Roundup for June 12th

Madman · Jun 12, 2012

'Back in business
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/06/12/back-in-business

Naturally, the numbers 11 and 12 should line up next to each other.

The Calgary Stampeders couldn’t get those digits to stick together last CFL season.

Heading into last year, the Stamps thought they were solid when it came to two of their three linebackers.

To start 2011, Juwan Simpson (12) was coming off a season where the middle man was nominated for the league’s defensive player award.

Malik Jackson (11) was entering his third CFL season after becoming a tackling force at the wide-side spot.

In the season-opener, things started to unravel.

Jackson suffered a concussion against the Toronto Argonauts, and he battled through the injury the rest of the season.

A few weeks later, Simpson suffered a knee sprain that kept him from performing for several weeks and still hampered him when he came back.

Even when Jackson was back in action, he wasn’t the same. Eventually, he needed to take a few more weeks off later in the year when symptoms were lingering.

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No ordinary Joe
http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/06/12/no-ordinary-joe

If the Calgary Stampeders are looking for a much different middle linebacker than last year’s starter, clearly, Joe Lobendahn is a good choice.

Known as a hard-hitter for four years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Lobendahn plays a different style than Juwan Simpson.

But the biggest difference is when you close your eyes and put your listening ears on.

“Juwan is an outspoken leader,” Lobendahn said. “I won’t go out there and talk a lot. I’m more of a lead-by-example guy. My game will talk.

“We’re two different people. I knew him before playing against Calgary. He’s always talking and making jokes. He’s just being himself. That’s who he is. He’s a great player.”

The competition for the starting middle linebacker job is still a heated one more than a week into Stampeders training camp.

Simpson, who was the 2010 West Division most outstanding defensive player, Lobendahn and third-year veteran Robert McCune are in a huge battle.

Both Simpson and McCune battled the injury bug last year, so the Stamps brought in Lobendahn to provide another option if it happens again.

Lobendahn himself is coming off a knee injury but, on paper, if everyone is healthy, this looks like a formidable group.

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Stamps O-line coach quietly does his job
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Joh ... story.html

The decibel level has dropped down from Dolby Stereo. The audio-intake classification from PG-13: Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13 (or Newspaper Hacks Over 50) to G: General Audiences — All Ages Admitted.

“Well, yeah,’’ concedes offensive guard Dimitri Tsoumpas with a wry grin, “it is lot quieter out here now . . . ”

Kris Sweet’s intensity during practices became legendary hereabouts. When drilling his troops, the man seemed more tightly wound than the innards of a Titleist III. Rumour has it there are still roaring remnants, arched echoes, of his voice rattling somewhere around the upper environs of McMahon Stadium.

He could peel the paint off prison walls with a single trumpet blast. And, at times, in language azure-hued enough to make Andrew Dice Clay blush like a scandalized schoolgirl.

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Forzani won’t slide under the radar this CFL season
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/For ... story.html

The jig is up for Johnny Forzani.

Entering the 2011 Canadian Football League season, the former Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School star — in basketball, mind you; not football — was largely an unknown quantity after his 2010 season was largely a writeoff due to a variety of injuries.

But last year, Forzani quickly proved his lack of football pedigree (on the field, that is; the bloodlines, as any Stampeder fan knows, are impeccable) would be no impediment as he caught 45 passes for five touchdowns, and finished fifth in the CFL among receivers with 40 or more catches with a 16.0-yard average.

Suffice to say, those numbers will have opposing coaches and defensive backs paying closer attention to the speedy 23-year-old.

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Calixte family welcomes new daughter
http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Cal ... story.html

For the rest of the Calgary Stampeders, training camp is not a time for rest.

Marc Calixte, on the other hand, sees it as exactly that.

The longest-serving Stampeder — he’s preparing for his 10th season — arrived in Calgary on Monday morning after spending the first week of training camp with his wife Melissa, who gave birth to the couple’s third child Thursday, six-pound, nine-ounce Danica.

As you might expect, there’s been some long nights in the Calixte household of late.

“You know what? I have to admit, it’s the most beautiful sleepless nights I’ve ever had,” said the Stamps’ special-teams ace with a chuckle Monday. “But now I can get some shut-eye. I have to give kudos to my wife — she’s a champ. She’s by herself with three kids at home. Without her organizing everything at home, I wouldn’t be able to be here.”

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Madman · Jun 12, 2012

Stamps sign O-lineman; Washington, Deane on verge of returning
http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2012/06/ ... returning/

There could be an abundance of bodies on the Stampeders’ offensive line for tomorrow morning’s practice, and that will make life pleasant for both the coaching staff and the hogs who’ve been going hard since Day 1 of training camp.

Not only did the Stampeders sign a new offensive lineman — Dale Furber, formerly of the University of Saskatchewan and Simon Fraser University by way of Singapore (you can read his fascinating back story here) — but they could have a couple players leaving sick bay as early as tomorrow. Stamps coach and general manager John Hufnagel said on Monday that tackle Tony Washington is scheduled to return to practice tomorrow after missing a few days with a hip issue, and there’s also a chance that guard J’Micheal Deane could make his first main camp appearance tomorrow. Deane, whose off-season recovery from a broken leg was one of the feel-good stories heading into the new season, strained his calf muscle during the opening session of rookie camp a week and a half ago, forcing him to the sidelines.

Meanwhile, guard Jon Gott will undergo some more concussion testing tomorrow, and the Stamps are hoping he’ll return soon, which would leave hard-luck Edwin Harrison (hamstring) as the lone O-lineman on the DL.

That’s assuming, of course, that the eight guys who suited up for Sunday’s mock scrimmage all came through it healthy. There was no way to tell on Monday as the players only did some light stretching on the field before wrapping things up.

The Stamps made a couple of other moves on Monday, releasing non-import defensive back Andre Clarke as well as import defensive lineman Cody Brown, who hadn’t been in camp anyways because of personal issues. And if you’re wondering if the Stamps might have an open roster spot based on the basic math of releasing two players and signing just one, think again — Brown was on the suspended list so he hadn’t counted against the roster anyways.

And if you’re truly interested in this sort of thing, you should know that the Stamps are allowed to have 75 signed players in camp in addition to their 2012 draft picks (who don’t count against that number). They will have to get down to 65 players (plus the non-counters) within 48 hours following Friday’s pre-season game against Edmonton, so there will be 10 players heading home before next Monday

Reviewing film of Sunday’s scrimmage didn’t really reveal anything to Hufnagel and his coaching staff that wasn’t apparent from their viewpoints on the field, he said.

“Not really; we have lot of things to clean up on both sides of the football,” he said. “But I thought the kicking was handled very well. I know we were kicking with the wind, but still, it was accurate with good placement, all those good things. We had all the right guys go on the field for special-teams situations. Defensively, we were caught with 11 guys on the field twice, so we need to clean that up. But all those things were productive. We just need to play with more skill.”
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Roundup for June 12th

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Roundup for June 12th

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