ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF
MISSISSAUGA — The position of holder in the CFL is usually an afterthought for most football fans. After all, it is the placekicker who is ultimately responsible for putting points on the board. When a kick is missed, the placekicker is the first player to be criticized. When it sails through the uprights, he is the first to be congratulated. Yet, due to the recent season-ending injury to LB Kevin Eiben, the holder position has suddenly taken on greater importance.
Argonauts.ca columnist Don Landry talks more about how Eiben’s absence affects the kicking game in his Week 7 preview. Click here to watch video.
Eiben has been the holder for placekicker Noel Prefontaine for all of two seasons since 2001. Argos GM & Head Coach Jim Barker explains that the chemistry between the two players is going to be very hard to replace. “We have to find somebody else who can do it at the level of Kevin Eiben,” said Barker. “He was as good as anyone Pre has been around. To go to anybody else is going to be difficult for [Prefontaine].”
Eiben became Prefontaine’s holder not only because he has great hands but also because he’s left handed. Most players who have had experience holding at some point in their football careers would have likely done so for more common right-footed kickers. According to Barker, the fact that Prefontaine is left-footed makes the search even more complicated than it already is. So much so, he’s willing to switch over the placekicking duties if need be.
“Pre is a left-footed kicker so everything is backwards for what the holder has to do. It’s a difficult job and if we can’t find one then [Grant] Shaw will kick. We can’t put a guy out there who can’t hold and then expect Pre to perform.”
Prefontaine is 8 for 9 on field goals this season, so one has to think that sitting him in favour of Shaw would be something of a last resort for Barker. Before Shaw is handed the kicking reins for Saturday’s game, he is one of four options being considered to replace Eiben as the holder. The others are SB Jeremaine Copeland, WR/KR Chad Owens and WR Mike Bradwell.
Selecting a new holder has become a priority for Barker and it seems he’s willing to wait until the last minute to ensure he’s made the right decision. Asked for a timetable on when he would select Eiben’s replacement, Barker joked, “Probably by Saturday, after our first score, say 7:45?”
Luckily, Eiben was spotted at practice on Wednesday and should continue to be there all week consulting and coaching. He’ll have two more days of practice to teach his possible replacements everything he knows about holding for Prefontaine. Unfortunately, he’ll have the rest of the season to help them perfect the task.