Lionbackers.com

WestCoastJoe wrote:If we sign Capiciotti this fan would say our FA work has been very successful.

Edem was a bit of a surprise. Once very highly rated. Two teams now have let him go. Athletic. Could be good for us. He speaks very highly of Mark Washington. I would be a big fan of Mark W also, if he played more of an attack style defence, the preference of this fan.

Moore. I liked him when he was here. I guess Dressler made him expendable in the Peg.

O Line help?

D Line help?

As we know the best teams build from within. We have some soft spots on our roster. FA pickups can shorten the building process.

A mediocre at best dip into the free agent market so far for the Lions. Bottom line is they lost their most talented Canadian starter in Harris and essentially were unable to replace him with an impact national elsewhere like Capicciotti. Reminds me when they lost out on Craig Butler a couple of years ago.

Is Edem an upgrade on Fraser at safety? Maybe but it's not doing a lot for their ratio by just swapping guys. Maybe they can find a way to get Lokombo on the field full-time in a 30 set or even at Johnson's position? Can Fabien, Husband and a healthy Steward give them 3 full-time nationals on the oline?

Still lots of question marks moving forward for a 7-11 team.

SammyGreene wrote:

WestCoastJoe wrote:If we sign Capiciotti this fan would say our FA work has been very successful.

Edem was a bit of a surprise. Once very highly rated. Two teams now have let him go. Athletic. Could be good for us. He speaks very highly of Mark Washington. I would be a big fan of Mark W also, if he played more of an attack style defence, the preference of this fan.

Moore. I liked him when he was here. I guess Dressler made him expendable in the Peg.

O Line help?

D Line help?

As we know the best teams build from within. We have some soft spots on our roster. FA pickups can shorten the building process.

A mediocre at best dip into the free agent market so far for the Lions. Bottom line is they lost their most talented Canadian starter in Harris and essentially were unable to replace him with an impact national elsewhere like Capicciotti. Reminds me when they lost out on Craig Butler a couple of years ago.

Is Edem an upgrade on Fraser at safety? Maybe but it's not doing a lot for their ratio by just swapping guys. Maybe they can find a way to get Lokombo on the field full-time in a 30 set or even at Johnson's position? Can Fabien, Husband and a healthy Steward give them 3 full-time nationals on the oline?

Still lots of question marks moving forward for a 7-11 team.

I agree, Sammy. Wally does not usually get involved in the FA market all that much. This year he seems to be making moves for the sake of making moves --> satisfy fan expectations.

Cappiciotti might have made this FA market a big success for us. Right now: Fair to Good, IMO.

Edem could help. Backup to Fraser or compete for starter role. ST help. Good athlete.

Levy Adcock at OT? I like Draheim. This fan would not be all that happy if he gets shipped out. Not sure Jovan would be the right fit at LT. Dunno who will play centre. Thorn?

Possible OL Nats: Fabien, Thorn and Steward. Not sure Thorn is the right guy at centre. Backup?

RB should be OK.

Nick Moore. He can play for us.

The big questions for this fan remain: pass protection, run blocking, attack defence?

WestCoastJoe wrote:I agree, Sammy. Wally does not usually get involved in the FA market all that much. This year he seems to be making moves for the sake of making moves --> satisfy fan expectations.

Cappiciotti might have made this FA market a big success for us. Right now: Fair to Good, IMO.

Edem could help. Backup to Fraser or compete for starter role. ST help. Good athlete.

Levy Adcock at OT? I like Draheim. This fan would not be all that happy if he gets shipped out. Not sure Jovan would be the right fit at LT. Dunno who will play centre. Thorn?

Possible OL Nats: Fabien, Thorn and Steward. Not sure Thorn is the right guy at centre.

RB should be OK.

Nick Moore. He can play for us.

The big questions for this fan remain: pass protection, run blocking, attack defence?

If I'm not mistaken Jovan played on the left side of the line at guard when he first came into the league in 2010. While switching sides on an o line can be a difficult adjustment for an o lineman, I'm sure he can handle it. If we go with 2 internationals at tackle, Thorn would probably play center...unless we resign Matt Norman.

SammyGreene wrote:
A mediocre at best dip into the free agent market so far for the Lions. Bottom line is they lost their most talented Canadian starter in Harris and essentially were unable to replace him with an impact national elsewhere like Capicciotti. Reminds me when they lost out on Craig Butler a couple of years ago.

Is Edem an upgrade on Fraser at safety? Maybe but it's not doing a lot for their ratio by just swapping guys. Maybe they can find a way to get Lokombo on the field full-time in a 30 set or even at Johnson's position? Can Fabien, Husband and a healthy Steward give them 3 full-time nationals on the oline?

Still lots of question marks moving forward for a 7-11 team.

I agree. We've lost Johnson and Clarke (starting LB and DB), Harris (starting national RB), along with some backup depth (including 3 nationals in Valli, Norman and Lochard). According to rumours, starting national receiver Collie may be out as well.

We've gained Stewart (marginal starting DB), Edem (marginal starting national DB), Adcock (unneeded international OL depth), J Johnson (average international RB), Nick Moore (marginal upgrade on Burnham but still 3rd best behind Arseneaux and Hawkins IMO).

We really needed a strong starting national to replace Harris and provide ratio flexibility. Instead we sign some guys we don't need (Moore, Adcock), and average-at-best replacement players (Stewart, Johnson). The only real positive is Edem, and he's not guaranteed a starting spot. Not to mention, we are unlikely to get any help from last year's draft picks.

Lionsfan65 wrote:

WestCoastJoe wrote:I agree, Sammy. Wally does not usually get involved in the FA market all that much. This year he seems to be making moves for the sake of making moves --> satisfy fan expectations.

Cappiciotti might have made this FA market a big success for us. Right now: Fair to Good, IMO.

Edem could help. Backup to Fraser or compete for starter role. ST help. Good athlete.

Levy Adcock at OT? I like Draheim. This fan would not be all that happy if he gets shipped out. Not sure Jovan would be the right fit at LT. Dunno who will play centre. Thorn?

Possible OL Nats: Fabien, Thorn and Steward. Not sure Thorn is the right guy at centre.

RB should be OK.

Nick Moore. He can play for us.

The big questions for this fan remain: pass protection, run blocking, attack defence?

If I'm not mistaken Jovan played on the left side of the line at guard when he first came into the league in 2010. While switching sides on an o line can be a difficult adjustment for an o lineman, I'm sure he can handle it. If we go with 2 internationals at tackle, Thorn would probably play center...unless we resign Matt Norman.

Jovan played left tackle before being shifted to the right side.

Josh Johnson has signed in the NFL as expected. I wish him well. He was a versatile nickelback with great pass-rush skills. He will be difficult to replace.

Lowell Ullrich ‏@FifthQtr
Jacksonville Jaguars confirm signing of free agent #bclions DB Josh Johnson, who wasn't likely returning regardless #CFLFA

I might be bucking a trend here, but Wally did okay no big names but still got some
quality people.Allen and Johnson are both tough inside rushers,with speed to take
it to the out side,and that still leaves Shack and Rainey as scat backs.The loss of
Harris still stings but there is one thing to remember, he left he wasn't forced out.
Our Dline as it stands right now is better than what some people think, Westermen
Minter,Brooks are solid in the middle, Bazzie Roh And Menard give us a good speed
rush off the edge ( Bazzie has racked up 19 sacks in the 2 years he's been here).
One thing about this group that is never mentioned we finished the year 1 sack
behind Edmonton and Calgary.Also by years end we were a pretty tough team to run
against.

Nick Moore why not bring him back(remember Huff wanted him) all he has to do
here is play receiver,not carry a team with out an offence. If he can be what we saw in 13 a thousand yards will look good in orange.

Stewart and Eden just made the secondary better, Stewart is a good solid vet. and
Eden is a talented Canadian. Remember we paid the price for the young pups we
had last year.

The Oline ownly gave up 34 sacks last year,we just couldn't run block.(or it was the idiot play calling ). We have the makens to go back to 3 Canadians on the Oline
I just don't nowhere we'll find a Canadian centre
Still work to do,but not the bleak dark pit some would have you believe

green road kill wrote: The Oline ownly gave up 34 sacks last year,we just couldn't run block.(or it was the idiot play calling ). We have the makens to go back to 3 Canadians on the Oline
I just don't nowhere we'll find a Canadian centre

With all the discussion around ratio numbers on the OLine, I am getting curiouser and curiouser as to just what is happening or going to happen with Matt Norman. I am sure he (and the Lions) would love to forget last year's washout from the start to the end; his injury and his inability to get off the injured reserve. Did the Lion's simply park him in the hopes he would go away or was his injury that persistent? I remember when he first came into the league he was regarded as a very pleasant surprise. A guy who came without a lot of hoopla but looked like a steal in the draft who had a solid future with the Leo's as Angus Reid's heir apparent.

Then things went downhill.

But with the lead up to February 9th free agency deadline, it was getting reported he was getting interest elsewhere in the league. I began to wonder if the Leo's might be giving up on the guy too soon or they simply have it all wrong on the guy. We recently got to see 2 guys who were drafted by the Leo's but then cast offs who went to work on the O-line of the Grey Cup champs, namely Andrew Jones and Justin Sorensen (he who often wore the crown of draft bust). They hardly seem like wasted draft picks now.

Will the return of Dorazio mean an about face for Norman or is his CFL career over?

CardiacKid wrote:

green road kill wrote: The Oline ownly gave up 34 sacks last year,we just couldn't run block.(or it was the idiot play calling ). We have the makens to go back to 3 Canadians on the Oline
I just don't nowhere we'll find a Canadian centre

With all the discussion around ratio numbers on the OLine, I am getting curiouser and curiouser as to just what is happening or going to happen with Matt Norman. I am sure he (and the Lions) would love to forget last year's washout from the start to the end; his injury and his inability to get off the injured reserve. Did the Lion's simply park him in the hopes he would go away or was his injury that persistent? I remember when he first came into the league he was regarded as a very pleasant surprise. A guy who came without a lot of hoopla but looked like a steal in the draft who had a solid future with the Leo's as Angus Reid's heir apparent.

Then things went downhill.

But with the lead up to February 9th free agency deadline, it was getting reported he was getting interest elsewhere in the league. I began to wonder if the Leo's might be giving up on the guy too soon or they simply have it all wrong on the guy. We recently got to see 2 guys who were drafted by the Leo's but then cast offs who went to work on the O-line of the Grey Cup champs, namely Andrew Jones and Justin Sorensen (he who often wore the crown of draft bust). They hardly seem like wasted draft picks now.

Will the return of Dorazio mean an about face for Norman or is his CFL career over?

Personally I would love to see Norman back, He played well at guard and center, did everything asked of him and was solid on both run and pass blocking.