Dave Campbell
CFL.ca
At 8pm on Saturday in Regina. The chariot turned back into a pumpkin, the horses back into mice, the coachman into a rat, and the footmen into lizards. Yes, Cinderella was back in her tattered dress and gone was the beautiful evening gown.
The 2010 season of the Edmonton Eskimos came to an abrupt end at the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders losing 31-23. The Eskimos were trying to win their sixth game in their last seven outings, needing a victory to clinch a playoff spot after the B.C. Lions put the pressure on by beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats earlier in the day.
“My heart goes out to the players because they’ve played so hard down this last stretch”, lamented head coach Richie Hall. “They deserved better but you got to make the most of your opportunities and we had chances. Basically we just ran out of time”.
The Eskimos held a 16-5 lead in the second quarter. The game turned late in the first half when Derek Schiavone had the ball go off the side of his foot on a punt which sailed just 18 yards giving the Riders a short field. They would go on to score 26 straight points and lead 31-16 going into the fourth quarter.
The approximately 18 minute collapse was a microcosm of the entire season. During that stretch you saw inconsistent special teams, a struggling offence, a defence that missed tackles, and a team who took bad penalties at the wrong times.
Then in the fourth quarter you witnessed a team who didn’t quit – the same team who rallied after a 2-9 record and came together in Moncton, New Brunswick. When it was all said and done on Saturday, it was a team who couldn’t quite dig themselves out of hole that was formed early in the season.
Quarterback Ricky Ray summed up the season.
“It wasn’t a good season,” he said. “We struggled quite a bit especially early on in the season. We got things turned around and played a lot better coming down the stretch. That’s what happens sometimes, it takes everybody in this room to go out there and perform well and we just weren’t helping each other out early in the season and playing some bad football.”
Richie Hall from day one believed in his football team even after an 0-4 start, a 1-6 and a 2-9 record. He stated time and time again that he felt he was coaching a good football team. He didn’t waver in his high opinion of the team even after it was all over.
“Perseverance, drive, determination, pride,” said Hall describing his team.
“They got hearts of gold. We were at one point 2-9 and it came down to Week 19 to have the opportunity to go to the playoffs. That shows a lot about them, its shows a lot about the character of this locker room and I’m very proud of them.”
It showed in Hall’s post-game speeches. He truly loved coaching every single one of his players. In return, the players rallied around their head coach. Hall was rumoured to be fired if the Eskimos lost to the Argonauts in Moncton. Instead, the players began to really start playing their best football. General manager Eric Tillman will have to make a decision about Richie Hall soon. Did Hall do enough to warrant keeping his job? Perhaps a win on Saturday and another win in the playoffs would have been enough.
In any event it’s very likely a decision will be rendered soon.
Its Tillman’s time now after letting Hall, Ed Hervey, and Dan MacKinnon run the team for the rest of the season following his hiring on September 14th. Questions about the future of some players have already started to surface. The Eskimos have two quality running backs, one being Arkee Whitlock who didn’t play in the second half because of a foot injury. The other is Daniel Porter who rushed for 603 yards in just six games. Do you keep both or perhaps trade one of them? Do you change your kicking game and bring in a punter to compliment Derek Schiavone? Where do some veterans like Patrick Kabongo, Dario Romero, Andre Talbot, and Kamau Peterson fit into the long term plans? And the most pressing question of all – what about Ricky Ray’s future?
“I’m going into my option year (which is a team option),” explained Ray. “I hope I can come back here. I never wished this day would come where you’re wondering about what’s going to happen. Hopefully I have another opportunity to come back here and play for this city.”
If Ray comes back, it’ll have to be for less money.
Eric Tillman’s four pillars of success are:
1) Depth at quarterback
2) Strong Canadian talent
3) Reliable kicking game
4) Good coaching staff
It’s going to be a long, busy, and intriguing off-season in the Alberta Capital.