Dave Campbell
CFL.ca
Edmonton is a passionate sports town, demanding excellence from both the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Eskimos. People who follow the Oilers will tell you fans are more lenient and understanding. Edmonton is a small market team and has difficulty attracting star free-agents.
For Eskimo fans however, it’s a much different tone. This is a franchise that’s won 13 Grey Cup titles and is consistently called the flagship franchise of the Canadian Football League. Finding the best talent in the CFL hasn’t been too much of an issue in the past and even now.
Lately however, the Eskimos have struggled to find victories on a regular basis. They’ve only hit double digit wins twice since finishing 13-5 in 2003. 11 in 2005 and 10 in 2008.
Now the Eskimos are mired in a three-game losing streak to start the 2010 season after a 24-20 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Another game where the Eskimos controlled one of the best teams in the CFL but were done in again by turnovers, dropped passes, untimely penalties, and at times, shoddy tackling.
Head coach Richie Hall is known for being one of the most reserved individuals in the CFL. On Saturday following the loss however, he showed his football team another side of Richie Hall.
“There was times last year that I was angry but it was kind of a combination where you’re angry, you’re mad, you’re disappointed,” said Hall. “After the game on Saturday, I was mad. I’ve always been honest with them; I try to wear my emotions on my sleeve for them. I try not to be deceitful toward anyone and I told them how I felt about our football team.”
Many CFL gurus had the Eskimos challenging for first place in the Western Division this season and don’t forget there’s that little matter of Edmonton hosting the Grey Cup in November.
So when you’re in the most demanding market in the CFL, a 0-3 start isn’t well received by most fans and even the media. The last time the Eskimos lost three-in-a-row to start a season was back in 2004. The green and gold were the defending Grey Cup champions.
Current head scout Ed Hervey was a member of the 2004 team and remembers vividly a lop-sided loss to the Renegades in Ottawa, their third straight defeat. It was a quiet plane ride back to Edmonton. Hervey says there were no team meetings but just some soul searching amongst the players.
“How do we want to remembered, how do we want this season to turn out,” reminisced Hervey. “Do we want this season (2004) to turn out, Grey Cup champions one year and out the door next year? I think we all took it upon ourselves to work on our individual craft. Don’t worry about anything; don’t let the outside distractions dictate how we’re going to play. Then before you know it, we won three straight”.
The Eskimos dominated the two best teams in the CFL the last two games and held fourth quarter leads in losses to Saskatchewan and the Montreal Alouettes. Hervey still believes in the 2010 edition of the green and gold.
“This team has all the potential in the world to put together a string of wins, they just have to eliminate the turnovers (eleven giveaways in three games), and they have to eliminate the mistakes. If they eliminate the mistakes, I think they stand a better chance at winning.”
So far, the only identity the Eskimos have formed is a team that bungles away victories. Head coach Richie Hall says there’s only one thing his team needs to do to form a new identity.
“It’s about finishing. We talk about finishing but until you actually finish a football game, it’s all talk,” Hall explained.
“What we all have to do is shut-up and go play. Shut-up and do our job, shut-up and come away with the win, shut-up and close out of football game, shut-up and score, shut-up and tackle, shut-up and catch, shut-up and eliminate the mistakes that are costing us football games. It’s about action and not about words.”
You heard the man, SHUT-UP AND GO WIN A FOOTBALL GAME!!
Notes: The Eskimos expect to have defensive lineman Dario Romero back in the lineup on Saturday in Winnipeg. He dealt with kidney stones during training camp and most recently Romero had a wonky ankle. It’ll be his first game since September 26, 2009 when he tore his bicep against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. After missing the last two games because of a hamstring injury, safety Jason Nugent is set to return. Nugent will play special teams and backup starter Saleem Borhot. Slotback Kamau Peterson (leg) and kick-returner Skyler Green (leg) are both expected to miss their second straight game.