Alex Bazzie compared to Cam Wake - Mike Beamish

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WestCoastJoe
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Alex Bazzie's comparison with Cameron Wake not so far-fetched anymore

By Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun August 20, 2014

Alex Bazzie's comparison with Cameron Wake not so far-fetched anymore

Montreal Alouettes' quarterback Tanner Marsh, left, is sacked by B.C. Lions' Solomon Elimimian (56) and Alex Bazzie (53) in CFL action at BC Place on Saturday July 19, 2014.

Photograph by: Darryl Dyck , THE CANADIAN PRESS

METRO VANCOUVER - When the B.C. Lions Mike Benevides mentioned rookie Alex Bazzie’s name in the same breath with Cameron Wake during his pre-game news conference on June 27, reporters almost spat out their Tim Hortons coffee.

Head coaches can be delusional, especially following training camps when they are unbeaten and untied and all manner of possibilities remain open. In regard to Bazzie, however, Benevides appeared drunk in sipping from his own self-administered Kool Aid.

Yet nine weeks into the 2014 Canadian Football League season, the coach’s long reach in linking Bazzie with Wake doesn’t seem nearly as far-fetched.

Indeed, over the past five weeks, during which he’s recorded seven sacks -- second only to John Chick of the Saskatchewan Roughriders -- the rookie defensive end is appearing very Wake-like.

“In our business, you’ve got to be really careful about making parallels,” Benevides said Wednesday, as the Lions returned to the practice field to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Riders at BC Place. “But, yeah, his motor, his leverage, his pass rushing ability, his athleticism around the edge all speak to a very dominant player. I know Alex is going to be in the discussion for rookie of the year. We’re playing him in multiple spots, just to take advantage of who he is.”

The Lions have the Roughriders on the schedule only twice this season, and their first meeting July 12 in Regina represented a turning point for Bazzie. Up to and including that game -- the Lions’ third of the season -- he had made negligible impact. The Lions had two sacks in the 26-13 victory at Mosaic Stadium, but Darian Durant’s escapability robbed them of four more, including an episode where he ducked under an apparent takedown by Bazzie and scored the Riders’ only touchdown.

Caught holding a bag with nothing in it, Bazzie re-dedicated to play better -- and smarter. Besides his seven sacks in the intervening five games, he has recorded an equal number of tackles for loss, four of them coming in last Sunday’s 33-17 win over the Argonauts. The CFL single-season record for TFLs is 13, set last season by Canadian linebacker Henoc Muamba of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, now with the Indianapolis Colts. Bazzie is on pace for 15.

Only Chick, with his 12 sacks and six tackles for a loss, has been a more dominant defensive lineman, statistically, in the CFL this summer.

“That surprises me,” admitted Bazzie, when told of his record TFL pace. “I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that Coach Mike had compared me to Cameron Wake, until somebody told me. Really? It took me a while to get a feel for the (Canadian) game, to get in a rhythm. Just the respect my (veteran) teammates have for me has given me confidence in myself. Their confidence in me has helped a lot.”

At Marshall University, where he had 66 tackles and 13 sacks in his senior campaign last year, Bazzie was both an athlete and a scholar. He was a recipient of the Commissioner’s Award for maintaining a 3.0 grade average in business marketing studies, taking advantage of tutors and extra help to maintain his academic standing while dealing with the demands of varsity football.

“I utilized all the advantages I had around me,” Bazzie said. “It’s the same approach with football. I pick the brains of the veteran guys. I come in early to watch tape. I find ways throughout the week to do extra work.”

Like Wake, a two-time CFL most outstanding defensive player (2007-2008) who jumped to become a three-time Pro Bowler with the Miami Dolphins, Bazzie was rebuffed in his first go-round with the National Football League. Undrafted, he was signed by the Cleveland Browns, attended their rookie camp in May but was later released.

Wake, a star at Penn State, also went unclaimed in the NFL draft, signed with the New York Giants and was later released. He had been out of football for a year, preparing for a career in banking, when the Lions discovered him at a free-agent camp in Virginia.

While the parallels are there, veteran Lions defensive back Ryan Phillips, who has been a teammate of both, is not about to anoint Bazzie as the next Cameron Wake.

Phillips points out a very significant difference: Wake is six-foot-three, 258 pounds. Bazzie is listed in the Lions’ media guide at six-one, 228.

“Obviously, physically speaking, one guy is a different kind of specimen, for sure,” Phillips said. “At the end of the day, though, they both have the same motor. He (Bazzie) has some of the drive, some of the intangibles of Cameron Wake. The thing about Alex is, he refuses to be blocked. He refuses to allow the offence to stop him from making plays. They can game-plan him. But his relentless pressure, his relentless effort is what sets him apart. It’s what set Cameron Wake apart.”

Wake was too fast, too strong, too quick for the conventional CFL blocker.

Alex Bazzie is not the same load, but the scramble effect is similar.

When he’s coming, you can hear the sirens going off.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Alex ... z3B35q76hw
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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METRO VANCOUVER - When the B.C. Lions Mike Benevides mentioned rookie Alex Bazzie’s name in the same breath with Cameron Wake during his pre-game news conference on June 27, reporters almost spat out their Tim Hortons coffee.

Head coaches can be delusional, especially following training camps when they are unbeaten and untied and all manner of possibilities remain open. In regard to Bazzie, however, Benevides appeared drunk in sipping from his own self-administered Kool Aid.

Yet nine weeks into the 2014 Canadian Football League season, the coach’s long reach in linking Bazzie with Wake doesn’t seem nearly as far-fetched.
“In our business, you’ve got to be really careful about making parallels,” Benevides said Wednesday, as the Lions returned to the practice field to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Riders at BC Place. “But, yeah, his motor, his leverage, his pass rushing ability, his athleticism around the edge all speak to a very dominant player. I know Alex is going to be in the discussion for rookie of the year. We’re playing him in multiple spots, just to take advantage of who he is.”
Caught holding a bag with nothing in it, Bazzie re-dedicated to play better -- and smarter. Besides his seven sacks in the intervening five games, he has recorded an equal number of tackles for loss, four of them coming in last Sunday’s 33-17 win over the Argonauts. The CFL single-season record for TFLs is 13, set last season by Canadian linebacker Henoc Muamba of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, now with the Indianapolis Colts. Bazzie is on pace for 15.
“That surprises me,” admitted Bazzie, when told of his record TFL pace. “I didn’t know that. I didn’t know that Coach Mike had compared me to Cameron Wake, until somebody told me. Really? It took me a while to get a feel for the (Canadian) game, to get in a rhythm. Just the respect my (veteran) teammates have for me has given me confidence in myself. Their confidence in me has helped a lot.”
At Marshall University, where he had 66 tackles and 13 sacks in his senior campaign last year, Bazzie was both an athlete and a scholar. He was a recipient of the Commissioner’s Award for maintaining a 3.0 grade average in business marketing studies, taking advantage of tutors and extra help to maintain his academic standing while dealing with the demands of varsity football.

“I utilized all the advantages I had around me,” Bazzie said. “It’s the same approach with football. I pick the brains of the veteran guys. I come in early to watch tape. I find ways throughout the week to do extra work.”
Phillips points out a very significant difference: Wake is six-foot-three, 258 pounds. Bazzie is listed in the Lions’ media guide at six-one, 228.

“Obviously, physically speaking, one guy is a different kind of specimen, for sure,” Phillips said. “At the end of the day, though, they both have the same motor. He (Bazzie) has some of the drive, some of the intangibles of Cameron Wake. The thing about Alex is, he refuses to be blocked. He refuses to allow the offence to stop him from making plays. They can game-plan him. But his relentless pressure, his relentless effort is what sets him apart. It’s what set Cameron Wake apart.”
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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As I posted the stats for the games this year, I could not help but notice Bazzie getting sacks, game after game.

And as I watched him play, one could not help but notice how slippery he was. How hard it was for the OL to block him. He is very quick penetrating into the backfield. His tackling is kind of like a boa constrictor. He wraps the guy up, and twists him down to the ground. Although listed at 6'1", and 228, he plays much stronger than that. I said that he kind of looked like Spiderman or Plastic Man. Obviously he has a great motor.

A few games ago, the name Cam Wake crossed my mind, and I immediately dismissed it. Ridiculous. But not so much anymore, in some respects, at least.

As Ryan Phillips noted, Bazzie is much smaller than Cam Wake (6'3", 258). And I doubt anybody, pretty much anywhere, can leap to the roof like Cam Wake. No comparison physically. Except for the motor. Except for the ability to get past O Tackles. Except for the ability to get to the QB. Bazzie may actually be better than Wake at tackles for losses.

Great fun to watch. And as noted earlier, we have our rush end. At least until the NFL comes sniffing around for an ST player. In college he was sensational as an ST player, both receiving and covering.

I looked at some film of Bazzie on YouTube. He was much the same at Marshall. He played rush end, and looked much the same as he does with the Lions. I can see NFL teams writing him off, just based on his size. But for now, he is ours. And he might stay that way because of his size. Selfishly, as a fan, one can kind of hope for that.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Rammer
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Dare I say that, Bazzie looks like he left Butler in his Wake?

As teams see more tape on him, it is then that we will find out what Bazzie is. Right now, teams are getting to know Bazzie, and while Bazzie seems to finding his stride, football generally has a way of slowing you down. There hasn't been a Cameron Wake in my lifetime, he was so very special in the CFL, but to get a second coming this quickly is alright by me.
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WestCoastJoe
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Rammer wrote:Dare I say that, Bazzie looks like he left Butler in his Wake?

As teams see more tape on him, it is then that we will find out what Bazzie is. Right now, teams are getting to know Bazzie, and while Bazzie seems to finding his stride, football generally has a way of slowing you down. There hasn't been a Cameron Wake in my lifetime, he was so very special in the CFL, but to get a second coming this quickly is alright by me.
Cam Wake was a phenom. From the get go. Opening performance => three sacks.

There is the size difference. We don't know yet if CFL teams will find ways to block Bazzie. They never did find ways to keep Cam Wake away from the QB.

In any case, it is a treat to watch Alex Bazzie play for us. Love the motor. Love the way he gets past O Tackles. Love the way he tackles. Great pursuit. :thup:
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Shi Zi Mi
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It would be nice to know Bazzie's current weight....the media guide lists him as 228lbs but he looks and plays much bigger......the nfldraftscout webpage seems more accurate, where he's listed as 244lbs.

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/pr ... genpos=OLB
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Teams are going to figure out a way to contain Bazzie. The true test will be how he reacts to the teams' adjustments.
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almo89
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TheLionKing wrote:Teams are going to figure out a way to contain Bazzie. The true test will be how he reacts to the teams' adjustments.
If Taylor and Mitchell and cause havoc every game, it should be much easier at the ends no matter who plays. It helps that Bazzie seems to be really quick and shifty and not let his lack of size affect him at this point.
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JohnHenry
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Bazzie reminds me more of James Quick Parker than Cam Wake. Parker, who ran about 5' 11" - 215 lbs (if I'm not mistaken) still holds the single-season CFL record of 26.5 sacks.
Rodu
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Wake would have been a top 5 all time player in this league had he stayed up here, and has only gotten better since going south. While I was hard on Bazzie to start the year, he's improved by leaps and bounds since then, but to compare him to a generational talent in Wake, not close
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