Lions cuts

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B.C.FAN
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QB Keith Price is among 12 players released by the Lions Saturday, so Alex Ross's performance in Calgary appears to have won him the third-string QB job. There are no other surprises except perhaps second-year linebacker Nehemie Kankolongo, who was in a deep pool of nationals at that position. Here's the full list of cuts:

QB Keith Price (I)
DL Harold Brantley (I)
DL Edward Godin (N)
OL Vincent Brown (I)
OL Quinn Horton (N)
OL Evan Telford (N)
WR Mitchell Hillis (N)
WR Montario Hunter (I)
WR Deon Long (I)
DB Adrian James (I)
DB Justin Thomas (I)
LB Nehemie Kankolongo (N)
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WestCoastJoe
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No surprises.

Price has not shown much of a spark. At QB, one must make plays. Not enough to know the playbook and have the physical skills.

I liked the look of Edward Godin on film. In tough with the Nat depth at DL.
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DanoT
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I thought that the Lions would give Price a do or die scenario for the final pre season game but i guess it happened in the first pre season game where he didn't really step up and show anything.

This will give remaining QBs more playing time in the next pre season game.
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B.C.FAN
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Cam Ontko, who was projected by the coaches as a replacement for Adam Bighill at weakside linebacker, has been released.
June 13, 2017
Released: LB Cam Ontko (I)
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The_Pauser
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Makes sense. He was very good on special teams last year, but we drafted some good Canadian linebackers this year and Ontko didn't seize the opportunity to take over for Bighill on the defense. Ended up being cut due to a numbers game.
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Hambone
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:56 am
Cam Ontko, who was projected by the coaches as a replacement for Adam Bighill at weakside linebacker, has been released.
June 13, 2017
Released: LB Cam Ontko (I)
He was projected as one of a few possible replacements. They didn't sign Burnett if they didn't think he also could project to replace Bighill. Awe seems to have a ton of upside and was definitely noticeable as somebody they want to make room for. So yes they looked at Ontko as somebody who could replace Bighill but appear to have found better candidates for the job.
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David
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2017 8:56 am
Cam Ontko, who was projected by the coaches as a replacement for Adam Bighill at weakside linebacker, has been released.
June 13, 2017
Released: LB Cam Ontko (I)
Wow. I am shocked that Ontko has been released, especially after only one preseason game. He trained so hard in the off-season, especially core training (here in Vancouver....with his predecessor Bighill no less) and is in terrific shape.

Maybe he's better suited to middle linebacker? It takes a diverse set of skills to play WILL in our scheme, and as we know, the Adam Bighills don't grow on trees.

I am sure someone will pick him up due to his special teams tackling ability.


DH :cool:
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B.C.FAN
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David wrote:
Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:56 am
I am sure someone will pick him up due to his special teams tackling ability.

DH :cool:
Wally may be doing Ontko a favour by releasing him now so teams can consider him before they make their final cuts. Ontko has all the tools, as he showed last year on special teams. He ran the 40 in 4.48-seconds at 222 pounds in his pro day in 2015 but Tony Burnett and Micah Awe seemed to stand out more in camp this year.

I mentioned in the training camp thread that the Lions' second-team defence could all be starters and be competitive. There just isn't room to keep everyone, and most veterans who don't make the cut likely would turn down a practice roster position.
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B.C.FAN
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Three more cuts, per Matt Baker of bclions.com:
Of note, the club announced three more cuts Tuesday morning: WR Corey Jones, DB Cleveland Wallace and DL Marquis Jackson are all heading home. Jones would appear to be the surprise of that bunch after proving to be one of the early standouts and was viewed as a possible stop gab at wide receiver until Williams gets back. It serves as a reminder that if you don’t keep that momentum going or stand out in the first pre-season game, all bets are off.
He also quotes Wally explaining the release of Ontko:
“Things change. The player was brought in last year for special teams and now we’re looking at linebackers to do different things. We believe our team will be bigger, more physical and the linebacker has to also fit into the schemes that we’re doing. Unfortunately that meant we didn’t want to have Cameron playing Friday night with no opportunity to make the team. I talked to him about that yesterday and today (Tuesday) we made the decision.”
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B.C.FAN
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It's cutdown day in the CFL. Here are the Lions' transactions so far, from bclions.com:
Released:
WR Brett Blaszko (N), WR Douglas McNeil (I), WR R.J. Harris (I)
DB Mondo Williams (I)
FB Nate O’Halloran (N)
OL Aaron Epps (I), OL Nate Isles (I)

Retired: LB Jason Arakgi (N)
No surprises here, but the release of O'Halloran means the team will need another backup long-snapper.

By my count, this brings the roster to 62. That's getting close to a final list of keepers if they keep 46 players on the active roster, 10 on the practice roster, four on the one-game injured list and two on the 6-game list, but Wally doesn't like to carry that many players on the injured lists. There are likely a few more moves to be made. Wally also doesn't like to announce the release of players destined for the practice roster. He likes to quietly slide them over before their names show up on the official list of transactions.
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The_Pauser
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I don't like seeing anyone lose their jobs, but in saying that I'm still surprised at how Shaq Murray-Lawrence remains on the team. I haven't seen much in him from his limited playing time. He hasn't looked good returning kicks either. I don't know why we keep him around and let other guys (from other positions) go, when they are more talented at their positions than he is.
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Hambone
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The_Pauser wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 1:05 pm
I don't like seeing anyone lose their jobs, but in saying that I'm still surprised at how Shaq Murray-Lawrence remains on the team. I haven't seen much in him from his limited playing time. He hasn't looked good returning kicks either. I don't know why we keep him around and let other guys (from other positions) go, when they are more talented at their positions than he is.
Has he not been injured through most of camp? I don't know if I recall seeing him last weekend. Could be destined for the 6G. Depending on how Waters felt last night I predict a 6G toenail injury for Long. Unlike other GMs Buono typically doesn't play the 6G stash game but seems to have made exceptions over the years for kickers.
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David
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Hambone wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 2:13 pm
The_Pauser wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 1:05 pm
I don't like seeing anyone lose their jobs, but in saying that I'm still surprised at how Shaq Murray-Lawrence remains on the team. I haven't seen much in him from his limited playing time. He hasn't looked good returning kicks either. I don't know why we keep him around and let other guys (from other positions) go, when they are more talented at their positions than he is.
Has he not been injured through most of camp? I don't know if I recall seeing him last weekend. Could be destined for the 6G. Depending on how Waters felt last night I predict a 6G toenail injury for Long. Unlike other GMs Buono typically doesn't play the 6G stash game but seems to have made exceptions over the years for kickers.
Shaq is out with concussion like symptoms, so the club isn't going to release a guy with a concussion. He will end up on an injured list and they will make the determination when he's healthy.

I generally don't like to speculate on players' prognosis for employment, other than to say Shaq might be in tough as we don't need a National back-up running back like we did when we drafted him to play behind Harris. Tyler Davis impressed me last night in limited duty.


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WestCoastJoe
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MATT BAKER
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With teams having until 7:00 PM Pacific time to trim their rosters, GM and head coach Wally Buono announced the release of the following seven players on Saturday afternoon:

WR Brett Blaszko (N)
WR Douglas McNeil (I)
WR R.J. Harris (I)
DB Mondo Williams (I)
FB Nate O’Halloran (N)
OL Aaron Epps (I)
OL Nate Isles (I)

In addition, seven others have agreed to be assigned to the club’s practice roster:

FB Dakota Brush (N)
DB Nate Hamlin (N)
DB Tevin McDonald (I)
DL Luther Maddy (I)
DL Ken Boatright (I)
RB Tyler Davis (I)
WR Maurice Morgan (I)

This all comes on the heels of nine-year veteran Jason Arakgi announcing his retirement following last night’s victory
As noted by BCFAN above ...

Some nice talent on the PR.

Dakota Brush. New trend in the CFL? Tight ends? Tedford tried to go that way, but it seems we did not put it in the playbook.

It looks like a fun year.

Will Wally go creative with game planning in the playoffs? Or will he stay with what has served him with much success over the years, the focus on execution?
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 wrote:
Sat Jun 17, 2017 2:36 pm

MATT BAKER
@BAKESTAKES84
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With teams having until 7:00 PM Pacific time to trim their rosters, GM and head coach Wally Buono announced the release of the following seven players on Saturday afternoon:

WR Brett Blaszko (N)
WR Douglas McNeil (I)
WR R.J. Harris (I)
DB Mondo Williams (I)
FB Nate O’Halloran (N)
OL Aaron Epps (I)
OL Nate Isles (I)

In addition, seven others have agreed to be assigned to the club’s practice roster:

FB Dakota Brush (N)
DB Nate Hamlin (N)
DB Tevin McDonald (I)
DL Luther Maddy (I)
DL Ken Boatright (I)
RB Tyler Davis (I)
WR Maurice Morgan (I)

This all comes on the heels of nine-year veteran Jason Arakgi announcing his retirement following last night’s victory
As noted by BCFAN above ...

Some nice talent on the PR.

Dakota Brush. New trend in the CFL? Tight ends? Tedford tried to go that way, but it seems we did not put it in the playbook.

It looks like a fun year.

Will Wally go creative with game planning in the playoffs? Or will he stay with what has served him with much success over the years, the focus on execution?
We still have more bodies than can be placed on the 46 man roster and the practice roster.

By my count, we still have 54 players on the roster and 7 players on the practice roster. We still need to get the roster down to 46 players.

That means we still have to do something about 8 players.

At receiver, we still need to hide one of Adekolu and Vandervoot and that will be Adekolu.

On the offensive line, both Palmer and Johnson are on the roster and Wally will only place one of them on the active roster.

We also have Nationals remaining on the offensive line - Vaillencourt, Dhillon, and Zver.

On the defensive line we still have four International defensive ends in Roh, Smiley, Evans, and Hudson. We also have four National defensive linemen (Forde, Luke, Menard, and Ainsworth - Ainsworth will go on the injured list for sure)

At linebacker, we have five Internationals (Sol E., Burnett, Awe, and Davis and only 3 can play. At nickel both Purifoy and Fenner remain. At National linebacker, we still have Clarke, Chagnon, and Herdman.

At defensive back we have National Thompson starting at corner and two backup Nationals in Parker and Bucknor. We also have International Buddy Jackson on the roster, backing up Gaitor.

At kicker, both Waters and Long remain as our kickers. So we have some bodies to hide in one way or another or more cuts coming.
"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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