5/29/2008 10:18:08 PM

*Movin' and Shakin' *

*Defensive Line and Special Teams*

Our defensive line is an area of concern for a lot of people it seems. In part because they set the tone for the defense itself, much like the offensive line does for the offense. The amount of pressure that a defensive line can put on the quarterback sets the tone for the whole defense. It allows the linebackers to roam, and allows the secondary to jump routes knowing that the quarterback won't have time to set himself very often. In light of our struggles in the quarterback pressure department, we parted ways with Rob Brown, Chuck Alston and Tim Cheatwood, all of which have been big pressure guys in their careers at different times. To help fill this void we were able to swing a trade and acquire one of the premier sack and pressure men in the league currently in Fred Perry. Perry is on a very short list of players that could be considered for the league's best defensive player award pretty much every year, and he gave us absolute fits last year. Any time you've got a defensive end leading the Grey Cup champion defence in tackles and sacks, you're talking about a difference maker. The return of Brandon Guillory as well as the successful rehabilitation of Adam Braidwood's knee, both strengthen a defensive line that looks worlds different with the addition of Perry alone – add in Dario Romero through free agency and couple him with Ron Warner in the middle, and you've got yourself a pressure defensive line…I'd be willing to bet on it.

The loss of Sean Fleming to retirement seemed logical when it was taking place because his successor was a young upstart draft pick with a very, big leg. The problem is the fact that the leg in question is still not feeling right on young Warren Kean. For this reason, the kicking for this team will take much more of a center stage position in camp than it has in the past
perhaps. There are several options from which the coaches will be able to pull from with non-import punters, non-import kickers, and even import kickers and punters will all be trying to split the uprights for the right to step in Fleming's gigantic footprints.

Tony Tompkins is in Montreal trying to regain his form, which means that there is a void in Edmonton for a kick returner. Keith Stokes has been brought in and many would consider him the front runner based on his track record. Keith has won special team player of the year in this league, and is always among the league leaders in both yardage and touchdowns. However, it won't be a cake walk for him. Kelly Campbell is a formidable return man as well as receiver, along with Mike Mason, and a host of others. The kick return game will be another good battle to watch in the coming weeks.

As a team, I think that the moves that we made were very good for the most part. There's not a doubt in my mind that we're a better team having made these moves, now all that we have to do is put it together, and turn it into wins. (c)

Kp8

5/22/2008 4:42:09 PM

Movin' and Shakin'

Secondary and Linebackers

Cutting to the chase, losing the heart and soul of our defence is going to be a very difficult void to fill. A.J. Gass epitomizes what an Edmonton Eskimo is, from the bloody knuckles to the wide-eyed crazed look that he gets once the national anthem is done. He's unbelievably tough, he'll do whatever is necessary to win, is more cerebral than people may know and uses that to his advantage on the field, but most importantly…he's a winner. A.J. is definitely all of those things and more, but he will be on the sidelines this year barking out instructions to whomever fills the void that he left gaping in the middle of that defence. The re-signing of Agustin Barrenechea has implications of a ratio shift, if he can win the MLB spot in training camp. I happened to be around in Hamilton the last time Auggie (Goose) started in the middle in this league and he definitely gets to the ball well. If the two or three years that has passed since then has made him as hungry as it would have made me, it wouldn't surprise me to see him come in and claim that spot as his own. There are rumors however, about some new import blood in the middle that seems to be raising eyebrows, so I'll be watching that battle intently this camp. The dismissal of Kenny (Guard dog) Hollis is one that could hurt us on more than the defensive level. Guard Dog is a unique special teams player, almost a beacon of sorts to kick returners. The effort and results that he produced consistently on teams last year under the circumstances that he was in with injuries, double teams and being released and brought back into the fold was in a word…unbelievable. It will really take some doing rebuild our special teams having lost Gass, Hollis, Bradley, Maurer and Antico Dalton.

Dalton is one that I really was pulling for to be back in camp, along with Brandon Guillory who looks like he'll make it back to the field. Antico is such a versatile athlete, unfortunately though I've never been able to get a glimpse of him healthy. The back injury that he sustained last year seems to have proven to be just too much to overcome for him and I sincerely wish him the best in his future endeavors; he is truly a class act.

At the weak side linebacker, I shudder to think what Siddeeq Shabazz will be able to do with a year of experience under his belt. 78 up field tackles and 17 special teams tackles when he really was just running around making plays paints a scary picture of what he'll be like when he's comfortable. In my mind, he's a natural strong side linebacker however, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him all over the field this year being the type of playmaker that he has shown to be. On the strong side is the ageless Shannon Garrett, and until they can find someone who can come in with the ability and aptitude to learn the most difficult position in CFL football (my opinion), Shannon will be a mainstay. Rumor of a young thoroughbred spotted in free agency could serve this position well over time though, time will tell as always.

In the secondary the big news of course is the departure of perennial all-star Omarr Morgan, and the arrival of perennial all-star Jordan Younger. Oddly enough, these two are almost carbon copies of each other with one playing in the East his whole career, and the other being out West. I hated to see Omarr go, but wasn't shocked by the move. I've been a Younger fan since college when we butted heads often while he was at UCONN, I must admit that I'm interested to see how he performs outside of that helping Argo defence. I've got a feeling that he'll be more than up to the task, and to pair him with Jason Goss, Lenny Williams and Stanford Samuels…makes me glad that I'm on their team. The losses of Chris Thompson, Joey Thomas, and Jason Flowers perhaps aren't as notable to me as they may be to others. In the limited time that I was able to see them play; none did anything to jump off of the stat sheet to me. Of the three I think that Chris Thompson will have the best chance of resurfacing on the field in this league, but again…time will tell. It will be interesting to see as camp plays out, which of our current or new imports will get to play that coveted import free-safety spot as well. Buzzing about Larose's move to corner has reached me, so I'm anxious to see what the new design looks like. ©

Next up…Defensive line/ Special teams.

Kp8

5/12/2008 6:32:03 PM

Movin' and Shakin'

Receivers and Offensive Line;

Searching for the right mix is interesting work in all things, an offensive line and receiving corps are no exception. When you've got the best quarterback in the league like we do, and he's going to play for you for a number of years like Ricky is; it's definitely in your best interest to keep him on his feet; as well as give him some viable targets. This off season, that's exactly what the Eskimo brass was trying to do with the moves that they made.

Some may wonder what wisdom lies behind the draft day trade that sent local boy Dimitri Tsoumpas and all of his potential down the road to Calgary. It could certainly be argued that Tsoumpas has the potential to be a multiple all-star and a dominant big man for years to come. However, the ability for a team to be able wait on "potential " to manifest into "production", is a luxury that lies with teams that have had more success than we have of late. Wally Buono can afford to draft on potential because his team is successful and deep at multiple positions. This combination promotes teams like the Lions' draft days to be filled often times with futuristic eyes, due to the success of their current on field product. After the last two years' performance here in Edmonton, I can certainly understand the concept that brass went with in the first round of trying to obtain battle tested players to help a team win now.

Essentially we lost import Trey Darilek (guard, center) and Raleigh Roundtree (guard) to the NFL as well as cuts, and replaced them with two Stampeder linemen with a history of ill disposition. Import Garrick Jones is a seasoned vet of this league with a reputation as a devastating run blocker and somewhat of an on-field bully. Coach Maciocia has stated that it's a good bet that we'll play with one import on the o-line this year and Jones likely has the inside track on the left tackle spot; possibly moving Joe McGrath inside to guard. John Comiskey is a non-import center who would probably be considered mean enough as-is simply because of the name he carries on his jersey. But despite just being Dan's brother, John has a mean streak all his own, as evidenced by last year's fray with A.J. Gass. If I knew nothing else about these two players, the fact that the word "nasty" or "bully" comes up as the first words when defensive linemen are asked about them tells me more than enough. As I've said before, I'll take nasty over talented on the offensive line any day of the week. A line consisting of; Jones-McGrath-Comiskey-Comiskey-Kabongo with Fiaconni/Bakker or Filice backing up the interior and McGrath being able to slide out to tackle in a pinch would put many at ease in our efforts to make life easy on Ricky Ray. I count 6 in that bunch that have legitimately ill dispositions, and those that don't would at least now be surrounded by nastiness…which has a tendency to rub off.

As for Ricky's targets well, we've certainly made some changes there as well. The Trevor Gaylor experiment has ended in Edmonton with the two parting ways this off season. T.J. Acree is the other starter lost from this corps as he was included in the Ebell trade that brought Jordan Younger to Edmonton. It's no secret that I'm a big fan of T.J.'s game and initially I thought that his loss would hurt us a great deal because of his versatility. Then I got a long hard look at Fred Stamps; and now I think we'll be just fine. For those who aren't familiar with Fred, trust me…in a few short weeks you will be. After that, if you still don't know, you better ask somebody.

I can see Fred stepping in and replacing T.J.'s versatility, but there is still the matter of Gaylor's vertical threat to attend to. To address that matter, Eskimo fans should re-familiarize themselves with Brock Ralph. Brock comes back to Edmonton for a second tour of duty via Hamilton in a trade. I like this move because much like the Jason Maas deal does for Jason, it puts Brock in a good place emotionally and mentally. I know probably better than any how the mental static of playing in a place that's not conducive to your production can affect your play negatively. Coming back to Edmonton brings him closer to his Alberta roots, his family is here, his daughter can get the treatment that she needs at the Autism facility and Brock can settle in and not have to carry a team like he did in Hamilton. If the B.C. lions are what is supposed to be the gold standard for receiving corps in the West, then don't be shocked if Brock becomes our version of a Paris Jackson…just much, much faster. I spoke before about buzz-words, and when Brock's name comes up league wide, the first word out of DB's mouths is "FAST." That speed could come in handy controlling the safety and putting vertical stretches on deep secondary players along with myself, Tucker and Stamps.

I doubt that it will come easily for Ralph though. Andrew Nowacki played inspired, tough, consistent football for us last year and has his eyes fixed on a spot in that lineup. Where this gets interesting is that our versatility ratio wise on the offensive line could promote 3 imports in the starting receiving corps in a 4 receiver set. There are a host of imports coming in to challenge for that spot as well, which will certainly make for interesting camp battles. In addition, gone are the likes of Pat Woodcock, J.F. Romeo, and Mike Linsdstrom. Vying for their spots are Kevin Challenger who came in with Comiskey in the draft day trade and comes highly recommended from Boston College, and Dante Luciani our draft pick who put up impressive numbers collegiately as well.

While I'm sure I'm somewhat biased, I think that while our corps has some unproven commodities, it's genuinely one of the leagues strongest. Much depends on whether Ralph or Stamps or both will round out into 1000 yd receivers, but I do think that both have the potential to do so. I'll be watching the battle for the 4th spot on that corps tightly to see if Ralph, Nowacki, or Challenger can outshine Gibson, Prator, Mason, Jamison as te results of these inner battles can have a big impact on our team ratio. ©

Next up…Linebackers and Secondary.

Kp8

5/2/2008 8:21:39 AM
Shift

mo∙ti∙vate; moving to action

driv∙en; FORCE, COMPEL

I can't say that nobody told me what it would be like when my son was born. I think that people were honest in their efforts to prepare me mentally for what was going to occur once I held him for the first time, and how my emotional state would change when I brought him home. I had been grilling other teammates that are fathers for even longer than the duration of my wife's pregnancy, once we decided that we were going to have a child; but it still didn't quite prepare me for how intense the feelings were when he actually arrived.
Most people's account of me I think would use words like driven, motivated, disciplined and committed to describe my work ethic and ambition. By my own account I am these things if nothing else, but in comparison to how much work I feel I must do now…I don't even think I could have called myself those things prior to April 22 when my son was born. After holding him for the first time, and gazing down at this tiny 4 lb 7oz boy that my wife and I created, I immediately felt a need to blaze a trail for him to walk on. I felt that the precedent must be set first by his father in order for him to have a chance at the greatness that I foresee in him.
I found myself doing make-shift workouts in the hospital room at 3am, while my wife got some much needed rest and recovery from her cesarean section. As sleep deprived as I was at that time, the decision should really have been much more difficult but sleep has been an afterthought since he's been alive. The feeling that I carried into my workouts before was one of "go the extra mile" while now it falls more so under the category of "run the extra marathon."
When my son Cassius is old enough to understand, I'll be sure to explain this to him as best I can. I'll be sure that he knows that within the first hour of his life on this earth, he caused a shift in mentality in his father. I see now the difference between "motivated" or moved to action or change, and "driven." Motivated is what I was before, I've always been moved to action, always been up for change and willing to sacrifice for change. However, motivation can be lost. Time, circumstance, incentive; all of these can affect one's motivation. I now feel that I'm truly driven. The difference being that there is not a sense of moving to action, now there is only action. When motivated, one can always surmise a circumstance that can satiate their motivation to some degree. Now, there is nothing that could satisfy my drive, because my goals are no longer my own. My ambition is not for self, but for my son.

I would imagine that this drive, this force, this compelling influence is a feeling that could be received poorly in some circumstances; even rejected. Not so in me however, it's more than welcome. This is the feeling that I've searched for a very long time. I'll relish this feeling each day, workout, and venture from now until who knows when. And when the time comes that Cassius is old enough to understand…I'll thank him for it. ©

Kp8