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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Tony Jones has racked up a tackle total of 6.8 per outing through four contests this season, which ranks third among all CFL players.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe immediately stepped on the field for us,\u201d head coach Mike O\u2019Shea said of Jones, who performed admirably for the No. 1 scoring defence the rest of the season. \u201cHe\u2019s been very good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
This season, Jones has elevated his play to match the best second-level patrols in the Canadian Football League. The 29-year-old, who was brought back on a two-year deal to permanently replace Bighill, is diagnosing plays at a high level and showcasing elite sideline-to-sideline pursuit ability on every down.<\/p>\n
Jones feels like he\u2019s playing the best football of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, in a sense, for sure. When you come into this league, as a first-year guy or second-year guy, you\u2019re still kind of learning the ropes and learning how things go on in this league, but once you get your foot in the door, going on year three and year four, you got a good glimpse of how the game\u2019s being played and everything about situational football,\u201d said Jones, whose 27 defensive tackles leads the Bombers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a sense, I feel like I\u2019m in the system now. When I was coming in last year, I was coming more into the learning phase, learning the new things and the system of how these coaches want things done. So I feel like I\u2019ve been playing well, but this last game, I feel like, as a team, we weren\u2019t ourselves. So I feel like there\u2019s always room for improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones\u2019s tackle total works out to 6.8 per outing through four contests, which ranks third among all CFL players. He also has one sack.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch more confident,\u201d said defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger. \u201cHe didn\u2019t have the benefit of being in training camp (last year) and learning the system from the ground up. Seeing him learn it from the foundation, and taking it and running with it, he\u2019s still growing in the system, but, yeah, it\u2019s all positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Confidence within the system has translated to faster play for the fourth-year pro. Younger called Jones\u2019s game \u201cclean\u201d and credited how he pursues the ball. A relentless effort has led to plays that don\u2019t make the box score and created opportunities for teammates to make tackles.<\/p>\n
Pro Football Focus, an analytics company that tracks every player in the CFL, graded Jones with a 77.5 in run defence through four games, which is the fifth-highest among all linebackers.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a physical player. He\u2019s a hustler, he\u2019s a go-getter, man,\u201d said running mate Kyrie Wilson. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t take no plays off, he\u2019s always around the ball, always trying to go out there and make plays and do the best he can for the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good player, very good awareness. He sees things quickly and is ready to react quickly, too. So that\u2019s the biggest thing, too, man, and he\u2019s not nervous or anything, he\u2019s just going out there with confidence and playing ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
All important traits to have in a league that sees many plays naturally flow to the middle linebacker. Bighill possessed each of those qualities as he dominated for six years in Blue and Gold, and now the emergence of Jones has prevented a drop-off at one of the most important positions on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s changed a lot since my day, but some of the things you need to do in terms of communication, I mean, you\u2019re in the centre of it, right? So you get an opportunity to get to a lot of plays,\u201d said O\u2019Shea.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger called Tony Jones\u2019s game \u201cclean\u201d and credited how the linebacker pursues the ball.<\/p>\n \u201cTony gets to a lot of plays, Kyrie gets to a lot of plays, just because they\u2019re wired to run. They don\u2019t have that pause between a play happening, going away from them and then thinking about what\u2019s next. They have this innate ability to move immediately towards the ball, so they cover a lot of ground, they cover it quickly, and they\u2019re both really good playmakers.\u201d<\/p>\n In many ways, getting cut from the Elks was one of the best things that happened to Jones. He recalled being shaken after receiving the news and worried about where he would play next. He remembered his agent informing him that he had several interested teams in his services, and the Bombers sticking out to him.<\/p>\n So when the club rewarded him in the off-season with a two-year deal and the unofficial title as the team\u2019s new starting middle linebacker, there was no thought from him to coast. Instead, he felt like he had more to prove.<\/p>\n \u201cWith that label, it just made me want to work harder. Getting that two-year deal just made me want to push myself and show myself and everyone that it was the right decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI come in every day as if I\u2019m the guy going forward, as well, so I just try to do my part. And just the little things: doing everything right, communicating and putting in the extra work and, in a sense, showing the younger guys how it\u2019s done.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t For as well as Jones is playing, he assured that there\u2019s room to grow. And despite the comfort that comes with being an unquestioned starter with a multi-year contract, he still feels the pressure of performing every day, much like he did when he first arrived in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n \u201cOut here, it\u2019s a numbers game. So it\u2019s just me pushing myself to show up every day and just be the best I can be, to help everyone around me, help myself, and just go out there and put it on tape,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so many little things that you can always clean up. Always anticipation, just putting yourself in a better alignment and better position to make the plays, and then when the plays come to you, make them.\u201d<\/p>\n joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X: @jfreysam<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Joshua Frey-Sam Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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