If there was one clear takeaway from the start of preparation for Saturday’s regular season opener, it is the fact everybody understands the tough road ahead. Having a formidable week one opponent like the Edmonton Eskimos will help in that regard, but it also speaks to how serious they took last Friday’s pre-season domination of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Marco Iannuzzi was quick to commend the approach of his teammates and coaches.
“There is no hype. Everyone here is real,” said the seven-year veteran.
“We’ve got some playmakers, guys that are punching their ticket and wearing their hard hat and now we finally get to unleash ourselves against our opponent. I think we’ve got a great squad.”
While the excitement should really be amplified when they first strap on pads tomorrow, this opening practice was as crisp as they come. With the offence expected to be entertaining week in and week out, a stout Eskimos’ defensive unit led by Mike Benevides could provide a stiff test to kick things off.
Iannuzzi emphasized the importance of not reading too much into what the other guys may throw at them.
“I think the thing we have to do is just focus on ourselves,” said Iannuzzi.
“If we’re worried about them so much, it’s just going to put our focus on the wrong things. We’ve got to trust our scheme, trust our athletic ability and we’ll be just fine. You have to know that the other team is doing, but at the same time if you get so caught up in trying to anticipate what they’re doing then you’re going to lose yourself.”
Iannuzzi enjoyed perhaps his most productive season last year, setting career highs in receiving yards and average yards per catch. He was also one of the more consistent offensive performers in training camp. The Harvard product knows a similar campaign should go a long way in helping the club achieve want they are aiming for.
“I still feel like its year one. I am young. Young at heart,” claimed Iannuzzi while flexing for the cameras.
Following the retirement of Jason Arakgi, we were reminded of some of the more productive Canadian draft choices in Wally Buono’s tenure. Iannuzzi has to be near the top of that list.
The defence looked to be at full speed on day one, breaking up a couple of passes to start the first team session of the day.
“I think last week is indicative of who we want to be,” said Solomon Elimimian.
“We scored a lot of points and our defence played well, but it was the mindset in which we approached that game. There was no drop-off. We want to continue to get better and obviously win. It’s a big game for us. We know that. They’re a good team and I’m excited to see how we play.”
The two-time CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player should once again be the heartbeat of this unit. He has showed no signs of slowing down and looks to be fitting in nicely alongside new teammates Micah Awe and Tony Burnett. There has been plenty of hype about what the offence is capable of, but this new look defence should be worth the price of admission as well.
Injury Watch
A couple of players were back taking normal reps. on the first “real” practice of 2017. Kirby Fabien (knee) 
was in his left guard spot after leaving the pre-season win over Saskatchewan. Defensive lineman Dylan Ainsworth (neck) took part as well. The South Delta product and offseason addition missed a good portion of training camp in Kamloops. Right Tackle Kelvin Palmer (ankle) did not practice, making way for incumbent Antonio Johnson. Receiver Chris Williams continued to do drills on his own and will not yet be active after offseason ACL surgery. Other than that, Wally Buono is not ready to jump to any line-up conclusions just yet.
Interesting Nugget
With Williams on the shelf, Jeremiah Johnson returned a few kicks on day one. It will be interesting to see how much of a look he gets alongside Chris Rainey on that unit. The Rain Man was adamant his called back touchdown against the Riders never happened because it was pre-season.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com