Jun
Replacement parts in stock
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
The loss of receivers Jason Tucker and Kelly Campbell has created quite a stir in Eskimoland.
Tucker’s retirement and subsequent move to the coaching staff, plus Campbell’s departure for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League, not only took away a great deal of speed, but also eliminated some good hands from the Edmonton Eskimos lineup.
Both players represent tremendous losses at the receiver position, but the Eskimos don’t have to look far for replacements. In fact, they’ve been right here under everyone’s noses for quite some time.
In Fred Stamps and Maurice Mann, the Eskimos have a pair of such talented receivers that they may hardly miss a beat on a regular basis.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I want it all on me,” said Mann, a six-foot-two, 190-pound wideout.
“It’s a team game, but when it comes down to wanting someone to make that play, my hand is raised first. I’m healthy and ready to go, and I haven’t thought about anything but football.” Their Canadian Football League careers are eerily similar in that they both enter Year 3 with the Esks, but neither has finished a full season.
Stamps played 14 games in 2008 before an ankle injury took him out of the lineup. In 2007, he played in nine games and spent five on the disabled list when he underwent an appendectomy in mid-season.
Mann first joined the Esks at the end of the 2007 season and played in the last three games, recording nine receptions for 127 yards. He signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins during that off-season and was a late training camp cut.
He rejoined Edmonton again in September and finished with 31 catches for 420 yards and four touchdowns. His best performance came in the final regular-season outing, snaring eight catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. In the playoffs, Mann had 10 catches for 71 yards.
“Yeah, technically, this is my first full season. I’m so excited, it almost doesn’t make any sense,” he said of parachuting in and out of Edmonton.
It’s almost as if he has to prove himself all over again.
“I always feel like I have to prove myself to people. More to myself than anything, but it’s all about getting better. I’m always trying to prove that I’m getting better,” said Mann.
The same holds true for Stamps, who has looked very sharp early in training camp after signing a two-years-and-an-option contract extension in late January.
“I feel as though you always have to prove yourself, you can’t come in here and slack it,” said the six-foot, 188-pound slotback. “Everybody has to compete because they always bring in good talent.
“You can’t lay back and think that you’re going to have something given to you. You always have to do the work.” Both players are expected to play big roles on a team that forfeited some star receiving power. As coach Tucker put it: “It’s not like we’re missing anything. We have the pieces all here.” But the two departed receivers continue to be the hot topic.
“Tuck and Kelly are both big losses,” admitted Stamps. “Me and Mo just have to step up to the plate. We both have the same goal, it’s not about individual stats. We just want to do whatever it takes to win.” So the spotlight shifts to the two players fans are familiar with.
“That’s true, it does,” said Mann. “But, at the same time, you can’t take away from the Canadian player of the year (Kamau Peterson). You can’t take away from Wack (Andrew Nowacki), who has put in a lot of good work on the outside. We have a lot of talent coming in, guys who I know can play.
“And we’re definitely not nervous about our position, especially with No. 15 tossing that pill,” Mann added of QB Ricky Ray.
In 2008, Peterson led the team in catches with 101 for 1,317 yards and four touchdowns.
Campbell finished with 54 receptions for 1,223 yards and seven TDs, while Tucker was 14 for 235 with a touchdown in five games before his spinal-cord injury ended his career.
Stamps then emerged as one of the Esks’ top receivers with 50 receptions for 751 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games before he injured his ankle. He also had 14 kick returns for 297 yards.
“There’s been minor stuff here and there, but I’m here and ready,” said Stamps.
Same goes for Mann.
