Edmonton Eskimos: Shake-ups Will Help Bring Team Closer to CFL Grey Cup

Edmonton's defense has undergone numerous major changes over the past few days as they acquired defensive back Byron Parker from Toronto and signed defensive back Randee Drew, linebacker Reggie Hunt, and defensive tackle Jerome Haywood.

When you look at it you see aging veterans (Hunt and Haywood), an injury-prone player (Drew) and a player who failed to crack the lineup in Toronto potentially due to him "not learning the playbook" as coach Bart Andrus explained it.

But when you look at it further you see a 6-6 Eskimos team that holds a one-game lead over BC, a two-game lead of, and a three-game lead over Toronto for the fifth out of six teams in the playoffs.

Also, Edmonton has given up the most points in the league, 369 with the next closest being Saskatchewan with 331 and they are adding Hunt, a seven-year CFL veteran, to a linebacking corps who's most experienced player is four-year CFL vet Maurice Lloyd.

Haywood was brought in to replace the injured Dario Romero, yet while Haywood isn't as talented he, just like Romero, has seven-plus years of CFL experience and will likely combine with six-year veteran Kai Ellis in leading a group that contains two two-year veterans and a group of rookies.

Now Parker and Drew, while they are not as experienced (Parker has four years in the league, Drew has two), bring in more talent.

Jason Goss leads the secondary in tackles with 39 and Kelly Malveaux leads them with two interceptions after they failed to get one in seven weeks.

Both Parker and Drew should help in the tackling game with Drew having 86 (67 in 2007) and Parker having 99 (40 in 2008), while Parker has 18 interceptions with a season high of eight in 2006.

Bringing in these four players should in my opinion be able to pass the Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders who are both 7-5.

All they need now is for the the offense to step up from the fourth best (based on points for) in the league.

Big Moves Around the CFL

Recent NFL final cut victims, Tearrius George and Charleston Hughes have opted to re-join the Calgary Stampeders.

And while I'm not one to brag, I predict Hughes would be back (see http://twitter.com/TheCFLReport/status/3800352409).

In his previous Calgary stint in 2007, George recorded 33 tackles and eight sacks. Following which, he spent failed NFL stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins along with time spent on the New Orleans Saints active roster.

Hughes had 66 tackles, five sacks and two forced fumbles in his only season which was last year in 2008. Following the season he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles only to be waived/injured, placed on injured reserve and released with an injury settlement (as I said in the above mentioned tweet).

Also, in somewhat surprising move the Edmonton Eskimos have released off-duty police officer Kitwana Jones.

Jones "only" had 17 tackles and one sack for the season.

The Eskimos also showed offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Rick Worman the door. Senior Offensive consultant Kevin Strasser has taken over his duties.

Backup Quarterbacks Needed Everywhere

Let's see here, all across the CFL there are 23 quarterbacks on active rosters, two on practice rosters, three injured and one on reserve.

Zac Champion of the BC Lions is the one on reserve and is irrelevant to this discussion while Ricky Santos (Montreal), Graham Harrell (Saskatchewan) and Jason Boltus (Hamilton) are "injured" and also irrelevant here.

And also for the purpose of this discussion (which you're not sure about yet) let's exclude every free agent quarterback and every quarterback who'll be cut by the NFL.

Now, where am I headed with this? You'll see in a minute.

In Calgary there's a bit of a quarterback controversy and I'd say they'd like to keep Burris, Nealy and Tate with them for now while they sort it out.

Hamilton likes Porter, Glenn and Tafralis, Montreal is good with Calvillo, McPherson and Leak while in Winnipeg Bishop, LeFors and Randall are good enough for them.

Now that leaves BC, Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Toronto.

If you saw the game between BC and Toronto last night, you saw Buck Pierce and Travis Lulay go down with head injuries for BC while Jarious Jackson was inconsistent.

In Toronto, Joseph and Pickett are doing battle but Pickett looked good enough and they don't seem to need a third guy and the only other QB on the roster is Stephen Reaves (practice roster) who probably won't garner much interest.

Edmonton and Saskatchewan however have some moveable pieces.

With Graham Harrell's expected arrival any week now from the injured list, Saskatchewan could part with either Steven Jyles or Dalton Bell in a trade but that would require a team give up something like a draft pick.

On the Riders practice roster is high flying quarterback Cole Bergquist and all a team would have to do is sign him and give up nothing but money to the guy.

Edmonton on the other hand has starter Ricky Ray, veteran Jason Maas and rookie Jared Zabransky.

Zabransky has shown the Eskimos enough promise to keep him on while Maas has a proven track record.

Now to the point of this article, if Pierce and/or Lulay are going to miss any significant amount of time or if Calgary decides they need more QB help or Toronto decides they need a third guy but don't want it to be Reaves then watch out for some moves.

If anyone goes I'd expect Bergquist to get signed, Bell might get dealt and Maas could go if Zabransky continues to improve.

Kitwana Jones Tackles Thief

EDMONTON, AB-Eskimos defensive lineman Kitwana Jones tackled a robber at about 6:45 this morning.

The man allegedly robbed a 50 something year old woman and stole her purse and laptop.

After robbing her, the man was being chased by Jones and another witness, with Jones tackling the man in an alley.

I have a feeling Jones should get a pay raise for making a tackle on a dayoff.

Lions Tear Eskimos, 40-22, Get First Victory Of The Season

Man, I cannot believe how long it has been since I have written a BC Lions article. Well, I'm back, and better than ever (seriously).

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The Lions have been struggling this season but for the first time this year, their opponents were the ones where trampled. The Lions roared to victory as they punctured the Edmonton Eskimos' lung in a 40-22 win.

With the sad wake of crying of Buck Pierce out, quarterback Jarious Jackson came in to re-capture greatness for British Columbia as he and Geroy Simon had a great day together as they were pretty much playing catch with the pair of touchdowns that have been made.

Jackson came out strong on Thursday night, reeling in 362 yards and dropping four bombs. The Lions improve to 1-2 in the Western Division, being ranked second there after the very impressive victory.

The Eskimos fall to 1-2, as they have ran threw another painful loss after the 50-16 nightmare from Montreal.

Pierce went out of the game after five minutes of play, as Jackson stepped in and started with a 45-yard strike to Simon down at the one-yard line. Running back Martell Mallett then broke in for a touchdown in the second quarter to give the Lions a 9-0 lead after a safety in the first.

After that 45-yard pass, Jackson found Simon again as he blew up a 33-yard touchdown to Geroy Simon to size up their lead to 16-0. After hell was raging for Edmonton, the Eskimos recovered a fumble on the Lions 20 after the ball got popped loose from Jarious Jackson's arms on a vicious hit.

A passing touchdown as made to give a glimpse of hope for Edmonton as they were catching on, trailing by nine points in a 16-7 deficit. It then became 16-14 as Edmonton's Ricky Ray found Calvin McCarty open for a happy seven points.

It showed doubts that the Lions were going to win after their performance on defense lately. But never doubt the BC Lions, especially with Jarious Jackson in the game and with some comfortable targets.

Misery has begun, for Edmonton.

Jackson started out as he flew in 46-yard pass to Rufus Skillern and then hitting Paris Jackson for a 15-yard touchdown. He then found Geroy Simon on the next drive for a 40-yard lob to guarantee a score in the end zone.

It was all over from there as there really isn't much to explain anymore. The Lions captured a great victory.

Their next stop as at Calgary as the BC are the ones to stampede. Hold on Lions fans, the season isn't over for BC. Never doubt them, or they'll doubt you. It's how they get it done.

Calgary Stampeders, yes they will be tamed, next Friday.

Edmonton Eskimos Make Cuts

EDMONTON, AB-The Edmonton Eskimos have announced their final cuts:

Released:
QB Lester Ricard
RB Ciatrick Fason
WR Alan Turner
OL Gerald Davis
DE Jim Davis
LB Andrea Bonaventura
CB Therrian Fontenot
CB Sammy Okpro
DB E.J. Underwood

Practice Roster:
DL Dee Sterling

CFL 2009 Season Preview: Edmonton Eskimos

"After ending a two year playoff drought, "The City of Champions" will look to contend for the Grey Cup this season."

Heading into the 2008 CFL season, the Edmonton Eskimos were looking for their first playoff berth in two seasons.

A two-year playoff drought for “The City of Champions” had almost been unheard of in Edmonton.

When all was said and done, Edmonton won 10 games and crossed over to the East Division. Edmonton pulled off a minor upset in the Eastern Semi-Final by beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. However, the Eskimos weren’t able to beat the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Final.

There were definitely a lot of positives to draw from the Eskimos season.

Most importantly, the Eskimos ended their playoff drought, but they also got some great individual performances.

Kamau Peterson continued his resurgence and had another successful season. Jason Goss was solid as well and the Eskimos began to develop a running game during the later parts of the season.

Heading into 2009 with plenty of changes, what will the future hold for the Edmonton Eskimos?

Can a new coach, new defensive leader and a new running back lead the Eskimos back to Grey Cup contention?

Let’s take a closer look at the Edmonton Eskimos:

What’s New?

The Eskimos found a new head coach during the off-season. The team signed Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive coordinator Richie Hall.

Hall comes to the Eskimos with an impressive resume as a defensive coordinator.

With their new head coach under contract, Edmonton focused their attention on the heated free agency period.

When the dust settled, the Eskimos made a lot of moves during free agency.

The Eskimos acquired defensive end Kai Ellis in a trade with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Jason Nugent in another trade with the Bombers, and Kitwana Jones in a trade with the Roughriders. They also signed safety Scott Gordon, offensive lineman Kyle Koch and running back Graeme Bell.

Edmonton’s big splash during free agency came when they added middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd and running back Jesse Lumsden.

Lloyd, an all-star middle linebacker, has been one of the driving forces on Saskatchewan’s defense for the last couple of seasons.

Widely considered to be the second choice behind Cameron Wake to win the Defensive Player of the Year, the Eskimos will count on Lloyd to add some aggression to their defense.

Jesse Lumsden will look to rejuvenate his career with the Edmonton Eskimos. The talented running back has never really been able to show his full potential because of injuries. When healthy however, Lumsden can be explosive.

The Eskimos loss in the off-season was a fairly big one. Receiver Kelly Campbell left the team and signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Concerns

Whether or not Richie Hall will be successful as a head coach is yet to be determined.

Though he undoubtedly deserved a chance to be head coach, one has to wonder if he will be a good fit in Edmonton.

Hall’s success as a defensive coordinator has been amazing, but the situation is kind of reminiscent of when defensive coordinator Rich Stubler was promoted to the head coach of the Toronto Argonauts.

Stubler had also been successful as a defensive coordinator but struggled greatly as a head coach and was fired during the season.

Edmonton’s defense also has its question marks.

Maurice Lloyd should have a huge impact on the Eskimos defense as well as Kitwana Jones, but the rest of the front seven hasn’t really proved a lot.

Edmonton’s defense hindered them last season and it may continue to do so this year. And, though the Eskimos offense has been successful in recent seasons, they may in fact take a step back this season.

Kelly Campbell’s departure has left a void in the receiving core and the team still lacks a proven running back.

Calvin McCarty has never been consistent for a whole season and Jesse Lumsden is injury prone.

Summary

Edmonton has finally started to improve after missing the playoffs for two years in a row, but will it be enough in a tough Western Division?

Calgary and Saskatchewan will be tough opponents, and Edmonton may not have enough talent on their roster to beat them.

If there is one constant the Eskimos have going into the season, it’s Ricky Ray.

Ricky Ray always put up high numbers and will definitely give the Eskimos a shot to compete.

The Eskimos will be counting on players like Jess Lumsden, Kamau Peterson and Maurice Lloyd to step up.

Edmonton should be able to finish higher in the standings then the revamped BC Lions, but they may have to settle for third place in a tough Western Division.

My Prediction: 6-9 wins, a third place finish in the Western Division and a playoff berth.

Outstanding Player of the Year: Ricky Ray

Defensive Player of the Year: Maurice Lloyd

Canadian of the Year: Kamau Peterson

Lineman of the Year: Patrick Kabongo

Special Teams Player of the Year: Noel Prefontaine

Rookie of the Year: Gordon Hinse

Camp Cuts: Week one

Week one of training camp is almost over and like everyone knows transactions come at a daily basis, so here they are for all eight teams:

BC LIONS:
Signed-DB William Heyward, OL Vaughn Lesuma (June 9), LB Courtney Smith

Released-C Lorne Plante, RB Charles Pierre, DB Donald Brown, OL Vaughn Lesuma (June 13), LB Marcus Richardson, RB Amos Allen, FB Lyle Green, SB Bret Anderson

Inactivated-OL Martin Bibla, DB Trestin George (June 7, reactivated June 13), OL Sherko Haji-Resouli (June 7, reactivated 13), WR Jason Jones, WR Anthony Russo

CALGARY STAMPEDERS:
Signed-WR Derrick Smith, DB Anthony Ivy, DB Ronnie Amadi, DB Perry Kyles (June 12)

Released-LB Robert Killebrew, LB Kurt Campbell, DB Lakendrick Terrell, DB Perry Kyles (June 10), WR Johnny Thomas, WR Reggie Williams (June 12)

Inactivated-DT Kenny King, G Jesse Newman, SB Reggie Williams (June 7)

EDMONTON ESKIMOS:
Signed-OL Joe McGrath (acquired in trade with Saskatchewan), WR Sean Young

Released-LB Derrick Doggett, DB Emanuel White, WR Eric Ware, LB Jason Kosec

Inactivated-DE Adam Braidwood

HAMILTON TIGER-CATS:
Signed-DB Cody Williams, DE Khari Long

Released-QB Erik Meyer, QB Josh Betts, DB John Williams Jr., OL Todd Londot

Inactivated-WR Willie Quinnie

MONTREAL ALOUETTES:
Signed-WR David Kircus, WR Glenn McKay, WR Chad Rempel (June 7), DT Darrell Campbell, LB Jay Staggs, DB De'Audre Dix, WR Keith Godding, DT Johnny Jackson (June 8), WR Dorrell Jalloh, WR Kevin Marion (June 9), DE Sean Ortiz (June 9), WR Andrew Hawkins (activated from Suspended list)

Released-C Ryan Mousseau, DE Sean Ortiz (June 7), LB Jon Abbate, DT Johnny Jackson (June 9), WR Chad Rempel (June 13), WR Kevin Marion (June 13)

Inactivated-WR Jamel Richardson, CB Stanford Samuels, DB Brandon Williams, DB Gemara Williams, LB John Mohring, RB Dahrran Diedrick

SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS:
Signed-OL Jocelyn Frennette (activated), RB Jason Geathers, LB Brandon Perkins, WR Eric Morris

Released-OL Andrae Townsel, DB Derrick Johnson, SB Carl Berman, OL Joe McGrath (traded to Edmonton)

Inactivated-WR David McKoy

TORONTO ARGONAUTS:
Signed-NONE

Released-NONE

Inactivated-CB Demetrice Webb

WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS:
Signed-QB Richie Williams, DL DeVon Hicks

Released-QB Darrell Hackney

Inactivated-NONE

That's it for this week, can't wait till week 2 kicks off!

Training Camp Eve Cuts

With training camp starting today, the teams started trimming their rosters following the rookie minicamp, cuts came from five of the eight teams and here they are:

HAMILTON-DB Virgil Gray, WR Aaron Fairooz, DE Garrett McIntyre, WR Brandon Myles, DB Jacob Patek, DL Elton Patterson

WINNIPEG-DB Derrick Strait, QB Ryan Dinwiddie, WR Ivan Birungi, LB Bryan Wilson

SASKATCHEWAN-LB Carlos Armour, DE AJ Raebel, WR Toby Zeigler

EDMONTON-DB Brandent Englemon, S Tyler Everett, CB Darnell Terrell, LB Rory Johnson

MONTREAL-WR Kevin Marion, WR Javid James, SB Erik Galas, QB Brad Roach, QB Shane Boyd, G Ryan Karhut, CB Tim Sims, CB Kwasi Nkansah

In other news, the Montreal Alouettes have announced that starting defensive back Randee Drew will miss all of training camp still recovering from a August ACL surgery. The Alouettes have also announced the suspensions of WR Andrew Hawkins and DL Tim McGill.

Edmonton Eskimos Sign Three Imports

EDMONTON, AB-The Edmonton Eskimos have announced the signing of import linebackers Rory Johnson, Rod Davis and Shaun Richardson.

Davis was selected in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings. During three NFL seasons he played in forty games with the Vikings and Carolina Panthers. In 2008 he played for the ArenaBowl Champion Philadelphia Soul.

Johnson signed as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers in 2007 and was cut before the season. He spent parts of the 2007 and 2008 season on the New York Giants practice roster.

Richardson signed with the San Franscisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent last year but was cut before training camp.

Linebacker was obvious need for the Eskimos who before the signing only had four at the position.

The Eskimos also announced the release of import defensive end Tyler Clutts, import slotback Greg Prator and non-import defensive end Adrian Baird.

Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats Make a Deal

EDMONTON,AB and HAMILTON,ON-The Edmonton Eskimos and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have announced a trade that will send offensive tackle Gerald Davis to the Eskimos and a draft pick to the TiCats.

Davis, was a rookie in 2008 and made six starts and debuted in September after spending 12 weeks on the practice roster.

The Georgia native, played four seasons at Valdosta State, and played in 46 games with 36 starts. In 2007 he started all 14 games which helped lead Valdosta State to the Division II Championship.

Analyzing the 2009 CFL Draft: Edmonton Eskimos

I'm going to be doing two today since I missed yesterday and the first one today will be the Edmonton Eskimos.

Picks:
Round 2, Pick 11: OL Gordon Hinse
Round 2, Pick 12: DL Dee Stirling
Round 3, Pick 20: LB Andrea Bonaventura
Round 5, Pick 36: RB Eric Lee
Round 6, Pick 44: LB Jason Kosec

Best Value Pick: DL Dee Stirling
Stirling was both a CIS All-Canadian and OUA First Team All-Star in 2008 and is so good many figured the Toronto Argonauts would take a playmaker at number two but instead took Etienne Legare which caused Stirling to drop from number 12 to number 14. He brings quickness and determination to the defensive line of the Esks, it wouldn't be surprising to see him start right away.

Best Sleeper Pick: RB Eric Lee
Lee is a running back/fullback hybrid with the ability to play both which means he'll compete for a backup job to Jesse Lumsden at RB and with Graeme Bell at FB. He brings a nack for pass blocking and blitz pickup which leads me to believe he'll be a fullback in the CFL.

Worst Value Pick: None.
I'm not the biggest Andrea Bonaventura fan but third round is more of a backup anyways so I can't really call that a value pick. Overall very good Hinse should make a big impact on the Esks along with Stirling and Lee. Look for an improved Eskimo team.

Grade: A-

Edmonton Signs Three and Draft Pick

EDMONTON, AB-The Edmonton Eskimos have announced the signing of DB Ryan Glasper, LB Mark Restelli, WR Kevin Wuthtich and second round pick Gordon Hinse.

Glasper is a two year CFL vet spending all of 2007 and part of 2008 with Hamilton and then the rest of 2008 on Toronto's practice roster.

Restelli and Wuthrich are both undrafted free agents with Restelli having played with the Western Ontario Mustangs and Wuthrich having played with the CJFL's Edmonton Wildcats.

In other news the BC Lions have announced the signing of import wide receiver Jerel Myers.

Edmonton Eskimos Sign Quarterback Jared Zabransky

The Edmonton Eskimos have signed free agent quarterback Jared Zabransky.

Zabransky is an ex-NCAA College Football video game cover athlete and Boise State Broncos football player.

After going undrafted in 2007 he was signed by the Houston Texans but was released before playing a game.

In 2008, he was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and that ended like his Houston stint did.

He has a big arm once telling ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit that he could throw a potato 80 yards.

He'll compete for the backup job to Ricky Ray with Jason Maas and Juan Joseph.