Sep 5, 2017
Lions in a hurry to find a pass rush
First-year edge rusher Kenneth Boatright will become the 12th BC player to dress along the defensive front this season when the Lions, who trail every CFL team in combined sacks or pressures, host the Montreal Alouettes Friday.
It may have taken the BC Lions 10 regular-season games to go through almost the entire complement of defensive linemen in their never-ending search of a pass rush, but almost nobody on the CFL team is best suited to wait than first-year edge rusher Kenneth Boatright.
Boatright will become the 12th player to dress along the defensive front already this season when the Lions host the Montreal Alouettes Friday. (7 p.m., TSN; 5 p.m. pre-game TSN 1040). That’s significant and not only because of the levels to which the Lions are reaching to get production from a position group that was well-stocked from the outset of training camp.
A 27-year-old rookie from Southern Illinois, Boatright happens to come from a family of 12 siblings growing up in Chicago. This alone speaks to the value of persistence, though on the Lions roster he has nothing on offensive lineman Andrew Jones, who once had 18 other brothers and sisters at various times at the dinner table.
“You might have have had to wait your turn for the little ones but everyone got to eat,” said Boatright. “If I had to break down my whole life it would definitely be movie-worthy.”
The fact Boatright will get a chance, however, only underscores the problems the Lions have had in recent years generating a pass rush. Coach/GM Wally Buono used to fend off calls for improvement in the past, but the fact his team continues to trail every CFL rival in combined sacks or pressures has prompted the Lions to unload their bench.
They may have to finally call upon literally the last man standing at the position group, practice roster rookie Luther Maddy, when Mic’hael Brooks went down Tuesday with a stinger to a shoulder that clearly has been given the veteran tackle problems lately. Maddy is the only defensive lineman on the Lions who has yet to play in a game this season.
Buono said the Lions had unparalleled depth coming out of camp this year and vowed to get more results by dressing up to as many as nine linemen in a game. Injuries haven't helped this season. Starter DeQuin Evans has missed four games with a back issue and Brooks appears to be a hit or two away from joining him.
It’s meant the Lions had to bring Ricky Foley out of semi-retirement, and also helps explain the sudden interest in recently released edge rusher Alex Bazzie, who left the team after last season to try his luck without success in the NFL.
But nobody has made opposing offensive fronts believe that the Lions have rediscovered the next Cam Wake on a consistent basis, which is among several reasons why the club (5-5) returns from a bye week staring up at the rest of the West Division for the first time ever in September during the Buono era.
“If you say we’re disappointed, we’ll say we’re looking for more. We could have been at a high level, we’d want more. The bigger thing is we have players who we believe are a little more dynamic,” defensive coordinator Mark Washington said.
At the very least, the Lions are collectively staying above water, thanks to their work in recent years at the Canadian college draft. That’s why they are developing a rotation that includes David Menard, Maxx Forde and Junior Luke, a first-rounder this year who is about to be given a chance to replace veteran Bryant Turner.
Among imports, Andrew Hudson got a chance, then Josh Shirley. Now it’s Boatright’s turn, and he’ll have all of about a game if the Lions sign Bazzie. Import Craig Roh leads the group with five sacks and 11 pressures but collectively it’s not enough, which is stretching the creative limits of Washington’s pressure packages.
Who better, perhaps, than to reach out to a player like Boatright who probably knows what it’s like to occasionally go a bit hungry.
LIONS TALES: Depth on the offensive line of the Lions is also being tested these days lately as well. Centre Cody Husband is expected to return after missing the loss to Ottawa because of a hamstring problem, but he’s only taking part in individual drills. Backup Charles Vaillancourt had a screw inserted in his left wrist as a result of an injury in Ottawa and only removed his arm from a sling Tuesday… However, David Foucault passed concussion protocol and played in Ottawa and backup Jas Dhillon (arm) is practising and eligible to come off the six-game injury list this week… Turner finished practice with the starters once Brooks went down… Buono admitted the Montreal game represents a crossroads: We’re at a point where we got to decide whether we’re going to be a good football team or not.” Travis Lulay, who leads the CFL in pass completion percentage and efficiency rating, gets his fifth start of the season at quarterback.