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I think they will sign Lemon. Hervey let him go once and brought him back and he played well on his return.

I doubt Hervey lets him walk again.

I don't get caught up in the crying over spilt milk re: Lemon, or anybody else, being allowed to walk. I think that was just one of those tough decisions all GMs have to make when trying to work in a cap world. If a CFL GM kept everybody the fans think they should they'd be paying $1M in fines every year.

Things weren't so simple last year. They already had Louis and Luke under contract. They opted to give the much younger 2018 CFL All-Star Davon Coleman a new deal and extended Odell Willis who despite coming across as a flake apparently has a very good rep as a leader. Without Lemon they went into last season with 3/4 of their starting DL and their key rotational DT returning. Normally a GM would feel pretty good about that.

With the focus on spending big $ to fix QB and help on the OL I think plain and simply there wasn't any money left to meet whatever his demands might have been, realistic or unrealistic. IMO it was never a case of deciding between retaining Lemon or not retaining him. It was a case of deciding who to get rid of to be able to retain him; Coleman? Willis? TJ Lee? If it were me I would have kept Coleman and Lee over Lemon but probably Lemon over Willis. But that's without knowing in hindsight that Coleman wouldn't look as effective in a Stubler defense or what sort of money Lemon (who has a bit of a rep as difficult for coaches to deal with) and Willis (who has a rep as a good leader in the room) might ask to stay in BC.

Fast forward a year and things are much less complicated. I think Allen, Boesen and Louis are the only returning DL currently under contract. For all intents Hervey is working with a clean DL canvas to paint this offseason Instead of figuring out how to try and squeeze Lemon in (hah! Squeeze Lemon! Get it? Lol) He can start with Lemon and work in the pieces to fit around him.

As for free agents from other teams and in particular those who might follow Campbell two pending FAs from Ottawa who have caught my eye are DL Michael Wakefield and DE Avery Ellis. Both are 3 year CFL vets and still only 26 and 25 respectively which makes them similar to Deron Williams when Wally landed him. I thought Williams was one of the best FA signings Wally ever made. Ellis though I think has been getting NFL workouts so may not make it to free agency. Still with both Campbell and Thorpe moving on they could also be looking at new teams.

I wouldn't have a problem with them letting Lemon walk last year. But then Hervey traded for him half way through the season and gave up a draft choice for him I think. They could have had him for nothing. The trade looked bad on Hervey. He made too many mistakes last year and lucky to still have a job.

Hervey has 1 more year to show that he can build a competitive team in the West. If Lions flop again this year, he will be fired and likely will be anyway when the team is sold and new owners take over, unless Lions make it to the Grey Cup or Western Final and right now that seems highly unlikely.

JohnnyMusso wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:48 pm

Hervey has 1 more year to show that he can build a competitive team in the West. If Lions flop again this year, he will be fired and likely will be anyway when the team is sold and new owners take over, unless Lions make it to the Grey Cup or Western Final and right now that seems highly unlikely.

Hervey has his work cut out for him to say the least
Lions went 0-10 against the West last season and which of the teams will they be leaping past in 2020 to get back into the playoffs? Bombers defending champs. Riders win division and now have Maas as OC to work with Fajardo. Can't see the Stamps declining under Hufnagel & Dickenson while Eskimos replace Maas by bringing Milanovich back to the CFL to work with Trevor Harris.

There will be lots of hype for next month's free agency but again it will come down to the Lions' recruiting efforts down south on entry level contracts to off-set Reilly's salary among others. If they fail again it will be the end of Hervey and his regime.

And with a West loaded schedule out of the gate for the 2nd srtraight year we won't have to wait long to find out.

Re: the Lemon trade the draft pick that went to the Argos was an 8th rounder and it's conditional. That's maybe a slight upgrade from a bag of used footballs. No idea what the conditions are but it was basically Lemon for Coleman straight up. I think the Argos would have taken a lot less to dump Lemon who was doing jack squat for them but Hervey couldn't take on Lemon without getting rid of a sizeable salary.

Getting back to the question, Hervey needs to resign at least 1 or 2 of his key defensive players so there is not too much turnover. Last year, they signed Lee late and again this year 1 or 2 may sign just before deadline.

I too want them to bring back Menard. He wants to play here and really does not have many options and he played well last year. I think that signing would be easy, for doubt he will go elsewhere for did not last year. I forgot to include Luke who I think is a free agent too.

I think by end of January, 1 or 2 of these guys will be resigned and I sure hope it is not Odell Willis. Time to let him go.

JohnnyMusso wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:26 pm

Getting back to the question, Hervey needs to resign at least 1 or 2 of his key defensive players so there is not too much turnover. Last year, they signed Lee late and again this year 1 or 2 may sign just before deadline.

I too want them to bring back Menard. He wants to play here and really does not have many options and he played well last year. I think that signing would be easy, for doubt he will go elsewhere for did not last year. I forgot to include Luke who I think is a free agent too.

I think by end of January, 1 or 2 of these guys will be resigned and I sure hope it is not Odell Willis. Time to let him go.

Agreed on Willis and yes Luke is a pending FA.

The disappointment for me on defence was Claudell Louis. He was our nominee for Most Outstanding Rookie in 2018 and was solid at nose tackle with 31 tackles and 2 sacks in 11 games. Big things were expected, at least from me.

I don't know if it was the quirks of the Stubler defence last year (see Coleman, DAVON) but he struggled just to make the roster, eventually playing in 9 games and registering only 12 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 0 sacks.

I would like him to do well. He was active in the community during the 2018-19 off-season.


DH

David wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:39 pm

The disappointment for me on defence was Claudell Louis. He was our nominee for Most Outstanding Rookie in 2018 and was solid at nose tackle with 31 tackles and 2 sacks in 11 games. Big things were expected, at least from me.

I don't know if it was the quirks of the Stubler defence last year (see Coleman, DAVON) but he struggled just to make the roster, eventually playing in 9 games and registering only 12 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 0 sacks.

I would like him to do well. He was active in the community during the 2018-19 off-season.


DH

I don’t know if it was Stubler, Claybrooks or the DL coach but the Lions opted to start two undersized defensive linemen inside last year rather than a prototypical nose tackle and 3-tech. Willis and Menard were the inside starters at the end of the season, backed up by Luke. Coleman and Louis just didn’t fit in. Coleman was traded for Lemon and Louis spent a lot of time on the practice roster. They showed the previous year that they were both capable of more.

B.C.FAN wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 8:01 pm

David wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 7:39 pm

The disappointment for me on defence was Claudell Louis. He was our nominee for Most Outstanding Rookie in 2018 and was solid at nose tackle with 31 tackles and 2 sacks in 11 games. Big things were expected, at least from me.

I don't know if it was the quirks of the Stubler defence last year (see Coleman, DAVON) but he struggled just to make the roster, eventually playing in 9 games and registering only 12 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 0 sacks.

I would like him to do well. He was active in the community during the 2018-19 off-season.


DH

I don’t know if it was Stubler, Claybrooks or the DL coach but the Lions opted to start two undersized defensive linemen inside last year rather than a prototypical nose tackle and 3-tech. Willis and Menard were the inside starters at the end of the season, backed up by Luke. Coleman and Louis just didn’t fit in. Coleman was traded for Lemon and Louis spent a lot of time on the practice roster. They showed the previous year that they were both capable of more.

I'm with both you guys on that, For whatever reason the guys patrolling the interior of the BC DL last year were ineffective and I'm not about to place the blame on lack of talent. That they finished the season undersized in the middle was more a case of nothing else working. Also nobody should be wistfully remenescing about the 300# duo of Mitchell and Taylor that was so key in their time. If last year's line was undersized that one was super-sized. 300 pounders just aren't all that common on CFL DL these days. There's the odd one in the mix but I don't think anybody has 2 of that size any more. Most interior DL seem to be in the 280 to 295 range.

I think that the big drop off in effective play with D line from 2018 to 2019 was due to letting D line coach Randy Melvin go. He was the best D line coach that the Lions have ever had, having been with the Lions the last time they won a Grey Cup. Melvin coached and mentored Kalif Mitchell to behave like a decent human being and be an all star. Melvin coached for the TiCats in 2019.

JohnnyMusso wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 16, 2020 6:26 pm

... Hervey needs to resign ….

That's works for me

Newsome was not on the list for I thought he was released in December. So I guess a player not listed on the poll is the first defensive one signed. Could this mean Willis is on his way out?

The BC Lions have signed American defensive lineman Jonathan Newsome to a one-year contract, the team announced on Friday. Newsome, 28, was eligible to become a free agent on February 11th.

I was a bit confused about that too JM. When I looked at the roster just 2 days ago Newsome was listed and I knew he'd been released back in December. On the flip side I don't see Claudell Louis' name on the roster. Last CFL transaction for him shows him being added to the active roster back on Dec 9th in what would be a typical offseason paperwork move.

Not sure if the bridge was burnt with no return but Sol Elimimian was one of the best deals in the league last year. Hard to think Ed passed on $160,000 as was rumored to be the number he signed in Sask for. Derek Taylor had him listed as only missing something like 8 tackles all year. Would love to see him back in BC.

AJ Orange is another who had a tough year and might come at a reasonable number. He was good the year before.