Jul
Buono vows to fix problems in BC
Courtesy Vancouver Province:
The view of the Lions’ last game was no different from the sidelines as it was in the stands, and when the phone rang in David Braley’s office Monday the words came easily.
“It was very disappointing and embarrassing, and I want to apologize to B.C. Lions fans and the city of Vancouver for that performance,” the owner of the CFL team said without prodding from Hamilton, where his team will face the Tiger-Cats on Friday.
The performance in question took place at B.C. Place Stadium last Friday, where the Lions literally chased away a substantial portion of their fan base during a 48-10 loss to the Stampeders.
“I don’t care what adversity you face; a fumble, an interception. I don’t care what it is. The fans expect 100-per-cent effort on each and every play,” Braley said. “That’s the disappointing part. This is the worst loss I’ve seen since 1998 and it didn’t make me feel good.”
The perks of ownership allow Braley to watch a majority of games from the bench, and the optics at times make it seem as if he is a three-down version of Dallas Cowboys counterpart Jerry Jones.
However, GM/coach Wally Buono gave Braley his blessing to stand on the sidelines years ago, and the owner stood front and centre again Friday.
The view also affords Braley the ability to state he has “absolute” confidence in Buono. It’s also why the Hamilton-based businessman supports the decision by Buono not to reach out to free-agent quarterback Casey Printers, who might appeal to the marketing end of the business but not the one trying to avoid dropping to 1-4 this week.
“He’s marketable,” Braley said of the meteoric quarterback. “But only for a few games.”
With those hot-button issues resolved for the time being, the Lions returned to practice Monday with a suggestion from the coach to his players not to speak if they couldn’t be positive.
“Instead of worrying about what you’re going to say, do something on the field, then you can talk,” said slotback Geroy Simon, who Friday kept alive his 110-game streak of catching at least one pass — but by only the requisite number.
“I thought about going and asking Wally what can I do help this team, but I thought the best I could do was be quiet, work as hard as possible and be a leader by example.”
Rather than continue the trend of making a change in his starting lineup every week, Buono lined up the Lions as they were for starters prior to the Calgary avalanche. That meant receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen was still behind Rufus Skillern and veteran cornerback LaVar Glover was watching rookie Trestin George.
At least the charade of getting his players to wear their practice uniforms inside-out was over. Buono also did not subject his team to a film review of the Friday nightmare. It means the only likely roster shift at this point would be a replacement for defensive end Nautyn McKay-Loescher, who suffered a hamstring injury against Calgary. Buono had offensive lineman Andrew Jones on defence as a replacement Monday.
“Wholesale changes doesn’t make it better,” Buono said.
Effort, according to the owner, will help, which is evidently not what Braley saw from where he stood.
“The players were mouthing off and pointing fingers,” he said. “It also looked like [Calgary] knew what we were going to do. The bottom line is we have a great franchise and we’ll take the necessary actions. We will rebuild or straighten out. It’s up to the players as to how and which one of those it is.
“But I want to apologize. We certainly will correct the situation.”
In a season which has already had a few unexpected twists, a mea culpa straight from the top ranked as another first.
