Jonathon Kongbo traded to Hamilton for conditional pick

[Hambone]

Have a hard time believing Mackie and the leadership group would go to mgt unless it was a serious breach of club etiquette. The feeling of him being a "clubhouse cancer." Normally players can get the new guy to fall in line if he's being a bit of a dick or diva. Two weeks in? Methinks it was not a good situation at practice.

I wonder if this means we bring Shawn Lemon back. Or if they're happy with the group they have...


DH

Neil McEvoy suggested Monday the Lions aren't interested in Lemon.

McEvoy said Monday that there are no plans to bring him back or add any other veteran pass-rushers.

“We feel we have a really good group,” McEvoy said.

B.C. Lions trade Jonathan Kongbo just days after trumpeting his free agent signing

That goes to show how the NAT and overall depth RC and NM have assembled is giving them flexibility and options to deal with this sort of situation. They are literally 2 and 3 deep at both DE positions with multiple ratio options at hand. In another time they may have had to suck it up and keep Kongbo because of the ratio problems punting him would have caused. If anything they were stressing on how to get the likes of Siddiq and Archibald into the rotation. Kongbo having a hissy-fit fixed that issue.

[Hambone]

Apparently went crazy at practice when told he would have a minor role in game 1. He said he should be starting. He looked behind the play a bit vs Calgary. Got to agree with coaching staff.

Campbell was having none it. Sounds like we were lucky to get a 4th rounder. He was about to be cut.

Being a bit behind the play vs Calgary is understandable given he'd arrived in camp when he did. Getting his nose out of joint that he might be playing a less than major role in Wk 1 is not warranted. BC plays an 8 man rotation on the DL meaning he would spend a lot of time on the sidelines. For a guy who missed half of camp it makes sense from a team first perspective to ease him in. A me first player will not understand that.

[OV:54-40]

Apparently went crazy at practice when told he would have a minor role in game 1. He said he should be starting. He looked behind the play a bit vs Calgary. Got to agree with coaching staff.

Campbell was having none it. Sounds like we were lucky to get a 4th rounder. He was about to be cut.

Being a bit behind the play vs Calgary is understandable given he'd arrived in camp when he did. Getting his nose out of joint that he might be playing a less than major role in Wk 1 is not warranted. BC plays an 8 man rotation on the DL meaning he would spend a lot of time on the sidelines. For a guy who missed half of camp it makes sense from a team first perspective to ease him in. A me first player will not understand that.

So I guess Kongbo didn't understand that the Lions play an 8 man D-Line rotation (where all 8 guys get an equal amount of reps sort of, and top performers don't get rewarded with more playing time?). Why would he not understand this or be informed of the situation at least, and be prepared to accept it on signing?

Kinda amusing that he didn't go back to the amazing Bombers FIFO culture, and on a team that has basically nothing in terms of Canadian DEs? And several other CFL teams have little to nothing in terms of Canadian DE talent or willingness to play one (see the Als or Riders or Elks), and where he had maybe a much better chance of playing time. So he ends up traded to the Ticats who are already deep in both Canadian DEs and DTs ? Again - we'll see how much he ends up playing in the Hammer.

[Qman]

kongbo has never been a starter at cfl level. He was a backup. Don’t get what his expections were

[tedbear]

Good on Campbell and the Lions reacting fast and making a decisive decision. Not like another sports franchise in this city who never will admit to a bad aquisition nor do anything about it.

If you have cancer you need to cut it out fast before it spreads, Kongbo was a cancer and kudos for the Lions for taking swift action.

[OV:54-40]

kongbo has never been a starter at cfl level. He was a backup. Don’t get what his expections were

If that's the case then none of the Lions D-linemen are CFL 'starters" either, since they all play equally supposedly in an 8 man rotation.

Kongbo was behind 2 very good vet DEs in Winnipeg in Jefferson & Jeffcoat; but he played reps in a rotation there at both DE & DT.

[Qman]

kongbo has never been a starter at cfl level. He was a backup. Don’t get what his expections were

If that's the case then none of the Lions D-linemen are CFL 'starters" either, since they all play equally supposedly in an 8 man rotation.

Kongbo was behind 2 very good vet DEs in Winnipeg in Jefferson & Jeffcoat; but he played reps in a rotation there at both DE & DT.

They don’t play equally, cherry, deballie, et al play 15-20 snaps. If you can produce 7-11 sacks a season you’re good starter. Kongbo best season 3 sacks.

[Toppy Vann]

Good on Campbell and the Lions reacting fast and making a decisive decision. Not like another sports franchise in this city who never will admit to a bad aquisition nor do anything about it.

If you have cancer you need to cut it out fast before it spreads, Kongbo was a cancer and kudos for the Lions for taking swift action.

It might be a stretch to call Kongbo "a cancer" based on this issue as this has never been shown before.

Immature, arrogant, unprofessional etc is probably the worst interpretation here but overall this player hasn't publicly ever attracted attention for this sort of stuff. That is, if we're to believe Hatcher's Tweet where he says "you quit...." and there's no reason to doubt his viewpoint here!

As others note, the outcome might have been different if not for the surprising performances of this year's additions to the Lions and a chance to avoid a higher draft back in the Dane Evans deal, etc.

I'm disappointed as I'd like to see more locals on the local team.

[Hambone]

kongbo has never been a starter at cfl level. He was a backup. Don’t get what his expections were

If that's the case then none of the Lions D-linemen are CFL 'starters" either, since they all play equally supposedly in an 8 man rotation.

Kongbo was behind 2 very good vet DEs in Winnipeg in Jefferson & Jeffcoat; but he played reps in a rotation there at both DE & DT.

They don’t play equally, cherry, deballie, et al play 15-20 snaps. If you can produce 7-11 sacks a season you’re good starter. Kongbo best season 3 sacks.

Yup. Probably more of a 60-40 split and is always the case in today's game down and yardage situations dictate the rotation.

[David]

Kind of reminds me of what happened here in 1977. The late Wayne Smith, a high-profile Canadian defensive end, was a standout here in 1976 (and had also won two Grey Cups in Ottawa, the first coming in 1969 at age 19!!). But he never made it here for the 1977 season.

We had a new coach arrive that Spring. Vic Rapp was a no-nonsense authoritarian and was determined to shed the Lions of their country club image. If I recall, Wayne arrived late for training camp and ran into trouble with Rapp, who promptly traded his ass to the Argonauts, citing insubordination (source here). The Leos didn't miss him much, going 10-6 that year. Much better than their 5-win season the year before.


DH

[tedbear]

Yes I remember that, I believe Smith took an extra day coming back to training camp from the all star game. Rapp made a point that Bill Baker made and released Smith. It surprised a lot of people but as you mentioned the Lions went on to have a great season.

Kongbo may have fit in at other places but was definitely a problem here. Adios amigo and dont let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

[Hambone]

Good on Campbell and the Lions reacting fast and making a decisive decision. Not like another sports franchise in this city who never will admit to a bad aquisition nor do anything about it.

If you have cancer you need to cut it out fast before it spreads, Kongbo was a cancer and kudos for the Lions for taking swift action.

It might be a stretch to call Kongbo "a cancer" based on this issue as this has never been shown before.

Immature, arrogant, unprofessional etc is probably the worst interpretation here but overall this player hasn't publicly ever attracted attention for this sort of stuff. That is, if we're to believe Hatcher's Tweet where he says "you quit...." and there's no reason to doubt his viewpoint here!

As others note, the outcome might have been different if not for the surprising performances of this year's additions to the Lions and a chance to avoid a higher draft back in the Dane Evans deal, etc.

I'm disappointed as I'd like to see more locals on the local team.

I agree that "cancer" might be too strong a term. Regardless if Kongbo has displayed that he might not be willing to play nice in the sandbox with the other kids or with the coaches then removing him from the equation becomes necessary.

If he blew up over finding out he wouldn't be starting on Thu I think that was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. No way a drastic move like trade or release of a talented player, especially a NAT, happens if that was the first sign of troubles. The signs had to already be simmering and finally boiled over.

The trade is a testament to the depth and talent BC has assembled. In another time lack of NAT starting calibre talent might have forced the club to hang on to him in hopes things work themselves out. Kongbo definitely added flexibility and options to BC's ratio construction but by no means was he essential for them to get up to the min of 7.

[Hambone]

Kinda amusing that he didn't go back to the amazing Bombers FIFO culture, and on a team that has basically nothing in terms of Canadian DEs? And several other CFL teams have little to nothing in terms of Canadian DE talent or willingness to play one (see the Als or Riders or Elks), and where he had maybe a much better chance of playing time. So he ends up traded to the Ticats who are already deep in both Canadian DEs and DTs ? Again - we'll see how much he ends up playing in the Hammer.

He got traded = he had no say in his destination. It's probably safe to assume if BC could find a trading partner they'd want to send him out East and not to a divisional rival. I'm thinking they didn't offer him to EE or SRR and Hamilton offered them the best return from the East.

You wonder how much playing time he might get in Hamilton? Time will indeed tell. Despite all the NATs Hamilton has you seem to be overlooking the possibility the Ticats see him as an upgrade on a good many of them. I don't think Hamilton gives up a pick just to add another backup body. They must be seeing him as an upgrade over guys they have.

[Toppy Vann]

Interesting story by Steve Milton in the Hamilton Spectator on Kongbo where it sounds like the Lions were shopping Kongbo so maybe this wasn't a spur of the moment decision by the coaches.

“Sometimes you’re not searching, sometimes you get calls from other teams,” said Orlondo Steinauer, the Ticats’ head coach and president of football operations. “When we knew there was a little bit of shopping him around, we kind of huddled up and thought, ‘Is there a fit?’

“We’re adding value to value but how it plays out, the exact plan, we’re not sure what it means right now.”

https://www.thespec.com/sports/ticats/o ... neman.html

Kongbo on the Ticats website comes across as a decent guy BUT I'm disputing that he didn't mess up here.
From the sounds of it, he's overly generous and happy there yet he's now further from playing than he was in BC possibly if he was in a rotation on the active game roster.

https://ticats.ca/video/june-6th-jonathan-kongbo



======

Coaches don't always get it right.

I posted these comments on another thread here a few years back about Vic Rapp, Wayne Smith and Barry Houlihan.
Not all players thought Rapp called it right on Wayne Smith who played once with a broken arm in the CFL and died at 66 at home in Halifax.


]A story my friends on the Lions told me about Barry Houlihan meeting Vic Rapp the new HC of the BC Lions right after his hiring.
The Lions had all the lower mainland guys around Vancouver meet Rapp. Rapp was talking to the players when Barry sauntered in hi-fiving everyone and interrupting Rapp who was speaking. Rapp stopped speaking and then said something like: 'I don't who the *bleep* you are but if your plans include the BC Lions sit down and shut up.'

That sent the entire team a message that a new Sheriff arrived and he was old school. I think Vic's worse mistake was how he treated Canadian all star Wayne Smith who got into an "insubordination" issue with Coach Rapp. IIRC players felt that Vic treated him like crap and this guy could play. Vic seemed to be luv 'em or hate 'im sort of coach. He was tight with Tyrone Walls and cried at cutting him IIRC.

Something comes to mind about an incident in the food line - but I'm forgetting it now.

Smith openly unhappy in Ottawa demanding a trade in this story.

https://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=Hl ... tawa&hl=en

Hall of Fame in Nova Scotia:

https://nsshf.com/inductee/wayne-smith/

Wayne Smith, ex-CFL powerhouse who once played with broken arm, dies at 66

'He was a real team guy and was always really well liked by his teammates'

"He was a stellar player on that defence," said (Bill)Robinson (former teammate). "He was a real team guy too, he was a real unique character but was always really well liked by his teammates."

Smith was only 19 years old when he cracked the Ottawa lineup. He was a Grey Cup winner in his rookie season and got to lift the trophy two months before he turned 20.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-sco ... -1.3870858

[OV:54-40]

Kinda amusing that he didn't go back to the amazing Bombers FIFO culture, and on a team that has basically nothing in terms of Canadian DEs? And several other CFL teams have little to nothing in terms of Canadian DE talent or willingness to play one (see the Als or Riders or Elks), and where he had maybe a much better chance of playing time. So he ends up traded to the Ticats who are already deep in both Canadian DEs and DTs ? Again - we'll see how much he ends up playing in the Hammer.

He got traded = he had no say in his destination. It's probably safe to assume if BC could find a trading partner they'd want to send him out East and not to a divisional rival. I'm thinking they didn't offer him to EE or SRR and Hamilton offered them the best return from the East.

You wonder how much playing time he might get in Hamilton? Time will indeed tell. Despite all the NATs Hamilton has you seem to be overlooking the possibility the Ticats see him as an upgrade on a good many of them. I don't think Hamilton gives up a pick just to add another backup body. They must be seeing him as an upgrade over guys they have.

Again: he had say when he re-signed in the CFL and chose the Lions; but I guess he missed the memo about the BC D-Line rotation and not just getting handed a starting job where he gets to play the majority of reps.

Great pick-up by the Ticats IMO; especially if they plan to deploy him plenty (and he has shown he can play both DE & DT in the CFL with the Bombers). But since some love to go by just stats, Kongbo and his just 3 CFL sacks (in limited playing time) is well behind what current other Ticats National DEs Boateng & Bennett have already accomplished in the CFL. None of the other Ticat D-Linemen made an NFL roster last year, so to some others, that must mean Kongbo is ipso facto better.

We shall see alright; i'll bet he makes a pretty decent impact on the Ticats D.