Eskinews

                Everybody remembered where they were back in 1988 when the Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky to the L.A. Kings.  I think many people will remember where they were when the Edmonton Eskimos traded Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argonauts.  When I first read the rumours online, I could not believe what the Eskimos were supposedly getting in return for the future Hall of Fame quarterback!  Steven Jyles, a journeyman quarterback who started his career in Edmonton back in 2006, Grant Shaw a second round draft pick of the Argonauts back in 2010 and the Argonauts 2012 first round pick which turns out to be the second overall.  Not exactly a good return on what the Eskimos are giving up.

                 My initial thought was that this trade was going to be like the blockbuster trade the Eskimos pulled the trigger on in 1993 when Tracy Ham went to the Argonauts in a 16 player trade!!  That trade started out small and ballooned into a massive deal…something I was secretly hoping that the Eskimos were working on.  Unfortunately as time went on, word came that the Eskimos had scheduled a ‘press conference’ for 2:00 PM at Commonwealth Stadium and the rumours of who the Eskimos were getting in return were realized.

                 The outrage at the trade became apparent as websites reporting the deal were filled with comments of irate fans lambasting the organization for giving away their starting quarterback for no ‘starting players’ in return!  Some of the comments made by Eric Tillman at the press conference did nothing to give fans confidence that there was a plan in place.  I was at the Eskimos office this week and had asked one of the ladies there what the fans reaction to the trade was?  I was stunned to hear that they were about 50-50 for/against the trade!  I cannot understand why anyone would be ‘for’ this trade…especially based on what the Eskimos got in return.

                So, now the Eskimos must move forward without Ricky Ray with Steven Jyles, Kerry Joseph, Eric Ward and Matt Nichols at the quarterback position.  Reed has gone on the record stating that Jyles would come to camp as the #1 QB, I would be very surprised if he will still be in that position come the start of the season.  In five seasons, Jyles has put up the following numbers:

                                A             C             %            Yds         Long      TD           INT         Rating

Career Total       688         412         59.9        5,319     81           31           29           81.7

                While there is nothing there that is going to make us forget Ricky Ray, his numbers when he did start back in 2010 in Winnipeg were decent.  He played in 16 games that year, starting 11 and throwing for 2804 yards, 19 TD’s and only 7 interceptions.  I guess that is what the Eskimos are hoping to see from him in 2012.  Eric Tillman has gone out on a limb making this trade and should the team struggle in 2012, all fingers will be pointing at him.

                 While the Edmonton Eskimos have come a long way in the past year, they did not want their season to end the way it did Sunday afternoon in B.C.  After finishing last in the Western Conference last year, they were one win away from getting to the Grey Cup…the only thing that stood in their was the B.C. Lions!  History had been kind to the Eskimos when it came to playing the Lions in WDF’s, but it was not to be this year.

                 For the Eskimos to be successful, they would have to play a good first quarter while the Lions were trying to find there rhythm after resting for two weeks in anticipation of this game.  Edmonton was not able to do that and ended up trailing 6-0 at the end of the first.  The Eskimos did kick a field goal to make the score 6-3, but that would be as close as they would get as the Lions scored the next 20 points to take a 26-3 lead into half time.  That pretty much sealed their fate…  The Eskimos teased their fans in the second half closing the gap to 33-17 with just over 9 ½ minutes left in the game.  The Lions next drive was a 2-and-out followed by the Eskimos driving the ball to mid field before Ray threw yet another costly interception to turn the ball over.  On the very next play, Travis Lulay ran the ball 61 yards for a touchdown to make the score 40-17, thus ending any chance they really had.  The play reminded me of the long rush by Buck Pierce against the Eskimos back in August that settled the game as well.

                Statistically, this game was closer than the score would suggest but the Lions made the most out of their opportunities, while the Eskimos did not.  For fans who were waiting for Ricky Ray to work some of that ‘playoff magic’, he had a rather ordinary effort and turned the ball over three times (2 interceptions and a fumble) in the loss.  In hindsight, I am not overly upset that the Eskimos lost this game…had they won, the changes that need to be made would not likely have happened.  Instead, the coaches will look at the game film and realize that this team has issues with tackling, protecting their quarterback and being able to move the ball successfully on the ground.

                Now that the players season is over, the Eskimo coaches and GM will take center stage as they break down game film over the coming weeks to decide what the teams needs are and how they will be addressed.

            It was the first home playoff game for the Edmonton Eskimos in seven years and the team did not disappoint the 30,000+ fans that showed up to take it in.  From the time I arrived at Commonwealth Stadium, I could feel the difference in the atmosphere and could tell it was going to be an intense game.  That intensity showed itself during the player introductions when Stampeder players milled about center field while the Eskimos were being introduced.  There were a number of ‘heated conversations’ that required the officials to get involved, ultimately telling the Stampeders to get back to their bench.

            Drew Tate got his first playoff start and while the Stampeders did have an 8-3 lead at the end of the first quarter, his play was rather ‘pedestrian’.  He completed only 5 of 10 passes for 99 yards with one interception and a fumble before injuring his knee near the end of the first half.  Unfortunately for him, the play that he is going to be remembered for is the fumble!  With the Stampeders in the red zone and looking to increase their five point lead, Tate took a shotgun snap that he just plain dropped.  It was recovered by Damaso Munoz, who returned it 77 yards for a touchdown that completely turned the tide of the game!  It was the beginning of a 22 point second quarter that staked the home team to a 25-9 first half lead. 

            When the Stamps came out for the second half Henry Burris was playing quarterback which fuelled speculation as to the status of Tate.  The official line was that his injured knee was not going to allow him to play the second half, but I am not convinced that was the real reason.  While the Eskimos were able to take advantage of Stampeder mistakes in the first half, the same could not be said of Calgary.  The Eskimo offense did very little in the second half, but all Calgary was able to muster was a couple of field goals and a punt single making the score 26-19 midway through the fourth quarter.

            In the end, it was the Eskimo defense that shut the door and secured the win.  I guess no one should be surprised as Edmonton gave up the second lowest ‘points against’ in the CFL this season.  The win proved costly though as Jerome Messam injured his knee late in the third quarter.  He was ‘submarined’ in what I thought was a ‘cheap’ tackle by Stampeder safety Demetrice Morley.  Messam had turned back towards the line of scrimmage to catch the ball and just as he turned back, Morley took him out below the knee which ended up tearing a meniscus causing him to miss next weekends Western Final.

            I believed that for the Eskimos to be successful against the Stampeders, they would have to protect Ricky Ray and give him time to throw the ball.  Calgary had the least amount of sacks in the CFL this year, but they were able to sack Ray three four times and that is a major concern in my mind.  The Lions have a much better pass rush and should they be able to pressure Ray with only four or five rushers, the Eskimos are going to find themselves a lot of trouble.  With Messam out for the remainder of the season, the Eskimos will likely call on Calvin McCarty to carry the load on the ground but will also have to use Hugh Charles as well to be effective.  It should be an interesting Western Final…

                For the first time since 2004, the Edmonton Eskimos will host a CFL playoff game in Commonwealth Stadium.  Some would consider that a huge step forward based on what we have seen from this organization the past five or so years, but in the post game speech Kavis Reed talked about winning the Grey Cup.  The question posed by Dave Campbell on the post game call-in show was ‘do you think the Eskimos can win it all?  While not many thought they the majority of the callers did not think that was the case, any success they do have will come from their own belief.

                For an opponent that was 5-12 heading into this game, they did not play like that!  Earlier in the week Rider head coach, Ken Miller announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season and it galvanized their effort on this night.  Ryan Dinwiddie started for the Riders and while they trailed most of the game, he led them on two drives in the last six minutes that erased a 20-10 lead to tie the game with less than three minutes left.  Despite the defensive ‘hiccup’, what I was impressed with the most was the Eskimos response to the Rider touchdown that tied the score.  With under three minutes remaining, the Eskimo offense took the field and drove down to the Rider 20 yard line before kicking what ended up being the game winning field goal with only 47 seconds left in the game.

                I was surprised by how ineffective the running game was on this night.  The Eskimos ran the ball 18 times for only 76 yards against the Rider defense and while Ricky Ray threw for over 300 yards for the third week in a row, I know the team would like more balance heading into the post season.  So, the Eskimos found themselves watching the final game of the season on Saturday night to see exactly who they would be playing and when.  Surprisingly enough, the question was answered rather quickly and decisively as the B.C. Lions destroyed the Alouette’s 43-1.

                So the stage is set for the Eskimos to host the Stampeders next Sunday afternoon to see who gets to play in the Western Final against the B.C. Lions.  The Eskimos won the season series 2-1, but the surprising stat is that neither team won at home!  The Eskimos are a ‘young’ team that lacks the kind of veteran presence that the Stampeders have, but the Eskimos do ‘match up’ well against them and it should make for an exciting game next Sunday!

                After winning the first game against the Lions back in July, the Eskimos have now lost the last three games and will need help if they are to finish in first place.  It was a tough game to watch as the Eskimos got off to a slow start and had to play catch up the entre night.  For a game that meant as much as it did to the team, I am perplexed as to why they struggled the way they did?  The offense did not ‘light it up’, but nor did they fall flat on their face.  The defense had played well the last few games, but on this night they did not get the job done when the offense needed them to, late in the game.

                For the second straight week, Ricky Ray threw for over 300 yards, but it was a big drop by Fred Stamps in the fourth quarter that I am going to remember the most.  After Ray had escaped the B.C. pass rush, he looked downfield and found a ‘wide open’ Fred Stamps…only to have him drop the ball!  It was an ‘uncharacteristic’ drop by Stamps, but it hurt.  On a night where Jerome Messam only needed 36 yards to break the 1000 yard rushing mark, he only managed 17 yards on nine carries…effectively shut down by his former team.

                Newly acquired Hugh Charles got his chance to play in this game and show the coaches what he can bring to the table.  While the Lions were able to hold Messam to a 1.8 yard average, Charles was a little more effective carrying the ball 6 times for 33 yards (5.5 yd avg).  The one thing that is promising moving forward, is that the contrasting styles of Messam and Charles is going to make it a lot more difficult for defensive Coordinators to game plan the Eskimos. 

                This was a tough game to lose.  The most disturbing part about all of this is that once again the team failed to perform up to their capabilities and take hold of their own destiny.  Teams that are not able to develop this kind of ‘killer instinct’ are destined to have short playoff lives.  Remembering that this is a team that

                This game was the story of two teams going in the opposite direction.  The Edmonton Eskimos were looking to stay in first place while the Argonauts were looking to next year already.  Edmonton got off to a slow start in this game giving up some big yardage in the first quarter, but Toronto was not able to make them pay for it.  Despite leading the Argonauts 19-3 at halftime, the Eskimo offense seemed a little out of sync on this night.

                The Eskimos used a ‘balanced’ attack to defeat the Argonauts throwing the ball 31 times and rushing it 24 times racking up 499 yards of total offense.  Jerome Messam rushed the ball 19 times for 115 yards and is now just 36 yards from becoming the first Canadian to rush for 1000 yards since Sean Millington did it back in 2000.  Ricky Ray had one of his best games in a long time passing for 347 yards, 2 touchdowns and even more importantly…zero interceptions!  Fred Stamps had one of his best games since coming back from being injured back in August as he had 7 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown.  All of the offensive weapons that the Eskimos are going to need to make a run at the Grey Cup, all contributed in this win.

                On the defensive side of the ball, the Eskimos were inconsistent.  Despite keeping the Argonaut offense ‘in check’ for about 55 minutes, it will be the final 5 minutes that will have people talking this week at the water  cooler.  Leading 31-3, the Eskimo defense gave up three touchdowns late in the game to make this game a lot more exciting than it should have been!  It was quite the ‘meltdown’ as the Argo offense all of a sudden came to life and moved the ball at will.  The Eskimos defensive line which had been on fire for the last few weeks did not get to Steven Jyles at all on this night and seldom put any pressure on him!  Even the ‘Special Teams’, which had been quite solid this year, got into it allowing the Argonauts to recover an onside kick that resulted in the second touchdown that made the score 31-17.  In the end, it came down to a final ‘hail Mary’ pass by Steven Jyles that was intercepted by Weldon Brown that preserved the win.

                This sets the stage for a first place showdown next Saturday night at B.C. Place!  I believe the Eskimos will be looking for a little ‘payback’ after losing 33-24 a few weeks ago to the Lions in what was a chippy affair.  Jerome Messam was ejected in that game and a number of Lions were ‘fined’ for their parts in a late game skirmish.  This will be the biggest game of the year for the team as they could move into first place all by themselves with a win.  So far the Eskimos have lost two of the three games to the Lions and right now sit at a -28 when it comes to points.  It will be difficult to erase that differential, but it is not impossible.  Personally, I do not believe the coaching staff will even entertain that thought as the Eskimos control their own destiny.  Win the final two games, and it will not matter how many points they win by next week…the Eskimos would finish first and host the Western Final for the first time since 2003.

                  While there are some do not believe that ‘revenge’ is a good motivator, I have a hard time believing that the Eskimos were not thinking about their first loss of the season against the Bombers back in mid August.  Ray was sacked four times that night, was hit numerous other times and there was some bad blood at the end of the game with all of the ‘post play’ celebrations (Swaggerville) that the Bombers engaged in.  When the final gun sounded, the Eskimos came away with a 24-10 win in what was one of the teams’ most complete games all year.

                 It has been awhile since the Eskimos played a complete 60 minute football game and they were rewarded for their effort.  Statistically, the game was closer than the score indicated, but a smothering effort by the Eskimo defense pretty much kept the Bomber offense at bay.  While the Eskimos offense had struggled the past few weeks, they turned a corner on this night as Ray threw for a couple of touchdowns and they attacked in a fairly ‘balanced’ fashion (60% pass vs 40% run).

                 Despite the win, there were a couple of things I was concerned with this game.  The first was the number of penalties that the Eskimos took.  While the stat sheet read 11 penalties for 124 yards, what was more telling was that a number of penalties the Eskimos took that kept Bomber drives alive.  The Bombers TD drive in the third quarter was not extended because of one or two penalties…but THREE penalties!  While the Eskimos were able to get away with that on Saturday night, if it continues, it will come back to haunt them.

                 Up next for the Eskimos are the Toronto Argonauts.  This is not a team the Eskimos should take lightly…even if they are out of the playoffs this year.  All you have to do is ask the Calgary Stampeders about what happened to them this weekend!  The Eskimos will have to play a full 60 minutes if they want to come away with the win.  There is still so much on the line for Edmonton as they control their own destiny down the stretch and will finish first if they win out…while the Argonauts are auditioning for next year.

                Despite the struggles the Edmonton Eskimos have endured over the past few months – a win on Monday against the Riders would secure a playoff spot for the first time in two years!  The biggest question for the fans and perhaps even the coaches was which Eskimo team we were going to see on Monday afternoon?  Would it be the one that played 60 minutes in Hamilton defeating the Tiger Cats 38-23 or the one that played about 30 minutes last week against the Lions losing 33-24?

                The Riders have struggled lately as well…losing their last two games by a combined score of 82-8 and the news did not get much better for them this week either.  Darian Durant would not start against the Eskimos because of the ankle injury he suffered last week against the Stampeders.  That meant that Ryan Dinwiddie would get the start in the biggest game of the year for the Riders.  It was a game they would have to win if they wanted to catch the Eskimos for the final spot in the Western Conference.

                 Hopes were high for the numerous Rider fans that were in attendance at Commonwealth Stadium on Monday afternoon.  They wanted to believe that Dinwiddie would deliver in the biggest game of the year and though things started well for the Riders, it was not long before the wheels came off!  Dinwiddie threw three first half interceptions but despite the turnovers, the Riders only trailed 12-0 at halftime.  The Eskimos offense was not able to make the Riders pay for the turnovers and they ‘stayed in the game’ much longer than perhaps they should of.  In what was a bit of a surprise move, Ken Miller replaced Dinwiddie with Durant in the second half, but the Rider fortunes did not change.

                The Rider defensive line put a fair bit of pressure on the Ricky Ray sacking him three times and disrupting his rhythm for much of the game.  Ray finished the game with less than 200 yards passing and if it were not for the 51 yard touchdown run by Jerome Messam in the second quarter, the Eskimo offense would not have scored a touchdown.  This is not the kind of offensive production the team is going to need as they head into the playoffs.  The good thing is that there are still four weeks left in the regular season and the Eskimos control their own destiny.  Win the final four games (which includes a return matchup against the B.C. Lions at the end of October) and the Eskimos would finish first and host the Western Final for the first time since 2003.

                The Eskimos will not have a lot of time to work on getting things turned around as the Bombers will be visiting Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night.  I am hoping that the Eskimos remember the ‘whipping’ that the Bombers laid on them back in August and use that as motivation.  There was some bad blood at the end of that game and it was the beginning of the inconsistent play that we have witnessed over the past eight weeks.

                 With the CFL season heading into the stretch drive, the B.C. Lions and the Edmonton Eskimos are two teams that appear to be headed in the opposite direction.  The Lions are currently on a seven game winning streak while the Eskimos have lost six of their last eight games.  With all the pomp and pageantry that came with the first game back in B.C. Place in almost two years, I was hoping that the Eskimos would be able to take advantage of a Lions team that might be a little ‘distracted’ with all of the surrounding hype and while they were able to do that initially, in the end the team fell short again losing 33-24.

                 Despite holding a large advantage in ‘time of possession’ in the first half (18+ min for Edm compared to 11+ min for BC), the Eskimos had only a one point lead to show for it.  Although it was a decent half of football for the visiting team I could not help but feel the momentum changing, especially with the last minute touchdown by the Lions to close out the half.  The second half turned out to be the opposite when it came to ‘time of possession’ as the Lions held the ball for the majority of the time which ended up balancing in the end.  The main difference was that the Lions took advantage of their opportunities building a 33-16 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

                The Eskimos did not play a good second half of football and the one play that stood out for me was the 63 yard touchdown pass to Harris.  Two separate Eskimos defenders missed a chance to tackle him (Pittman and Thompson) for a loss and instead, it ended up going to the end zone.  This has been an ongoing problem for the defense this year and I am not sure what has to change?  At times this year, the defense has been one of the best in the league and then there are times where they mimic the inconsistent play of the offence.  The schizophrenic behaviour of the team as a whole is a major the biggest concern I have and unless they can remedy that in the next couple of games, I do not think the team will be going far in the playoffs…assuming that they make them.  With five games left and two against the Riders, even that is not a ‘foregone’ conclusion at this point.

                Speaking of the Riders, they are next up for the Eskimos on Thanksgiving Day Monday at Commonwealth Stadium.  Despite everything that has happened in the past eight weeks, if the Eskimos beat the Riders on Monday that will pretty much assure them of a playoff position.  Having been as inconsistent as the Eskimos have over the past couple of months, they will have to start some place if they are going to turn things around.  There is no reason that they cannot start this week!  It should be interesting to see which Eskimo team shows up this week…

                The one thing that you can say about the Edmonton Eskimos this season is that you are never quite sure what you are going to get from one week to the next.  After an impressive win against the Hamilton Tiger Cats last week, the Eskimos had a huge letdown against the Alouette’s at home.  The final score was 34-21 which flattered the home team.  They were out played in most areas with perhaps the exception of special teams where Jason Armstead returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown to bring the Eskimos within a touchdown at halftime.

                 That would be about as close as the Eskimos would get on this night and that is despite knocking Anthony Calvillo from the game at the end of the third quarter with the score still 21-15.  On that particular play, Calvillo fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Eskimos.  On the very next play, Ricky Ray threw a bad pass that was intercepted by the Alouette’s and they took control of the game once again.  One would think that with Adrian McPherson running the offense, the Eskimos might be able to get a few ‘two-and-outs’ but instead, MacPherson comes in and drives his team 63 yards for a final steak in the heart to end any real chance of coming back in this game.

                 With the Eskimos rushing for over 200 yards last week against the Tiger Cats, you might think that they would attempt to build on that this week, but that is not what happened.  Instead, the Eskimos did not execute a running play until midway through the second quarter.  You could tell in the post game interview that Kavis Reed was ‘steamed’ and he talked about ‘execution’ and how a lack of it on Friday night contributed directly to the loss.  While there is no doubt that the Al’s get credit for what they did on Friday night, I do not believe you can overlook the fact that the Eskimos did not do much to resist.

                 The Eskimos have been somewhat of an enigma the past month or so as they have played better on the road than they have at home.  Perhaps Eskimo fans should be glad that the team is travelling toVancouverto take on the ‘resurgent’ Lions in the newly renovated B.C. Place this Friday night…a very important game for both teams.  Currently the Lions are 6-6 while the Eskimos are 7-5 and should the Lions win this Friday night, they would take the season series and have the tie-breaker should the two teams be tied at the end of the season.  I know Kavis Reed will get better effort from the team against the Lions, the only question I have is whether it will be enough to win and give the team a four point cushion in the standings…?