Tight end experiment ends?

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KnowItAll
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Qman wrote:
FEAR_THE_ROAR wrote:finally!!!! what a waste of a spot he was, I'm hoping that there is still more changes coming our way.

I like putting in gore and iannuzzi, but why don't we try iannuzzi at slot? he is faster than gore so maybe he can get some separation to help out travis?

just a thought, we've had him for a couple years now and haven't tried it becase of our previous SB's ( geroy arland moore etc) maybe?
iannuzzi is too small to play slot. he is only on the roster due to his passport and played returner in college.
and to think that the lions could have taken Anthony parker jr. instead. Was disappointed when they didn't
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sj-roc
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Qman wrote:looks like Manny goes inside to new inside slot ... where leonard was playing
Hawkins gets in a manny's old spot
Saw this tweet from someone with thoughts on how our receiving corps will look in Mtl based on what he saw in practice this morning. As you say, looks like Lavelle Hawkins, not Terence Jeffers-Harris, will be the guy drawing into the lineup.


Went to #BCLions practice this morning & it looks like WR Lavelle Hawkins will make his debut this week. Arceneaux will move to the inside.
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B.C.FAN
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I can't link from my phone and I'm still in the dark at home, but according to LU, the receiving corps is being overhauled to add more speed, with Burnham replacing Taylor in the slot as well as Hawkins being added to the roster and Arceneaux moving inside.
TheLionKing
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MexicoLionFan wrote:
TheLionKing wrote:So much for the much hyped "H" back

Exactly, no one is mentioning this...Leonard was brought in as an H-back and potential Tight End, all Tedford did is make him a SLOT receiver in the Canadian game...BIZARRE doesn't begin to cover all of this...what is going on in Lions land??? TLK can you remember as anything as bad as the start to this season?
I've seen more than my fair share of bad Lion teams but honestly can't remember one such as this one: players playing in different positions, bland and boring game plans, frustrated at our inability to stop the run. The 2011 season was bad when they went 0-5. I was so frustrated and pissed off I fired off an email to Dennis Skulsky listing what I perceived was wrong with the Lions. The email resulted in my sitting down with Buono to watch game films. Then they made some positive changes and they won the Grey Cup ! My brother was saying to me just the other day," Isn't it time for you to give your friend Buono another call again ?" :wink:
Blitz
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TheLionKing wrote:
MexicoLionFan wrote:
TheLionKing wrote:So much for the much hyped "H" back

Exactly, no one is mentioning this...Leonard was brought in as an H-back and potential Tight End, all Tedford did is make him a SLOT receiver in the Canadian game...BIZARRE doesn't begin to cover all of this...what is going on in Lions land??? TLK can you remember as anything as bad as the start to this season?
I've seen more than my fair share of bad Lion teams but honestly can't remember one such as this one: players playing in different positions, bland and boring game plans, frustrated at our inability to stop the run. The 2011 season was bad when they went 0-5. I was so frustrated and pissed off I fired off an email to Dennis Skulsky listing what I perceived was wrong with the Lions. The email resulted in my sitting down with Buono to watch game films. Then they made some positive changes and they won the Grey Cup ! My brother was saying to me just the other day," Isn't it time for you to give your friend Buono another call again ?" :wink:
Phone him..... :wink:
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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B.C.FAN wrote:I can't link from my phone and I'm still in the dark at home, but according to LU, the receiving corps is being overhauled to add more speed, with Burnham replacing Taylor in the slot as well as Hawkins being added to the roster and Arceneaux moving inside.
This is going back a few years but the draft report on Hawkins was not especially kind....(from NFL.com).

"...has too much inconsistency in his game as a receiver. Hawkins has valid speed, but seems to shy away from contact, showing disinterest as a blocker. He is not the most urgent runner of pass routes, executing sloppy patterns and a lack of vision to locate the zone's soft areas. Produced catches as a senior, but the numbers came in spurts and for every solid game Hawkins had, there were several where he disappeared. He has shorter-than-ideal arm length and marginal leaping ability, making him a nonexistent factor in jump-ball situations."

His upside is being able to pull double-duty as a kick returner.

As for the TE experiment, I guess we can truly stick a fork in it if and when Cam Morrah is released.
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I'm not so sure a lot of soul searching has gone on with our coaching staff during the bye week. To me, it seems more like our Lions coaches have decided to plug and play new players into their existing systems.

Regarding the so called 'tight end experiment' we never did experiment with a tight end/H Back system...all we did was insert a tight end style of player into the existing George Cortez spread offence.

The decision to insert Hawkins at wide out, Arsenault inside, and Bryan Burnham into the slot position previously held by Leonard does add additional speed to the lineup. What it also proves is that Cortez has not changed his system but instead has chosen to keep his vertical style passing offence and hope the increased speed at receiver will make it work.

I don't like Manny at slot. He was terrible there for the second half of last season. He brings speed to the position but he doesn't run good pass patterns.

On defense, the only change that is apparent is that we will have a new starting safety, with Parker getting the nod. No changes on the defensive line at least so far, have been indicated...no switch to Westerman back inside, Roh remains inside as an undersized, inexperienced tackle rather than a defensive end.

All one can hope for is that our Leos are keeping any scheme changes they made during the bye week close to their chests.

But if its same old, same old, with a few new faces, its not going to get it done.
"When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team". (George Raveling)
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MexicoLionFan
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TheLionKing wrote:
MexicoLionFan wrote:
TheLionKing wrote:So much for the much hyped "H" back

Exactly, no one is mentioning this...Leonard was brought in as an H-back and potential Tight End, all Tedford did is make him a SLOT receiver in the Canadian game...BIZARRE doesn't begin to cover all of this...what is going on in Lions land??? TLK can you remember as anything as bad as the start to this season?
I've seen more than my fair share of bad Lion teams but honestly can't remember one such as this one: players playing in different positions, bland and boring game plans, frustrated at our inability to stop the run. The 2011 season was bad when they went 0-5. I was so frustrated and pissed off I fired off an email to Dennis Skulsky listing what I perceived was wrong with the Lions. The email resulted in my sitting down with Buono to watch game films. Then they made some positive changes and they won the Grey Cup ! My brother was saying to me just the other day," Isn't it time for you to give your friend Buono another call again ?" :wink:
Email him, text him, twitter him, phone him, FedEx him...PLEASE!
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MexicoLionFan
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Blitz wrote:I'm not so sure a lot of soul searching has gone on with our coaching staff during the bye week. To me, it seems more like our Lions coaches have decided to plug and play new players into their existing systems.

Regarding the so called 'tight end experiment' we never did experiment with a tight end/H Back system...all we did was insert a tight end style of player into the existing George Cortez spread offence.

The decision to insert Hawkins at wide out, Arsenault inside, and Bryan Burnham into the slot position previously held by Leonard does add additional speed to the lineup. What it also proves is that Cortez has not changed his system but instead has chosen to keep his vertical style passing offence and hope the increased speed at receiver will make it work.

I don't like Manny at slot. He was terrible there for the second half of last season. He brings speed to the position but he doesn't run good pass patterns.

On defense, the only change that is apparent is that we will have a new starting safety, with Parker getting the nod. No changes on the defensive line at least so far, have been indicated...no switch to Westerman back inside, Roh remains inside as an undersized, inexperienced tackle rather than a defensive end.

All one can hope for is that our Leos are keeping any scheme changes they made during the bye week close to their chests.

But if its same old, same old, with a few new faces, its not going to get it done.
Again, thanks so much Blitz, and I agree it doesn't seem like much of any inner reflection occurred, just more "blaming it on the players", which do need to be improved, but are NOT the essential problem. The Lions had better be prepared for MTL this week, or the Als are going to run them out of the country!
"Condemnation Without Investigation is the height of ignorance."

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The_Pauser
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Agreed.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the H-Back or a true TE in the offense. The reason it didn't work is because we didn't even use it. As mentioned above, we used a person who would fit that role, but used that player as a typical slotback. It kind of gives off the impression that the coach and the OC aren't on the same page.

I'm happy to see Hawkins given a shot, but not sure why CT was removed from the starting lineup. With Manny and Hawkins we would have two speedy receivers to go with two possession receivers in CT and Collie, and Gore being a bit of a hybrid between the two. Either way, none of it will matter if we still move forward with the same scheme. Boring, predictable, vanilla.
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DanoT
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The_Pauser wrote:Agreed.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the H-Back or a true TE in the offense. The reason it didn't work is because we didn't even use it. As mentioned above, we used a person who would fit that role, but used that player as a typical slotback. It kind of gives off the impression that the coach and the OC aren't on the same page.

I'm happy to see Hawkins given a shot, but not sure why CT was removed from the starting lineup. With Manny and Hawkins we would have two speedy receivers to go with two possession receivers in CT and Collie, and Gore being a bit of a hybrid between the two. Either way, none of it will matter if we still move forward with the same scheme. Boring, predictable, vanilla.



Cortez is a poor play caller, so just let Lulay call his own plays and the Lions will have greater chance at success. :cr:
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