July 13, 2013 , By Chris O'Leary, Edmonton Journal

Rennie Curran’s strong play forces CFL team to juggle players

By Chris O'Leary, Edmonton Journal, September 12, 2013

EDMONTON - Rennie Curran has his foot in the door and he’s not letting the Edmonton Eskimos close it on him.

Brought in as a starter a month ago when middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt broke his thumb, Curran has impressed the Eskimos coaching staff and is showing he should be included in the team’s lineup for Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Unlike the Eskimos, the Bombers ended their seven-game losing streak last week with an upset win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders to improve to 2-8. Edmonton, meanwhile, is on an eight-game slide and sits at a Canadian Football League-worst 1-9.

While Sherritt has been a part of the first-team defence in practice this week and is expected to return to the lineup, Curran hasn’t yet fallen back into second-team drills and special teams work. He’s held onto the middle linebacker spot, and Sherritt has been in Damaso Munoz’s spot.

“The biggest thing is that J.C. is coming back from an injury, and we feel that our best opportunity is to be prepared for a lot of scenarios if (Winnipeg is) effectively running the ball,” Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed said of using Curran in this week’s lineup.

“If they’re effectively running the ball against us, having two (middle) linebackers in there is our best opportunity, and that’s why we’re seeing that combination.”

If that combination works its way into the game on Saturday, it’s a bold move. Munoz leads the Eskimos in tackles this season with 60. Reed said the move wouldn’t impact Munoz if he had to go in at weak-side linebacker.

“Damaso has practised at the will (weak side) linebacker position since training camp. We don’t feel, at this stage of the season, that he needs a lot of reps to step in and be effective,” Reed said. “Damaso is going to be fine.”

Curran, a CFL rookie, is beginning to sharpen his football senses again following a four-year layoff from game action in the NFL. He’s settled in nicely over the last month, collecting 26 tackles in the last four games. Curran had a season-high nine tackles last Friday against the Calgary Stampeders.

“These last couple of weeks, I’ve been able to grow as a football player,” Curran said. “You can have all the mental reps you want, but at the end of the day, the biggest learning situation you can have is just through experience and being in that game situation ...

“Honestly, I feel like I’m starting to get back to my old ways of just flying around and being able to play football.”

Hungry for an opportunity over the last four years, Curran knew he had to make the most of what came his way when Sherritt broke his thumb. Reed said on Wednesday that Curran has done just that.

“When this all happened with J.C., we said Rennie Curran would be a guy that would make the decision tough, based on what we saw in pre-season and in training camp, and he did that,” Reed said.

“He started off a little slow at the first game in Toronto, but after that, he really showed his athleticism, his leadership, his command of the defence.”

The 24-year-old wants to start, of course, and has looked more at home the longer he’s stayed on the field, but he said he’d play whatever role Reed and defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall threw at him this week.

“I’m going to go out full-speed whatever it is, whether it’s on special teams, kickoff ... I’m going to do it to the best of my ability, and I’m going to do whatever I can to help this team win,” he said. “Really, it doesn’t matter if I’m out there with Damaso or J.C. or whoever they put out there.

“I want to just help this defence and help us win, especially at this crucial time of the year.”

coleary@edmontonjournal.com