ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
TORONTO — Each week, argonauts.ca showcases one of the marquee matchups for fans to watch out for before the Argos next game. This week, we take a look at two of the toughest linebacking corps in the Canadian Football League.
Traditionally the backbone of the Argos defence, the club’s linebacking corps has seen its fair share of personnel changes in recent years, but one thing that has stayed consistent is the play of Canadian workhorse Kevin Eiben.
The Argos’ longest serving defender is having another stellar year and is once again leading the league in tackles with 53. Earlier this week, the Delta, BC native was named CFL Player of the Month for August after finishing with 23 defensive tackles and tying a career-high with 10 tackles against Hamilton two weeks ago.
Patrolling the side opposite to Eiben is seven-year CFL veteran Jordan Younger who is playing his first year in the front seven after manning the short side cornerback spot for most of his career. Although undersized in comparison to the linebackers down the QEW, there is no doubt that Younger’s biggest strength is as a cover linebacker. His ability to drop back and instantly cover a receiver or tailback out of the backfield gives the Argos a few different options with the defensive looks that they give an opponent.
Younger’s cover ability and Eiben’s consistency are by no means surprising, but what could be is the play of Jason Pottinger. The Argos’ man in the middle has done an almost seamless job of moving into the role of the ‘quarterback’ of the front seven and after years of studying middle linebackers such as Javier Glatt, Otis Floyd and Zeke Moreno. He has impressed in his second year in Double Blue, just his first as a starter.
Referred to by many as the ‘Lionbackers’ from their time spent together in B.C., the Hamilton Tiger-Cats trifecta of Otis Floyd, Markeith Knowlton and Jamall Johnson is one of the most dominant linebacking units seen in Hamilton in quite a while.
Led by Johnson, the three each sit in the league’s top 15 defenders in tackles and have combined for 127 defensive tackles in just eight games.
Perhaps their biggest strength is their versatility. All three have the ability to plug gaps when the opposition chooses to run the ball but can also come off the edge in blitz packages to try and get after the quarterback. As a unit, they have combined for six sacks thus far.
In their last meeting against the Argonauts, they totalled 14 defensive tackles, held star RB Cory Boyd to 81 yards on the ground, which is well under his season average, and both Floyd and Johnson recorded a sack on Argos pivot Cleo Lemon.