The Party's Over! Cleo Lemon Released By the Argos

The Argos have apparently released Cleo Lemon and installed former Bomber pivot Steven Jyles as their new quarterback and person who has to throw to the league's worst receivers. Lemon survived a surprisingly long time, but the Argos didn't have a lot of options. Jyles was distinctly mediocre last year in the games he started for the Bombers (especially considering they didn't have a bad defence) but is still a step up from Lemon. Last year his stats for the Bombers were surprisingly good: 196 for 318 (61.6% completion percentage), and 19 TDs versus 7 picks for a rating of 100.9. He also rushed for a very respectable 452 yards on 65 carries (7.0 average). For a team with mediocre receivers, if the quarterback sees he can get a run for a first down, he probably should

The Argos while in theory still in it for a crossover birth, have to think about next year, especially with their best offensive lineman Rob Murphy out with injury. The Argos overachieved wildly last year and are probably underachieving a bit this year. Considering the riches the Ticats have at import receiver, its amazing the Argos can't find some decent ones, but finding out who to keep for next year is the double blue's task for the second half of the season.

Argos Trade With Bombers for Steven Jyles

News that the Argos have tried to rectify their Cleo Lemon quarterbacking problem by trading their first round pick (fourth overall) in the upcoming 2011 CFL draft to Winnipeg, plus a conditional pick for quarterback Steven Jyles (28, 6'1", 202 pounds). Jyles, who played at the august institution of higher learning, the Universty of Louisiana at Monroe, was 196 for 381 last year passing (61.6). Jyles threw last year for 19 TDs versus 7 picks and a 100.9 passer rating. Jyles also rushed 65 times for 452 yards for a respectable 7.0 yard average.

Winnipeg was still terrible last year with Jyles, which leaves questions for both teams. Is Jyles better than Cleo Lemon? Likely, although he's probably not that much better. Is Toronto smart trading away first round picks for immediate relief? Probably not. Is Winnipeg banking on one of the most fragile players ever to play in the CFL in quarterback Buck Pierce? Apparently so, although the fourth overall pick won't hurt. We'll see how this pans out and if Cleo "the Party" Lemon makes it out of Toronto's training camp.