“No matter how many Wally Buono and the Lions try to spin it, the team lost a lot of key players during the offseason. This has led the casual fan to wonder if the Lions will be in rebuilding mode this season.”
It seemed like the BC Lions were good but never great last season.
The team had its highlights in 2008, and got some great individual performances from key players.
Defensive end Cameron Wake had a monster year with 23 sacks.
On offense, running back Stefan Logan had a break-out season with 889 rushing yards, while receivers Geroy Simon and Paris Jackson continued their solid play.
But when all was said and done, these players could not lead the Lions to a Grey Cup appearance.
Despite losing out on a home playoff game in the last game of the season, the Lions shocked Saskatchewan on the road to advance to the Western Final, where BC was defeated by the Calgary Stampeders.
Yet it seemed like whenever the Lions took a step forward, they seemed to take another one back.
The Lions traveled to a hostile Mosaic Stadium in the playoffs and beat the Roughriders, but lost in the regular season finale against a Stampeders team that was resting its starters.
Heading into the offseason, one had to believe the Lions would look to add a few players to help push their team over the top. Instead, the team lost a lot of players to free agency.
All of this makes one wonder what things will be like in BC this season.
Let’s take a closer look at the BC Lions:
What’s New?
The Lions' offseason didn’t exactly start the way they wanted.
In a disappointing (but not unexpected) move, Defensive Player of the Year Cameron Wake left the Lions to sign a four-year contract with the NFL's Miami Dolphins.
Wake, a defensive end, was not the only defensive player to leave the Lions, as BC lost a trio of linebackers. Jamall Johnson joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jason Pottinger was traded to the Toronto Argonauts. BC also released veteran Otis Floyd.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Lions lost the bidding war for lineman Rob Murphy, who was signed by the Toronto Argonauts. The team also released slot back Jason Clermont.
Perhaps the biggest loss on the offensive side was running back Stefan Logan. Logan, who would have been the starting running back for the Lions, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Lions added a few players during free agency to counter-balance some of these losses. The team’s best pick-up was Saskatchewan linebacker Anton Mackenzie, who was part of Saskatchewan’s dominant linebacking corps.
Defensive end Nautyn McKay-Loescher was also added as a replacement for Cameron Wake.
The Lions also manage to re-sign key players, such as Paris Jackson, Aaron Hunt, and Baron Miles.
2 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete