Lions cuts

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B.C.FAN
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The Lions have released 17 players on CFL cutdown day.
Players released:

QB Austin Apodaca (I)
K/P Anthony Alix (N)
WR Joey Augustin (I)
WR Levern Jacobs (I)
WR Jamaal Jones (I)
WR Shakeir Ryan (I)
WR Josh Stanford (N)
WR Jesse Walker (N)
WR Will Watson (N)
DL Vantrel McMillan (I)
DL Julien Laurent (N)
DB Marloshawn Franklin (I)
DB Nate Hamlin (N)
DB Keon Lyn (I)
LB Steffon Herd (I)
OL Eric Lofton (I)
OL Cassidy Curtis (I)
https://www.bclions.com/2019/06/08/bc-l ... ce=dlvr.it
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B.C.FAN
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Some mild surprises in the bunch.
- Keon Lyn had been taking first-team reps at safety before his terrible outing against Calgary Friday night.
- LB Steffon Herd was taking regular reps as dimeback.
- Marloshawn Franklin was one of the most prominent rookie DBs and had an INT against Calgary on Friday.
- Shakeir Ryan was taking first-team reps as a returner and had a punt return TD against Edmonton in the first preseason game. Brandon Rutley and Jamel Lyles will likely be the Lions' main returners.
- Josh Stanford was taking first-team reps at slotback last weekend in Kamloops and had a strong camp before putting in a poor outing on Friday.
- Anthony Alix was taking first-team reps as a kicker in Kamloops and appeared to have the edge on international Sergio Castillo as a placekicker but was an inconsistent punter. Castillo's three missed converts on Friday are a warning sign that the job isn't yet settled.
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WestCoastJoe
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Surprises ...

Augustin

Jones

Laurent ... big surprise. I expect he will be picked up, or maybe show up on the PR.

Glad we kept Kraemer. Don't see how we could possibly have let him go. Of course the QB situation will be fluid.

Moore and Lyles both kept. Good.

Marloshawn was a lightning rod. Good. And bad. In the pros, it has to almost all good. No disasters.

Same with Lyn. Exposed on those two plays.

Typos? From the tablet ...
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.
JohnnyMusso
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Laurent to me is a big surprise. They made a trade at the draft to get him and after only 1 year he is released. I expect he will be picked up by another team. Maybe the Riders who need more Canadians or Montreal who need all the help they can get.

Glad Will Watson was cut. He was old and played poorly last game. Lions need a young Canadian who has promise, not a guy in his 30's.

Glad they kept Kraemer. He deserved to make the team after the way he played last game.

Not sold on Danny Collins. Not impressive stats and only reason we picked him up why because he is an ex Eskimo. Hervey tends to favour them most of all. I rather we go after Bridge who soon will be cut.
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CardiacKid
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Sat Jun 08, 2019 5:43 pm
Some mild surprises in the bunch.
- Keon Lyn had been taking first-team reps at safety before his terrible outing against Calgary Friday night.
- LB Steffon Herd was taking regular reps as dimeback.
- Marloshawn Franklin was one of the most prominent rookie DBs and had an INT against Calgary on Friday.
- Shakeir Ryan was taking first-team reps as a returner and had a punt return TD against Edmonton in the first preseason game. Brandon Rutley and Jamel Lyles will likely be the Lions' main returners.
- Josh Stanford was taking first-team reps at slotback last weekend in Kamloops and had a strong camp before putting in a poor outing on Friday.
- Anthony Alix was taking first-team reps as a kicker in Kamloops and appeared to have the edge on international Sergio Castillo as a placekicker but was an inconsistent punter. Castillo's three missed converts on Friday are a warning sign that the job isn't yet settled.
I kept waiting to hear Steffon Herd’s name last night as I figured he would continue the good work he has shown from last year and camp. I was wondering if he even dressed for last night’s game, he was so anonymous.
Ryan never seemed to do much beyond his one TD return with Hamilton and the one last game. Seemed to not run with the blocks.
So are guys announced as cut and then offed a PR spot? Or are they announced as cut once it is confirmed they are not on any of the rosters?
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SammyGreene
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So our top draft picks in the 2016 (Valliancourt), 2017 (Vandervoort) and now 2018 (Laurent) have all been released. My goodness.

The head of Canadian scouting might be a little lucky he also happens to be one of the team's all-time great players.
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David
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Lots of surprises but I have a hard time believing a few of them won't resurface on a PR or IL (although we will still have more paring to do). For example, Ryan was having a hard time with his hamstring last night (they called it cramping but it looked to be more than that). Likely on the IR?

IMHO, Joey Augustin looked too good to let go. I suspect he will be kept on the PR (Claybrooks hinted that he wasn't lining up properly - the playbook can be learned over time, size and leaping ability can't). I can't believe they're keeping Bundy over Augustin who didn't show me much. Steffon Herd should be kept too, as should Marloshawn Franklin who has been prominent in two preseason games.

I thought QB Apodaca took a big step forward last game from the previous (released) but I thought DB Victor Gamboa took a step back.

What to do about all of our running backs? Rutley looks like a more complete back to me than White IV. More reliable in short yardage. Then we have a really impressive rookie local kid in Jamel Lyles and the versatile Wayne Moore (plus Mackie at FB). Lots of things to chew on!


DH :cool:
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DanoT
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I think the release of Laurant was due to a numbers game. In order to make the numbers work, imo Junior Luke needed to be a starter with Laurant the back up. Well, there is no way Luke is going to start ahead of Coleman or Louis in the interior of the D Line, regardless of nationality. I guess Luke gets to be a backup.

Former Esks QB, Danny O'Brien (I think I got the name right) apparently has a great rapport with Reilly, so Danny very well could be there at the request of Reilly as a extra set of eyes or for meeting room feedback/contributions.

Rookie QB coach Drew Tate has a quirky personality, so the thought has crossed my mind that it is possible that Reilly and Tate might not be clicking. Actually imo, Tate and Anybody might not click. :wink:
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Hambone
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SammyGreene wrote:
Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:22 pm
So our top draft picks in the 2016 (Valliancourt), 2017 (Vandervoort) and now 2018 (Laurent) have all been released. My goodness.

The head of Canadian scouting might be a little lucky he also happens to be one of the team's all-time great players.
Laurent wasn't the top pick last year. Peter Godber was their top pick in the 3rd overall slot. Laurent was taken 7th overall with the extra pick they acquired from Winnipeg last year along with the #16 pick (David Mackie) in exchange for 12th overall last year (Rashaun Simonese - who Winnipeg cut today) and 4th overall this year (Drew Desjarlais).
Last edited by Hambone on Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Hambone
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JohnnyMusso wrote:
Sat Jun 08, 2019 6:14 pm
Laurent to me is a big surprise. They made a trade at the draft to get him and after only 1 year he is released. I expect he will be picked up by another team. Maybe the Riders who need more Canadians or Montreal who need all the help they can get.

Glad Will Watson was cut. He was old and played poorly last game. Lions need a young Canadian who has promise, not a guy in his 30's.

Glad they kept Kraemer. He deserved to make the team after the way he played last game.

Not sold on Danny Collins. Not impressive stats and only reason we picked him up why because he is an ex Eskimo. Hervey tends to favour them most of all. I rather we go after Bridge who soon will be cut.
I don't recall that BC traded up specifically to get Laurent. If I remember correctly that deal was made before the draft started meaning there was no way of knowing if Laurent would still be available at #7.

You're getting your Watsons mixed up. Will Watson is only 24. You're thinking of Cory Watson who BC signed last year then let go in free agency this year. He's now 35. It was pretty obvious though in camp that Will Watson was unlikely to stick.

Danny Collins? I'm guessing you mean Danny O'Brien. I wonder if he was picked up as a veteran presence behind Reilly until Ricky Lloyd gets past his concussion suffered in the 1st preseason game.
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B.C.FAN
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I’m not sure what the Lions see in Bundy. He’s the same size as Augustin but doesn’t seem to have the same hands and didn’t win any contested balls when I was in Kamloops. He seemed to drop more passes. The Lions had both of them working on cover and return teams for a while, then they just gave reps to Bundy. The writing seemed to be on the wall.
TheLionKing
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Surprised that Joey Augustin got the axe. Not surprised that Austin Apodaca was released. Keon Lyn played himself out of a roster spot after getting beaten 3 times deep.

Here's the Lions' roster subject to change

https://www.bclions.com/roster/
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SammyGreene
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Hambone wrote:
Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:08 pm
Laurent wasn't the top pick last year. Peter Godber was their top pick in the 3rd overall slot. Laurent was taken 7th overall with the extra pick they acquired from Winnipeg last year along with the #16 pick (David Mackie) in exchange for 12th overall last year (Rashaun Simonese - who Winnipeg cut today) and 4th overall this year (Drew Desjarlais).
Of course. Thanks Hambone. But I am now officially jaded on the CFL Draft after somewhat buying into the hype in more recent years thanks to better coverage of the combine among other things.

#4 overall pick doesn't even make it out of Bombers training camp? At least Vandervoort held down a roster spot for one season, although his lack of progress is probably what soured me on the draft when there was plenty of hype about his size and what he had done at McMaster (3rd all-time in TD receptions in USports history).

I guess it's a good thing only 7 of your 24 starters have to be nationals given the draft is nothing more than a crapshoot.
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pennw
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I was jaded on the draft a few years ago already when so many hyped players never lived up to the hype . I think coaches have known this all along . Most of these prospects are still a ways away from their peak at the age they are drafted , so it's a wait and see still for a few years to see how they pan out . Hervey seems to have it figured out , why worry about draft picks when you can just wait till they become free agents and then just sign the good ones when they become available at 25 or 26 years of age and are proven .
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CardiacKid
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Doesn’t every professional sports league have examples of can’t miss prospects that wind up not living up to the hype? For a variety of reasons usually.

Vaillancourt actually was a starter for a brief period and acquitted himself quite well until injuries interfered. In the case of Vandervoort, I often wondered if his situation came about from inconsistent coaching?

I remember an interview with Patrick Kabongo where he detailed his entry into the league. He relied on his physical attributes but had under-developed technique; the coaches in Edmonton didn’t help in this regard and eventually his play suffered to the point of being completely expendable. The Lions picked him up and Dan Dorazio worked with him one on one to improve his skills and technique. Suddenly his career was resurgent and he went from being washed up to a massive surprise and valuable part of the OLine.

Just saying there are potentially a multitude of variables at play with these young players....
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