Finally Odell Willis trade goes down

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ziggy
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Blue In BC wrote:Some are making too much about Willis not having much success in the Grey Cup. For one he was being rotated quite a bit and the entire defense had little success against the Lions in the 2nd half in particular. The Bombers weren't the only team that had that problem after Labor Day.

The Lions OL was solid.

Anyway. You'll see him more now that he is in the west. I wouldn't discount him improving his level of play.

Mack did float trade offers but Wally did express an interest, so he can't be nearly as bad as some are suggesting.

It's interesting how easily some fans discount players on other teams.
It would be silly for Wally to not have listened to an offer. Every good GM should be open minded. What is more important though, listening to a sales pitch, or buying the product? I'd say the guys value is based on what you are willing to pay, not that you listened to a sales pitch. Clearly Wally thought it was too much. As for discounting Willis, it would seem the Bombers braintrust are the ones doing that
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Rammer
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Blue In BC wrote:Some are making too much about Willis not having much success in the Grey Cup. For one he was being rotated quite a bit and the entire defense had little success against the Lions in the 2nd half in particular. The Bombers weren't the only team that had that problem after Labor Day.

The Lions OL was solid.

Anyway. You'll see him more now that he is in the west. I wouldn't discount him improving his level of play.

Mack did float trade offers but Wally did express an interest, so he can't be nearly as bad as some are suggesting.

It's interesting how easily some fans discount players on other teams.
Well it wasn't just the Lions D that was able to neutralize Willis...

Last 5 games Willis played...

Grey Cup: 1 tackle, 0 sacks
East Final: 2 tackles, 0 sacks
Nov 5 vs Cal: 3 tackles, 0 sacks
Oct 28 vs Tor: 1 tackle, 0 sacks
Oct 15 vs Edm: 1 tackle, 0 sacks

Now, like Arland Bruce he could get back on track, but you have to think that teams either committed to him, which is tough to dedicate two guys to an edge player continuously, or did as I suggested put him in guess play. Really what is more worrisome to me when he was on Wally's table was his attitude and that Mack brought that into the picture tells me that he isn't worth the return that the Bombers got. Good on the Bombers for winning this trade at this point, however Taman is this season territory, win or go look for another job. Willis does give the Riders a player position that they have been searching for the last couple of seasons, it may work out for both parties. One thing for certain, is it is now on Willis's shoulders, and that can make him refocus in a hurry.
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Blue In BC
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ziggy wrote:
Blue In BC wrote:Some are making too much about Willis not having much success in the Grey Cup. For one he was being rotated quite a bit and the entire defense had little success against the Lions in the 2nd half in particular. The Bombers weren't the only team that had that problem after Labor Day.

The Lions OL was solid.

Anyway. You'll see him more now that he is in the west. I wouldn't discount him improving his level of play.

Mack did float trade offers but Wally did express an interest, so he can't be nearly as bad as some are suggesting.

It's interesting how easily some fans discount players on other teams.
It would be silly for Wally to not have listened to an offer. Every good GM should be open minded. What is more important though, listening to a sales pitch, or buying the product? I'd say the guys value is based on what you are willing to pay, not that you listened to a sales pitch. Clearly Wally thought it was too much. As for discounting Willis, it would seem the Bombers braintrust are the ones doing that
Willis asked to be released so the Bombers didn't discount him as you would suggest. We have no idea what Wally was prepared to offer if at all. The fact Willis didn't end up as a Lion doesn't mean he didn't have an interest but got could have been outbid by what the Riders offered. The Lions defense didn't need as much help as the Riders obviously.

IMHO, the Riders gave up too much to get Willis but I'll gladly take the draft picks and thank them for it.

There have been many comments about poor stats for Willis in the 2nd half of the season. While that may be true, teams schemed away from him more, he still created pressure / rushed throws, got QB hits which took their toll. He was also playing less and while his stats went down, the rookie DL group was having great success.

It is a team game afterall.
ziggy
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I don't read that quote by Mack in anyway saying Willis asked for his release and they were sorry to see him go, but he was such a good guy they accomodated him? I read it as there was no common ground and he was a pain in the butt, which is the impression I got every time he opened his mouth last season.
As for Wally having any interest, like you say, no one knows how much, so assuming any value is sheer speculation. You can think Wally was outbid if it makes you feel good and you may be right. To me that shows Willis wasn't worth as much as the Riders were willing to give up in Wallys eyes and possibly a lot less. At any rate I have no ill feelings towards O'dell and hope he makes it home for Thanksgiving this year.
Blue In BC
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ziggy wrote:I don't read that quote by Mack in anyway saying Willis asked for his release and they were sorry to see him go, but he was such a good guy they accomodated him? I read it as there was no common ground and he was a pain in the butt, which is the impression I got every time he opened his mouth last season.
As for Wally having any interest, like you say, no one knows how much, so assuming any value is sheer speculation. You can think Wally was outbid if it makes you feel good and you may be right. To me that shows Willis wasn't worth as much as the Riders were willing to give up in Wallys eyes and possibly a lot less. At any rate I have no ill feelings towards O'dell and hope he makes it home for Thanksgiving this year.
I'm saying they only acccomodated him in the sense he wanted out of Winnipeg so making a trade was the Bombers best option. They certainly weren't going to release him out right unless absolutely necessary. Willis is not the first player with an attitude that has had a successful career.

As far as being " outbid " by the Riders, I only meant if Wally was interested, he wasn't in as big a need and wasn't going to give up a good draft choice to get him. If he made a trade , he would have been bargaining from a position of strength because he did not really need Willis. The Riders were more desperate and paid a high price.

Time will tell how this will work out in the long run but I like the idea of getting a # 8 pick for an import that wanted out of Winnipeg. I won't look forward to playing against him though. If he matures a bit more, he can be a force to be reckoned with.
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IMO, the Bombers are a better team without him. Certainly has lots of talent and their D was strong for much of the season. Obviously I feel the Riders paid too much but what do I know, I'm a Lions fan. That being said, the Bombers are one of those teams I cheer for except when they play the Lions. I didn't get why some fans/teams got a little flustered with Swaggerville. Guessing Willis will be regreting much of that at various points this season. Betcha he'll here some Swaggerville/Staggerville cracks from opposing players and fans. Really is going to be interesting to see how the Bombers do adjust to this offseason. You are a close as you can get without being the Champs, so anything less in 2012 is probably quite a let down (this 'if not then what?' let down applies even more to the Lions, of course). Guess we'll see how the land of Riderville will affect ex-Mayor Willis.....
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On a winning team with strong leadership and a good culture like the Lions, I think Willis would have worked out just fine. The players have a way of policing themselves.

On a bad team that is rebuilding, I would not want anything to do with a player with a reputation for a poor attitude. I think the Riders made a big mistake here.
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That didn't seem to work with Jerome Messam or Josh Boden. We have seen the the past that Wally has little tolerance for BS from players. The whole team knows that Wally will lose a player if they are conducting themselves contrary to expectations. It isn't always a simple as putting a player in the right environment. Now does that apply to Odell? I don't really know but that thing with the Thanksgiving Dinner just before the Grey Cup said nothing at all good about the man. His selfish attitude took time and energy away that could have been spent on other things. Add to the fact that he talked the talk but didn't walk the walk in the last half of the season and frankly it seems like too big a risk for a team that won it all last year and had good team chemistry to boot. Maybe it will be all good on the Riders but the cauldron of a fan base there will be very quick to jump all over Willis if he doesn't perform to expectations. We'll see how well he handles that. I am expecting not so well. He just seems a little too high and mighty on himself and he hasn't earned that.
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David
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Big Time wrote:On a bad team that is rebuilding, I would not want anything to do with a player with a reputation for a poor attitude. I think the Riders made a big mistake here.


Especially when I read today that Willis "definitely wants an NFL shot." They could have had Stevie Baggs or Anwar Stewart for (at least) a year without giving up anything. :dizzy:


DH :cool:
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Blue In BC
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David wrote:
Big Time wrote:On a bad team that is rebuilding, I would not want anything to do with a player with a reputation for a poor attitude. I think the Riders made a big mistake here.


Especially when I read today that Willis "definitely wants an NFL shot." They could have had Stevie Baggs or Anwar Stewart for (at least) a year without giving up anything. :dizzy:


DH :cool:
Anwar Stewart is over the hill and I suspect now going to retire. Baggs was reported to be very highly paid and may still expect as much or more than Willis. He's also not exactly your model citizen with his yapping and ego. So Willis wants an NFL shot. Don't most imports? In order to get that shot he needs to have an outstanding season in 2012, so that can't be a bad thing for the Riders.

Giving up a good draft choice is never a great thing to do but the Riders still have the # 1 pick and signed two top veteran OL players in free agency. Who knows how well the draft pick will ultimately do. For the first year, a draft pick sees more bench than anything so it's possible by the 2nd year when he starts to develop, he may already be playing our his contract.
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http://cjme.com/story/odell-willis-says ... ched/49591
“We’re just going to keep it first class and play ball and not be no disruptions or any distractions and try to win some ball games and hopefully we’ll be talking in Toronto,” he added.

 Willis admits he wanted out of his contract to go to the NFL but it wasn't because he wanted out of Winnipeg.

“They made it seem like I wanted to be out of Winnipeg which is not true. I just wanted to test the waters but I understood the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) and the agreement is in and I understand that I had to come back for my option year, so I had no problem with that,” Willis explained.

He said he wants to wait until the end of the season to negotiate a contract extension with the Riders. He will be a free agent after this season.
Team guy? Nah ...

Impulse control on his mouth? Nope ...

In Regina for more than one year? Nope ...

IMO a me first guy all the way.
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WestCoastJoe wrote:http://cjme.com/story/odell-willis-says ... ched/49591
“We’re just going to keep it first class and play ball and not be no disruptions or any distractions and try to win some ball games and hopefully we’ll be talking in Toronto,” he added.

 Willis admits he wanted out of his contract to go to the NFL but it wasn't because he wanted out of Winnipeg.

“They made it seem like I wanted to be out of Winnipeg which is not true. I just wanted to test the waters but I understood the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) and the agreement is in and I understand that I had to come back for my option year, so I had no problem with that,” Willis explained.

He said he wants to wait until the end of the season to negotiate a contract extension with the Riders. He will be a free agent after this season.
Team guy? Nah ...

Impulse control on his mouth? Nope ...

In Regina for more than one year? Nope ...

IMO a me first guy all the way.
be honest, how many people in this world are not "me first" "look out for number one" "get as much as you can" etc. Sure, most include family and friends, but the attitude is still the same.
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WestCoastJoe
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KnowItAll wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote:

Team guy? Nah ...

Impulse control on his mouth? Nope ...

In Regina for more than one year? Nope ...

IMO a me first guy all the way.
be honest, how many people in this world are not "me first" "look out for number one" "get as much as you can" etc. Sure, most include family and friends, but the attitude is still the same.
Honest?

There are lots of athletes, and people, that make a decision in lfe that me first is not as good as team first.

Travis Lulay.

The Sedins.

Any of those people that give big to charity.

Sports championship teams are led by team players. Guys and girls who have learned that team first goes farther than me first.

Just IMO. You can see it differently.
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Rammer
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WestCoastJoe wrote:
KnowItAll wrote:
WestCoastJoe wrote:

Team guy? Nah ...

Impulse control on his mouth? Nope ...

In Regina for more than one year? Nope ...

IMO a me first guy all the way.
be honest, how many people in this world are not "me first" "look out for number one" "get as much as you can" etc. Sure, most include family and friends, but the attitude is still the same.
Honest?

There are lots of athletes, and people, that make a decision in lfe that me first is not as good as team first.

Travis Lulay.

The Sedins.

Any of those people that give big to charity.

Sports championship teams are led by team players. Guys and girls who have learned that team first goes farther than me first.

Just IMO. You can see it differently.
Khalif Mitchell has to be at the top of that line, as he spurned his NFL $ by re-upping with the Lions.
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