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.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers Add Vikings QB to Negotiation List

WINNIPEG, MB-The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have announced that Minnesota Vikings backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson has been added to their negotiation list.

Jackson a Alabama State product, was competing with journeyman quarterback Sage Rosenfels for the starting job before Brett Favre came out off retirement again, and was named starter.

Not only that but he missed half of training camp and told them he was retiring, only to come back out of it, escorted by Brad Childress and his escalade to practice. And to top it all of he was followed by ESPN's helicopters.

Damn it, I'm babbling.

Back to the Jackson story, he'll more likely never come up to Canada, just like Vince Young being on the Argos neg. list, but if he becomes a free agent and isn't signed he'll be open to join the Bombers.

Currently, Michael Bishop is starting while Stefan LeFors (who recently took a paycut) is the backup with Bryan Randall third string.

However, the odds of him joining that group is slim with teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars needing a backup.

But, if he does get released and doesn't get signed (you have better chances of winning the lottery than having that happen) then my guess is that LeFors will be given his walking papers, solely because of his awful performance as starter.

BC Lions Sign Three Including Armour

VANCOUVER, BC-In a move to shure up their linebacking core, the BC Lions signed ex-Calgary Stampeder JoJuan Armour. They also added running back AJ Harris and defensive lineman James Edwards.

Armour spent the 04' and 05' seasons with BC and will more than likely bump Javier Glatt to special teams. Armour who was released by Calgary after throwing teammate Jeremaine Copeland to the ground in training camp said that he is "week to week" and won't speculate when he'll play.

Harris spent the 2008 season with Edmonton and had 37 catches for 422 yards for the Eskimos before being released this offseason.

Edwards led the McMaster Marauders in sacks in both 06' and 07' and had one year of eligibility remaining.

Ex-Red Raider Graham Harrell Signs With Riders

REGINA, SSK-The Regina Leader-Post is reporting that ex-Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell has agreed in principle with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

During his collegiate career, Harrell was the 2006 Insight Bowl MVP, First Team All-Academic in the Big 12 three times, winner of the Sammy Baugh Trophy, 2008 Gator Bowl MVP, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award winner and a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Last season he had 5,111 in the Red Raiders pass happy offense.

After going undrafted in this year's NFL Draft he tried out for the Cleveland Browns but didn't make the final roster.

Saskatchewan now has five quarterbacks, three active. Darian Durant, Steven Jyles and Dalton Bell are the active ones with ex-Montana quarterback Cole Bergquist on the practice roster.

BC Lions Add a Pair to Practice Roster

VANCOUVER, BC-The BC Lions have signed veteran running back Tyler Ebell and import offensive tackle Daren Heerspink to their practice roster.

Ebell entered the CFL in 2007 with the Edmonton Eskimos and had 124 rushes, 650 yards and a touchdown. Following the season he was traded to the Toronto Argonauts bu tore his achilles tendon and missed all of 2008. He was cut by Toronto on June 25.

Heerspink signed with the NFL's Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent but never saw the field before he was cut. He then joined the St. Louis Rams before being released last week.

Hamilton Sign LB Jamall Johnson

HAMILTON, ON-The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have announced the signing of linebacker Jamall Johnson.

Johnson started his career in Cleveland but was cut before the beginning of the season. He then joined the BC Lions where he played for four seasons (2005-2008). In 2006, he was a key piece in bringing the Grey Cup out west. On December 31 of last year he signed with the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers but was recently released on June 19, 2009.

Johnson's signing leaves other big name linebackers such as ex-Stampeder JoJuan Armour and ex-Alouette TJ Hill still on the market. A few weeks ago the BC Lions reported they were negotiating with both Johnson and Armour.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes Make Cuts

HAMILTON, ON and MONTREAL, QC-The Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Montreal Alouettes announced their cuts on Thursday and here they are:

HAMILTON
Released:
RB Guillarme Allard-Cameus
RB DeAndra' Cobb
WR Jacob Willis
WR Cassidy Doneff
WR Eddie Cohen
OL Francis Daneau
OT Albert Toeaina
OL Dan Oliphant
DL J.P. Bekasiak
DE Brandon Guillory
DT Alan Harper
DL Scott McCuaig
DL Mike McFadden
LB Matt Castelo
LB Isaac Brown
DB Lamont Reid
DB Desman Stephen
DB Melvin Matlock
DB Carlton Brown
DB Sean Manning

Practice roster:
WR Corey Grant

MONTREAL
Released:
QB Adrian McPherson
QB Brad Banks
WR Marco Thomas
WR Chris Nickson
SB SJ Green
DT Sean Ortiz
DE Ivan Brown
DT Martavius Prince
LB Reggie Hunt
LB Stan van Sichem
LB John Mohring

Calgary Stampeders Make Cuts

CALGARY, AB-The Calgary Stampeders announced yesterday their final cuts and practice roster:

Released:
QB Matt D'Orazio
RB Cedric Thompson
WR John Kanaroski
WR Vincent Marshall
WR Jackie Chambers
SB Scott McHenry
OT John Hashem
DL Julian Jenkins
DL E. J. Kuale
DB Anthony Ivy
DB Perry Kyles

Practice roster:
OL Mike Byrne
DB Quinton Meaders
DL Kelvin Morris
DL Osie Ukwuoma
RB Derek Watson
OL Jon Gott
OL Steve Myddelton

BC Lions Make Cuts

VANCOUVER, BC-The BC Lions announced yesterday their final cuts:

Released:
WR Rufus Skillern
DB William Heyward
OL Martin Bibla
WR Jason Jones
WR Anthony Russo

Practice roster:
S Tang Bacheyie
RB Andrew Harris
RB Emmanuel Marc
SB Matt Carter
G Bobby Singh
LB Courtney Smith
DB Trestin George
WR Terrence Scott

Winnipeg Blue Bombers Make Cuts

WINNIPEG, MB-The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have announced their final cuts:

Released:
RB Joe Smith
OL Thaddeus Coleman
LB Jasper Johnson
DE Chase Ortiz
DT Montez Murphy
DB Nick Kordic
LB Neil Ternovatsky
DB Patrick Body
DB Ronyell Whitaker
WR Terry Firr
OL Jean-Francois Morin-Roberge
OL Matt O'Meara

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

Toronto Argonauts Make Cuts

TORONTO, ON-The Toronto Argonauts have announced their final cuts:

OT Patrick Afif
RB Tyler Ebell
LB Nick Hannah
WR Kenny Higgins
DB Pete Hunter
DL Kevin Huntley
DL Ben Ishola
CB Sammy Joseph
WR Matt Lambros
WR Kinsmon Lancaster
WR/KR Jerome Mathis
DE David McMillan
WR/KR Kenny O'Neal
OL Zachary Pollari
QB Stephen Reaves
WR Cleannord Saintil
OG Gordon Sawler
WR Brad Smith
RB Da'Shawn Thomas
OL Chris Van Zeyl

Unlike Saskatchewan, the Argonauts have not yet announced their practice roster, when they do you'll all be the first to hear about it.

Saskatchewan Roughriders Make Cuts

REGINA, SSK-The Saskatchewan Roughriders have announced those who have not made the active roster:

Released:
DB Sasha Glavic
DL Seante Williams
DT David Patterson
DL Nuvraj Bassi
WR Byron Ross
WR Casey McGahee
WR Brandon "Bam" Childress
WR Todd Blythe
K/P Jeff Bolen
LB Sam Olajabutu
QB Juan Joseph
RB Jason Geathers
LB Brandon Perkins
OL Brad Peters
DB Jerron Wishom

Practice Roster:
DB Carlos Armour
DB Konrad Wasiela
DB Daniel Francis
RB Justin Beaver
OL Dan Clark
K/P Perry Scarelli
DL Joe Sykes

Toronto Argonauts Release Injured Todd Lowber

TORONTO, ON-After some conflicting reports and depth charts the Toronto Argonauts have officially released injured wide receiver Todd Lowber.

Lowber suffered a concussion during Toronto's first preseason game against the Montreal Alouettes.

Lowber has also been on the roster of the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins.

In 2007, Lowber earned a Super Bowl ring while on the Giants practice squad.

Lowber's release leaves the Argos with eight active wide receivers and one injured one.

(Photo credit to: DoubleBlue a commenter here on the CFL report taken at the Argos Fan Day on June 14)

Calgary Stampeders Pull Off a Shocker; Cut JoJuan Armour

CALGARY, AB-The Calgary Stampeders have announced the shocking release of veteran linebacker JoJuan Armour.

Apparently Armour got involved in a on-field "incident" during Friday's practice and John Hufnagel the Stampeders coach and general manager decided to make the decision.

''It's never easy to release someone who contributed to a championship season, so I'm very disappointed to have to make this announcement about JoJuan today,'' said Hufnagel in a statement. ''We have a very clear policy on team discipline, whether it's on the practice field, during games or off the field. JoJuan chose not to follow that policy recently during practice and, as a result, I've made this decision.''

At the beginning of camp, Armour was slowed down and forced to sit due to a heart murmur and finally got back to pratice earlier in the week.

Armour started his CFL and professional career with the BC Lions. Then after some subpar season with the Lions he joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2006. With Hamilton he had 68 tackles and five sacks in year one, then in year two with the TiCats he recorded a career high 84 tackles, three sacks and two fumble recoveries.

In February 2008, Armour joined the Grey Cup bound Stampeders and had 61 tackles, four sacks and one interception.

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.

BC Lions: Sign Two Running Backs and One Defensive Back

The Lions have signed three players, two running backs and one defensive back. The two backs are Charles Pierre (above) and Martell Mallett (photo). The defensive back is Darren Tony (photo).

Mallett played at Arkansas-Pine Bluff from 2005-2008 and played 42 games. He had 582 carries for 2,888 yards, including 27 touchdowns. He was also the team's Offensive Player of the Year in 2008.

I expect Mallett to make the team and do excellent. If you look at his photo, he looks like a big, strong, and physical back that can literally punish defenses. He could be a beneficial asset to the squad of the BC Lions.

Now to Pierre.

Pierre played for Florida-Atlantic and also played the same time Mallett did (2005-2008). He was always the team's leading rusher, having over 1,000 yards and eight hard-earned touchdowns in his senior year.

What a way to end the year. In his four seasons at FAU, he piled on 3,058 yards and 23 well-played touchdowns.

I expect Pierre to make the roster as well because he is good at earning yards. He can be a special back to the squad of British Columbia.

Now to Toney.

Toney played with Arkansas State from 2004-2007. He had six picks for 111 yards and one touchdown in his "picking-off" career. He was also a decent kick-returner, having 1,513 yards and two touchdowns.

Toney also played with the Panthers but couldn't manage to make the squad. I expect Toney to make the team as well as he had some NFL experience, and had time guarding the fabulous Steve Smith.

If Toney can guard Smith pretty well, I expect him to be a valuable corner to the BC Lions defensive squad.

So those are the signings. The BC Lions made some pretty solid picks and look to stride this season, looking for another Grey Cup after winning in 2006. They are deeply hungry for one, and these signings will make them the contenders for the Cup.

Toronto Argonauts Release Two, Including Mike Vanderjagt

TORONTO, ON-The Toronto Argonauts have announced the released kicker Mike Vanderjagt and cornerback Jermaine Mays.

Vanderjagt who is best known as ex-kicker for the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys had asked the Argonauts for his release so he could spend more time with his family in Florida. When asked if he was retiring Vanderjagt said, "Having been born and raised in southern Ontario, I appreciate the feeling the fans there gave me of always being home. Instead of retiring, I have asked for my release to leave my options open in case my feelings change."

Mays has CFL and NFL experience with the last three coming in Canada with Toronto and Hamilton.

Toronto also announced the signing of quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster, wide receiver William Judson, Jr., and punter/kicker Eddie Johnson.