Phillips Extends, McCallum to Return

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Rammer
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RYAN PHILLIPS AGREES TO EXTENSION, McCALLUM RETURNS IN 2015


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The BC Lions Football Club announced this morning that defensive back Ryan Phillips has agreed to a contract extension through the 2016 season and kicker Paul McCallum will return for 2015.

“Both Paul and Ryan remain integral parts of our team as they continue to perform at a high level on the field and play a vital role as respected leaders in the dressing room,” said VP of football operations and GM Wally Buono.

Phillips enters his 11th CFL season and has made 180 consecutive appearances for the club since signing as a free agent in 2005. The Seattle native and four-time CFL All-Star notched a team-high three interceptions last year along with 39 defensive tackles. Ryan’s incredible run of consecutive games is the longest among all active CFL players and his 40 career interceptions place him second in club history behind the great Larry Crawford.

Only the second player in the history of professional football to reach the 3,000-point plateau, kicker Paul McCallum prepares for his 23rd CFL campaign and his 12th as a Lion in 2015. Earning his sixth nod as a West Division All-Star, Paul was good on 38 of 42 field goal attempts in 2014 for a CFL-best 90.5% success rate.

His remarkable career has seen the 45 year-old McCallum appear in 325 regular season games, 151 as a Lion, and establish a success rate of 80.6% on field goals, tops among all kickers with at least 400 attempts along with 18 seasons with 100 or more points.
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BC 1988
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I'm not sure I agree with McCallum returning.
Sure, he still has great numbers, but how many times have we seen the Lions elect to punt when other teams would go for a FG.
Swayze Waters, Lirim Hajrullahu, Justin Medlock all made successful kicks from longer distances.
TheLionKing
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At the Tedford Talk yesterday, one of the fan asked Tedford about McCallum. His answer at the time was that the issue was going to be addressed this week. Guess he's returning. :wink:
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WestCoastJoe
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Phillips enters his 11th CFL season and has made 180 consecutive appearances for the club since signing as a free agent in 2005. The Seattle native and four-time CFL All-Star notched a team-high three interceptions last year along with 39 defensive tackles. Ryan’s incredible run of consecutive games is the longest among all active CFL players and his 40 career interceptions place him second in club history behind the great Larry Crawford.
Great cover guy. Not much for tackling. Durable. Ironically, for me anyway, the first time I saw him, at Training Camp in his first year, he was out for a while with a hamstring problem, I think it was.

He covers a lot of ground.
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The_Pauser
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Glad to see RP return. Not so much McCallum. The guy is old and can't hit the long attempt on a consistent basis. He can't punt, not very good at kickoffs. I'd much rather bring in a younger replacement.
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Rammer
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BC 1988 wrote:I'm not sure I agree with McCallum returning.
With his body type, who would expect him to be returning this year. :) :beer:
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aklawitter
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As usual, the Lions will bring in a young kicker to TC who can't hit the broad side of a barn from 30 but can nail a 50 yarder once in a while.

Looking forward to punting from the 40 again (NOT).



I like Phillips. Not a good tackler but always hustles, even when the Safety gets beat yet again. Let's just hope Durant is healthy for the Riders' games against the Lions.
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