Free Agent Wish List

[Toppy Vann]

Is Khalif not being re-signed by his former team just about belief in his effectiveness - not his motivation? It's too easy it seems to say not motivated. Als must see something. Sometimes in the SMS CFL it's about getting a cheaper guy.

I think the Joe Smith not motivated was a manufactured thing the fans came up with as there was no clear reason for him to be gone.

Geroy Simon - a guy known for very high standards like his model Milt Stegall was positive on this guy and if he was a guy not playing full out Simon would not have defended him after he left.

Wally was close to Bobby Ackles he says and it was a night to honour him and Smith sitting home might have been a factor. Possibly the number 1 reason to trade him might the Lions seeing this as a divisive move in the locker room - staying home that night - something that they'd not want to tolerate.

Sure Smith didn't gel with the Bombers HC Mike Kelly -and didn't stick but Kelly was a nut job.

Count me as a big Joe Smith fan. A guy that went his own way. He may never have had a conversation with Bobby Ackles. Who knows? But I can easily see the "snub" of the Ackles recognition night as the reason for Joe Smith's departure. All Joe Smith did was play hard. Clutch. Tough yardage. Breakaway yardage. Catching clutch passes. He was funny. He would wear glasses at practice, looking kind of like a mild-mannered bookkeeper, in his own world. LOL ... Great with the fans. I think his teammates loved him. Wally liked him also, it seems, until Joe did not show up that night.

Khalif is another different cat. He may even have some issues, in terms of emotions, and in how he processes information. But he is just fine in my books.

I agree on all counts.

He was traded ostensibly due to no room in the backfield for two feature backs and we now had Stefan Logan (but who did he get? Charles Roberts from the nut job Wpg HC Mike Kelly). Then they decided to have plays for two feature backs. it was nuts.

But when the team doesn't say why the guy is really gone we fans fill in the blanks and it becomes speculation and often we get it wrong. "Wally knows best" has been a fan favourite saying too when we fans don't really know what happened.

To me a football player with a season like 2007 doesn't become a bad player in the next season - it just doesn't happen unless they're hurt.

This is from Ackles book and a sampler on Amazon and lot of Joe Smith here:

http://goo.gl/CKcgKR

This story is about machinations over Wally not bringing back Carl Kidd and Ryan Thelwell and Antonio Warren earlier but how Joe Smith got 3 TDs in each of his first two games!

Buono also realized that runningb ack Antonio Warren just wasn’t getting it done on the ground a few games into last season, so he went out and signed NFL Europe MVP Joe Smith. In Smith’s first game he rambled on for three touchdowns, and then achieved the same feat again in his next game.

Q&A with Joe Smith:

Q: You were the CFL’s leading rusher last season. Is there anything you want to achieve in ’08 to take it to the next level?

JS: “On a personal level, I want to lead the league in rushing again this year – I think that’s the goal of any running back. As a team, I want to see us become the best that we can be. There are a lot of talented players here and I know that we can win the Grey Cup this season. As far as the end of last season is concerned, what’s done is done, and I’m focused and ready to go in 2008 and I know that’s the feeling among my teammates as well. I’m very excited to see what we can do this year – I know there are great things in store for us.”

https://prosportscott.wordpress.com/cat ... roy-simon/

And 2007 and Joe Smith here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14273

League leaders

Postby B.C.FAN » Sat Nov 03, 2007 11:43 pm
In addition to the Lions finishing first overall, a number of individuals led the league in various statistical categories, including Joe Smith in rushing and Geroy Simon in receiving. Congratulations to the following league leaders, according to cfl.ca:

Rushing: Joe Smith 1510 yards
Touchdowns: Joe Smith 19
Rushing touchdowns: Joe Smith 18
Receiving: Geroy Simon 1308 yards
Receiving by a Canadian (and third overall): Jason Clermont 1158 yards
Combined yards: Ian Smart 2440
Punt return yards: Ian Smart 912
Kickoff return yards: Ian Smart 1228
Interceptions: Ryan Phillips 12
Sacks: Cam Wake 16
Defensive tackles by a lineman: Cam Wake 72
Forced fumbles: Brent Johnson 4 (tie)
Blocked kicks: Barron Miles 2

I was interested and found my post on this thread ...lol:

Re: Glen Suitor has Joe Smith traded to Argos

Postby Toppy Vann » Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:24 am
I like Joe Smith but realize the Lions system won't allow two feature Import backs.

What is ironic is that the Lions apparently signed Joe to big bucks to lock him up and now it appears this very contract is helping them to decide to go cheaper. Maybe the HC and the GM of the Lions need better coordination. Why would the GM of the Lions give a guy the big bucks if the coach is determined to deploy a scat back type runner who can improvise on the vanilla running plays and scheming that the Lions use? WB is a good football coach but sometimes you have to wonder.

I guess when Chapdelaine returned it was bound to be the end of Joe Smith as many posters here predicted much like when Chapdelaine headed to Edmonton it was pretty clear Antonio Warren would never play a down in an Esks uniform.

[WestCoastJoe]

Count me as a big Joe Smith fan. A guy that went his own way. He may never have had a conversation with Bobby Ackles. Who knows? But I can easily see the "snub" of the Ackles recognition night as the reason for Joe Smith's departure. All Joe Smith did was play hard. Clutch. Tough yardage. Breakaway yardage. Catching clutch passes. He was funny. He would wear glasses at practice, looking kind of like a mild-mannered bookkeeper, in his own world. LOL ... Great with the fans. I think his teammates loved him. Wally liked him also, it seems, until Joe did not show up that night.

Khalif is another different cat. He may even have some issues, in terms of emotions, and in how he processes information. But he is just fine in my books.

I agree on all counts.

He was traded ostensibly due to no room in the backfield for two feature backs and we now had Stefan Logan (but who did he get? Charles Roberts from the nut job Wpg HC Mike Kelly). Then they decided to have plays for two feature backs. it was nuts.

But when the team doesn't say why the guy is really gone we fans fill in the blanks and it becomes speculation and often we get it wrong. "Wally knows best" has been a fan favourite saying too when we fans don't really know what happened.

To me a football player with a season like 2007 doesn't become a bad player in the next season - it just doesn't happen unless they're hurt.

Q&A with Joe Smith:
Q: You were the CFL’s leading rusher last season. Is there anything you want to achieve in ’08 to take it to the next level?

JS: “On a personal level, I want to lead the league in rushing again this year – I think that’s the goal of any running back. As a team, I want to see us become the best that we can be. There are a lot of talented players here and I know that we can win the Grey Cup this season. As far as the end of last season is concerned, what’s done is done, and I’m focused and ready to go in 2008 and I know that’s the feeling among my teammates as well. I’m very excited to see what we can do this year – I know there are great things in store for us.”

The productivity was all there on the field. Game over: then he goes his own way.

Rushing: Joe Smith 1510 yards
Touchdowns: Joe Smith 19
Rushing touchdowns: Joe Smith 18

6 TDs in two games? A fluke? Nope. That was Joe Smith, a rare talent.

1510 yards. 19 TDs. I had forgotten those numbers. I think we took him for granted.

Just with the optics of the situation, and Buono's understandable loyalty to the memory of Bobby Ackles, it seems clear to me Joe Smith was farmed out because he did not go to the recognition night.

I recall, without details, that Joe asked permission to leave a game early, to catch a flight south, for a funeral (I think). Wally granted it. Wally did not seem to mind Joe's eccentricities, until he did not attend that game. One can hardly blame Wally. And some can also understand Joe Smith, and his individualistic ways.

Some fans liked Joe Smith, just as he was.

For his playing style, and effectiveness, he is one of my all time favourite players. Power runner. Moved the pile. Hit the holes. Ran for distance. Caught the few passes thrown his way. Tremendously effective.

[B.C.FAN]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

[squishy35]

Wow.... I like how Montreal is managing the off season so far. Quiet but yet making rumblings with FA signings. Add in Sam Giguere and the fact they have extended most of their FA's, it is quite impressive.

[The_Pauser]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

Ouch.

Big mistake for BC to pass on him. If Lulay goes down we are in serious trouble.

[TheLionKing]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

Ouch.

Big mistake for BC to pass on him. If Lulay goes down we are in serious trouble.

Maybe Montreal made him a better offer.

[Rammer]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

Ouch.

Big mistake for BC to pass on him. If Lulay goes down we are in serious trouble.

Not that worried about LeFevour being missed out, as he wasn't going to lead the Lions to the promised land. He is a stop gap QB at best and all that would happen with his signing is a clog at the development of the young guns that the Lions have in the waiting. Don't get me wrong for FA QB's with CFL experience I think that LeFevour is the best available, but just not quite starter material.

[Toppy Vann]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

I don't get the 1 year contract though.

I suspect that is the desire of the player?

He is coming off a torn ligament injury - but that is not a high risk injury as much as Lulay's shoulder appears to be.

[B.C.FAN]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

I don't get the 1 year contract though.

I suspect that is the desire of the player?

He is coming off a torn ligament injury - but that is not a high risk injury as much as Lulay's shoulder appears to be.

Yes, veteran players won the right in the current CBA to sign one-year deals. LeFevour is gambling that he can shop himself on the free-agent market again next year as a healthy potential starter.

[Rammer]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

I don't get the 1 year contract though.

I suspect that is the desire of the player?

He is coming off a torn ligament injury - but that is not a high risk injury as much as Lulay's shoulder appears to be.

Yes, veteran players won the right in the current CBA to sign one-year deals. LeFevour is gambling that he can shop himself on the free-agent market again next year as a healthy potential starter.

Yep, makes no sense for the team to worry about contract length, just the shortness of it. For a player a 5 year contract means that he could be released by the team after or during season one of the contract. So LeFevour has to be betting upon himself, or at least concerned about the young guns in Montreal, thinking that he might not see playing time and it would be to his own benefit to move on.

[sj-roc]

Dan LeFevour is off the market. He has signed a one-year contract in Montreal.

Alouettes sign quarterback Dan LeFevour

Another FA has signed a 1yr deal with the Als:

End of an era; Nik Lewis heads East to Montreal

FA15: End of an era; Lewis heads East to Montreal

Posted: February 25, 2015 05:19 PM
Updated: February 25, 2015 05:34 PM

CFL.ca Staff

MONTREAL -- The Montreal Alouettes announced on Wednesday that the team has signed international slotback Nik Lewis to a one-year deal with the club.

Lewis (5'10", 240 lbs.) has had an exceptional CFL career thus far he has won the Grey Cup twice (2008, 2014) and sits 11th on the all-time CFL receiving list with 11,250 yards. Throughout his career, the 32-year old caught 805 passes, including 65 for touchdowns.

He played eleven seasons in the CFL, all with the Calgary Stampeders, where he was named to the CFL All-Star team three times (2010, 2011 and 2012) after being named the CFL Most Outstanding Rookie in 2004.

"Nik is another piece of the puzzle to an outstanding receiving corps for 2015," declared Alouettes General Manager Jim Popp. "His body of work speaks for itself and his style of play is very difficult to defend. We feel he adds a twist that every team in the CFL wish they could have."

The former South Arkansas University Mulerider caught at least one pass in 166 consecutive games leading up to week 5 last season, when the sequence ended. He had nine seasons of over 1,000 receiving yards, which places him tied for third in the CFL all-time list. In three Grey Cup games, the Mineral Wells, TX native caught 17 passes for 235 yards. In 11 career playoff games he amassed 413 yards on 38 catches.

In Montreal, Lewis will join forces with Tom Higgins once again, as the latter was Lewis' head coach in Calgary from 2005 to 2007.

He said all the right things on twitter about Cgy and the Stamps as he leaves them behind and added that he will wear a number other than his familiar #82 in Mtl (where it is currently assigned to longsnapper Jared Zaleski). The Nik Lewis Nation twitter account has declared this upcoming Sat Aug 1 to be Nik Lewis Day in Calgary, which not coincidentally is the day of the Als' lone game this year in Cowtown.

[TheLionKing]

I'm really surprised that Lewis signed with the Alouettes. I've also thought he would retire as a Stamp.

[TheLionKing]

CALGARY -- After 11 seasons with the Red and White, receiver Nik Lewis is parting ways with the team as he signed as a free agent with the Montreal Alouettes.

"I've stayed in constant contact with Nik and his agent throughout the off-season and we looked at numerous possibilities that might allow him to stay with the Stampeders," said Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. "In the end, the Alouettes simply afforded him a better opportunity to compete for playing time and I wish him all the best.

"Nik will undoubtedly and rightly be remembered as one of the best receivers and players in the history of the Stampeders and I know some day we will see his name and number on the Stampeders' Wall of Fame. I thank him for all of his contributions to the organization."

Lewis is a storied veteran who was beloved in the community and made many valuable contributions to the team's success. The Jacksboro, Tex., native is one of the most prolific receivers of all-time as he ranks 10th in CFL history with 805 career catches and 11th with 11,250 receiving yards.

He holds the Stampeders record with 165 consecutive games played with at least one catch and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in receiving in each of his first nine seasons. Lewis was a CFL all-star three times as a member of the Stampeders and a West Division all-star on five occasions.

Lewis was a Grey Cup winner in 2008 and 2014 with Calgary

[WestCoastJoe]

"I've stayed in constant contact with Nik and his agent throughout the off-season and we looked at numerous possibilities that might allow him to stay with the Stampeders," said Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. "In the end, the Alouettes simply afforded him a better opportunity to compete for playing time and I wish him all the best.

"Nik will undoubtedly and rightly be remembered as one of the best receivers and players in the history of the Stampeders and I know some day we will see his name and number on the Stampeders' Wall of Fame. I thank him for all of his contributions to the organization."

Mo money. Mo playing time. Gotta go.

Lewis is a storied veteran who was beloved in the community and made many valuable contributions to the team's success. The Jacksboro, Tex., native is one of the most prolific receivers of all-time as he ranks 10th in CFL history with 805 career catches and 11th with 11,250 receiving yards.

A great player. Solid hands. Extremely tough to bring down. Obviously great in the community.

I do recall banter exchanged between Lewis and Korey Banks. Respect and teasing on both sides, as competitors. Banks asked: "Is Nik Lewis ... fat?" LOL Well, yeah, but he could sure play.

[WestCoastJoe]

Re Dan LeFevour ...

With all the American colleges that play football, there seems to be an abundance of very talented quarterbacks graduating, or just going pro, each year. Too many for the relatively few spots available in the NFL. So the CFL benefits. Young guys like Bo Levi Mitchell, Drew Tate, Zach Collaros, Jonathan Crompton, Dan LeFevour.

And we might have one or two on our own roster.

I would rather we find our own. And, with Jeff Tedford to draw them in, and to coach them, we would seem to be very much in the ballgame.

Looking forward to seeing what Greg McGhee can do. And the same for Partridge and Rodgers. Beck looked OK in his time as well.

It seems evident that Hufnagel and his staff can find and develop quarterbacks. As can Kent Austin and his staff. Hopefully our team moves in that direction.

Back in January Hamilton signed the promising Jeff Matthews.

http://ticats.ca/article/ticats-sign-iv ... ff-mathews

Ticats sign Ivy League's All-Time leading QB Jeff Mathews2015-01-20 10:09:00

Ticats.ca Staff |

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have signed international quarterback Jeff Mathews, the team announced today.

Mathews, a 6-4, 229-pound, native of Camarillo, California, played four seasons at Cornell University. In 38 games with the Big Red, he completed 901 of 1,447 passing attempts for 11,284 yards and 72 touchdowns to become the most prolific passer in Ivy League and Cornell history, while ranking among the top-20 all-time quarterbacks in FCS history.

The three-time All-Ivy selection concluded his NCAA career with the rights to 47 Big Red school records and 18 Ivy League marks for passing and total offence. Additionally, Mathews became the first sophomore in Ivy League history to be awarded the Bushnell Cup in 2011, the Ivy League’s Offensive Player for the Year, and was also a unanimous choice as the 2010 Ivy League Rookie of Year.

Mathews spent time with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Indianapolis Colts during the 2014 season.