Lions’ starting lineup will have lots of new faces
Even team’s most ardent fans will have to buy a program to figure out the new players
When the B.C. Lions’ new regime took over this off-season, they promised a reimagining of the CFL franchise, both on and off the field.
And as the Lions’ prepare for Friday’s pre-season finale, we can safely say one thing about the makeup of the team: If you favoured the status quo, you’ve come to the wrong place.
While head coach Wally Buono allows there are still a couple personnel decisions to be made, he also says the lineup that starts the Lions’ final pre-season game against Winnipeg tonight will mirror the team that kicks off the regular season next Saturday against Montreal.
This lineup features 13 new starters, including nine on defence. It also includes a new leadership group, a completely revamped front four and a newlook secondary that has four new faces.
How deep are the changes? One of the starting cornerbacks went by the name A.J. Jefferson when he was signed this offseason. He’s now known as A.J. Orange. Thus far he’s the only player to change his name, but the season is early.
“(New GM) Ed (Hervey) has brought a different dynamic to this organization,” says linebacker Solomon Elimimian, one of the few holdovers from last year’s 7-11 team that missed the playoffs.
“You can see what he’s doing here, what he’s building here.
“The guys he brought in are the kind of guys he knew he could trust to put aside their personal priorities for the team. You see a lot of veterans around here who’ve had success and they
understand the mental toughness it takes to get the job done.”
Even if remembering everyone’s name is a challenge.
As mentioned, the biggest area of change is on the defence starting on the defensive front where Gabriel Knapton, late of Montreal, and Odell Willis, late of Edmonton, start at the ends while Davon Coleman, who was just acquired from Hamilton, starts at tackle next to Junior Luke, last year’s first-rounder who saw spot duty in 2017.
The linebacking corps, thankfully, still has Elimimian as its anchor, but Dyshawn Davis and Bo Lokombo, who have never been long-term starters in their careers, figure to split time next to the veteran with Otha Foster, late of Saskatchewan, holding down the nickel.
The secondary you ask? The newly re-christened Orange, Garry Peters, late of Edmonton, and Marcell Young, another former Eskimo, are the new starters alongside holdovers T.J. Lee and Anthony Thompson.
Just so you know, Lokombo and Thompson have also changed their numbers over past seasons. It seems program sales won’t be a problem for the Lions this year.
The offence, by comparison, is a model of stability with just four new starters including the repatriated Jovan Olafioye at right tackle. The other newbies are wideout Ricky Collins, slotback Cory Watson and left tackle Joel Figueroa.
Jeremiah Johnson starts at running back, but the third-year Lion is in a battle with newcomer Brandon Rutley for playing time. That, at least, is the lineup and Saturday Night Live doesn’t change cast members that often. But all those changes raise a number of questions about the rebuilt roster, most to do with the subtle and elusive art of team building.
The Lions, after all, have to sell a new vision to this market, but first they had to sell it to the players, specifically those veterans who had their contracts restructured to allow Hervey to implement all this change.
Buono, the old hand, has played a role there. The Lions have always appointed a leadership group as a liaison between the head coach and the team and this year’s club includes Figueroa and Willis.
“I wanted the veterans who’ve come in from other teams to have a voice,” Buono says.
But Hervey also knew what he was getting in most of those veterans, which is why the Lions believe they don’t need two years to build a team. They can do it in one training camp.
“It depends on what type of players you bring in,” says Willis. “We’re guys who’ve won, so we have confidence we know what it takes. We have the same mindset. I feel like it’s an easy transition.”
Well, maybe not easy according to Elimimian.
One thing that separates good teams from great teams is mental toughness and chemistry.
“This was a tough training camp and you have to lean on each other,” he says. “We’re running gassers and conditioning drills and that’s the physical part. But it’s also team building. You build a special connection with guys when you go through the grind together.
“In the CFL every team is talented, but the one thing that separates good teams from great teams is mental toughness and chemistry. In the fourth quarter you’re tired and they’re tired, so it comes down to who can execute under pressure.”
On the heels of last year’s debacle, they have the pressure part down pat. It just remains to be seen what they can do about the execution.