannuzzi. He is going into his third year and is pushing for a bigger role on offence.

Finally, broadcasters won't like that there are two Clarks starting at linebacker. Backup Adrian Clarke replaces Elimimian in the middle and Steven Clarke gets his first start at nickelback after getting several starts at corner and halfback last year.

I'll be watching the young O line and their grasp of the Dorazio schemes closely. McGhee will also be on my watch list as I think he has a ton of talent and I am hoping he is able to make the reads on the defence. I will also look for Ings at WR to see if his hands are as good as his speed in live action.

[WestCoastJoe]

Preseason games don't necessarily tell you much. But some stuff does show. Organization. Energy. Talent.

Will Chris Jones send the house against our made over O Line?

Are Uko and Bazzie big enough for regular D Line play? They might be.

Will we be able to muster a ground game?

Will we have decent pass protection?

Looking forward to the game.

[CardiacKid]

The [url=http://d3ham790trbkqy.cloudfront.net/wp ... une-11.pdf]

Players to watch include:
.......
No. 83 Stephen Adekolu at WR for Iannuzzi. He is going into his third year and is pushing for a bigger role on offence.

I will be watching Adekolu's performance with particular interest. In his very limited opportunities in both pre and regular season he seems like a guy who will fight for the ball and is capable of highlight reel catches. I will be pulling for this young man to have an impact this year.

Also in the aftermath of Hawkins' retirement, the debate on the forum as to who would be stepping up in the receiving corps didn't seem to include any of the Nationals. It mostly focused on the likes of Burnham, Jeffers-Harris, Boldewijn, Ings, etc. Hopefully Adekolu can make a strong case this pre-season that he can be a starter but also a clutch performer.

I am also hoping Shaquille Johnson will get a ball thrown his way so we can see what he can do. I am assuming he is on the roster? Anyways I have my fingers crossed that he will also be counted as a steal from this year's draft much like Dillon Guy. I also hope Maxx Forde and Ese Mrabure-Ajufo have positive games and make strong statements for sticking around...particularly EMA who was bit of a whipping boy last year. With the defensive line appearing to be a stronger unit with greater potential this year, I am hopeful we will see individual performances also improve.

[Lions4ever]

The depth chart still has Fraser listed as wearing #37 (his # last season) but I understood with the retirement of Hawkins, his #7 came available so Fraser may have claimed his old # back (he wore 7 with the Stamps..and with the Rouge et Noir as well, I think). Just an FYI.

[B.C.FAN]

Are Uko and Bazzie big enough for regular D Line play? They might be.

Uko looks huge compared to anyone on the offensive or defensive lines. I'm not sure what he weighs now but he was listed at 300 pounds in high school when he was recruited by USC as the second-ranked defensive tackle in the U.S. He played defensive end in the NFL and was listed there as 284 pounds. I'd be surprised if he was still that light.

[WestCoastJoe]

Are Uko and Bazzie big enough for regular D Line play? They might be.

Uko looks huge compared to anyone on the offensive or defensive lines. I'm not sure what he weighs now but he was listed at 300 pounds in high school when he was recruited by USC as the second-ranked defensive tackle in the U.S. He played defensive end in the NFL and was listed there as 284 pounds. I'd be surprised if he was still that light.

Yup. And thanks for the in person view of the players.

The roster attached to the depth chart shows Menard at 225 instead of the 275 of last year. There are usually some inaccuracies. And after I posted re Uko, I thought that even at 275, that can big enough, if one has the agility and strength, as with Menard.

In person, out of uniform, Player looks to be more than 275.

Ese is still listed at 250, much too small one would think for DT play, his position as shown on the depth chart.

Bazzie did seem light for DE play last year. 225 is more of a linebacker weight.

Of course, these are just numbers. The bigger issue is: Can a guy play?

[KnowItAll]

Finally, broadcasters won't like that there are two Clarkes starting at linebacker. Backup Adrian Clarke replaces Elimimian in the middle and Steven Clarke gets his first start at nickelback after getting several starts at corner and halfback last year.

do you remember when the argos had 3 smiths starting DBs

[TheLionKing]

Looking forward to see Leone handle the extra points.

[pennw]

Yup. And thanks for the in person view of the players.

The roster attached to the depth chart shows Menard at 225 instead of the 275 of last year. There are usually some inaccuracies. And after I posted re Uko, I thought that even at 275, that can big enough, if one has the agility and strength, as with Menard.

In person, out of uniform, Player looks to be more than 275.

Ese is still listed at 250, much too small one would think for DT play, his position as shown on the depth chart.

Bazzie did seem light for DE play last year. 225 is more of a linebacker weight.

Of course, these are just numbers. The bigger issue is: Can a guy play?

Player is now listed at 300 on the roster . Uko is 284 and Menard is at 259 now. I suspect that the roster list is not always accurate . In an article in the Province the other day Kirby Fabien said he weighed in at 312 , the lightest guy on the OL , I see the roster has him at 305 now , up from the 295 they had him at previously . It doesn't seem that anyone bothers to much with correcting mistakes there . I wonder if Player was really only 275 last year ,very light for a guy who is 6'6".

[B.C.FAN]

The roster attached to the depth chart shows Menard at 225 instead of the 275 of last year. There are usually some inaccuracies. And after I posted re Uko, I thought that even at 275, that can big enough, if one has the agility and strength, as with Menard.

In person, out of uniform, Player looks to be more than 275.

Ese is still listed at 250, much too small one would think for DT play, his positio
Player is now listed at 300 on the roster . Uko is 284 and Menard is at 259 now. I suspect that the roster list is not always accurate . In an article in the Province the other day Kirby Fabien said he weighed in at 312 , the lightest guy on the OL , I see the roster has him at 305 now , up from the 295 they had him at previously . It doesn't seem that anyone bothers to much with correcting mistakes there . I wonder if Player was really only 275 last year ,very light for a guy who is 6'6".

Don't believe roster weights. Patrick Kabongo was listed at 315 for his whole career. When he came to the Lions, he weighed in at 364 and said that was light for him. Cody Husband is huge in the middle of the O-line and a listed weight of 307 pounds. George Uko looks Kabongo-esque across from him.

[TheLionKing]

Day 12

http://www.bclions.com/2016/06/09/train ... -day-12-2/

[B.C.FAN]

Day 16 report after Monday night practice, the first practice since Saturday's preseason game.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/06/13/we-ow ... rt-day-16/

The report says teams have to cut down to 65 players on Tuesday but my my count the Lions have 71 players, including seven non-counters (2016 draft picks, juniors and other exempt players) so they don't have to make any further cuts this week.

[Hambone]

Day 16 report after Monday night practice, the first practice since Saturday's preseason game.

http://www.bclions.com/2016/06/13/we-ow ... rt-day-16/

The report says teams have to cut down to 65 players on Tuesday but my my count the Lions have 71 players, including seven non-counters (2016 draft picks, juniors and other exempt players) so they don't have to make any further cuts this week.

The 65 number teams had to get down to would exclude non-counters. When they make the final cuts next week it would be down to 46 plus 10 for the PR and no more non-counters. 15 of the 71 will have to go unless injured.

[B.C.FAN]

It looks like first-round draft pick Charles Vaillancourt will get a long look at right guard this week. Wally does not seem happy with the work of Kirby Fabien and T-Dre Player, who have taken most reps at right guard in training camp and in the Saskatchewan preseason game.

From Mike Beamish:

As training camp winds down — the Lions break camp Wednesday after three weeks in Kamloops — Buono says Vaillancourt is “seriously in the mix.” He’s not just talking about making the team. Buono is sending a message that the 23-year-old native of Coaticook, Que., has a chance to start at right guard.

A motivational ploy? Or, is the head coach as serious as he seems to be? Time will well.

Yet, this week at practice, Vaillancourt was seen working with the first-team offensive line, replacing fourth-year player Kirby Fabien between centre Cody Husband and right tackle Levy Adcock.

“I’ve been preaching all along, ‘Guys, you’ve got to give me what I want,’ ” Buono said. “If you don’t give me what I want, I’ll find somebody who will. If you’re not buying into that, fine. We’ll just make a change and find somebody else. It’s opportunity given and opportunity taken away. When we take it away from you, stop crying about it. Do something about it.”

Vaillancourt turning vets into believers at Lions training camp

From Matt Baker on who stood out Tuesday:

Nick Moore had the nicest catch of the day, a one handed grab during team drills. Terence Jeffers-Harris and Stephen Adekolu both ran nice routes and made good plays. Adekolu impressed with his hands during two-on two drills. Devonn Brown was sharp during team drills and used his speed to pick up some nice yards after the catch. In the backfield, Anthony Allen had one of his better days of camp as he is now healed from a knee injury that kept him out of Saturday’s game in Saskatchewan. On the offensive line, Charles Vaillancourt continued to respond well to his first team reps. The 2016 first round pick is expected to start at right guard on Friday.

On defence, Jason Arakgi was a force most of the afternoon with some nice blitzes. Alex Bazzie, Mich’ael Brooks and Craig Roh were causing trouble for the offensive line for some of team play. Chandler Fenner did a nice job exploding the gap from his spot in the secondary.

Training Camp Day 17: June 14

Vaillancourt's starting role is mentioned. Nick Moore, Terence Jeffers-Harris and Stephen Adekolu seem to be getting lots of love in the team's daily recaps, as does Jason Arakgi at linebacker, who looked good to me in Kamloops and in Saskatchewan on the weekend. I've seen very little mention anywhere of Bo Lokombo, who didn't play in Saskatchewan.