Speed Boost: Williams adds to Lions’ impressive fleet

Just for fun, let’s pretend that already sitting in your garage is a Lamborghini, Ferrari and a Porsche. Then, just for kicks and giggles, you go out and add an Aston Martin Vanquish to the collection.

That’s kind of the situation the BC Lions find themselves in. An already high-octane receiving corps that highlighted Manny Arceneaux, Bryan Burnham and Nick Moore gained more speed and finesse over the winter with the signing of free agent Chris Williams.

“It’s really nice,” Lions’ offensive coordinator Khari Jones said with a chuckle. “It’s an embarrassment of riches.”

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It didn’t take Williams long to make an impact in his first game as a Lion during BC’s 30-15 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday at BC Place Stadium. On the first play from scrimmage Williams slashed across the middle and hauled in a 14-yard pass from quarterback Travis Lulay. Later in the quarter he made an over-the-shoulder catch for 49 yards.

“It’s just nice to go out there, compete again and play with my teammates,” said the 29-year-old former CFL Rookie of the Year, who finished the game with three catches for 75 yards. “We had a pretty damn good game all things considered.”

Good indeed.

The Lions bombarded the Riders with 535 yards total offence. Burnham led all receivers by catching five of the six balls sent his direction for 131 yards and a touchdown. Arceneaux had five catches for 67 yards and Moore chipped in three catches for 21.

The speedster Williams adds another dimension to the Lions aerial assault. Arceneaux, Burnham and Moore are all six-foot-two and hover around 200 pounds. They use their size and strength to battle for balls, then punish tacklers.

At five-foot-nine and 155 pounds, Williams isn’t afraid to go into the dirty areas but he’s more likely to use a deke to sprint past a defender instead of running over them.

“He stretches the field and brings a whole new element to our game,” said Burnham. “We’re so used to having big, physical receivers, to have Chris Williams in here it completely changes the game. 

“You can’t focus on any one guy. It opens up everyone.”

Dealing with Arceneaux, Burnham and Moore can be like drinking a shot of straight whisky. Williams is more of an aged, smooth wine.

It’s his “stature and quick twitch and his ability to run routes and make a short gain into a long gain,” said Jones. “Those (other three) guys do that too but they do it more from breaking tackles and pounding.

“He (Williams) can do it from faking people out and making people miss a little bit more. It’s really an interesting dynamic. As we go along, I think people will see more and more ways that we’ll find ways of using them. I will put them in different positions. It’s nice.”

Williams has experience in a multi-pronged attack. He was a member of an Ottawa REDBLACKS team that had four receivers over 1,000 yards last year.

“What it does, it just makes the defence really have to pick what they are going to do,” he said. “When you have quarterbacks that can diagnose that, read it and understand it, it’s going to lead to a lot of performances like this where we can spread the ball around and everyone can make plays and keep them off balance.”

A potent aerial assault also helps the ground attack.

Early in the first quarter against Saskatchewan, Arceneaux and Burnham ran routes about 10 yards apart to one side of the field, drawing the attention of the Rider defence. Running back Jeremiah Johnson sprinted to the other side of the field, picking up 15 yards. He finished the game with 10 carries for 74 yards.

Jones likes the idea of defensive coordinators working into the night solving the problems the Lions have created.

“It’s who do you focus on?” he said. “If you are a little more afraid of the passing game we should be able to run the ball more.

“If you want to load the box a little bit, now you have a lot of guys one-on-one out there. It’s a nice dilemma.  You have to plan a lot for us right now. That’s a nice thing.

“We’re so used to having big, physical receivers, to have Chris Williams in here it completely changes the game.”

Bryan Burnham 

Chris Williams through the years

Williams signed with the Lions in February. He started the season on the six-game injured list after undergoing surgery over the winter to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee suffered late last season while playing for Ottawa.

The knee was tested late in the first half on a tackle by Rider linebacker Crezdon Butler. Being able to jump up and walk off after the hit answered some questions for Williams about the strength of his knee.

“I wouldn’t say doubt, it’s just uncertainty,” he said. “You don’t know. You have to experience it.

“I know a guy is trying to get me on the ground. He’s giving me everything he’s got and he hits me on the leg and it can handle it. I’m good.”

Head coach Chris Jones and the rest of the Saskatchewan staff will have a week to figure out how to stop Williams. The Lions face the Riders in a rematch Sunday at Mosaic Stadium. 

“He’s a vertical guy,” said Jones. “We just have to respect his speed and know he’ll run right by you if you’re not careful.

“He’s a dynamic player, has a great speed. I’m sure they’ll probably get him a little more involved as we go along.”

One of the challenges of having so many capable receivers is making sure they all see enough balls to keep them happy.

Lulay believes what the Lion receivers want most is to get their hands on the Grey Cup.

“We have good men,” said the veteran quarterback. “We have veteran guys that care about winning.

“We don’t have talented young guys that want the football for themselves. We have veterans that know on any given play they are the best option. It makes those guys hungry. When they have opportunities they make the most of them.”