Lions Cut Taylor, Logan

[TheLionKing]

The Prov. says just 65% of season tickets are renewed. Is that on par with other years at this time or is this a rebuild with this new HC realizing it especially as his QB is not healthy and there's no logical guy ready to take over.

Instead of lowering prices to attract more casual fans I wonder if Dennis Skulsky is planning to raise ticket prices for the remaining season ticket holders in order to make up the difference in reduced revenue ?

[cromartie]

It doesn't apply in the case of Taylor but I can't resist. Addition by subtraction?

No, this is just subtraction by subtraction or, as Wally likes to put it "burning the ship". Meaning, if you really want to motivate yourself to find some guys that can generate a pass rush, you might as well push your own back against the wall and get rid of everyone whose getting even the slightest bit long in the tooth. Which I can roll with. I am concerned, however.

[Toppy Vann]

It doesn't apply in the case of Taylor but I can't resist. Addition by subtraction?

No, this is just subtraction by subtraction or, as Wally likes to put it "burning the ship". Meaning, if you really want to motivate yourself to find some guys that can generate a pass rush, you might as well push your own back against the wall and get rid of everyone whose getting even the slightest bit long in the tooth. Which I can roll with. I am concerned, however.

Wally saying it like it is doesn't make it any easier to attract FAs or players from other CFL teams as all these guys can count. BC must be the most unfriendly place for a vet post 30 of any team in the CFL based on Wally knocks guys for their ages versus their contribution and cost. Not too smart IMO.

Logan, like Taylor, is 33 years old. Since the meltdown in Montreal, which cost Benevides his job and put Tedford in charge, the Lions have cut seven players who are at least 30 or have a birthday pending, while adding only one in the same general age bracket.

Too old, too long?

“How else can I say it?” Buono conceded. The Lions have looked in the mirror and aren’t enamoured of the view.

[TheLionKing]

Why is Khreem Smith still on the team at 36 years of age ?

[SammyGreene]

Part of the d-line's demise is the extremely strange handling of Keron Williams.

All CFL selection and sack leader as a DE in 2012, Lions decide to move him inside where he had played some earlier in his career with the Alouettes. Williams puts on additional weight for the position, seems to lose a step and struggles the entire 2013 season, even when he was moved back to DE in the late stages of the season.

Despite being a pending FA designs logos for 2014 Grey Cup and is front and centre at unveiling presser. Likely asked to take a paycut after poor season, can't cut a deal with Lions and sits out the entire 2014 season. At 30, maybe has moved on from football but given his relatively young age and the Lions need for front 4 talent it was a head scratcher.

Maybe I'm just bitter after giving our son a Williams jersey for Christmas following the 2012 season figuring he would be a Lion for a longtime.

[aklawitter]

I could see the Logan release coming, with Harris as the feature and Antolin showing promise.

[Rammer]

I could see the Logan release coming, with Harris as the feature and Antolin showing promise.

Harris's return seems to be more hope that he returns to the level we have seen in the past, at his top end even a minor bit slower is going to hurt. As for Antolin, he may end up being the real reason that Logan was released.

[JohnHenry]

Why is Khreem Smith still on the team at 36 years of age ?

Why is Khreem Smith still on the team at 36 years of age ?

I've always wondered that, with his lack of production year after year. Bazzie hit the wall about mid-season, hopefully he can bounce back.

Logan seemed pretty much used up last year except for that big game against Calgary, I believe. Surely they can find a younger RB who can hit the hole with authority. Too bad the Lions were asleep on Brandon Rutley who looked great in Hamilton but was cut and out of football until the Als signed him last year. He ripped through the Lions D for nearly 100 yds in limited play in the ESF last year. The Als re-signed him. I guess the Lions still have Tim Brown?

[David]

Notwithstanding the fact that we'll be conducting FA camps across the USA very soon, and RB may be one of the easiest positions in which to find top-end talent, we still only have RB Harris (who's coming off serious ankle surgery), RB Antolin, RB Lochard, FB Lumbala, and FB Antwi - and just a single import among that group now that we've cut ties with Logan and Randle.

Maybe they're clearing space for Marshawn Lynch. After all, he's tired of the NFL meat grinder and spotlight, isn't he? He can still play football on the West Coast - just a couple hours north of where he used to play, and doesn't need the money anymore. Plus, Jeff Tedford was his coach at Cal - the two know each other really well.

(tongue firmly planted in cheek. Sort of...).


DH

[B.C.FAN]

Notwithstanding the fact that we'll be conducting FA camps across the USA very soon, and RB may be one of the easiest positions in which to find top-end talent, we still only have RB Harris (who's coming off serious ankle surgery), RB Antolin, RB Lochard, FB Lumbala, and FB Antwi - and just a single import among that group now that we've cut ties with Logan and Randle.

Maybe they're clearing space for Marshawn Lynch. After all, he's tired of the NFL meat grinder and spotlight, isn't he? He can still play football on the West Coast - just a couple hours north of where he used to play, and doesn't need the money anymore. Plus, Jeff Tedford was his coach at Cal - the two know each other really well.

(tongue firmly planted in cheek. Sort of...).


DH

And he wouldn't have as many reporters pushing microphones in his face.

Seriously, though, I'd rather have Brown than Logan as the backup RB and kick returner. The return game suffered last year when Brown was scratched due to ratio issues. If Antolin can ultimately supplant Brown, so be it. As the oldest of the three international RBs, Logan was the obvious choice to be odd man out this year.

[Hambone]

[Seriously, though, I'd rather have Brown than Logan as the backup RB and kick returner. The return game suffered last year when Brown was scratched due to ratio issues. If Antolin can ultimately supplant Brown, so be it. As the oldest of the three international RBs, Logan was the obvious choice to be odd man out this year.

They know that they have in Brown. They know what they have in Antolin. They know what they have in Logan. Antolin sat patiently on the PR almost all season long then proved he's worthy of a more prominent role in 2015. He also showed enough that somebody would scoop him from the PR if they tried stashing him there this season. They also know they will be bring in more tailback and kick return prospects to camp. When the music stops at the end of camp there wouldn't be a chair for one of the incumbents. Releasing one now frees up an additional TC roster spot for a prospect.

The Taylor situation may be similar. They had Dixon for the final few weeks of last season. He's still on the roster so they must have some sense of what he can bring. One of the DT spots is Westerman's to lose with Menard providing the NAT depth to make one DL position a starting NAT spot. Now you're talking about filling one INT starting DT spot. The one thing we can't discount is that as an 8 year vet Taylor's salary while not elite will nonetheless be healthy. How it fits into the SMS jigsaw puzzle may be a big factor.

[MexicoLionFan]

X 0

Eric Taylor WAS a good DLineman for the Lions, but he hasn't been for much of the past 2 and 1/2 years. He got stats the last two years because he sat in the "hole" and picked up tackles past the LOS while Mitchell and Westerman were slicing into the backfield and getting double teamed. Eric Taylor was effective for the Lions when he had fewer "stats" and was taking up two blockers on every down. CGY's Brett Jones owned Taylor in his rookie season! This is a move the Lions should have made before his extension!

The Lions were right, IMO, to let Keron Williams go because his play dropped off his last season here, noticeably. He too got sacks, but he wasn't "earning" them by creating constant pressure. The 35 year old Smith has been our best DLineman the last 2 years and that's why he is still on the team. Westerman is a player, but he needs help...so does our whole line...for Khreem Smith to be effective he needs a true speed rusher at the other end and teams neutralized Bazzie by having a RB chip him, plus he got tired towards the end of the season. Outside of Westerman, EVERY position on the DLine should be up for grabs this TC and Wally had better have an elite group at camp to choose from or the Lions are going to have real problems on Defence this season!

[Rammer]

X 0

Eric Taylor WAS a good DLineman for the Lions, but he hasn't been for much of the past 2 and 1/2 years. He got stats the last two years because he sat in the "hole" and picked up tackles past the LOS while Mitchell and Westerman were slicing into the backfield and getting double teamed. Eric Taylor was effective for the Lions when he had fewer "stats" and was taking up two blockers on every down. CGY's Brett Jones owned Taylor in his rookie season! This is a move the Lions should have made before his extension!

The Lions were right, IMO, to let Keron Williams go because his play dropped off his last season here, noticeably. He too got sacks, but he wasn't "earning" them by creating constant pressure. The 35 year old Smith has been our best DLineman the last 2 years and that's why he is still on the team. Westerman is a player, but he needs help...so does our whole line...for Khreem Smith to be effective he needs a true speed rusher at the other end and teams neutralized Bazzie by having a RB chip him, plus he got tired towards the end of the season. Outside of Westerman, EVERY position on the DLine should be up for grabs this TC and Wally had better have an elite group at camp to choose from or the Lions are going to have real problems on Defence this season!

You are way off on Taylor's contribution to the Lions, he was a beast that did the grunt work but could still be found running down plays from behind when needed. Ask me how many times I saw Mitchell involved in the play in comparison, Taylor worked his butt off in the Lions funnel D. That said, he wasn't in the long term plans, so moving past him is fine, I just wish that it would have happened with someone beating him out in TC. A more fundamentally sound way to build the team with the best players possible.

[sj-roc]

Didn't take Taylor long to land on his feet; Hufnagel's scooped him up:

http://cfl.ca/article/veteran-defensive ... stampeders

Veteran defensive tackle Taylor joins Stampeders
Posted: March 06, 2015 12:00 PM
Updated: March 06, 2015 12:06 PM

CFL.ca Staff

CALGARY -- It hasn't taken Eric Taylor long to find a new home. Less than a week after being released by the BC Lions, the veteran DT has agreed to terms with the Calgary Stampeders.

"Eric has been very good defensive tackle in this league over the years and I know he's looking to show that he still has more to give," said Stampeders general manager and head coach John Hufnagel in a statement. "I look forward to seeing him compete at training camp."

Taylor is a seven-year Canadian Football League veteran who spent the past four seasons with the BC Lions and has 90 regular-season games, eight playoff contests as well as the 2011 Grey Cup on his resume. The six-foot-two, 309-lb. defensive tackle was part of a Lions unit that finished first in run defence in 2012 and second in 2011 and 2013. During two of those seasons - 2012 and 2013 - Rich Stubler, now Calgary's defensive coordinator, was on the BC coaching staff.

The Winchester, Tenn., native entered the CFL as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 and also played for the Toronto Argonauts in 2010.

In 90 career games, Taylor has 169 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 20 pass knockdowns. He has 16 tackles and two sacks in eight career playoff games.

Prior to coming to the CFL, Taylor spent time with the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2004, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. He played one game for the Vikings in 2005. He played college football at Memphis was second-team all-Conference USA during his senior season.

"I'm grateful for the new start," said Taylor. "I'm joining a very good team and a very good defence and I'm looking forward to getting on that road to try and reach the Grey Cup."

[WestCoastJoe]

Didn't take Taylor long to land on his feet; Hufnagel's scooped him up:

http://cfl.ca/article/veteran-defensive ... stampeders

Veteran defensive tackle Taylor joins Stampeders
Posted: March 06, 2015 12:00 PM
Updated: March 06, 2015 12:06 PM

CFL.ca Staff

CALGARY -- It hasn't taken Eric Taylor long to find a new home. Less than a week after being released by the BC Lions, the veteran DT has agreed to terms with the Calgary Stampeders.

"Eric has been very good defensive tackle in this league over the years and I know he's looking to show that he still has more to give," said Stampeders general manager and head coach John Hufnagel in a statement. "I look forward to seeing him compete at training camp."

Taylor is a seven-year Canadian Football League veteran who spent the past four seasons with the BC Lions and has 90 regular-season games, eight playoff contests as well as the 2011 Grey Cup on his resume. The six-foot-two, 309-lb. defensive tackle was part of a Lions unit that finished first in run defence in 2012 and second in 2011 and 2013. During two of those seasons - 2012 and 2013 - Rich Stubler, now Calgary's defensive coordinator, was on the BC coaching staff.

The Winchester, Tenn., native entered the CFL as a member of the Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 and also played for the Toronto Argonauts in 2010.

In 90 career games, Taylor has 169 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and 20 pass knockdowns. He has 16 tackles and two sacks in eight career playoff games.

Prior to coming to the CFL, Taylor spent time with the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers, who drafted him in the seventh round in 2004, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans. He played one game for the Vikings in 2005. He played college football at Memphis was second-team all-Conference USA during his senior season.

"I'm grateful for the new start," said Taylor. "I'm joining a very good team and a very good defence and I'm looking forward to getting on that road to try and reach the Grey Cup."

OMG. The strong get stronger. He has some football left in him for sure.

I believe Eric Taylor was with Rich Stubler in Toronto.

Best wishes to Eric Taylor.