Esks Nation Edmonton Eskimos Football Blog

Roster Moves in the Last Seven Days

The Eskimos have only slightly tweaked their roster over the past week with no moves being made to actually reduce the number of players in camp. Released were imports Chijioke Onyenegecha (DB) and Michael Williams (DL) while imports Kelly Campbell (WR) and Daniel Libre (RB) were added to the lineup. The impact of the moves is that two defensive players were released while more additions were made on the offensive side of the ball. That leaves 37 players on offense, 32 on defense, and four who would fill special teams roles almost exclusively. Once again, Tristan Jackson has been counted as a defensive back while Skyler Green was counted with the wide receivers.

For those of you keeping track of the numbers, the Eskimos are still carrying 32 non-imports competing for 20 spots on the active 42 man roster. They are also still evaluating 37 imports outside of the quarterbacks who are looking to fill the remaining 19 spots on the active roster along with the four reserve positions.

Walking wounded

Everyone has been mentioning the amount of sickness and injury that has visited the Eskimos camp in recent days with as many as 16 players not fully participating in all drills. While this may not be a big deal for players like Fred Stamps and Dario Romero, who are virtual locks for the opening day roster, how does this affect the evaluation process of players like Kelly Campbell, Ramonce Taylor, Saleem Borhot, and Javier Glatt. None are assured a roster spot, yet all have at one point or another been discussed as potential starters. Starting the season healthy is key to the Eskimos being successful in 2010, and unfortunately, it looks like they got off on the wrong foot.

Studying the Depth Chart

When you look at the Eskimos depth chart, there are a couple of things that immediately jump out. The first, is the abundance of receivers. With 14 on the roster, there will be at least five or six that will need to be released in the coming weeks. Should make for some interesting decisions.

The second item is something that might or might not be something the coaching staff is contemplating. The Eskimos carried three fullbacks last year, however Calvin McCarty was the only real option for a non-import running back. During the course of training camp and the first pre-season game, Pascal Fils has shown well, so would the Eskimos contemplate going with two fullbacks and two non-import running backs on the active roster? Of course, Arkee Whitlock will be the feature back, but having a little different mix of non-import backs could be an interesting proposition for the Eskimos coaching staff.

Battle of the Kickers

This is an item that hasn’t really received much attention during training camp but certainly warrants a closer look. Noel Prefontaine is the established veteran and Derek Schiavone is the eager rookie. Typically, the guy who has been doing it longer gets the roster spot. This may not be the case however with the Eskimos.

Looking back at the game stats from the first pre-season game, Schiavone had five punts for an average of 44.8 yards. Prefontaine punted three times for an average of 44.3 yards. Pretty equal in this regard. Unfortunately, the Eskimos were never in a situation where they needed a field goal, so fans never had a chance to see how either handled that situation. The thing is, if the two are relatively equal, might the Eskimos go with the younger, and presumably cheaper Schiavone? Make sure you pay attention to the kicking game this weekend against BC.