Eskinews

                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