Aug
Campbell would be a nice addition to Esks
Courtesy Regina Leader Post:
Maurice Mann has no issues with the Edmonton Eskimos’ courtship of receiver Kelly Campbell.
“With Kelly or without Kelly we’re going to be great, all right? The guys here are very capable of taking care of anything we need to take care of. I stand behind every dude that’s here but Kelly is a great player,” said Mann. “He showed that last year and you’ve got to respect that.”
Campbell caught 54 passes for 1,223 yards and seven TDs here last year. The Eskimos continued to pay their respects by sending GM Danny Maciocia to Tampa Bay on Thursday for the Buccaneers’ third pre-season game, which was just the first for Campbell, who had been injured. Time on the shelf, meagre stats and a swarm of rivals in the Bucs’ camp may mean Campbell is halfway out the door. If so, the Eskimos’ pursuit could pay off in immediate improvement to the receiving corps. He’s a burner whose speed stretches the attack vertically and as such would be a welcome addition to any Canadian Football League offence.
Even in his absence, the Eskimos’ receiving corps is better than average, led by surehanded Fred Stamps, the loquacious Mann and Kamau Peterson, the utility man. In theory, Jamaica Rector was to assume Campbell’s place in the lineup and he is likely the fastest of the lot, with Stamps in hot pursuit. But neither could be called a burner and it remains a glaring weakness.
“If (Campbell) comes back that would be the icing on the cake,” said Stamps. “With his speed it would just give us another dimension on offence. He can just run by you. If you watched the (Tampa Bay game), he just accelerated. You don’t get that too often, that type of speed.”
Stamps offers them precision and clutch catches like the one that beat Calgary before the bye week. With Mann there is the physical ability to outjump or muscle past a defensive back. Peterson gets open when they need him most, on second down. And with Campbell, they would have another gear from a player who could rip a game wide open at any moment.
Mann is supposed to be that kind of guy, too.
“When Campbell was here, I expected to be that guy,” Mann said. “My outlook toward the game is always the same. I want to be the most dominating player on the field. I have a real Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant approach to the game. I want to be the killer on the field. That’s just me.”
He has fallen well short of his own expectations then. With just a pair of touchdown catches, he hasn’t been much of a difference-maker. And that may well be playing a part in the team’s pursuit of Campbell.
“I haven’t done anything special,” said Mann. “These are real average games for me. When I start making consistent catches and touchdowns like last year then I’ll start feeling a little bit happier with my performance.”
So far, his 139-yard outing in a loss at Montreal is the best of the bunch. He is hungry for more wins and catches, eager to secure a championship, and he sees Campbell as an ally in that regard, rather than competition for the football.
“Nobody is going to be concerned with distribution of the ball. All we’re concerned about is winning games. If Kelly comes back and he catches three balls that help us win some games, so be it. If Jason Barnes steps up and catches 40 balls to help us win games, so be it.”
Because the running game has been alternately ignored and decimated by injury to Jesse Lumsden, who will be joined on the shelf today by Calvin McCarty, the passing game only gains in importance. Quarterback Ricky Ray may well hand the ball to Arkee Whitlock on occasion Saturday, but they will be attacking the Hamilton Tiger-Cats through the air far more often.
Ray’s favoured targets should be Stamps, Mann and Peterson, just as they have been while building a 4-3 start to the 18-game season. Stamps ranks fifth in the CFL in receiving yards with 491 and leads the league’s every down pass-catchers with a whopping 18.2-yard average gain. Mann is in seventh spot with 465 yards and Peterson is 14th with 382.
“Our receiving corps has hit a pretty nice stride,” said Hall.
Nobody has more confidence right now than Stamps. He reeled in the game-winner against Calgary with mere seconds left to give the Eskimos their 4-3 record.
“It was one of the biggest plays I ever made in my life. But you’re in a professional league now so you have to expect to make those,” said Stamps.
Mann expects to make those. And he expects Stamps and Peterson to make them too.
“Freddie makes catches that are 10 times what that was in practice every day. So it’s not like my butt cheeks clenched when I saw the ball go to him,” said Mann. “I wanted to make that catch but if I see the ball go up to him or KP, especially Freddie, I got all the confidence in the world.”
Enough to predict greatness, with or without Campbell.
