Bombers re-sign Willie Jefferson

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

And people are allowed to call that kind of thinking magic thinking.

Zach has been feasting on a diet of magic beans, he's ready to explode, a colossal rebirth is about to occur!

[Tecno]

Willie said negotiations were a bit more difficult than other years.

No kidding.  I should hope so.  He was probably looking for current salary + inflation bump.  This comment means he didn't get that.  Maybe he even got a bump DOWN from '25.  And if KW got that to work then major kudos to him!!  That would be some major poker face moves/bluffs going on.  After all, Willie J is the de facto team leader and we could fall to pieces without him, having no heir apparent.

[Tecno]

Willie's taking a fair bit of guff these days, but he's done what has been asked of him without complaining even though it affects his stats, that's FIFO.

Comment of the year so far.  People need to realize this.  We're complaining about Willie's stats when 75% of the time he was helped by only 2 extra guys, and at least 1 of them was pretty sub-par?

I think Willie did the best he could, and basically did exactly what he was told to.  And he did it well.  Contain.  Batdowns.  Lane-clogging.

If the team really did ask him to "make more plays in the backfield" then I hope they are giving him the extra tools (personnel and schemes) to do that!

[Tecno]

I'd like to know the number but I'd like to see a DI that takes some of his reps. We need to have a succession plan as well as spell him at times.

Uh, don't we already have buckets of packages where Willie is off the field?  He hasn't been an every-down guy for a number of seasons.

[Tecno]

You don't improve anything by retaining guys well past their prime.

Said Buono about AH33 in FA16.

[Blue In BC]

Uh, don't we already have buckets of packages where Willie is off the field?  He hasn't been an every-down guy for a number of seasons.

None of them include another import DT or even DE. At best we have the global Munier Bailey that played the last game.

[TBURGESS]

Said Buono about AH33 in FA16.

BC offered Harris the same as we did. Harris chose us.

I'd rather get rid of players past their prime too early than too late anyway.

[Tecno]

BC offered Harris the same as we did. Harris chose us.

Nope.

"Wally Buono tells TSN 1040 afternoon show that B.C. Lions won't try to re-sign running back Andrew Harris"

https://theprovince.com/sports/wally-buono-tells-tsn-1040-afternoon-show-that-b-c-lions-wont-try-to-re-sign-running-back-andrew-harris

It's fairly well known that Buono thought AH was past his prime.

[Jesse]

Nope.

"Wally Buono tells TSN 1040 afternoon show that B.C. Lions won't try to re-sign running back Andrew Harris"

https://theprovince.com/sports/wally-buono-tells-tsn-1040-afternoon-show-that-b-c-lions-wont-try-to-re-sign-running-back-andrew-harris

It's fairly well known that Buono thought AH was past his prime.

Andrew had around 1500 yards his last year with BC. I don't know if it's entirely fair to say that Wally thought AH was past his prime. Wally operated under the philosophy that it was better to release guys too early than too late. I'm sure he wanted nothing to do with how much $$$ we offered AH either.

[blue_gold_84]

It's fairly well known that Buono thought AH was past his prime.

Did Buono actually state that publicly? Nothing in that article even comes remotely close to that claim.

Buono seems to have taken exception with Harris' outburst after the Lions got demolished in the 2015 WSF. Less than two months later, Buono couldn't even be bothered to answer questions from local media regarding Harris pending free agency.

[Tecno]

Did Buono actually state that publicly? Nothing in that article even comes remotely close to that claim.

It's part of the accepted CFL lore.  It's been stated on this forum countless times (and no, not just by me, or by me first).

Maybe it never happened, maybe we just haven't found the right article yet.  People following the CFL closer than I did in '16 might have better memories of how it went down.

However, it does dovetail perfectly with Buono's "too early" mantra.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Andrew had around 1500 yards his last year with BC. I don't know if it's entirely fair to say that Wally thought AH was past his prime. Wally operated under the philosophy that it was better to release guys too early than too late. I'm sure he wanted nothing to do with how much $$$ we offered AH either.

Yep, Wally probably believed RB's were not worth spending much money on, which many still believe today. In AH's last year he tried to back him up with Natl. RB's of which none panned out, so he saw 2 legitimate reasons to switch back to a cheap import RB.

[blue_gold_84]

It's part of the accepted CFL lore.  It's been stated on this forum countless times (and no, not just by me, or by me first).

Maybe it never happened, maybe we just haven't found the right article yet.  People following the CFL closer than I did in '16 might have better memories of how it went down.

However, it does dovetail perfectly with Buono's "too early" mantra.

In any event, Buono's shortsighted stupidity and stubbornness worked out well for Harris, the Bombers, and us fans.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

In any event, Buono's shortsighted stupidity and stubbornness worked out well for Harris, the Bombers, and us fans.

Should be noted that Wally's last 5-6 seasons in BC did not go well, he jumped up to GM and hired Benevides then Tedford as HC for a few years before taking on the HC/GM role again after the Lions failed to advance to the WF even once.  Eventually Hervey took over and Wally got kicked upstairs to the C suite.