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Something is rotten in the signing of Clarence Denmark!

May 16, 2016 | 10:32 AM

Sometimes I get distracted when thinking about this column when Zoey the Magnificent Himalayan shows up at my side to lick the cheddar off my fingers from the cheddar flavored popcorn.

So when that happened last Friday when the Riders did another cut down of players, it seemed easier to let her lick my fingers on one hand as I scouted the Rider roster with the other.

The Riders made it official that defensive end Eric Norwood was signed; along with former Winnipeg receiver Clarence Denmark and US college receiver Alec Lemon (since the Riders already have Shawn Lemon, will Alec Lemon have A. Lemon on the back of his jersey?) while cutting Canadians Alex Carroll (receiver), Brandon Deschamps (running back) and fullback Carl Fitzgerald along with Americans Sage Harold (defensive line) and Stephen Houston (running back).

The Carroll release was a bit unexpected since the day before Carroll was one of the players modelling the new jerseys. Deschamps was a free agent signing and Fitzgerald was with the Riders last year and apparently could long snap, but not well.

Now it really gets interesting because if you went  on the Riders website Friday and looked at the roster, you see these players no longer listed – RB- Malcolm Cyrus;  WR- Bud Sasser;  SB- Armanti Edwards;  SB- Jordan Reeves;  WR- Shay Hodge;  Etauj Allen;  LT- Darryl Johnson;  RT- Kamalie Matthews;  DT- Caesar Rayford;  LB- Samuel Eguavoen;  CB- Curtis Brown;  HB- Derrius Brooks, Kwame Adjei;  S- Johnathan Shuler;  CB- Marte Sears, Qudarius Ford.

Apparently Caesar didn’t see the cuts coming.

But today Moore is back listed on the roster along with everyone whose name disappeared on Friday. The Riders have been having a problem this off-season trying to deal with social media as players and US colleges tweeted when they were trying out for the Riders before the Riders could announce anything.

So the new regime has some explaining to do, especially with the cutting and apparent reinstalling of Moore. One could argue the new website administrators for the CFL whom I assume are also doing the Riders website since all the teams look the same, is not necessarily the best.

I got a feeling it’s a bit the fault of the administrators and a bit the problem of the new Rider brain trust.

Norwood is coming off an ACL injury and won’t be ready until probably Labour Day or the Banjo Bowl. He is slotted to go in at the defensive tackle position if his tweets carry any water. That’s why I wondered about the cutting of Caesar Rayford because it didn’t make much sense to me.  If this move works out for the Riders, who will put him on the six game injury list to start the season, it will help in the last half of the season.

I just watched a viewing of the Banjo Bowl 2015 edition when Fitzgerald played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and sent two snaps over the heads of Winnipeg punters. Fitzgerald was brought in for his blocking, but apparently the Riders have found better Canadians to handle those duties and help out on special teams. The Riders lose nothing with this move.

Deschamps was a bit of a surprise since he was the running back for the Vanier Cup Champion UBC Thunderbirds. Rider GM and Head Coach Chris Jones has systematically stripped the Riders of their running game, which was one of the few things that worked last year, leaving Kendial Lawrence and Curtis Steele in position to take the lead on the running game.

The problem is Steele is coming off a knee injury and Lawrence is useful as a multi-purpose back like the former Jock Sanders, but in terms of carrying the ball every down or running like Jerome Messam or Anthony Allen did last year? I can’t see that and if the Riders try to make Lawrence the everyday back, he will get injured fast.

The Denmark signing was not surprising considering the retirement of Mo “Crazy” Price except Denmark is shorter than the six foot height requirement Jones is looking for. This again raises the question of why Weston Dressler was let go if the Riders were looking for veteran experience at the receiver position.

I’ve said this before and I will say it again, Price is not a character receiver who you rely on for the gutsy catch. I am happy he never suited up for the Riders. Denmark from what I hear from my Winnipeg sources is a good receiver who may get to 1,000 yards but plays soft, like Price, but without Price’s arrogance.

I suspect Jones and vice president of player procurement John Murphy may have relied too much of players they had before in their respective organizations and perhaps they are covering their bets with Denmark because it looks like Rob Bagg is the only veteran they have out there. It makes you wonder why they felt it was necessary unless they got spooked with John Chiles retiring as a wide receiver and Mo Price running out of town with the yellow stripe down his back.

I’d point out that Toronto went with an essentially a rookie receiving corps last year that made Trevor Harris look good in two wins over the Riders. Then again, maybe Toronto recruited better?

So this is roughly what the Rider depth chart should look like about nine days from Rookie camp and 12 days from main camp:
QB- Darian Durant, Brett Smith, BJ Coleman
 RB- Curtis Steele, Kendial Lawrence, Matt Walter, Malcolm Cyrus, Terrance Cobb, Devrin Young
 FB- Spencer Moore
 WR- John Chiles, Marcus Davis, Ryan Lankford, Bud Sasser
 SB- Namman Roosevelt, Alec Lemon, Armanti Edwards
 SB- Clarence Denmark, Nic Demski, SJ Haidara
 SB- Shamawd Chambers, Jordan Reeves, Joshua Stanford
 WR- Rob Bagg, Shay Hoge, Etauj Allen, Victor Dean Jr.
 LT- Thaddeus Coleman, TreVon Armstread, Darryl Johnson
 LG- Brendan Labatte
 OC- Dan Clark
 RG- Chris Best, Andrew Jones, Matt Vonk, Aaron Picton
 RT- Jarriel King, Josiah St. John, Kamalie Matthews, Alex McKay

DE- Shawn Lemon, Eric Norwood, Marcus White
 DT- Caesar Rayford, Hasan Hazime, Rory Connop, Tim Agbaje
 DT- Corvey Irvin
 DE- Justin Capicciotti, Dylan Ainsworth, Levi Steinhauer
 LB- Jeff Knox, Nehemie Kankolongo, Alex Ogbongbemiga
 MLB- Greg Jones
 LB- Otha Foster, Samuel Eguavoen
 CB- Curtis Brown, Tevaughn Campbell
 HB- Derrius Brooks, Kwame Adjei
 S- Graig Newman, Johnathan Shuler, Matt Webster, Dan West
 HB- Tyree Hollins, David Barks
 CB- Ed Gainey, Marte Sears, Qudarius Ford

 K- Tyler Crapinga, Quinn Van Gylswyk
 P- Josh Bartell
 LS- Jorgen Hus
 KR/PR- Kendial Lawrence, Nick Demski

So it’s going to be fun to watch what happens with the Riders in this next time, and get ready for training camp!

Oh, just got my email indicating single game tickets will be available soon. As a Rider owner with two shares, I get first crack, but there should be lots of tickets for games, expect to pay more for Labour Day and probably the last day of the season.

Check out the Riderville website for more info.