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