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Lions are in fifth gear with Silcox under center. there is now a real possibility that the Lions could end up with a first round bye in the wide open Old World........were 3-5
the Lions enter their 2072 campaign with a new HC.......Lagos welcomes Joshua Welch, a run block specialist who employs a pass focused 3-4. Lions brass believes the run game will continue to dominate the Ultimate Legends RO and decided it was time to take the leap. the Lions now employ a run focused coach at HC, OC & DC
in addition to Welch, the Lions made several changes to its coaching staff. other new hires include David Smith (TE), Richard Richardson (LB), Renato Dawson (DL), Brandon Daniel (secondary) & Wilford Furman (backfield)
the organization wishes the best for Lester Davis in Shanghai
the Lions decisions during the 2072 confused much of the fanbase and pundits alike. an attempt to gain late round picks for the seemingly deep pool of late round talent backfired once those picks were off the board much earlier than anticipated. this forced Lagos into a flurry of trades for future picks.....some of which were not advantageous. however, in the end it seems like a successful draft with a crafty bit of maneuvering thanks mostly to QB CJ Calloways amazing training camp. plus, the Lions now have 7 picks in the first two rounds for the next two drafts
dual threat QB Wesley Vaughn also had a terrific camp and is projected to achieve a 100 pass accuracy rating. the Lions now have 2 of the 17 QBs in the league with 100 max pass accuracy and they are both rookies. this gives the Lions 4 competent QBs when the target number of QBS for the roster is 2. QB Christopher Silcox has been awarded the starting job and will return to Tel Aviv for game one after leading the Lions to victory over the Kings in Tel Aviv in last seasons playoffs. QB Tito Santana has reportedly been put on the trade market and is unhappy with his role as back up
free agency and the draft offered little to help the Lions acquire much needed backfield talent during the off season. in addition, they were forced to release FB Norman Euler after his infamous tik tok episode in the Chinese restaurant. to even the load, the Lions will be getting plenty of snaps to WR Germaine Jordan & WR Hugo Dorsett while the Lions continue to explore options to back up RB Sherrif Thompson
LT Carroll, LG Blockingler, C Barajas, RG Kirkland & RT Delatorre make arguably the most formidable O line in the league and are sure to flourish under new HC Welchs aggressive focus on run blocking
concerns linger on the defensive side of the line. DT Rafael Shrader suffered a complete break of the femur in a boating accident and may miss the entire season leaving Lagos with just 6 defensive linemen. they will be forced to play some "small ball" defense with linebackers moving up to play d line and secondary moving up to play linebacker. CB Norbert Osgood remains the star in a secondary that is big on talent but lacks in speed
expectations are meager for the Lions in 2072. the consensus is that Lagos may be able to flirt with a wild card but will not be able to challenge league champion Brazzaville for the throne in Africa
C. J. Calloway was sacked one time last season (2073) and it happened in the last quarter of the last game. through three games this season and he has been sacked 9 times
rumors are that there was a heated exchange between brass and HC Joshua Welch after the Lions week 3 loss to the Armada. sources say Welchs job is safe until week 16 but he was almost fired this week. an agreement has been made to ride out the season but nothing seems certain. insiders are already suggesting that the Lions trade away their top aging players to contenders to focus on a rebuild.
what is going on in Lagos? Ultimate Showdown hangover is the consensus
1) besides potential standout RB Macho Banjoko, the draft was a fumble for Lagos
WR Hasty McLaren. first round, 26th pick. 50 vol. -7 in camp RG Zues Okege. third round, 12th pick. 88 vol. -9 in camp LG Ernest Ogbano. third round, 24th pick. 40 vol. -6 in camp 5th round pick RT Captain Dominate has already been cut
a 50 vol and a 40 going -7 and -6 in camp was rough
2) we lost FS Victor Sunday. Lions accidentally accepted a trade for him with division rival Stampede. "no problem" i thought, "im admin ill just void it". but none the less Victor grew livid with me, trusty ol frank. i wondered how i could calm him down and to prove it was an accident. "doing things on a desk top is much different than doing things on a phone" i explained. i offered to extend his contract right there on the spot even though he had two years remaining on a rookie deal. he was so livid with me, he yelled "i am never ever resigning with you!" and was escorted away by his security detail. at that point i figured i might as well try to get something for him. plus, i dont want anyone in the locker room who is so fragile and livid with me. so i called up awest827 and said ill trade him for a second, completely forgetting that the original deal - the one i voided after accepting - offered a second and a third. another mistake
the second mistake wasnt that big of a deal. FS Victor Sunday was a first round pick in 2073 and was projected to be an integral part of the Lions secondary. he was one of the three CBs under contract for next season and the only CB on roster with less than 7 years experience. the Lions now have an absolute urgent need for youth in the secondary
3) SLB Drederick Tatum, the Lions first draft pick in the allocation draft, has retired at the age of 30. he is the franchise leader in all time tackles and knock downs. when asked why he retired so early he stated that he "knew it was the right time for me". what about us, Drederick? it wasnt the right time for us...there are 34 linebackers older than you suiting up next season
despite the misfortunes, the Lions are expected to compete this year in pursuit of their fourth consecutive Africa division crown. it may be time to reconstruct after this season though. many players from the allocation draft are nearing retirement. several career starters for the Lions will be in another uniform next season as they enter the twilight of their careers. these players have been added to the trade block. the Lions will not be entertaining low ball offers.....would rather make a final push as opposed to trading off for future sake
WELCOME TO THE NEW FACES
the rookies
RB Macho Banjoko was drafted as a TE but transitioned to RB and is expected to battle for RB1 with RB Jack Harbringer for the next 6 years. Banjokos acceleration is expected to give him the edge. the Lions seem to have a formidable 1 2 punch at RB in place for the post RB Sherrif Thompson era
WR Hasty McLaren disappointed in camp but is still expected to become a playmaker due to his speed. he should earn significant playing time next season.....four of the Lions WRs are in last year of contract
RG Zues Okeke will probably remain on the roster until it makes financial sense to cut him. he has the strength to handle the grind but has no future as a starter
LG Ernest Ogbano is expected to be an affordable career backup for the Lions. despite his rough outing at camp his combination of strength, run blocking and acceleration are considered ideal within the organization
the vets
CB Noel Barrios was signed in free agency for a hefty $7,165,759 one and done deal. he is certainly in the last season of his career and the Lions are honored to have the future hall of famer in the den. his career 30 INTs are second all time and he boasts a career catch allowed % of 50.3
LDE Earl Craft was signed for a modest amount during free agency. the Lions needed youth in the defensive trenches and were drawn to his combination of strength, speed and acceleration. he has shown flashes of potential in practice but is not expected to get significant playing time this season
WLB Zachary Couch just got off the plane. the Lions werent keen on trading away draft picks after such a fumble this draft, but they were very thin at linebacker after the untimely retirement of Lions first ever draft pick SLB Drederick Tatum. he is expected to have significant playing time in the last year of his contract
the Lions may have overpaid for SS Joseph Goins but his only real weakness seems to be speed. in my opinion secondary speed is becoming less important due to the reduced passing numbers with the new engine. he is expected to be a fixture in the Lions secondary for the next 4 seasons
FS David Williams was signed in free agency as insurance at safety. he is not expected to get much playing time
i predict the 2075 Lions will be 9-6-1 and earn last wild card spot
it appears the Lions are entering their next phase of existence
RB Sherrif Thompson, WR Hugo Dorsett, WR Germaine Jordan, WR Steadfast Henderson, CB Peter Dudley, CB Gary Rutherford, CB Norbert Osgood and FS Desmond Cantu are all allocation picks who spent their careers with the Lions. the Lions would love to keep them, but the cost of resigning can not fit into the books. plus, there isnt much gas left in the tank for them
heading into 2075, Lions management faced the tough decision of attempting to trade aging talent in expiring contracts into future assets or riding it out for another playoff run
even though the team has aged since its Ultimate Showdown victory, it seemed there was enough talent in house to green light another run, so the decision was made
the sum trade value of the aforementioned players at the time of this post is 3903. after losing the last three games and falling to 4-7, it seems a playoff run is out of reach for Lagos
the rebuild was gonna begin next season either way, but the dice cup didnt work in favor for the Lions this time. im sure the Lions couldve gotten something of value out of the 3903, but instead it will all disappear
QB Lee Carrerio gets the start this week (not sure what happened but QB1 Dale Lawrence was not even in depth chart....i may have accidentally taken him out without knowing) and has the best performance from a QB in ULRO this season while facing the always tough Zippers in Toyoma
LAGOS! takes the 2082 African division crown! seems whenever i feel it may be time for a rebuild the Lions surprise me. this time they achieve their best regular season to date and probable MVP
next season may be a different story. Macho Banjoko is not expected to return to Lagos in the offseason and the Lions do not have a running back on the books
but first is a rematch with the Dieties who already won in Lagos this season
