The off-season is underway and every team faces questions. Today, I look at the questions facing the BC Lions.
Will Travis Lulay take that next step now that he is the undisputed starter?
Lulay had two cracks at the starting spot: at the beginning of the season when Casey Printers was injured, and at the end of the season when Casey Printers was released. The earlier stint wasn't great, but the second stint was successful. He guided the Lions into the playoffs and had two great games against the Tiger-Cats in Week 19 and Saskatchewan in the West Division Semi-Final. The future looks bright for Lulay.
Is this Wally Buono's final season as Head Coach?
Only Wally Buono knows for sure, but my gut says that this is his last season as Head Coach of the BC Lions. Buono will be 61 in February, and the 2011 season will be his 22nd consecutive season patrolling the sidelines. Following the 2011 season, Buono might want to call it quits. While this is likely to be a discussion for the 2012 season, I'd say that Jacques Chapdelaine is the leading candidate to take over for Buono. Buono will still likely be the GM for the Leos, and I wouldn't be surprised if he elevated Chapdelaine.
What happens with some BC veterans?
BC has not been known to be overly sentimental when it comes to veteran players. Guys like Otis Floyd, Dave Dickenson and Jason Clermont have been let go or allowed to leave when the team deemed them expendable. Some players who have contributed greatly to the Lions in the past – Paris Jackson has openly wondered whether he'll return in 2011; Paul McCallum has been asked to take a pay cut – might be sporting new threads in 2011.
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I'd take McCallum in a heartbeat. Like another great former Lion (Lui Passaglia) he's from the Methuselah gene pool of kickers. Maligned for his big playoff miss in Saskabush, he's put up a FG percentage no worse than 81.4 during his 5 years in BC, and better than 88% the past two seasons.
ReplyDeleteMight be a better guy to have around for a year or two than Sandro De-Angled-it until a younger leg can move into the role. This is provided that the Cats don't get Wilbur to bone up on placekicking during the off-season, or draft a promising kid out of school (letting Palardy go may have been a big mistake - perhaps he should have "tweaked a hammy" instead of being released on the promise he could come back and try again)
Jackson will end up somewhere. He'll be turning 31 next summer. The Cats probably won't be interested, but maybe that depends on what happens with Bauman.
Little known fact, at least it was to me: the Cats had actually signed McCallum in early 1993 but he didn't last long before moving to BC and then Ottawa for a few games, then BC again, and ending up with the west Riders for many years.