2014 free agents

[David]

I do find it annoying though, that Benevides and Buono hyped this Free Agency market, got the fans hopes up, and then do nothing. Buono has been around long enough to know what it takes to sign a free agent. Making offers is hardly a show of determination. So for me, this FA has been a bit of a sham for the Lions.

And I expect we were not all that close to the offer that Hamilton made for Butler. So why hype this FA market? Get the fans interested in the upcoming season. It would have been better to say up front that the Lions will make some offers, but not break their budget. It would have been better to not let it be understood that we would be "aggressive" in the FA market. Because that gets the fans hopes up for Craig Butler. I would say it was a PR mistake. Better to low key it the way Hufnagel did.

My suspicion WCJ is that this is a case of old and new worlds colliding. Am quite sure this wasn't Bene and Wally's idea (who has a habit of spinning even a routine question 7 ways to Sunday). Rather, the Communications Director likely wanted to create fan engagement and (knowing the club was going to be active in Free Agency) said something to the effect of "let's create some buzz and excitement by sharing our free agent activity with our fans."

This is why we read on Twitter as soon a FA began that they made 5 free agent offers (4 of whom have already signed elsewhere) as well as having "presented DL Keron Williams with a contract offer today" and "have sent another proposal to DB Josh Bell" (who, sadly, signed elsewhere as well too).

I am sure Wally went through this exercise kicking and screaming. Now that the process has almost completely backfired, I wouldn't expect similar transparency this time next year.


DH

[lion24]

Depending on how Willy plays for the Bombers I see the Lions competing for the bottom of the West, oh well at least Buono has taken the pressure off the team to be in the Grey Cup. Nice cost cutting measures to sell the team and screw the fans

[SammyGreene]

As GM it seems Wally is guaranteeing that he will not exceed the cap, and that he is making sure David Braley does not have to overspend on the Lions. Make sure the revenue exceeds the expenses. Run a tight budget. Full marks for that.

Joe I would love to know the Lions payroll now compared to 2006-2008 when they must have been way over the cap. Dickenson, Simon, Clermont, Jackson, Joe Smith, Murphy, Jiminez and even Pierce as a back-up were all making well north of $100,000. High priced defensive players included Brent Johnson (reportedly the highest paid defensive player in the league and rightly so), Tyrone Williams, Banks, Glatt, Floyd, Marsh and Miles, never mind McCallum who has taken pay cuts since then.

Floyd (Calgary) and Miles (Montreal) were big name free agents the Lions opened the vault for. All key players were being extended with the Lions never crying poor. It really seems like they are pinching their pennies now in comparison yet their TV revenue skyrockets this season.

[WestCoastJoe]

TORONTO -- The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts were the big winners on the first day of CFL free agency.

The clubs each added a key Canadian, with the Tiger-Cats signing defensive back Craig Butler and the Argonauts inking linebacker Shea Emry.

Apart from adding from Butler, Hamilton re-signed non-import linebacker Marc Beswick. The 31-year-old Vancouver native was named the East Division's special team's player of the year in 2013 after making 24 special teams tackles while adding a forced fumble and a touchdown scored on a fake field goal.

Hamilton also signed offensive lineman Steve Myddelton of Barrie, Ont., away from the Calgary Stampeders (make that the B.C. Lions), while import linebacker Abraham Kromah (Saskatchewan) and import defensive back Brandon Stewart (Winnipeg) will also be with the Tiger-Cats in 2014.

The Ticats also signed receiver Cary Koch, who was previously with the Edmonton Eskimos.

-- cfl.ca

[WestCoastJoe]

As GM it seems Wally is guaranteeing that he will not exceed the cap, and that he is making sure David Braley does not have to overspend on the Lions. Make sure the revenue exceeds the expenses. Run a tight budget. Full marks for that.

Joe I would love to know the Lions payroll now compared to 2006-2008 when they must have been way over the cap. Dickenson, Simon, Clermont, Jackson, Joe Smith, Murphy, Jiminez and even Pierce as a back-up were all making well north of $100,000. High priced defensive players included Brent Johnson (reportedly the highest paid defensive player in the league and rightly so), Tyrone Williams, Banks, Glatt, Floyd, Marsh and Miles, never mind McCallum who has taken pay cuts since then.

Floyd (Calgary) and Miles (Montreal) were big name free agents the Lions opened the vault for. All key players were being extended with the Lions never crying poor. It really seems like they are pinching their pennies now in comparison yet their TV revenue skyrockets this season.

Yes, it is strange, Sammy.

Hunch ... Wally, as GM, is more concerned with the budget than he ever was as HC/GM. Counting those nickels and dimes. Also, he does not have the burden of expectations that a Head Coach carries. And, subconsciously, he has a scapegoat, his HC. I say subconsciously, because Wally gives full value for his work. But the win loss record falls on the HC. A Head Coach will be screaming: We need such and such. A GM will be thinking: We can be good enough with such and such. A HC will be screaming: We need the best players. A GM will be thinking: Stay under the salary cap. Our guys will be competitive.

It is a different dynamic. And our won loss record for the regular season still looks good.

Business as usual. But it seems to me the situation has changed. There are no easy pickings out there with gimme games. Top coaches entering the CFL. Times have changed. Competition is very, very tough. And we seem to be going along with an old formula.

As usual, I do see the negative side. And I see that challenging for the Cup is still possible. But it seems to me we have slid down to middle of the pack.

[Hambone]

Hunch ... Wally, as GM, is more concerned with the budget than he ever was as HC/GM. Counting those nickels and dimes. Also, he does not have the burden of expectations that a Head Coach carries. And, subconsciously, he has a scapegoat, his HC. I say subconsciously, because Wally gives full value for his work. But the win loss record falls on the HC. A Head Coach will be screaming: We need such and such. A GM will be thinking: We can be good enough with such and such. A HC will be screaming: We need the best players. A GM will be thinking: Stay under the salary cap. Our guys will be competitive.

Not sure that is any different WCJ. Buono had a rep for being very budget conscious and tight-fisted when negotiating contracts going back into the earlier days of being GM in Calgary.

[WestCoastJoe]

I do find it annoying though, that Benevides and Buono hyped this Free Agency market, got the fans hopes up, and then do nothing. Buono has been around long enough to know what it takes to sign a free agent. Making offers is hardly a show of determination. So for me, this FA has been a bit of a sham for the Lions.

And I expect we were not all that close to the offer that Hamilton made for Butler. So why hype this FA market? Get the fans interested in the upcoming season. It would have been better to say up front that the Lions will make some offers, but not break their budget. It would have been better to not let it be understood that we would be "aggressive" in the FA market. Because that gets the fans hopes up for Craig Butler. I would say it was a PR mistake. Better to low key it the way Hufnagel did.

My suspicion WCJ is that this is a case of old and new worlds colliding. Am quite sure this wasn't Bene and Wally's idea (who has a habit of spinning even a routine question 7 ways to Sunday). Rather, the Communications Director likely wanted to create fan engagement and (knowing the club was going to be active in Free Agency) said something to the effect of "let's create some buzz and excitement by sharing our free agent activity with our fans."

This is why we read on Twitter as soon a FA began that they made 5 free agent offers (4 of whom have already signed elsewhere) as well as having "presented DL Keron Williams with a contract offer today" and "have sent another proposal to DB Josh Bell" (who, sadly, signed elsewhere as well too).

I am sure Wally went through this exercise kicking and screaming. Now that the process has almost completely backfired, I wouldn't expect similar transparency this time next year.


DH

Dunno, David.

Naivete on the part of Wally and Benny? Times change. FA prices seem to have risen dramatically this year. But that is the reality.

Is Kent Austin being aggressive? Yes. Jim Barker? Yeah. Winnipeg? Yes. B.C.? No.

Can we compete? Hmmmmm ... Yes. But look at the soft spots on our roster. Look at our green OC and DC. And even our green HC.

Ouch ... We need the stars to align just right, it seems to me.

And we do have Lulay, Harris, Bighill and Elimimian.
...........

I agree, David, that it does not seem like Wally's approach to hype free agency. Not so sure about Benny. He does talk the positive a lot.

I agree with Buono and Hufnagel in preferring to build from within. And yet it seems to me we have backslid in that effort. Many soft spots on the roster. Age. Stuck with an O Line regime that is struggling big time. Old D Line.

[WestCoastJoe]

Hunch ... Wally, as GM, is more concerned with the budget than he ever was as HC/GM. Counting those nickels and dimes. Also, he does not have the burden of expectations that a Head Coach carries. And, subconsciously, he has a scapegoat, his HC. I say subconsciously, because Wally gives full value for his work. But the win loss record falls on the HC. A Head Coach will be screaming: We need such and such. A GM will be thinking: We can be good enough with such and such. A HC will be screaming: We need the best players. A GM will be thinking: Stay under the salary cap. Our guys will be competitive.

Not sure that is any different WCJ. Buono had a rep for being very budget conscious and tight-fisted when negotiating contracts going back into the earlier days of being GM in Calgary.

True, Hambone.

But in looking at the information provided by Sammy, Wally did acquire a number of very effective free agents in years past. Floyd. Miles. Washington. Keron Williams. And he has paid top dollar for some of his star players.

Maybe the situation has changed in regards to the prices of free agents these days. Some teams are going along with the change, offering more money. Wally and Hufnagel are not. But in that case, you had better have success in building from within. Drafts and American imports. It seems to me we have not done top level developing from within lately either. Some success, but not top level.

[lion24]

I am obviously frustrated with the free agent situation, I understand not getting every player desired but we couldn't get any,and then not even sign any of our own free agents?? I am assuming Keron Williams is a goner too. I will always support the team and have through some lean years but it is frustrating when the organization seems to be mailing in the season. I have seen this with the Eskimos over the past few years living here

[The_Pauser]

Still lots of interesting FA's available so it's not over yet. Players who could help us:

Ted Laurant (if he doesn't catch on in the NFL), Alex Hall (ditto), Cordarro Law, Luca Congi, Robert McCune, and Jovon Johnson might be attractive if he could shift to the safety spot.

[TheLionKing]

Farhan Lalji‏@FarhanLaljiTSN·16 hrs
Both the #Stamps & #REDBLACKS have offered DB Josh Bell more than #BCLions. I expect him to rejoin Rich Stubler in Calgary soon. #CFLFA14

Will Bell be this year's version of that defensive lineman (Williams) Stubler coveted that the Lions signed as a free agent last year ?

[David]

I am assuming Keron Williams is a goner too. I will always support the team and have through some lean years but it is frustrating when the organization seems to be mailing in the season. I have seen this with the Eskimos over the past few years living here

Well the strange/awkward but possibly encouraging thing is that Keron was an integral part of this morning's Grey Cup Committee branding announcement. Keron has created the most awesome looking Grey Cup 2014 logo. I was blown away. This year's slogan is "Roar On The Shore." Keron was brought up on stage and made a very nice speech about how it all came together that was very well received by the crowd.

Still lots of interesting FA's available so it's not over yet. Players who could help us:

Ted Laurant (if he doesn't catch on in the NFL), Alex Hall (ditto), Cordarro Law, Luca Congi, Robert McCune, and Jovon Johnson might be attractive if he could shift to the safety spot.

As discouraged as I am about the first couple of days, you're absolutely right Pauser. It's not over yet and there are 4 players among your list that I would go hard after (in order):

Ted Laurent (NFL workouts planned)
Alex Hall (same, I believe)
Luca Congi (can provide us much better range on our FGs, kick-offs)
Cordarro Law (Suits mentioned him last night in a radio interview)


DH

[TheLionKing]

Jovan Johnson has apparently agreed to terms with Ottawa

[lion24]

just need to look at Phillips and Gore's latest tweets to see where the players are at with this, obviously not happy

[South Pender]

What about Jamall Johnson? Has he re-signed with the Ti-Cats or someone else already? I can see him as a replacement for Banks. He's 6-1, 222 lbs. and ran a 4.54 40 out of college. It's true he's 31, but I think he still probably has good speed. With the addition of Craig Butler and Abraham Kromah, could he be expendable in Hamilton?