Dave Campbell
CFL. ca
Remember the movie classic The Wizard of OZ? Who could forget the lovely Dorothy with her dog Toto exclaiming “We’re not in Kansas anymore”. Then she met the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and cowardly Lion as they battled against the Wicked Witch of the West. Gives you some warm fuzzies doesn’t it?
They’re no warm fuzzies around the Edmonton Eskimos right now because of the first 0-4 start since 1965. Starting middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd suggested maybe some of his fellow teammates walk the Yellow Brick Road.
“A lot of guys in this locker room need to go visit the Wizard of Oz and ask for a brain or a heart.”
Dorothy: “How can you talk if you haven’t got a brain?”
Scarecrow: “I don’t know… But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking… don’t they?”
Last Saturday was the lowest point of the season as the Eskimos lost 47-21 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium. The Eskimos couldn’t block, tackle, catch, and at times throw.
Most distressing was the fact the Eskimos seemed to have no willingness to fight that night. The Bombers sure did though; they came out of the gate storming on the Eskimos first possession sacking quarterback Ricky Ray. In fact Ray was sacked two more times in the quarter and threw an interception which was returned for a touchdown, his first of two picks on the night.
The defence looked like they were on roller skates on T.J. Harris’ touchdown in the second quarter as Kenny Pettway missed a tackle on quarterback Steven Jyles and the rest of the defence decided to miss tackles as well.
Funny thing is people around the CFL looked at the Eskimos as a pretty good 0-3 team, now they look like a very bad 0-4 team. The organization appears to have had enough of the uninspired effort and don’t forget, the Grey Cup is in Edmonton in November so the brass is embarrassed so far.
Team President and CEO Rick Lelacheur says no more losing or else.
“The situation of the last four weeks is not good, I think we all recognize that”, said Lelachuer. “In sports we have to be accountable, I have to be accountable. The game on Saturday (vs. Winnipeg) was a total embarrassment. It’s an embarrassment to the players, the coaches, and to the management. And it’s just not acceptable. Winning is the only thing.”
Translation: If the Eskimos lose again on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium against the B.C. Lions, heads will roll. The first casualty likely will be second year head coach Richie Hall which would mean the organization would then have replace two positions as Hall is also the team’s defensive coordinator.
Last season the Eskimos displayed great toughness under adversity, in fact they won three games in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
This season, the Eskimos seem to wilt in the face of adversity. Their toughness across the board is in question too. This team has had two fourth quarter leads, only to fall apart against Montreal and Saskatchewan.
The Esks seems to talk a good game but they have really yet show it on the field.
General Manager Danny Maciocia says the club has to now start being the aggressor.
“We got to get it out of our heads that we got to counter attack or counter punch,” he said. “We have to throw the first punch.”
Does this team have talent? Yes.
Have they dominated the two best teams in the CFL at times this season? Yes.
Unfortunately, they can’t rest on talent and moving the ball up and down the field and not scoring touchdowns. You can’t make it on talent alone. Clearly, there are players on this Eskimo team who don’t care enough, who aren’t willing to battle, and who simply don’t get it.
“We haven’t learned anything,” exclaimed head coach Richie Hall. “We’ve fallen into that same old trap. We have to be mentally tougher. We have to be physically tougher. When we’ve had success whether its last year or parts of this year, it’s because we’ve been aggressive.”
Friday will now be the ultimate test of character for the Eskimos.
How will they handle the pressure from the fans, media, and the organization itself with the ax clearly about to swing if they fall down again?
Will their vulnerability make them play apprehensive or will they become the wounded animal.
Click your heels and find out at 7:08pm Edmonton Time.
Notes: The Eskimos are expected to make some lineup changes. Import Jeremy Parquet looks like he’ll make his CFL debut along the offensive line replacing non-import Joe McGrath who’ll be a healthy scratch. Non-import Adam Braidwood will play his first CFL regular season game since late in the 2007 season at defensive tackle in place of import Justin Brown. Non-import safety Jason Nugent will start in place of 2010 second round draft pick Saleem Borhot who suffered a hamstring injury vs. Winnipeg.