State of the franchise recap

[B.C.FAN]

To my account, there's been at least 12 players released/traded from last year:

Khalif Mitchell
Eric Taylor
Ernest Jackson
JR Larose
SJ Haidara
Dante Marsh
Matt McGarva
Akwasi Antwi
Kito Poblah
Tim Brown
Andre Ramsay
Steven Shott

Training camp is going to be real interesting.

Make it 13. You left out perhaps the most obvious one: Kevin Glenn.

LU's count is 15 regulars cut and 18 gone altogether, including free agent departures. That's already pushing the upper limit of a healthy turnover rate. And we haven't seen what surprises might be in store at training camp, including injuries.

Ullrich: Brown the latest cut by Lions’ sharp claws
That makes 15 regulars who have been chopped since B.C.’s last game in November

[Shi Zi Mi]

I tracked this last year.....29 players on the roster at the end of the 2013 season were gone by September, 2014.

Hart, Chris
Shell, Lin-J
Bell, Joshua
Williams, Korey
Williams, Keron
Pierce, Buck
Jones, Korey
Elliott, Joey
Chism, Cameron
DeMarco, Thomas
Moore, Nick
Jackson, Paris
Banks, Korey
Foord, Stuart
Cronk, Tim
McKenzie, Anton
Jones, Kyle
Albright, Matthew
Aumaitre, Nyere
Myddelton, Steve
Reid, Angus
Archibald, Ben
Baboulas, Adam
Kabongo, Patrick
Marshall, Andrew
Wade, Myles
Wilson, Chris
Awasom, Adrian
Reid, Jermaine

[Rammer]

I tracked this last year.....29 players on the roster at the end of the 2013 season were gone by September, 2014.

Hart, Chris
Shell, Lin-J
Bell, Joshua
Williams, Korey
Williams, Keron
Pierce, Buck
Jones, Korey
Elliott, Joey
Chism, Cameron
DeMarco, Thomas
Moore, Nick
Jackson, Paris
Banks, Korey
Foord, Stuart
Cronk, Tim
McKenzie, Anton
Jones, Kyle
Albright, Matthew
Aumaitre, Nyere
Myddelton, Steve
Reid, Angus
Archibald, Ben
Baboulas, Adam
Kabongo, Patrick
Marshall, Andrew
Wade, Myles
Wilson, Chris
Awasom, Adrian
Reid, Jermaine

Which also had an expansion draft. But I wonder which season had the biggest amount of starters departing. Lions releasing this number in back to back seasons also has to be unusual.

[Blitz]

We really haven't lost a lot of starters.

As it looks right now, on offence our starters will be:

RECEIVER

Arsenault (moved back outside)
Morrow (A.C. Leonard) (tight end/slot)
Austin Collie (Adekolu, Tomasiuk)
Courtenay Taylor (Lavelle Hawkins, Burnham)
Sean Gore (Iannuzzi

OFFENSIVE LINE

Center - Matt Norman, Jon Estes, Thorn)
Right Guard - Valli, Allison Campbell
Left Guard - Fabian (Player, Husband)
Right Tackle - Olifoye
Left Tackle - Hunter Steward, Kaycee Ike, Tommie Draheim) Our Leos may move Steward to guard although he played very well at left tackle when given the opportunity last season

QUARTERBACK

Travis Lulay
Partridge
Beck
Plethora of candidates

RUNNING BACK

Tailback - Andrew Harris, Murray-Lawrence, Bigalow)
Fullback - Lumbala, Lochard

RETURNER

Brendan Bigalow, Lavelle Hawkins, Murray-Lawrence

DEFENSIVE LINE

Alex Bazzie, Craig Roh, Ese Mrabure-Ajufo
Khareem Smith (Alex King, Doedge)
Westerman (Menard, Maxx Ford)
MacFarland, Michael Brooks, Zack Minter, Tim Jackson, Andre Monroe

LINEBACKER

Sol E. (Middle)
Bighill (Hoffmann-Ellis) (Outside)
Lokombo, Adrian Clark, Casey Chin (Canadian Backup)
Josh Johnson (Torri Willams) Nickle Back)

DEFENSIVE BACK

Ronnie Yell (short side corner)
Cord Parks (short side halfback)
Kenyan Parker, (Chris Rwabukamba,Josh Brinkworth (safety)
Ryan Phillips (wide side halfback)
T.J. Lee (wide side corner)
The usual parade of import defensive back prospects

Players that I see on the bubble going into this training camp include Khareem Smith and Alex Bazzie. Phillips may also be in tough but we probably will want to have one vet back in the defensive backfield and therefore Phillips could also be moved out to wide side corner, which would be a wise choice.

An interesting battle will be at safety. Our Leos really had their eye on Chris Ackie as a future safety and we would have selected him as our first round draft choice but he was taken just before selected. At this point we have Kenyan Parker, Chris Rwabukamba and the very untested Josh Brinkworth at the position. it would not surprise me to see us go with an International safety, depending on the ratio and what happens at training camp.

On offence, I see Courtney Taylor on the bubble on offence. Matt Norman's starting status will depend on whether Tedford wants to go with an International at center. The decision as to whether to play Steward at guard or tackle could impact Valli or Fabian at starting guard.

Overall, while there appears to be a lot of changes, most of our starting lineup from last season is returning and there should be some good battles for a few key positions.

[David]

An interesting battle will be at safety. Our Leos really had their eye on Chris Ackie as a future safety and we would have selected him as our first round draft choice but he was taken just before selected. At this point we only have Kenyan Parker and the very untested Josh Brinkworth so it would not surprise me to see us go with an International safety, depending on the ratio and what happens at training camp.

Great read Blitz, thanks. I can't quite get a pulse yet on this Lions team but I believe much of it will ride on the effectiveness of our quarterbacking (specifically the durability of Travis). At this point, I could see us either going 12-6 or 6-12.

One name you omitted from the mix at safety was our only FA signing, Chris Rwabukamba from the Eskimos. I believe they have him penciled in at safety, although I think he can also play corner.

I don't know about everyone else, but I can't wait for the season to start!


DH

[Blitz]

Thanks David. I edited my post to make the change you pointed out. Like you, I'm very excited about this 2015 season and the changes we will see under Tedford.

[B.C.FAN]

Wally was on TSN1040 with Sekeres and Price Tuesday morning. He suggested Jordan Rodgers saw his spot on the depth chart and decided to pursue other opportunities.

He said the decision on Tim Brown was made partly because Jeff Tedford wants running backs who can be receivers, not just catch the ball out of the backfield. He said Brown might have a chance to catch on with another team that is looking for a returner only, not a backup running back/returner, which is how the Lions see the position. It suggests we'll see Andrew Harris used even more as a receiver this year.

Regarding Kito Poblah, Wally said the team has decided to dress three Canadian receivers this year, not four, and that Shawn Gore, Austin Collie and Marco Iannuzzi appear to have a lock on those positions. He said Iannuzzi looks like "the player of two years ago." He didn't want Poblah to go through camp and then be cut. He said Stephen Adekolu and Whitman Tomusiak remain on the outside in the competition for roster spots.

[BC 1988]

The Lions just announced signing QB Grant Hedrick
http://www.idahopress.com/blueturfsport ... 139f9.html

[SammyGreene]

Thanks David. I edited my post to make the change you pointed out. Like you, I'm very excited about this 2015 season and the changes we will see under Tedford.

Great read Blitz. I am also very excited for the season. The Lions were extremely fortunate to have a coach of Tedford's experience and background fall into their lap. The best thing is he is also outside of Wally's inner circle, at least from the past 20 years — unlike the hiring of Benevides. Lots of changes and so there should be. There were some embarrassing performances last year and the team was humiliated in the playoff game.

[TheLionKing]

The Lions just announced signing QB Grant Hedrick
http://www.idahopress.com/blueturfsport ... 139f9.html

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/ds ... &genpos=QB

[Lions4ever]

The Lions just announced signing QB Grant Hedrick
http://www.idahopress.com/blueturfsport ... 139f9.html

They also just signed Texas Longhorns kicker Anthony Fera. Looking at his youtube workout vid he appears to be able to drill kickoffs through the endzone of a US field from the 35. In the CFL that would translate to the goal line (I'm bad at arithmetic, I think that's correct), which I think would be a huge upgrade in our kickoff team performance. Vid only shows kicking though, no punting.

[Hambone]

The Lions just announced signing QB Grant Hedrick
http://www.idahopress.com/blueturfsport ... 139f9.html

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/ds ... &genpos=QB

As well as kicker Anthony Pera per TSN.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/ ... id=2543863

[Hambone]

Thanks David. I edited my post to make the change you pointed out. Like you, I'm very excited about this 2015 season and the changes we will see under Tedford.

Also noticeably absent in your assessment Blitz is Keola Antolin.

[WestCoastJoe]

OFFENSIVE LINE

Center - Matt Norman, Jon Estes, Thorn)
Right Guard - Valli, Allison Campbell
Left Guard - Fabian (Player, Husband)
Right Tackle - Olifoye
Left Tackle - Hunter Steward, Kaycee Ike, Tommie Draheim) Our Leos may move Steward to guard although he played very well at left tackle when given the opportunity last season

DEFENSIVE LINE

Alex Bazzie, Craig Roh, Ese Mrabure-Ajufo
Khareem Smith (Alex King, Doedge)
Westerman (Menard, Maxx Ford)
MacFarland, Michael Brooks, Zack Minter, Tim Jackson, Andre Monroe

Nice work, Blitz.

As usual I like to keep an eye on the OL and the DL, the frontline of attack and defence.

The OL has some experience and some young talent. It will be interesting to watch how they adapt to OL coach Doug Malone.

Got some concerns about the DL. Alex Bazzie is listed at 6'1", 228. Smurf-size for DL work. He seemed to lose effectiveness as the year wore on, although he did register 10 sacks. Khreem is ancient by DL standards. New INTs brought in to play inside with Westerman are unproven at this time. The overall size (lack of) is a concern.

Safety is a concern.

An interesting battle will be at safety. Our Leos really had their eye on Chris Ackie as a future safety and we would have selected him as our first round draft choice but he was taken just before selected.

That is interesting. Tremendous athlete by all accounts. Great DB size at 6'2'', 210. Dunno how much safety he played? Jim Popp and the Alouettes have a great record in drafting.

http://www.tsn.ca/tsn-ca-cfl-draft-prof ... e-1.184229

[Blitz]

"As usual I like to keep an eye on the OL and the DL, the frontline of attack and defence". WCJ

Me too WCJ and its going to be an interesting training camp on both sides of the line of scrimmage and who will be lining up on both our offensive and defensive lines to start the season.

Interesting that our Leos tried to sign Banks and then Williams in the off-season as our return man.

Looks like Rodgers is out of here. I like Partridge. It will be interesting to see how his fate turns out with all the quarterbacks signed so far. I can't see Beck being here this season. Last year, the plan was to have backups who had pro experience but with Lulay hurting his shoulder again the two quarterbacks behind Lulay this season will be development quarterbacks getting ready for the starter position in the future.

in terms of safety we could always go with an import at safety and use on of our Canadian defensive backs at wide side corner...its an option and all our Canadians who are lined up for the safety position have experience playing corner in college.