The University of Calgary Dinos might not have won the Vanier Cup this past season, but were the big winners on Monday in the first round of the 2013 Canadian Football League draft.
A total of three Dinos were drafted among the top five selections on Monday. Defensive tackle Linden Gaydosh was drafted first overall by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was followed by the Montreal Alouettes selecting linebacker Mike Edem with the third overall pick and the Alouettes selecting Steven Lumbala with the fifth overall pick.
A poor decision by former Edmonton Eskimos General Manager Eric Tillman is a major reason why Montreal had two first round picks in the 2013 draft today, while the Eskimos had none. On September 12, 2012, the Eskimos traded their first and fourth round pick of this year’s draft with kicker Derek Schiavone for kicker Brody McKnight.
The Edmonton Eskimos came into the Eastern semi-final game Sunday in Toronto immediately with lost confidence when it was determined that star linebacker J.C. Sherritt could not play due to an ankle injury.
Even though they got off to a fast start, (Eskimos got an early 7-0 lead thanks to a 46 yard run by Hugh Charles that set up a touchdown pass from Kerry Joseph to Cary Koch), the Eskimos quite possibly had their worst second quarter in franchise history.
The Argonauts scored 31 points, the most ever by one team in the second quarter in the history of the CFL playoffs. Ricky Ray orchestrated three Toronto touchdowns (two in the air to Chad Kackert and Maurice Mann and one rushing touchdown) and CFL Most Outstanding Player nominee Chad Owens had a punt return for a touchdown as Toronto defeated Edmonton 42-26.
This week on the show we talk about some big news from the Edmonton Eskimos and examine their chances in the playoffs, and we discuss the latest CBA news and look at how the young guns of the Edmonton Oilers are doing down in OKC. As well, some UFC talk with a possible women’s division and two more failed drug tests after UFC 153.
In the GABBYs: Justin Schultz, JC Sherritt, Jon Cornish, Luis Suarez, Lance Armstrong, soccer fans and the Chomutov Pirates.
Eric Tillman is out as the General Manager of the Edmonton Eskimos.
Tillman was 7-11 this season and went 23-21 over two and a half seasons in charge of player personnel in the Alberta capital.
The timing of the move is strange as the Eskimos are headed to the playoffs after Toronto’s 43-40 win over Hamilton Thursday night. However, expectations were higher in Edmonton heading into the season because the football team finished second place in the Western Division in 2011, and fell two places in the Western Division standings.
The Montreal Alouettes may be the best team in the Eastern Division of the Canadian Football League but got some significant bad news on Tuesday when it was reported that Brandon Whitaker is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Whitaker suffered the injury Sunday, during Montreal’s 28-17 win at home against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Alouettes are now in need of a running back and I know the perfect team they can make a trade with– the Edmonton Eskimos who have three running backs–Jerome Messam, Hugh Charles and Cory Boyd.
Edmonton Eskimos General Manager Eric Tillman may soon have to make a major decision. That is what to do with three high profile running backs.
On Saturday the Eskimos learned the news that running back Jerome Messam was released by the Miami Dolphins. Messam will once again be property of the Eskimos if he doesn’t get picked up by another team in the next ten days.
If Messam joins the Eskimos, there is no way Eric Tillman should keep Messam, Hugh Charles and Cory Boyd who was recently acquired from the Toronto Argonauts. Three high profile running backs could give the Eskimos leverage in their need to find a quarterback to replace the struggling Steven Jyles.
The Edmonton Eskimos are in desperate need of a quarterback.
Oh yeah, they had one who was great, but he is now in Toronto.
On Sunday, the Eskimos got nothing done in Regina offensively in a 17-1 hammering from the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Just how bad were the Eskimos on offense? The Eskimos only had 125 yards passing and never made it to the Saskatchewan red zone. It was pathetic. To make matters worse, Adarius Bowman injured his knee late in the game on a play with the game well in hand for the Roughriders.
The Edmonton Eskimos made a strong attempt to improve their receiving corps and defensive line just hours after learning they would lose wide receiver Jason Barnes to the Toronto Argonauts.
On the first full day of free agency, the Eskimos acquired wide receiver Greg Carr and defensive lineman Don Oramasionwu from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and wide receiver Cary Koch from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Carr was third for Winnipeg in 2011 with four touchdown receptions and was fourth in team receiving yards with 648.
Koch, however only caught 11 receptions all year for 101 yards. General Manager Eric Tillman told TSN a major reason why Koch’s numbers were so low was because of an injury.
Oramasionwu meanwhile was with Winnipeg on their defensive line the last three seasons and has a strong working relationship with Eskimos Head Coach Kavis Reed.
In the Eskimos’ press conference on Wednesday, General Manager Eric Tillman reiterated the fact the franchise is not in a rebuilding mode. I’m not so sure. What do you think?
In a blockbuster deal, the Edmonton Eskimos traded star quarterback Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argonauts this morning for quarterback Steven Jyles, kicker Grant Shaw and a first round draft pick.
Ray was third in the Canadian Football League in passing in 2011 with 4594 passing yards and was instrumental in leading the Eskimos to the Western Final. But the bottom line is he hasn’t led the Eskimos to a Grey Cup Championship in six years and looked very poor and slow in making decisions in the 2011 Western Final.
As much as a Ricky Ray fan that I am, the CFL is all about a what have you done for me lately league.
With the interesting transaction today, the Eskimos now have Jyles, and Kerry Joseph at quarterback. Both Joseph and Jyles played in Saskatchewan when Eric Tillman was the General Manager there.
Don’t be surprised if Tillman isn’t done yet in trying to acquire a solid number one quarterback. Could Darian Durant be an Eskimo in the very near future? If recent history is any indication whatsoever, than there is a very strong possibility that will be the precise move Tillman will make.
Looking to improve their running game and give quarterback Ricky Ray more time to make decisions in the pocket, the Edmonton Eskimos swung a deal with the Montreal Alouettes on Tuesday to improve their offensive line.
The Alouettes traded non-import offensive lineman Dylan Steenbergen to the Edmonton Eskimos for a pair of draft picks, a sixth round pick in 2012 and another sixth round pick in 2013.
Steenbergen, a native of Lethbridge, who played for the University of Calgary Dinos, won the 2006 J.P. Metras Trophy for the top lineman in Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
The Eskimos will also receive the negotiating rights for an undisclosed American product in the deal. I wonder what General Manager Eric Tillman has up his sleeve here? According to the National Football Post, the Alouettes currently hold the CFL negotiating rights to Tim Tebow, who may not start for the Denver Broncos this season. I’m not saying Tebow has any interest in coming to Edmonton. I’m just throwing that out there.
The Edmonton Eskimos wrapped up week eight of the CFL season on Friday night with a performance that made their previous two losses look passable – a 36-1 loss to the BC Lions at Commonwealth Stadium.
Losing at home is never fun, but losing like that must really hurt. The Eskimos gave up eight sacks, Ricky Ray and Kerry Joseph combined to throw four interceptions and the team has now scored just 10 points in 11 quarters…after a 5-0 start to the season, during which time they looked like world beaters.
What the heck is wrong with the Eskimos?
For one, injuries are taking their toll on this team. You won’t hear them using it as an excuse, but when your top receivers are all hurt and you end up having to bring in three new guys before a game, you’re in trouble! Two of Ray’s interceptions on the night were attempted passes to guys he practically just met. When they lost Fred Stamps and Adarius Bowman, Jason Barnes stepped up and had two big games. Guess who got hurt next? (After the Jump: More Esks, Hilarious Jeremy Roenick video & More!) (more…)
The injured Edmonton Eskimos cannot return to the lineup fast enough. The performance by the Edmonton Eskimos tonight was an embarrassment and deserves a grade of an F, quite possibly even a F-.
The Eskimos could only muster one single point in a 36-1 loss to the British Columbia Lions Friday night. A 59 yard punt single by Damon Duval.
The good news is the Eskimos are 5-3. That’s the only good news at the present time. Fred Stamps, Jason Barnes, and Greg Peach and Adarius Bowman simply cannot come back soon enough.
The Lions (2-6) had a field day with the Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium tonight, and it opened in the first quarter. Travis Lulay showed strong consistency throughout the entire 60 minutes, recording a touchdown pass in each stanza. He found Akeem Foster for a 56 yard touchdown in the first quarter, touchdown passes to Arland Bruce III in the second and third quarters and Geroy Simon in the fourth quarter.
The good news is the Eskimos have a bye week. Now this is where General Manager Eric Tillman needs to make his money so the Eskimos don’t lose back-to-back games to the Calgary Stampeders in early September.
This week on 15 Minutes of Fame: The Edmonton Eskimos drop two straight, but can they get back on track against BC? The Toronto Blue Jays get some solid contributions from a top prospect in a week where they’re accused of “stealing signs,” and a couple of former Oilers move on from the NHL for very different reasons.
In the GABBYs: Real Madrid, Oscar Pistorius, Eri Yoshida, the Lake County Fielders, the US ski team and Tiger Woods.
The Edmonton Eskimos needed to sign a wide receiver with the abundance of injuries at the position.
On Friday they did just that by signing wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has three years of CFL experience, two with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and one with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The 26 year-old native of Tampa, Florida, who played in the NCAA with the University of Auburn, started the season with the Montreal Alouettes, but was released in late July.
The signing of Rodriguez became a necessity for the Eskimos when slotback Jason Barnes broke his ribs and Marcus Henry suffered a concussion Thursday night in Edmonton’s 27-4 loss at Montreal.
The Eskimos were already without slotback Fred Stamps who is out with an abdominal injury and Adarius Bowman with a rib injury.
According to Eskimos’ General Manager Eric Tillman, Rodriguez, who had 1,099 yards receiving for the Tiger-Cats in 2008 will be expected to dress next Friday against the British Columbia Lions and be a difference maker.
The Eskimos are currently tied for first place in the CFL West at 5-2 with the Calgary Stampeders.
The University of Calgary Dinos might not have won the Vanier Cup this past season, but were the big winners on Monday in the first round of the 2013 Canadian Football League draft.
Eskimos: What’s Wrong?
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