Report: Lions willing to listen to offers for Joe Smith

[Rammer]

I don't understand Wally's dislike for Joe at all.

I don't think anybody ever said Wally had any sort of dislike for Joe. If he did he wouldn't have given him the new contract. The only dislike Wally has right now is for the lack of consistent production from the running game and he has what seems to be a viable alternative in Logan. They are totally different backs with different skillsets. Smith does some things very well that Logan cannot duplicate and vice versa.

Some numbers seem to back Wally up in this issue:

Smith 55 carries for 236 yards in 4 games. 4.3 yds per carry, 79 yds per game. The Lions are 1-3.
Logan 42 carries for 303 yards in 3 games. 7.2 yds per carry, 101 yds per game. The Lions are 3-0.

Logan is jump out of your seat exciting, it would be impossible to keep him off the roster now. Having him and Joe would be secure, but the Lions seem to have an answer for replacing Joe in Lambala, but no one brings anything close to the table that Logan does.

[RoarLionsRoar]

I don't understand Wally's dislike for Joe at all.

I don't think anybody ever said Wally had any sort of dislike for Joe. If he did he wouldn't have given him the new contract. The only dislike Wally has right now is for the lack of consistent production from the running game and he has what seems to be a viable alternative in Logan. They are totally different backs with different skillsets. Smith does some things very well that Logan cannot duplicate and vice versa.

Some numbers seem to back Wally up in this issue:

Smith 55 carries for 236 yards in 4 games. 4.3 yds per carry, 79 yds per game. The Lions are 1-3.
Logan 42 carries for 303 yards in 3 games. 7.2 yds per carry, 101 yds per game. The Lions are 3-0.

Logan is jump out of your seat exciting, it would be impossible to keep him off the roster now. Having him and Joe would be secure, but the Lions seem to have an answer for replacing Joe in Lambala, but no one brings anything close to the table that Logan does.

Absolutely spot on, Rammer.

[Bosco]

And maybe his strange attitude was a little bit funny last year but the team might be growing old of it. Telling the papers you're gardening or going shopping instead of watching your team play isn't a way to get on the coaches OR players good sides.
.

There's a fine line between quirky and wierda**

When Joe Smith was the CFL rushing leader, his off field behaviours were looked at as being quirky / eccentric. When things are not going so well, these "quirky" behaviours may not be as well received.

[Tighthead]

Meanwhile, Smith raised some eyebrows when he chose to stay home and tend to his garden instead of joining his teammates at B.C. Place. But Buono did not concern himself with Smith's decision at the time.

"He's not accountable to me when it comes to that," said Buono. "He's accountable to himself and his teammates. I don't focus on the players who aren't playing. I focus on the 42 that are."

Pity so many of the media and the so-called "fans" aren't as capable as Wally of concentrating on what really matters...

I don't believe Wally for a second on this one. When interviewed, it seems like he is less than pleased aouut Smith, and partly for this reason. He is doing everything he can to talk up Logan and talk down Smith.

Yesterday he said how Logan is doing a great job for a guy who was never asked to block in college. I find it hard to believe someone can play for years of RB in the NCAA and be the ball carrier or run a pass pattern every single time. Every back at every level has to pass block at sometime. Wally is stretching and straining credibility.

[The_Pauser]

I don't understand why people are seemingly content with Jarious Jackson at QB. Joe Smith could be/should be used to bring in a new starting quarterback. We have one of the best receiving cores in the league with Geroy, JC82 and Paris Jackson. What we lack is a quarterback who can get them the ball.

Let's look at the stats:

Jackson has the worst completion percentage amongst all starting QB's in the league.
Jackson ranks in the bottom half (5th) in the league in yards per game.
Jackson has thrown a league leading 10 interceptions (in only 7 games).
Jackson's TD/INT ratio is a mere 1.2
Jackson is in the bottom half of the league in QB rating as well (81.1, trailing Calvillo, Ray, Burris, Crandell/Durant)

If this team is to be considered as serious Grey Cup contenders, we need to be better.

[TheLionKing]

Any coach that gives up a starting quarterback for Joe Smith will find himself in the unemployment line within a week.

[Rammer]

Any coach that gives up a starting quarterback for Joe Smith will find himself in the unemployment line within a week.

I am not to interested in Winnipegs QB's.

[TheLionKing]

Nor is Wally Buono

[Rammer]

Nor is Wally Buono

I was just going with your premise of the Coach being fired in a week.

[Soundy]

Meanwhile, Smith raised some eyebrows when he chose to stay home and tend to his garden instead of joining his teammates at B.C. Place. But Buono did not concern himself with Smith's decision at the time.

"He's not accountable to me when it comes to that," said Buono. "He's accountable to himself and his teammates. I don't focus on the players who aren't playing. I focus on the 42 that are."

Pity so many of the media and the so-called "fans" aren't as capable as Wally of concentrating on what really matters...

I don't believe Wally for a second on this one. When interviewed, it seems like he is less than pleased aouut Smith, and partly for this reason. He is doing everything he can to talk up Logan and talk down Smith.

All depends in how you read it, I suppose. Still, there are some things that are worth actually WORRYING about, and some that aren't. Ultimately, the only thing Wally really needs to be concerned with is Joe's performance on the field, and if that suffers, he can do something about it by not playing him (and has the added advantage of being able to move him if need be). I'm sure with everything else he has to deal with, Wally can manage to be displeased with Joe's off-field behaviour on a personal level, but still not WORRY about it on the professional level.

Yesterday he said how Logan is doing a great job for a guy who was never asked to block in college. I find it hard to believe someone can play for years of RB in the NCAA and be the ball carrier or run a pass pattern every single time. Every back at every level has to pass block at sometime. Wally is stretching and straining credibility.

I'm just guessing here, but I'd think Wally would have seen a couple of game tapes of Logan's NCAA play before bringing him on board. I'm also guessing most here haven't. Seeing as it's possible (even if not probable) that Logan didn't have to block a lot at that level, and seeing Wally would actually have a better idea than anyone here, I would tend to give his words a bit more weight than any idle speculation as to their veracity.

[Tighthead]

[quote="Tighthead

Yesterday he said how Logan is doing a great job for a guy who was never asked to block in college. I find it hard to believe someone can play for years of RB in the NCAA and be the ball carrier or run a pass pattern every single time. Every back at every level has to pass block at sometime. Wally is stretching and straining credibility.

I'm just guessing here, but I'd think Wally would have seen a couple of game tapes of Logan's NCAA play before bringing him on board. I'm also guessing most here haven't. Seeing as it's possible (even if not probable) that Logan didn't have to block a lot at that level, and seeing Wally would actually have a better idea than anyone here, I would tend to give his words a bit more weight than any idle speculation as to their veracity.

Hope I got the quotes right.

Soundy, of course he has scouted him. But he was also excusing his blocking saying he was never asked to block before. He may not have done it much, but I am sure it was required at times. He also spent time on an NFL practice roster. It seems to me like Wally is finding ways to praise Logan and bury Smith.

Smith reminds me of a "dead man walking" in an office setting. No performance review scheduled, not part of presentations to clients, and then one day there is an empty desk and an awkward email thanking him for his efforts. Wally may not cut him, but he is more open to cutting Smith than he is to benching Murphy or Glatt or telling Hunt to lose weight and play football.

[Rammer]

Well interestingly, Mike Bell who the Lions are in pursuit of is 6' 225lbs, much more in Joe Smith's vein than Logans....

[Soundy]

Soundy, of course he has scouted him.

The point is, Wally has... most here haven't. Have you?

But he was also excusing his blocking saying he was never asked to block before. He may not have done it much, but I am sure it was required at times. He also spent time on an NFL practice roster.

"Never" doesn't necessarily mean "NEVER" when used conversationally, though... it's often used interchangeably with "seldom" or "rarely". I would expect that to be the case here - we're not talking about a documentary, after all.

It seems to me like Wally is finding ways to praise Logan and bury Smith.

I don't see anything there dissing Joe, though. Praising one doesn't automatically equate to burying the other. By this thinking, every time Wally praises Jarious, he's burying Buck by implication. People who play those kinds of games tend to not last long in a position like Wally's, or they very quickly have employees who refuse to perform for them... Wally's record doesn't demonstrate this sort of modus operandi.

Why can't praise for a player just be praise for a player without having an ulterior motive?

Now I don't know Wally personally, but from everything I know OF him, he's not the type to bull$#!t. He doesn't need to. He can be DIPLOMATIC when necessary, but he seems to call things as he sees them, and doesn't pull his punches.

That's my impression of the man, anyway... as such I don't buy that he's dissing Joe in the process of praising Logan.

[Tighthead]

If you heard Wally, his never sounded literal. I know we are parsing things fine here, but it just came off as a stretch. He should not be learning to block on the job. He is a 28 year old pro who has spent time in the NFL, been to camp with the Lions, and played in the NCAA. I like Logan, but he may get a QB killed at some point.

He doesn't bury Joe in those statements, but when he says "we faced too many second and longs in Edmonton" and only changes RB, and "it is easier to fire the RB than change the scheme" he seems to be setting up the cut.

Wally has never been a big b.s.er, but his actions right now do not measure up. Smith is held to a high standard of accountability while there are many other passengers who aren't getting called out. I am a Wally fan, but I think there is some fundamental dysfunction on this team and Wally is not walking his talk.

I don't think anyone will be shocked if Smith is dealt the nine of hearts in the next few weeks. I will also not be shocked if teams continue to run at our MLB, if Aaron Hunt continues to do nothing, and no further changes are made.

[mightybuck]

The_Pauser wrote:

I don't understand why people are seemingly content with Jarious Jackson at QB. Joe Smith could be/should be used to bring in a new starting quarterback. We have one of the best receiving cores in the league with Geroy, JC82 and Paris Jackson.

I'm with you. I'm not content

The_Pauser wrote:

Let's look at the stats:

Jackson has the worst completion percentage amongst all starting QB's in the league.
Jackson ranks in the bottom half (5th) in the league in yards per game.
Jackson has thrown a league leading 10 interceptions (in only 7 games).
Jackson's TD/INT ratio is a mere 1.2
Jackson is in the bottom half of the league in QB rating as well (81.1, trailing Calvillo, Ray, Burris, Crandell/Durant)

Didnt realize that was the stats

The_Pauser wrote:

What we lack is a quarterback who can get them the ball.

No, we have him. He is wearing no. 16 - read my post about Bucks previous perfomances when healthy of previous years. He started strong in the first game of this year 9-14 160 yards 1 Td in the first half until those 5 hits to his shoulder made it sore. He's the man.