Significant changes to the roster in 2013?

I have no idea why the Lions imploded on November 18 but it's all history now. It will be interesting to see how the Lions look in 2013. Some may be traded. Others may retire. Others may try their luck in the NFL.

All in all I was hoping for a better performance from the Lions this past year. There were games early in the season that caused me concern. The Lions of 2012 did not look like the Lions in the second half of 2011 even though the team actually did better than in 2011. However to come so far and then let it slip out of your grasp is a tough one to swallow. This 2012 season may have been the Lions best shot at a Grey Cup Championship repeat for years to come.

Any ideas on who you think will be coming back and who will go or should I rephrase that? Any ideas on who should go?

I think its time for a coaching change. I think its time that JC was replaced, his play calling is inconsitant and during last sundays game it took him awhile to try something else. I have noticed that quite a few times now in both games that we have won and lost.

Definately Chapdelaine, his play calling is as boring and predictable as white bread, when all you do is pass , the defence doesn't even bother to play the run because it aint happening unless its that reciever round the end that they used over and over. I think Harris had 33 yards rushing or something silly like that, no screen passes, no shovels. No running.
I think Muamba needs to either watch some old Baron Miles video or pack his bags too, also if they keep McCallum around, get someone that can punt consistantly, too many shanks this year gave up major field position. Some of the vets are getting long in the tooth also like Paris, Angus, Dante, we'll see if they stick around for another run.

The secondary is clearly getting a bit long in the tooth, so, good as they can be individually and from play to play, an infusion of new young legs there is required. The only youth back there is at safety, and boy was Muamba ever exposed by Kevin Glenn in the west final.

burn it down and walk away

Ummm…burn what down?

that's the question beag

Oh please get rid of JC. I've wished this guy gone since the days of Dickenson.

I've always been a bit undecided on JC as OC, he was terrible for a good chunk of both of the last couple of seasons and then started to show some creativity that almost got me on his side. I think he could be out of a job because our offence has talent well beyond the results. On that note, the defensive secondary is where some fresh blood will be needed soon - unlike the O, where we have some good, young up-and-coming receivers, the defensive backfield seems to not have many obvious replacements ready to step in.

As far as changes go to current personnel - I can't see us keeping both Geroy and AB-III, not with the younger talent that has shown it can do the job. Similar issue on defence - lots of aging (although still productive) guys. It's a tough business when guys that can still play are told to look for a job elsewhere but you can't hang-on to them until the entire secondary goes out to pasture the same season.

Clearly changes are needed as I did have some major concerns early in the season about this years LIONS squad--- Its not that the LIONS were really that great, its more about the fact that the rest of the CFL is fairly weak as there is basically 2 to 3 good teams and then 5 fairly weak teams---

The Lions were able to achieve a decent record this season but they were far from impressive---

The changes I would focus on in this order of importance would be the following---

1- O LINE-- Clearly we need 1 to 2 solid athletic O lineman-- The Valli's and KABONGOS are just not good enough to get the job done-- Also REID is getting older, so we need to replace him also-- We need to get more athletic and have better guys on our O line-

2- Secondary- Banks and Phillips and Muamba to me are the weak links-- Banks is just too old now, he cannot cover other teams slotbacks- Phillips is also too old- Muamba is clearly the worst safety in the CFL- MUAMBA Is not a CFL level player-
Josh BELL was good when he played, but I am not sure why he never saw the field-
There was no coverage breakdowns in the final, it was more of a case that if the LIONS front 4 dont get immediate pressure on the opposing QB, our secondary is a ZONE coverage team and receivers will get open easily if we dont sack the opposing qb- What happened vs CGY is that our pass rush was stymied which resulted in our pathetic secondary getting exposed-

3- Geroy SIMON- Clearly no need to pay this guy his 150,000 considering he is not even one of the top 3 receivers on our team- GORE, TAYLOR, MOORE, and JACKSON are all much better than SIMON_ SIMON Is finished my friends- HE is nothing anymore and needs to hang the cleats up instead of trying to milk the LIONS for more money- You cant help us GEROY at 38 years old and you are declining rapidly.

4-DEVELOPMENT of TRAVIS LULAY-- For me I would make next years training camp an OPEN COMPETITION for the starters job with LULAY vs MIKE REILLY-- I am not saying that REILLY is better or that he should be the starter-- However I feel that REILLY has shown enough that he should get a chance to win the starting job---
-For me I saw a regression of TRAVIS LULAY this season-- He is very slow in his reads and his progressions-- For me what is really a cause for concern is the fact that TRAVIS LULAY hangs on to the ball way too long in passing downs-- If you look at CGY's young QB BO LEVI MITCHELL the way he fires the ball out with a quick release is amazing-- LULAY is nothing more than a running back playing QB-- He is a game manager---- The home games vs EDMONTON and then in the playoffs vs CGY and vs SASK in regular season show us that when we rely on LULAY passing the ball to win, we just dont win the game- LULAY has no t improved at all in passing the balll--

Whether that is CHAPELAINES fault or LULAYs it is cause for conern- I saw REILLY take more chances and push the ball deeper downfield- with LULAY he seems to have mastered the DINK and DUNK offense-- He rarely throws a receiver open, which means he throws to an open area where a receiver is going to end up-- To me LULAY is very poor at anticipating routes, he really cannot anticipate and move defenders with his eyes---

The LIONS offense overall is not using any of its weapons-- THE CFL is a passing league- We need the next RICKY RAY, I dont thikn LULAY is that guy- We did win the GREY CUP with LULAY but that was the defense that won us the CUP--

Also I would replace MACALUM, you simply cannot punt the ball 30 yards in crucial games, it doesent work-- He needs to retire or just kick fgoals for us, and we need a good punter who can punt 45 yards legit---

I would also sack KHALIF MITCHELL as he will be a problem child and guys like him are only good for 1 season because they lose focus really fast------

I hope we can improve on our areas--- The LIons are a strong team with some really strong players- We have strenghts, but we need to bring in some new players--

I suspect next season that WALLY will replace our secondary and also replace our O LINE-- A starting safety that can intercept the ball and hit is a priority--

I am hoping we can improve next year-

"Clearly changes are needed as I did have some major concerns early in the season about this years LIONS squad"...by Gridiron

Agreed!

"The Lions were able to achieve a decent record this season but they were far from impressive"......by Gridiron

Agreed.

Clearly we need 1 to 2 solid athletic O lineman-- The Valli's and KABONGOS are just not good enough to get the job done-- Also REID is getting older, so we need to replace him also"....by Gridiron

They definitely have to give the QB more protection and block better.

"Secondary- Banks and Phillips and Muamba to me are the weak links-- Banks is just too old now, he cannot cover other teams slotbacks- Phillips is also too old- Muamba is clearly the worst safety in the CFL- MUAMBA Is not a CFL level player "......by Gridiron

Not sure about Banks and Phillips. They still appear to have some legs left.

"Geroy SIMON?" .....by Gridiron

Agreed. it is time for Geroy to hang 'em up.

"DEVELOPMENT of TRAVIS LULAY. Whether that is CHAPELAINES fault or LULAYs it is cause for conern. To me LULAY is very poor at anticipating routes, he really cannot anticipate and move defenders with his eyes."...by Gridiron

I have some concerns about Travis but he is still maturing. He is still developing. Just when one is able to say he's gone as far as he is capable of going I don't know. Reilly certainly has shown some good moves.

"We did win the GREY CUP with LULAY but that was the defense that won us the CUP"...by Gridiron

Can't agree with you Gridiron. The Lions racked up 34 points. The D racked up none. The D allowed 23 points, had no QB sacks and only one interception. How do you figure the D won the game for the Lions? Lulay scored 2 of the 3 TDs and got McCallum into position for 5 field goal attempts of which he was good on 4.

"Also I would replace MACALUM, you simply cannot punt the ball 30 yards in crucial games, it doesent work-- He needs to retire or just kick fgoals for us, and we need a good punter who can punt 45 yards legit"...by Gridiron

I agree totally. He's a good directional kicker but is starting to blow it at crucial times and you never know how far the ball is going to go anymore. Other guys seem to be able to launch the ball into orbit.

"I would also sack KHALIF MITCHELL as he will be a problem child and guys like him are only good for 1 season because they lose focus really fast"... by Gridiron

He has to be a team player and an asset in all aspects of the game. At times he seems like he's on a different planet.

Maybe some of the posts in this thread are a little out of left field, so to speak. This club won 13 of 18 league games, lost two more by a total of about ten points, with this "aging" secondary. People need to understand the difference between losing youth and losing performance on the field. I don't think our secondary are necessarily too old; they still contributed to being the League's number one defence.

Clearly Muamba has struggled at times. He is the most logical target to attack, the obvious weak link in a blue chip secondary. The team has had a revolving door a that position for some time: Sanchez, Arakgi, LaRose, now Cauchy. Tough to compare them with Barron Miles, one of the best ever at the safety spot.

There are three options to find a really good starter: convince a second tier safety from the NFL or major college ranks to head north, since the real blue chips guys all get scooped up on NFL rosters; develop a safety in house; or purloin one off another CFL roster, akin to the way Jim Barker did with Ricky Foley in 2009 and their current defensive coordinator. Just pay the $5,000 fine, which is basically peanuts to a multi-million dollar organization.

Of the other teams' starters (Alexander Donovan, Eric Fraser, Craig Butler, Ian Logan, Dee Webb, Jordan Younger and Shea Emry) I prefer either Craig Butler, Ian Logan or Jordan Younger. Just tamper with another team's assets, using the new "Jim "Barker Rule" where having the bid dance in your barn justifies all kinds of chicanery the league otherwise wouldn't permit.

Dooger in Surrey :cowboy:

Tampering with players under contract is a LOT different than tampering with coaches, which is what Toronto did (more Milanovich than Barker though). The thing was that Jones “resigned” from Calgary and signed a couple of weeks later with Toronto and the fine was for having discussions between Milanovich and Jones BEFORE he resigned. A player can request his release, but he can’t resign, he can only retire and that doesn’t change the rights until the existing contract expires. With respect to Foley, it was HE that made a verbal agreement and backed out BEFORE signing to go to Toronto instead; no signed contract = NO contract, no foul, no tampering, and no fine but certainly bad form and not the first time a player has changed his mind after making a verbal agreement. Nothing the league could do about the latter since no law, contract or term under the CFLPA/CFL agreement was broken.

Changes depend on players availability. Buono's cold philosophy is to replace an incumbent if the new recruit is better, younger or cheaper. Receivers and kickers are easy to replace. Maybe not easy to find star Canadian safety, star Canadian offensive lineman or star offensive coordinator?

Dooger....

Do you think Geroy should hang up the cleats? I do. He's been an excellent player and served the Lions well. The Lions and the fans have been good to him but I really believe he is no longer the threat he once was. This past year has proven that. He's still good but there are better receivers on the roster.

Look no further than 1 play vs CALGARY in the western divisional playoff game ----

Lulay threw the ball deep to SIMON who was open, as the CGY safety ERIC FRASER (who was Calgary’s weakest defender) was closing in on GEROY-- THe ball was thrown high and GEROY had to jump and had the ball clearly in his hands and had to avoid a hit by the closing ERIC FRASER-- GEROY had the ball in his hands and was DISPOSSESSED rather easily by a slower weaker ERIC FRASER----

SIMON looked like he was hit by a truck when FRASER closed in on him and the ball went flying----

This happened in the 4th qtr of the game if any one remembers the play—

When you are 38 you simply cannot take the PHYSICAL HITS anymore unless you are BRIAN DAWKINS or LONDON FLETCHER— SIMON you see is weak, he is not physically strong enough to play- EVIDENCE is his 2 hamstring injuries and his complete inabiity to catch a ball while getting hit by a DB–

I mean SIMON has served the CFL well, but you rarely see starting receivers in the NFL at 38 years old and you wont see it much in the CFL—

GEROY its time to retire and leave while on top- You were great a long time ago but now you are clearly not a starter anymore- You run finesse routes with no burst and have questionable hands when getting hit.

I wanna see JOSH BELL in our secondary, he looked good last year in his 1 start---

I also want to see SIMON and BRUCE gone and NICK MOORE and COURTNEY TAYLOR take over for them--

Muamba's noticable mistake may has caused a lot of doubt. other than that all season long there were nothing but good thing to say about him.
Bye to Geroy. They have quite a few better younger reeivers that Lulay in which played well and Lulay grew used to them and them Simon and bruce come back after weeks and.... Gore may be gone with a good NFL shot but still have good recevievers Tayloy, Jackson et al.
Offensive line healthy Norman will be back and if fabien signs he may also be a starter as a rookie. Olafoiye may be gone to the NFL for good this time also.
Choosing to go with the older mccallum for accuracy instead of distance on FG is ok put they need someone else to punt he is no longer an effective punter

I agree a bit of over reaction for a team that went 13-5. The biggest problem with the playoff loss was that Lulay did not play but one qtr of football in over a month going into the West Final. Maybe he should have played at least three qtrs of that last game of the season to find his groove going into the playoffs.
I would have to think that the SECONDARY is fine and if not for that blown coverage in a critical time of the West final there may not be any discussion at all about the secondary.
The OFFENSIVE LINE would seem to be the priority as Olafioye is taking a crack at the NFL with a good shot at landing a job.
RECEIVER: SHAWN GORE also going to test the NFL, remember that he had a good NFL training with the packers his rookie year going to final cuts. What to do with GEROY SIMON at 38 still had a good season put injuries, a Big contract, and COURTNEY TAYLOR is the real deal.
BACK UP QB: If MIKE REILLY does leave there will be a need for an experienced back up. Could be a good fit for Kevin Glenn for a season where there will be no QB controversy with Lulay at the helm.
PUNTER: MCCALLUM solid and steady with FG is fine but time for a big leg Punter to help with the field position battle. BURKE DALES may be available with Shaw looking to do all duties.
They still have a Grey cup Calibre team so smart moves to improve in areas of need is all that needs to be done. No reason to Blow up the secondary