Edmonton Eskimos
ESKS.com Staff
Friday evening marks the official opening of the 2012 Eskimo season with a pre-season game in Calgary. With many of the veterans not suiting up, the rookies will be given the opportunity to showcase their talents and prove their ability to perform in the CFL.
One of the most interesting competitions in camp has been amongst the quarterbacks, and Coach Kavis Reed hinted at his plans for the position versus the Stamps. “We’ll definitely look at starting Matt Nichols backed up by Jeremiah Masoli and Brandon Summers. We probably won’t dress Steven Jyles and Kerry Joseph this game,” he said after practice Wednesday.
An important facet of the Esks’ upcoming season will be to establish and solidify a starting offensive line, one that was plagued by numerous injuries all throughout the 2011 campaign. “We only had two games last year when we started consecutive games with the same offensive line,” Coach Reed added.
On the defensive side of the ball, look for DL Shawn Lemon to take advantage of some much-needed playing time as he was signed on Thursday. Eskimo GM Eric Tillman stated, “It’s rare for a young man to play in a professional game without the benefit of a full practice with his new club, but that’s exactly what Shawn will be doing on Friday night.”
Another notable storyline is the return of punter Burke Dales, who wore the red and white for seven seasons.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm. You can catch the action on TSN2 and 630 CHED.
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