Lions Feeling a Little Down

[17to85]

Potential is a polite way of saying a player sucks right now. 

[gbill2004]

I am extremely happy with Kyle Walters as our GM.  I really like how he thinks outside the box and got early rights to Willy and Randle without really giving up anything.  By doing that he ensured he got the guys he wanted without getting into a bidding war.  He may have overpaid a little for Moore, but likely saved money by getting Willy and Randle's rights early, before they hit the market.  Seems like he also tampered by having Newman signed 9 minutes into free agency; another nice veteran move. 

[Stickem]

Seems like the leos are hitting a rough patch. Sounds like a lot of their players are a unhappy bunch. I think it started last year when the shine started to come off of Benevides. Andrew Harris was not happy when they brought in Logan and they've seem to have slipped further in the morale dept. since. Wally better do some quick patching in lotus land or it could be a long year. I don't know if Lulays shoulder has completely recovered but if they have to go with Buck, well, we know how that goes. Red flags have gone up on the west coast for sure.

[holoman]

I've learned to never bet against Wally.  He has a knack of turning terrible teams into contenders at the flip of a switch.

[Logan007]

Yeah, they're just bellyaching because they lost some friends to another team.  They'll be contenders.

[Jpan85]

Well they can hang their hats on the fact that Jamall Johnson just signed a deal to go back there.

[17to85]

I've learned to never bet against Wally.  He has a knack of turning terrible teams into contenders at the flip of a switch.

But this is the first time he's trying to do it with out one of the all time best coaches running his teams. Coaching is such a big part of winning and losing in the CFL and perhaps Wally the coach was the guy who carried Wally the GM? Just things that are worth watching. 

[blueandgoldguy]

You overestimate coaching - it might be worth a couple wins at most.  The talent put together by management is the biggest difference..which is why the Bombers were horrible the last 2 years - terrible management.

 

If Lulay's shoulder continues to bother him, and Wally can't find a suitable replacement from down south like he usually does, there is an outside chance BC misses the playoffs.  I still like that defense though.

[Mr Dee]

You overestimate coaching - it might be worth a couple wins at most.  The talent put together by management is the biggest difference..which is why the Bombers were horrible the last 2 years - terrible management.

 

 

Did somebody coach you to say that, 'cause I don't know how you can manage to say that with a straight face.

 

Without competent coaching even the best players would struggle to win.

Make plays…sure.

Win? That takes more.

 

Strong management, good coaching, good players…they all go hand in hand.

[17to85]

You overestimate coaching - it might be worth a couple wins at most.  The talent put together by management is the biggest difference..which is why the Bombers were horrible the last 2 years - terrible management.

 

but for the last 2 years we've also had horrible coaching.... There are 2 things that make all the difference in the CFL, coaching and quarterbacking. You can get by with an OK qb if you have good coaching but if you don't have good coaching even a good qb will struggle to do much, example Ricky Ray in Edmonton. 

 

Good coaches get the most out of their players and make average players look good and good players look great. 

[rebusrankin]

Wally did coach a lousy Calgary team in 2002, even the greats have off years.

[iso_55]

Wally did coach a lousy Calgary team in 2002, even the greats have off years.

Wally completely turned over the team that won the GC in 1998 & lost to the Ti Cats in 99. if there were 6 players left from that 98 team in 2002 I'd be surprised. That was his decision to do that. Even thought the Stamps won the GC in 2001, he continued to cut or let his players go to FA because he just didn't want to pay. That craptacular 2002 Stampeder team was all his doing. His philosophy of 'younger & cheaper" finally caught up with him that year. What happened with the Lions this off season we saw in Calgary every year he was GM in the 90's & early 2000's. He used to shrug off the players he released saying he could find someone as good or better for a cheaper price. 

[gbill2004]

Wally did coach a lousy Calgary team in 2002, even the greats have off years.

Wally completely turned over the team that won the GC in 1998 & lost to the Ti Cats in 99. if there were 6 players left from that 98 team in 2002 I'd be surprised. That was his decision to do that. Even thought the Stamps won the GC in 2001, he continued to cut or let his players go to FA because he just didn't want to pay. That craptacular 2002 Stampeder team was all his doing. His philosophy of 'younger & cheaper" finally caught up with him that year. What happened with the Lions this off season we saw in Calgary every year he was GM in the 90's & early 2000's. He used to shrug off the players he released saying he could find someone as good or better for a cheaper price.

Sounds a lot like Joe Mack.

[JuranBoldenRules]

 

Wally did coach a lousy Calgary team in 2002, even the greats have off years.

Wally completely turned over the team that won the GC in 1998 & lost to the Ti Cats in 99. if there were 6 players left from that 98 team in 2002 I'd be surprised. That was his decision to do that. Even thought the Stamps won the GC in 2001, he continued to cut or let his players go to FA because he just didn't want to pay. That craptacular 2002 Stampeder team was all his doing. His philosophy of 'younger & cheaper" finally caught up with him that year. What happened with the Lions this off season we saw in Calgary every year he was GM in the 90's & early 2000's. He used to shrug off the players he released saying he could find someone as good or better for a cheaper price. 

 

 

Where did those players go though?  Most of them were basically done.

 

The big thing was that they lost all their QB's to the NFL, Garcia and Dickenson, lost Burris to Saskatchewan because he wasn't going to play with Dickenson entrenched in 2000, then he left for the NFL too.

[iso_55]

 

 

Wally did coach a lousy Calgary team in 2002, even the greats have off years.

Wally completely turned over the team that won the GC in 1998 & lost to the Ti Cats in 99. if there were 6 players left from that 98 team in 2002 I'd be surprised. That was his decision to do that. Even thought the Stamps won the GC in 2001, he continued to cut or let his players go to FA because he just didn't want to pay. That craptacular 2002 Stampeder team was all his doing. His philosophy of 'younger & cheaper" finally caught up with him that year. What happened with the Lions this off season we saw in Calgary every year he was GM in the 90's & early 2000's. He used to shrug off the players he released saying he could find someone as good or better for a cheaper price. 

 

 

Where did those players go though?  Most of them were basically done.

 

The big thing was that they lost all their QB's to the NFL, Garcia and Dickenson, lost Burris to Saskatchewan because he wasn't going to play with Dickenson entrenched in 2000, then he left for the NFL too.

 

Remember this was an ongoing saga every off season. Very few free agents re-signed in Calgary under Wally. There was free agency back then like today & a lot of them went & played elsewhere. I remember over 10 years ago, I sat down & counted the number of players that were on the team beginning in 1999 & gone by the start of the 2001 season & it was somewhere between 22-26 players. And it just continued into the 2002 season where finally the team just tanked. Older players were released yes, but there also players who were starters in their primes but in their late 20's that were also let go when their contracts were up. I remember an all star defensive back left Calgary very upset, signed in Saskatchewan & played there for years after at an all star level. He was upset that Wally wouldn't match Saskatchewan's offer that was $5,000 more per season. A couple of ex players ripped Wally publicly over the way he treated them & other players. back then. There was no social media in 2001 so for them to comment on it publicly was a big deal. Similar to the so called Glenn tweet on Tuesday calling the RedBlacks snakes. 

[Shanks]

 

 

 

Wally did coach a lousy Calgary team in 2002, even the greats have off years.

Wally completely turned over the team that won the GC in 1998 & lost to the Ti Cats in 99. if there were 6 players left from that 98 team in 2002 I'd be surprised. That was his decision to do that. Even thought the Stamps won the GC in 2001, he continued to cut or let his players go to FA because he just didn't want to pay. That craptacular 2002 Stampeder team was all his doing. His philosophy of 'younger & cheaper" finally caught up with him that year. What happened with the Lions this off season we saw in Calgary every year he was GM in the 90's & early 2000's. He used to shrug off the players he released saying he could find someone as good or better for a cheaper price. 

 

 

Where did those players go though?  Most of them were basically done.

 

The big thing was that they lost all their QB's to the NFL, Garcia and Dickenson, lost Burris to Saskatchewan because he wasn't going to play with Dickenson entrenched in 2000, then he left for the NFL too.

 

Remember this was an ongoing saga every off season. Very few free agents re-signed in Calgary under Wally. There was free agency back then like today & a lot of them went & played elsewhere. I remember over 10 years ago, I sat down & counted the number of players that were on the team beginning in 1999 & gone by the start of the 2001 season & it was somewhere between 22-26 players. And it just continued into the 2002 season where finally the team just tanked. Older players were released yes, but there also players who were starters in their primes but in their late 20's that were also let go when their contracts were up. I remember an all star defensive back left Calgary very upset, signed in Saskatchewan & played there for years after at an all star level. He was upset that Wally wouldn't match Saskatchewan's offer that was $5,000 more per season. A couple of ex players ripped Wally publicly over the way he treated them & other players. back then. There was no social media in 2001 so for them to comment on it publicly was a big deal. Similar to the so called Glenn tweet on Tuesday calling the RedBlacks snakes. 

 

And because Wally was Wally he wouldn't pay Doug Brown a few thousand more when he came back from the NFL we were the lucky benefactors. He does have a plan but I wonder if that plan includes the "new" athlete who will play for less to be closer to home.

Dunno but I don't think wally is smiling too much tonight. Especially if he loses Keron Williams as well. It would be interesting to know what Andrew Harris would do if he was an FA this year.

[Jacquie]

Does anyone think it was a mistake by the Lions to tweet the names of the FA players they offered contracts? Especially since they weren't able to sign any of them.

[iso_55]

I like the fact Wally let fans know in the cloak & dagger world of the CFL where teams don't release details of contracts.

[Jacquie]

I like the fact Wally let fans know in the cloak & dagger world of the CFL where teams don't release details of contracts.

 

If the Bombers did that and then didn't sign any of those targeted there would have been mass hysteria in the media and on the message boards.

[iso_55]

 

I like the fact Wally let fans know in the cloak & dagger world of the CFL where teams don't release details of contracts.

 

If the Bombers did that and then didn't sign any of those targeted there would have been mass hysteria in the media and on the message boards.

 

It all comes down to how the team has done business in the past. They probably deserve the criticism. Two way street.