Player transactions

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David
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Since it's been 2 weeks since our last game, I just wanted to level-set for everyone where we are with player comings and goings:

Activated:
Ken Boatright DE (moves from PR to starting roster to replace Josh Shirley)
Starting: Micah Awe LB (replaces Tony Burnett and continues on special teams)
Released: Steven Clarke DB
Eligible to come off 6-game injured list: Jas Dhillon G, Keynan Parker S
Ready to come off 1-game injured list: Cody Husband C
Healthy: Ricky Foley (had inflamed knee scoped)
Injured: Charles Vaillancourt G (wrist) - doubtful for Friday
Injured: Mic'hael Brooks DT (shoulder) - doubtful for Friday
Luther Maddy DT is a possibility to be actived


DH :cool:
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WestCoastJoe
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Problematic, but then roster selection is always that way.

Evans to Shirley to Boatright. Is there a rush end in there somewhere?

Kind of like Tinker to Evers to Chance. Double play of baseball lore. Will we Ever stop Tinkering? Shirley, it is time to take a Chance on Boatright.

Stephen Clarke. Tried him all over the place. The staff, as in Mark W, found him wanting.

Ricky Foley. Depth. Convenient pickup. Can probably still contribute.

Brooks. Seemingly injured way too often. Not a standout on D IMO.

Shuffling some deck chairs ...

Can we turn it around? With Travis, it is always possible.

Just IMO.


p82218425-3.jpg
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Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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SammyGreene
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Also sounds like Ianuzzi has moved back to his old field side WR position from last year based on 3rd Down Radio discussion.
Bit of a demotion for Marco after a couple of drops against Ottawa and apparently it was his fault for cutting his route off on Lulay's last INT. They also want Shaq Johnson more involved and closer to the QB.
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David
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 5:39 am
Evans to Shirley to Boatright. Is there a rush end in there somewhere?
Haha, there appears to be no End in sight with this constant search to find a pass rush, WCJ. :wink:

Wally's new nickname should be Grant Tinker, after the former television executive. :roar:

Ironically, Steven Clarke was placed all over the defensive backfield but was never given another shot at safety, where he played his best ball in preseason.

I am cutting Brooksie some slack. That shoulder has been an issue for some time now. It's kind of stinger that he just keeps aggravating, the latest of which came at practice yesterday.

To SammyGreene's point, I thought Marco was having a pretty good '17 campaign, but you can't have two drops in a single game and a missed assignment, so the switch doesn't really surprise me.

Anyone heard from Blitz?


DH :cool:
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B.C.FAN
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I'm looking forward to seeing what Boatright can do. He was noticeable in training camp as an edge rusher. Shirley hasn't impressed me, despite him being the quickest of the defensive ends, based on NFL draft year measurables. The best hope for improving the pass rush is to get DeQuin Evans back from the 6-game injured list later this month.

Shaq Johnson has been a great addition to the receiving corps. He's quick and he can catch the ball all over the field. I'd like to see him get more touches, but I'd still prefer to see Nick Moore start as the outside slot. The Lions have yet to exploit the potential of their international receiving corps with Moore, Williams, Burnham and Arceneaux healthy. We may never see it, now that the Lions have gone back to three Canadians on the offensive line, which Wally says will likely remain the situation for the balance of the season. Instead the Lions plan to use Chris Rainey more as a speed receiver. He has already had nearly twice as many receptions and twice as much yardage as he had in the first 10 games last year as a receiver and presents matchup problems for defences.
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WestCoastJoe
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David wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 9:44 am
WestCoastJoe wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 5:39 am
Evans to Shirley to Boatright. Is there a rush end in there somewhere?
Haha, there appears to be no End in sight with this constant search to find a pass rush, WCJ. :wink:

Wally's new nickname should be Grant Tinker, after the former television executive. :roar:

Ironically, Steven Clarke was placed all over the defensive backfield but was never given another shot at safety, where he played his best ball in preseason.

I am cutting Brooksie some slack. That shoulder has been an issue for some time now. It's kind of stinger that he just keeps aggravating, the latest of which came at practice yesterday.

To SammyGreene's point, I thought Marco was having a pretty good '17 campaign, but you can't have two drops in a single game and a missed assignment, so the switch doesn't really surprise me.

Anyone heard from Blitz?


DH :cool:
All those ends looks the same to me, David. None stand out.

I was looking forward to Blitz's comments after the last game. He must have missed the game, as he did not post. I saw him online here at one point.

Grass drills for Blitz for missing the game. (Run in place. Hit the grass. Get up. Run in place. Hit the grass. Forever.)
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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WestCoastJoe
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Re Lombardi's infamous grass drills ...


2017-09-06_1322.png
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John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Hambone
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 5:38 pm
Re Lombardi's infamous grass drills ...



2017-09-06_1322.png
Lol. A buddy of mine here in PG likes to tell a story of when he played high school football in PG back in the early 70's. My buddy was a big burly strong as an ox kid who played OL. When his coach who was a big black fellow got pissed at him for messing up in practice his coach would tell him "Wickbeil (it was actually Rickbeil) I'm going to make you wun until I get tired".
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DanoT
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:15 am
I'm looking forward to seeing what Boatright can do. He was noticeable in training camp as an edge rusher. Shirley hasn't impressed me, despite him being the quickest of the defensive ends, based on NFL draft year measurables. The best hope for improving the pass rush is to get DeQuin Evans back from the 6-game injured list later this month.

Shaq Johnson has been a great addition to the receiving corps. He's quick and he can catch the ball all over the field. I'd like to see him get more touches, but I'd still prefer to see Nick Moore start as the outside slot. The Lions have yet to exploit the potential of their international receiving corps with Moore, Williams, Burnham and Arceneaux healthy. We may never see it, now that the Lions have gone back to three Canadians on the offensive line, which Wally says will likely remain the situation for the balance of the season. Instead the Lions plan to use Chris Rainey more as a speed receiver. He has already had nearly twice as many receptions and twice as much yardage as he had in the first 10 games last year as a receiver and presents matchup problems for defences.
The problem that I have with playing only 3 NATs on the Oline is that the 2 INTs, Johnson and Palmer are not very impressive. Hunter Steward is a better tackle than either one of those guys.
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B.C.FAN
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DanoT wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 9:01 pm

The problem that I have with playing only 3 NATs on the Oline is that the 2 INTs, Johnson and Palmer are not very impressive. Hunter Steward is a better tackle than either one of those guys.
Agreed. Steward, Vaillancourt, Husband and Fabien are the Lions' four best linemen when healthy.
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DanoT
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:07 pm
DanoT wrote:
Wed Sep 06, 2017 9:01 pm

The problem that I have with playing only 3 NATs on the Oline is that the 2 INTs, Johnson and Palmer are not very impressive. Hunter Steward is a better tackle than either one of those guys.
Agreed. Steward, Vaillancourt, Husband and Fabien are the Lions' four best linemen when healthy.
Yes and this is why I don't see the Lions making the playoffs. When you have what might be the 2 worst INT Olinemen in the CFL, you are going nowhere. The Oline was better earlier in the year when only one of them was playing. :bang: :bang:

I am not a stats guys so maybe I am wrong and I have an admitted bias against coach Dorazio, but it seems to me that way too often the Lions O line digresses as the year goes on. I also might feel this way due to all the times that the Lions have been completely blown out in playoff games in recent years.
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David
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The question for me becomes, "would David Foucault represent that much of a drop-off from either Johnson or Palmer at the tackle position (preferably right tackle)?" The answer I keep coming back to is, "no, not really." I mean, he's a natural tackle anyway, so I'm not sure why we were playing him at guard.

The flexibility to our roster in being able to play an extra International elsewhere (i.e. 4 American receivers) would outweigh any downside that Foucault could possibly bring over the what's there now, IMHO. At the very least it should be explored.


DH :cool:
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The_Pauser
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David wrote:
Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:01 am
The question for me becomes, "would David Foucault represent that much of a drop-off from either Johnson or Palmer at the tackle position (preferably right tackle)?" The answer I keep coming back to is, "no, not really." I mean, he's a natural tackle anyway, so I'm not sure why we were playing him at guard.

The flexibility to our roster in being able to play an extra International elsewhere (i.e. 4 American receivers) would outweigh any downside that Foucault could possibly bring over the what's there now, IMHO. At the very least it should be explored.


DH :cool:
I don't know about that. Foucault looked awful in the time I've seen him out there. If he weren't a Canadian I have serious doubts that he would still be on the roster.
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B.C.FAN
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The_Pauser wrote:
Thu Sep 07, 2017 10:52 am
David wrote:
Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:01 am
The question for me becomes, "would David Foucault represent that much of a drop-off from either Johnson or Palmer at the tackle position (preferably right tackle)?" The answer I keep coming back to is, "no, not really." I mean, he's a natural tackle anyway, so I'm not sure why we were playing him at guard.

The flexibility to our roster in being able to play an extra International elsewhere (i.e. 4 American receivers) would outweigh any downside that Foucault could possibly bring over the what's there now, IMHO. At the very least it should be explored.


DH :cool:
I don't know about that. Foucault looked awful in the time I've seen him out there. If he weren't a Canadian I have serious doubts that he would still be on the roster.
Yes, Foucault has looked awful since the start of training camp and is definitely not ready to take on edge rushers at the tackle position. He just doesn't have quick enough feet. He has also given up big sacks at guard when his feet seemed to be anchored to the turf as linemen blew past him, including the first play of the game in Hamilton when Jennings got hurt. I hope he is capable of improving his technique but I've yet to seen improvement.

Here are as few observations I made in the training camp thread in June:
Third-team DE Ken Boatright was impressive. He knocked down Manny Arceneaux to break up a pass in skelly and blew by David Foucault for an apparent sack in team play.
Foucault struggled a few times with outside pressure but looked strong against inside moves.
David Foucault took first-team reps for Steward at LT and again struggled. He was beaten cleanly to the outside on speed moves by Craig Roh on back to back plays in line drills. He looked better in team sessions but wasn't tested to the outside.
The Lions have released a depth chart for Tuesday's preseason opener in Calgary. All four quarterbacks are expected to see action, and all five projected starting offensive linemen are listed as starters. David Foucault is listed as backup left guard, which might be a better position for him than tackle, at least for now.
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During the Wally's chalk talk presentation to the fans during the Operation Orange trip to Ottawa, he mentioned that one of the OLine had been playing hurt but didn't inform the coaching staff that was the case.

He didn't mention names but I immediately thought Foucault? Mostly based on the fact he was on the injured list with the concussion protocol but I don't recall seeing any mention by any observers when or where his concussion occurred. Just seemed not entirely straightforward how he went on the injured list.

So while it doesn't explain his performance at training camp (unless he has been dealing with concussion symptoms for roughly a third of the season without revealing it) it could go some way to explain his rather rough start as a Leo.

Hey, just trying to find the sunshine at the end of the tunnel.

I wouldn't suppose anybody would have video footage of his actual game time in the NFL? I believe he started one game on the OLine.
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