Rider 17 Potential FA's

[Rammer]

The 17 Saskatchewan Roughriders who are eligible to become free agents Feb. 15.

Name Pos

Mike Abou-Mechrek OL

Jamie Boreham P

Tristan Clovis S

Darian Durant l QB

D.J. Flick l SB

Lance Frazier l DB

Scott Gordon S

Neal Hughes FB

Belton Johnson l OT

Maurice Lloyd l LB

Sean Lucas l LB

Gene Makowsky OL

Mike McCullough LB

Anton McKenzie l LB

Steve Morley OL

Jeremy O'Day C

Renauld Williams l LB

With the possibility of losing a couple of LB'ers that high on the Lion's radar and additionally the two OL could hurt the Rider team drastically for the 09 season. With this in mind, they still finished in second with numerous long term injuries, so I am not sure what to expect from them come 09.

One thing for sure the signing of JC is going to force Tillman's hand a little, hope that addition creates an equal subtraction come the end of February.

[Migs]

With the possibility of losing a couple of LB'ers that high on the Lion's radar and additionally the two OL could hurt the Rider team drastically for the 09 season. With this in mind, they still finished in second with numerous long term injuries, so I am not sure what to expect from them come 09.

One thing for sure the signing of JC is going to force Tillman's hand a little, hope that addition creates an equal subtraction come the end of February.

How is signing Clermont going to force Tillmans hand when its likely either or both Dominguez and Flick won't be back (both of who had large contracts).

And in regards to our LB's, I expect us to re-sign most of them and its good to hear that Tillman and Lloyds agent are negotiating a new contract as we speak (Mo's agent is sending Tillman a counteroffer to Tillmans six-figure offer), and even if we do lose him we are very deep at that position. Riders will be more than fine Rammer, don't ya worry.

[ziggy]

No matter how you spin it MIGS Clermonts salary is still part of the SMS calculation and as such will reduce the room for negotiating other players increases. It may not be a big factor if Dominguez and Flick are cut ,but it will certainly factor into things should a bidding war take place, on one or more players. In the era of the cap recruiting good players is not nearly as important as figuring out how to hang on to them. The cost of success?

[Big Time]

For the first time in perhaps their franchise history, the Riders did the opposite of what they normally do in that they massively overachieved last year, earning a lucky 2nd place finish. I suspect that even if they were healthy, they would not have had a better record than last year. The only difference is they would have actually earned the 12 victories as opposed to fluking their way to it.

As for next year, their biggest problem remains at QB. They have no proven players at this position and until they do, you can expect them to finish 3rd or 4th in the west as per their franchise usual. All the receivers in the world are not going to help if you have no one who can throw it to them. Losing one or two of their LB's to the Lions will hurt them as well. All in all, I expect the Riders to settle back into their usual brand of mediocre football teams with ridiculous amounts of hype from their delusional fan base.

[wildthing]

No matter how you spin it MIGS Clermonts salary is still part of the SMS calculation and as such will reduce the room for negotiating other players increases. It may not be a big factor if Dominguez and Flick are cut ,but it will certainly factor into things should a bidding war take place, on one or more players. In the era of the cap recruiting good players is not nearly as important as figuring out how to hang on to them. The cost of success?

ahh see there is where it doesn't matter because we already know that Tillman will not get into a bidding a war. He is comfortable with the depth at many positions as such his offer to say Mo will be what he deems reasonable nothing more nothing less. If another club wants to up the price on an FA such as Mo, it is likely they will get him and lose their own depth somewhere in the process.

[ziggy]

No matter how you spin it MIGS Clermonts salary is still part of the SMS calculation and as such will reduce the room for negotiating other players increases. It may not be a big factor if Dominguez and Flick are cut ,but it will certainly factor into things should a bidding war take place, on one or more players. In the era of the cap recruiting good players is not nearly as important as figuring out how to hang on to them. The cost of success?

ahh see there is where it doesn't matter because we already know that Tillman will not get into a bidding a war. He is comfortable with the depth at many positions as such his offer to say Mo will be what he deems reasonable nothing more nothing less. If another club wants to up the price on an FA such as Mo, it is likely they will get him and lose their own depth somewhere in the process.

I think you're right,Tillman won't get into a bidding war as such,because he simply can't afford to without cutting more players salary in order to do so( as per most teams). The flip side though is that as other teams show interest in a FA their price is driven up and that becomes a significant factor in the overall budget. The question is how much was Tillman willing to pay and how much will he be forced to pay prior to walking away? I'm sure he has set a limit but I would guess he also has to be prepared to stretch that limit if he wants to hold on to his FA's. I would not be surprised to see some of Tillmans FA's being moved to other teams ,especially the LB corps because I don't think any one team can afford all of them, but perhaps many teams can afford one of them.

[KnowItAll]

For the first time in perhaps their franchise history, the Riders did the opposite of what they normally do in that they massively overachieved last year, earning a lucky 2nd place finish. I suspect that even if they were healthy, they would not have had a better record than last year. The only difference is they would have actually earned the 12 victories as opposed to fluking their way to it.

As for next year, their biggest problem remains at QB. They have no proven players at this position and until they do, you can expect them to finish 3rd or 4th in the west as per their franchise usual. All the receivers in the world are not going to help if you have no one who can throw it to them. Losing one or two of their LB's to the Lions will hurt them as well. All in all, I expect the Riders to settle back into their usual brand of mediocre football teams with ridiculous amounts of hype from their delusional fan base.

if beleiving in ones team is delusional, then I guess most of us are guilty of that to some degree, at least sometimes.

[wildthing]

No matter how you spin it MIGS Clermonts salary is still part of the SMS calculation and as such will reduce the room for negotiating other players increases. It may not be a big factor if Dominguez and Flick are cut ,but it will certainly factor into things should a bidding war take place, on one or more players. In the era of the cap recruiting good players is not nearly as important as figuring out how to hang on to them. The cost of success?

ahh see there is where it doesn't matter because we already know that Tillman will not get into a bidding a war. He is comfortable with the depth at many positions as such his offer to say Mo will be what he deems reasonable nothing more nothing less. If another club wants to up the price on an FA such as Mo, it is likely they will get him and lose their own depth somewhere in the process.

I think you're right,Tillman won't get into a bidding war as such,because he simply can't afford to without cutting more players salary in order to do so( as per most teams). The flip side though is that as other teams show interest in a FA their price is driven up and that becomes a significant factor in the overall budget. The question is how much was Tillman willing to pay and how much will he be forced to pay prior to walking away? I'm sure he has set a limit but I would guess he also has to be prepared to stretch that limit if he wants to hold on to his FA's. I would not be surprised to see some of Tillmans FA's being moved to other teams ,especially the LB corps because I don't think any one team can afford all of them, but perhaps many teams can afford one of them.

I suspect 1 or 2 of the LBs are gone fore sure, but I think that was part of the larger plan as well. If Mo and one other leave that means Kitwana Jones can move back to OLB where he was a monster, Rey Williams can get a good deal and start, and there is depth. Of the 17 FAs we have, take Durant off he signed today and there will be 4 more announcements this week. Leaving 12 FAs of which if we get 6 back that is ok with most of the fan base - provided Flick, Gordon and few others likely won't even get offers

[korey&dante4ever]

As most people saw the Clermont signing in Sask. as a natural fit, I sorta sat back and scratched my head at the whole thing...

First of all, I believe the signing was partly made through external pressure (fans, etc.) and the fact that Tillman had the chance to snare Clermont in the canadian draft but elected to pass on him twice.

Secondly, looking at all the FA's of sask, i believe they have bigger problems this offseason than trying to go out and sign a 30+ year old slotback with a hefty salary

Tillman has made some great moves as GM of the Riders (in my opinion running circles around other GM's in the league), but the signing of clermont just never made any sense to me, and still dosen't

[wildthing]

As most people saw the Clermont signing in Sask. as a natural fit, I sorta sat back and scratched my head at the whole thing...

First of all, I believe the signing was partly made through external pressure (fans, etc.) and the fact that Tillman had the chance to snare Clermont in the canadian draft but elected to pass on him twice.

Secondly, looking at all the FA's of sask, i believe they have bigger problems this offseason than trying to go out and sign a 30+ year old slotback with a hefty salary

Tillman has made some great moves as GM of the Riders (in my opinion running circles around other GM's in the league), but the signing of clermont just never made any sense to me, and still dosen't

The twin Canadian towers in the slots doesn't make sense? You have Jason who you all know can take and hand out punishment and Fantuz a younger version of the same thing. I think it makes great sense to have two very good Canadian slot backs that can go accross the middle and make LBs and DBs think twice before putting their head down. It also gives two great sets of hands in the slot as well, but what do I know? Where is the hefty salary as well, he signed in Regina for considerably less than BC signed him to a year earlier, $115k isn't that much for a CFL vet with JC's creditals especially when others are saying Mo is worth $150-200K with only 3 seasons played (1 as a fulltime starter)

[David]

The twin Canadian towers in the slots doesn't make sense? You have Jason who you all know can take and hand out punishment and Fantuz a younger version of the same thing. I think it makes great sense to have two very good Canadian slot backs that can go accross the middle and make LBs and DBs think twice before putting their head down. It also gives two great sets of hands in the slot as well, but what do I know? Where is the hefty salary as well, he signed in Regina for considerably less than BC signed him to a year earlier, $115k isn't that much for a CFL vet with JC's creditals especially when others are saying Mo is worth $150-200K with only 3 seasons played (1 as a fulltime starter)

No one questions Jason's athleticism and leadership; your gain is our loss. But as tantalizing as having two great sets of hands in Clermont and Fantuz is on paper, I'm not sure I'd want nearly identical possession slotbacks lining up on my team at the same time. Our problem was that safeties were cheating and doubling up on Simon as they knew the speed threat wasn't there with JC. I'm not sure how this situation would be reversed in Saskatchewan.

DH 8)

[korey&dante4ever]

The twin Canadian towers in the slots doesn't make sense? You have Jason who you all know can take and hand out punishment and Fantuz a younger version of the same thing. I think it makes great sense to have two very good Canadian slot backs that can go accross the middle and make LBs and DBs think twice before putting their head down. It also gives two great sets of hands in the slot as well, but what do I know? Where is the hefty salary as well, he signed in Regina for considerably less than BC signed him to a year earlier, $115k isn't that much for a CFL vet with JC's creditals especially when others are saying Mo is worth $150-200K with only 3 seasons played (1 as a fulltime starter

And where does Weston Dressler (more upside than Clermont) fit into this?!?!...
Everyone knows Durant can't handle running an offense with a 5 reciever set.. It was funny to see Paul LaPolice's dejected look in the box last year as he had to abandon the offense they wanted to run and almost exclusively run QB draws, play action dumpoffs, screens and other misdirection plays in the second half of almost every game last year...

All I'm saying here is Weston Dressler and Andy Fantuz would've been a great starting tandem at slotback (Dressler may even be ahead of clermont on the depth chart come game 1 of the season) and in that case.. this signing (in my opinion) is questionable at best and not worth it.. especially with all the other FA's...

If Tillman can somehow lock up most or all of the good FA's from sask. it'd be tough to argue the clermont signing.. but as of now, i'll keep scratching my head...

[Wakesbetterthanyou]

Durant was resigned today.

[Bobbyp]

This just proves theres nothing to do in Saskatchewan, while were skiing/snowmobiling in the winter the rider fans come to Lionbackers. Saskatchewan is screwed...and their football team may have a few problems this year as well.

[wildthing]

The twin Canadian towers in the slots doesn't make sense? You have Jason who you all know can take and hand out punishment and Fantuz a younger version of the same thing. I think it makes great sense to have two very good Canadian slot backs that can go accross the middle and make LBs and DBs think twice before putting their head down. It also gives two great sets of hands in the slot as well, but what do I know? Where is the hefty salary as well, he signed in Regina for considerably less than BC signed him to a year earlier, $115k isn't that much for a CFL vet with JC's creditals especially when others are saying Mo is worth $150-200K with only 3 seasons played (1 as a fulltime starter

And where does Weston Dressler (more upside than Clermont) fit into this?!?!...
Everyone knows Durant can't handle running an offense with a 5 reciever set.. It was funny to see Paul LaPolice's dejected look in the box last year as he had to abandon the offense they wanted to run and almost exclusively run QB draws, play action dumpoffs, screens and other misdirection plays in the second half of almost every game last year...

All I'm saying here is Weston Dressler and Andy Fantuz would've been a great starting tandem at slotback (Dressler may even be ahead of clermont on the depth chart come game 1 of the season) and in that case.. this signing (in my opinion) is questionable at best and not worth it.. especially with all the other FA's...

If Tillman can somehow lock up most or all of the good FA's from sask. it'd be tough to argue the clermont signing.. but as of now, i'll keep scratching my head...

not sure where you get that from (the bolded). But I suspect we will see lots of 5 receiver set with JC acting as a tight end, he is a very good blocking receiver and has the size to at least slow down a rush end or blitzer, it could spell the end for Szarka. Or we may see Dressler move to the outside. He is faster than any CB in the league, his height is the only issue but we will see what the actual plan is come the regular season.

I also suspect we will explore some offensive linemen to fix the pass blocking problems we had last year. Our FAs add to more signed today in Rey Willians and Lance Fraizer and look for Belton Johnson to be announced this week as well plus 1 or 2 more. All in all of the 17 if we get back 8 or 9 I see no panic in Riderville here are my guesses

Mike Abou-Mechrek OL

Jamie Boreham P - will be signed

Tristan Clovis S - likely not to return

Darian Durant l QB - signed Jan 5

D.J. Flick l SB - not to be signed

Lance Frazier l DB - signed Jan 6

Scott Gordon S - not to be signed

Neal Hughes FB - will be signed

Belton Johnson l OT - signed, awaiting announcement

Maurice Lloyd l LB - gone

Sean Lucas l LB - gone

Gene Makowsky OL

Mike McCullough LB - likely back

Anton McKenzie l LB - will be signed if doesn't get NFL offer

Steve Morley OL

Jeremy O'Day C

Renauld Williams l LB - signed Jan 6

look for 2 of the 4 olinemen to be gone, and of the remaining LBs 2 of 3 will be gone (Mo likely being one)