1/28/2009 11:25:05 PM
Richie's Boys

The Eskimos announced their coaching staff today. No real surprises from my perspective but a fine list nonetheless. While I thought that our coaching staff last year was strong top to bottom, I believe this one to have more collective CFL experience which whether people like it or not…makes a difference in a league that's as unique as this one. I won a Grey cup with Jim Daley as the defensive line coach and also had him as a head coach in Winnipeg. He's been known for his defensive mind for a great while, not to mention he's simply one of the nicest guys that you'll find in the game – and the fact that he's directly in tune with Coach Hall's system made him a likely choice in my book. I was thrilled to see Coach Kepley return as he brings every ounce of experience and fire with him every step of the way. The linebackers in that system have had a lot of room to roam in the past, so I can only imagine what will happen when Coach Kep gets a feel for the scheme. I've heard great things about Stacey Hairston as well as Jeff Bleamer and it always adds an element of respect and fire to the coach player dynamic when the Coach has played at a high level as many of these coaches have. Many are unsure of how Jason Tucker will get along as a coach, being that he's been such a dominant player so recently. I believe Tuck will transition into coaching well, because I know him - and I know the wealth of knowledge that he has for the game. Nobody at the player level had an understanding of the scheme and technique involved in offence as Tuck, and he knows he's got his work cut out for him with this group first hand! It'll be an unbelievable experience to have him to answer to now as a player. Who better to evaluate us as receivers than the one that we've all looked up too?

I'm excited for both Rick Worman and Noel Thorpe in different ways. Coach Thorpe because he has a unique opportunity, in that I've never seen a special teams coach so targeted for the head coach fast track. The assistant head coach role will be a great experience for him enroute to a great career no doubt. Rick Worman I believe has earned his stripes in the last few years. He's endured some rough times, and I feel that it's time for him to be permitted to make his own footprint in the sand. Nobody knows Ricky Ray better except for maybe Jason Maas, and he's still here with us thankfully so this should go well. For those who don't know Rick Worman, he's quite a bit like Ricky Ray - very even keeled, but very calculating and very confident. I suspect that these traits will come through in his game planning and play calling. To me the decision to maintain the current offensive system which is a good one, and expand on it by putting the keys in the one remaining set of hands that has seen each of the steps it has taken so far is the right move. I was also glad to see coach "Ice", Eisler weather the storm. He puts in long hours and gets little recognition, but he takes great pride in his backs blocking and north south style. It will be nice to have him back as well, and he'll continue to do a good job for us.

All in all, I think Coach hall has assembled a diverse and experienced group that varies in both age, and coaching skill set. I think the common trait among all is that to a man, people rave about their professionalism, and class. Such glowing statements lend me to believe that this unit won't have the troubles working together that many newly assembled coaching staff's tend to – which almost always trickles down to the players themselves.

With a back to back Alberta Grey cup opportunity just floating in the air…I'm looking forward to winning a lot of games with these guys.

Congratulations to you all. And for those that have never been…Welcome to the City of Champions. ©

Kp8

1/15/2009 12:51:49 PM
New Year – New Challenges

While we didn't go as far in 2008 as any of us would have liked, we did in fact do some good things. We made history being the first crossover team to win in the CFL, and we were able to turn around our dismal 2007 year and get back into the playoffs where we belonged. Flying back from Grey Cup week, I could already sense that change was imminent and here we sit halfway through January, and still a few weeks from the free agent period and we've already made large changes in many different facets of how we work.

The hiring of Richie Hall as head coach with Danny Maciocia moving upstairs to the GM spot is already playing out well. I can't tell you how many current Eskimos, as well as players on other teams have contacted me with excitement in this hire. To me Richie was the most qualified and deserving assistant that hadn't been given a shot to be a head coach in the league, and I'm personally quite sick of playing against his schemes. It will be nice to bring that scheme here and see how it flies, not to mention the first hiring that he's made that I've heard of, is a very familiar and welcome face that will coach us receivers. I think it's nice that the fact of him being the first black head coach in Eskimo history is being underplayed, as it should be…but it's still a nice thing to be a part of.

Danny's done a great job already of extending some of our key guys in Calvin McCarty and Noel Prefontaine. He's done well assembling talent since before I got here, and I'm sure that will only increase now that he has more time to devote to it. It looks like we'll need some of that renowned bird dogging from Danny, Paul Jones, and Ed Hervey immediately as we've had some big losses already.

The most notable one of course is Kelly Campbell who I've mentioned before possesses a speed and skill set that made him an anomaly in this league. It won't surprise anyone who's played with him or against him that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have acquired his services. I wish him nothing but fortune and prosperity down south, and I hope that he settles into his career in the NFL this time. I doubt that he'll make his way back up here again. Needless to say, his presence will be one of the most difficult to replace. The speed element that he brings, as well as the huge yards per catch that he carried would have no doubt instilled fear in defensive coordinators and safeties throughout the league in 2009 and kept them scrambling to match up. That absence could definitely up the ante for Fred Stamps and Maurice Mann.

Perhaps less notable but also key, is the loss of Kenny Onatolu to the Minnesota Vikings. Kenny came on quite strong as the season progressed, and really had some monster games for us at the weak side (Will) linebacker position. He's got a size and speed combination that I figured would entice once he got some film behind him, and I'm glad for him that I ended up correct. I hope that he goes and shows well in Vikings camp and uses what he's learned from A.J. Gass and Dan Kepley to make his mark. It leaves us with a void at the Will backer spot that needs filling. Fortunately we've got some versatility in the secondary should we not be able to find an adequate replacement otherwise, Shabazz has played it well for us in the past. I'm hoping that the addition of Richie Hall could entice some of those Roughrider linebackers a bit further west once the free agent period begins, but we'll have to wait and see on that one.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Patrick Kabongo, Fred Stamps, and A.J. Harris's NFL workouts in the coming weeks. Pat being a back-to-back CFLPA all-star is clearly a force, A.J. would do really well with the time that he's had with us under his belt, and Fred is the most talented among our receivers of 2008.

Stay tuned. ©

Kp8