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SammyGreene
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Blitz has always said he was our best DB and guess what?
Saints signed CFL product Anthony Gaitor to reserve/future contract, per wire. Defensive back
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B.C.FAN
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SammyGreene wrote:Blitz has always said he was our best DB and guess what?
Saints signed CFL product Anthony Gaitor to reserve/future contract, per wire. Defensive back
That's a big loss, but not a surprise. Gaitor had NFL experience and developed into the Lions' best DB in the second half of the season. He has excellent speed and had a lot of NFL tryouts in recent weeks.

This makes it much more critical for the Lions to re-sign Yell, Lee and Clarke (in that order) if they are fully recovered from their season-ending injuries. They would all project as 2017 starters, along with Keynan Parker.
VictoriaFan
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scuse my ignorance but didn't Lee blow out his Achilles? Not everyone bounces back like Solly did and I wonder if Lee will be healthy enough
TheLionKing
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Buono is going to have his hands full replacing the departed players. So far the list include: Adam Bighill, Richie Leone, and Anthony Gaitor. Possibles might include Bryan Burnham, Terrell Sinkfield, Michael Brooks
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B.C.FAN
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VictoriaFan wrote:scuse my ignorance but didn't Lee blow out his Achilles? Not everyone bounces back like Solly did and I wonder if Lee will be healthy enough
True. An Archilles can require more than a 12-month recovery period but the Lions were hopeful that Lee could follow the example of Elimimian and Saskatchewan QB Darian Durant, both of whom suffered similar injuries the previous year and were ready to go at the start of the 2016 season. I haven't heard an update this offseason but here are quotes from a Mike Beamish article published right after Lee's injury.
As for Lee, the Lions have high hopes for his complete return to playing status in 2017, given the encouraging examples of Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian and Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant, both of whom ruptured their Achilles last season. Elimimian went down Aug. 15 in Hamilton. Durant lasted only two quarters into the 2015 season and missed 17 full games.

“I guess, if the Achilles is repaired properly, there’s a pretty good likelihood of a full recovery,” Buono said. “Look at Solly and Durant.”

Last Friday, Durant was in agreement with that statement when he spoke to reporters a day before the Lions played the Roughriders.

“I feel good,” Durant said. “I feel like I’m 100 per cent. The Achilles hasn’t given me any problems. I haven’t missed one practice. I’m ready to go each and every day.”
Lions lose starting halfback T.J. Lee
Blitz
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While its a good thing to be positive or hopeful, I believe T.J. Lee will have a tougher time coming back from his Achilles injury. Sol E. was not ready to begin this season and it will be even tougher for Lee to do the same, especially playing defensive halfback.

I am more hopeful for Clarke to return and I thought he played the boundary half position even better than Lee this season.

Sad to see Gaitor get signed. I thought he was excellent as a rookie and as Sammy mentioned in his post, I viewed Gaitor as our best defensive back in the second half of this season.

A key signing for me is Bo Lokombo. I would really like us to start him at linebacker next year, beside Sol E and use the import for another International defensive lineman or International free safety.
"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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David
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About to lose our 4th starter to the NFL in Alex Bazzie, per multiple sources:
Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN 7m7 minutes ago

#BCLions announce the release of Alex Bazzie & Anthony Gaitor. Bazzie has multiple offers. Expected to sign w/ #Colts today. #NFL

DH :cool:
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Qman
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Bighill - big loss, but plays a position that is easy to find the next guy

others, who cares?:
Leone - we were going in another direction anyway, wally wants one FG/K and cdn if possible
Bazzie -- if we weren't so weak on DLine he would have been cut two years ago
Gaitor -- played well last part of the season, but was cut at camp ... very replaceable, we are basically losing a potential starter & depth at DB

... but

Wally need to get of his butt, open up the wallet and sign the guys that cannot be replaced:
Brooks $200k-$250k - no way we can find a comparable DT in the next 3 years
Burnham $175k+ -- he has earned it with so many great catches that move the chains. pay him!
Last edited by Qman on Mon Jan 09, 2017 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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SammyGreene
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David wrote:About to lose our 4th starter to the NFL in Alex Bazzie, per multiple sources:
Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN 7m7 minutes ago

#BCLions announce the release of Alex Bazzie & Anthony Gaitor. Bazzie has multiple offers. Expected to sign w/ #Colts today. #NFL

DH :cool:
So is this because of expanded NFL rosters? No NFL Europe? A decade ago with those great teams under Wally the roster was relatively stable year after year. You could buy a $200 jersey with confidence. Now? Good luck.
Qman
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SammyGreene wrote:
David wrote:About to lose our 4th starter to the NFL in Alex Bazzie, per multiple sources:
Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN 7m7 minutes ago

#BCLions announce the release of Alex Bazzie & Anthony Gaitor. Bazzie has multiple offers. Expected to sign w/ #Colts today. #NFL

DH :cool:
So is this because of expanded NFL rosters? No NFL Europe? A decade ago with those great teams under Wally the roster was relatively stable year after year. You could buy a $200 jersey with confidence. Now? Good luck.
expanded TC rosters, yes. especially in Gaitor and bazzies case.
90 TC in the NFL is a joke. Most of our cuts in TC, get picked up to NFL camps to fill out 90 and get cut. going from 75 to 90 is a waste of time
Last edited by Qman on Mon Jan 09, 2017 1:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Qman
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SammyGreene wrote:
David wrote:About to lose our 4th starter to the NFL in Alex Bazzie, per multiple sources:
Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN 7m7 minutes ago

#BCLions announce the release of Alex Bazzie & Anthony Gaitor. Bazzie has multiple offers. Expected to sign w/ #Colts today. #NFL

DH :cool:
So is this because of expanded NFL rosters? No NFL Europe? A decade ago with those great teams under Wally the roster was relatively stable year after year. You could buy a $200 jersey with confidence. Now? Good luck.
you can only buy QB jerseys (b/c he is making comparable to NFL money) or 30+ guys.
Lionsfan65
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I think a lot of the recent player movement also has to do with the popularity of one year contracts. Free agency has always been a part of any major sports league, however there was an unprecedented amount of player movement over the past couple of seasons (and its shaping up to be the same this year). While the one year contract benefits the player, as they are able to earn more money with new contracts, and also extending their NFL window, these contracts hurt the teams, and the league in general. With more players going to free agency it leads to more roster turnover and therefore makes it difficult for successful teams to hold onto all their players and remain competitive. It also hurts the league as a large chunk of revenue comes from the fans, through ticket sales, and merchandise sales. Being a smaller league fans identify with certain athletes, and this becomes harder to do as players change teams every couple of years. Just my :2cents:
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Lionsfan65
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Qman wrote:Bighill - big loss, but plays a position that is easy to find the next guy

others, who cares?:
Leone - we were going in another direction anyway, wally wants one FG/K and cdn if possible
Bazzie -- if we weren't so weak on DLine he would have been cut two years ago
Gaitor -- played well last part of the season, but was cut at camp ... very replaceable, we are basically losing a potential starter & depth at DB

... but

Wally need to get of his butt, open up the wallet and sign the guys that cannot be replaced:
Brooks $200k-$250k - no way we can find a comparable DT in the next 3 years
Burnham $175k+ -- he has earned it with so many great catches that move the chains. pay him!
For the most part I agree with these thoughts. Bighill was one of my favourite players, However I would like to see us give Lokombo a shot there, I think he is ready to be a full time starter. As another thought there are a couple of pretty good American linebackers available in free agency, such as Winston Veneble or Kahlil Bass.
Leone had a big leg, and that was huge getting us out of our own end at times, however I would rather have one person who can do all three kicking duties.
Bazzie was decent as a pass rusher, however he was undersized and would not be a good every down end. I would like to see us go after Jefferson or Knapton.
I agree that down the stretch las season Gaitor became our best defensive back, however he would have been 29 this season and likely only has a few good years left. I would rather us focus on Yell, Lee and Clarke, in that order. Regardless of whether or not Phillips retires, I believe that the secondary will be the strength of the defense next year.
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Toppy Vann
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"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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Hambone
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SammyGreene wrote:
David wrote:About to lose our 4th starter to the NFL in Alex Bazzie, per multiple sources:
Farhan Lalji ‏@FarhanLaljiTSN 7m7 minutes ago

#BCLions announce the release of Alex Bazzie & Anthony Gaitor. Bazzie has multiple offers. Expected to sign w/ #Colts today. #NFL

DH :cool:
So is this because of expanded NFL rosters? No NFL Europe? A decade ago with those great teams under Wally the roster was relatively stable year after year. You could buy a $200 jersey with confidence. Now? Good luck.

A decade ago the SMS era was just beginning, all contracts contained a mandatory option and NFL min was $150K less than it is today.
You're as old as you've ever been and as young as you're ever going to be.
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