November 23, 2011
Dave Campbell
ESKS.com
On Monday, the Edmonton Eskimos cleaned out their lockers. Their season ended a night earlier in Vancouver in the Western Final when they fell 40-23 to the BC Lions. Following the loss, the tears were flowing in the locker room as the harsh reality set in fast of a season that ended one game short.
These Eskimos were not just satisfied with making the playoffs, earning a home playoff for the first time in seven years, beating the Calgary Stampeders, and making the Western Final. They wanted to play in the Grey Cup game this Sunday. So when the players loaded their stuff into their garbage bags and shook hands and/or embraced each other, they took the pain of Sunday’s loss with them. Quarterback Ricky Ray says it’s always hard to end the season being so close to the ultimate prize.
“You know I kind of relate this to the ’02 season; we made the Grey Cup that year and ended up losing,” Ray said. “It was a tough loss for us and I remember using that as fuel in the off-season to get back and get ready and try to get better for next season. That’s what I think we’ve got to do. We have to say yeah that was a good season, but we have to come back a little bit more hungrier next year.”
The Eskimos ended up losing four of five meetings with the Lions, those four losses came all in a row. It was a big lesson for the Esks about preparation and execution. The Lions were far and away the better football team. Their defense is big and aggressive, their offense is well-balanced and seems to execute so flawlessly and score at will. Slotback Adarius Bowman says the loss just showed him that the Eskimos are simply not quite ready for prime time yet and he already has some goals for the 2012 season.
“Work harder, get better, get better everyday,” Bowman explained. “Another one of my mottos is at the end of the day the man who works harder will be rewarded. If I put my emotions to the side, those guys over there must have worked a little bit harder because they got us. I felt like (the Lions) were our competition this year. Not to knock the East or no other team, but BC was our challenge this year. It was a battle everytime we played them and they matched us everytime.”
Last off-season, General Manager Eric Tillman and Head Coach Kavis Reed tried to build a team that would compete with the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders. It worked, as Edmonton won three of four against Calgary and won all three games against the Riders. Now, the plan in the off-season for Reed is to build a club that will compete with the BC Lions better in 2012. That means Reed wants a team that is bigger and faster. That doesn’t mean that he, along with Tillman, will completely dismantle the team, but tweaks will be made.
The Eskimos have close to 12 free agents and at the top of the list is linebacker Rod Davis. Reed has already targeted Davis as a top priority to re-sign. Other free agents are receiver Andrew Nowacki, defensive lineman Greg Peach and Étienne Légaré, running backs Calvin McCarty and Hugh Charles, fullback Mathieu Bertrand, offensive lineman Kyle Koch, defensive back Delroy Clarke and kicker Derek Schiavone. Two players still have the NFL option window; running back Jerome Messam and slotback Adarius Bowman. Messam has the better chance of cracking the NFL and has workouts scheduled once his left knee recovers fully from a torn meniscus.
The Eskimos need to address their offensive line and not just one or two areas, but the whole line. This team has trouble finding the right combination. They played better in the middle part of the season, but dropped off down the stretch. A healthy Greg Wojt will help, Gord Hinse stepped forward and played well at centre.
The secondary led the CFL in interceptions which is very good, but the secondary also led the league in most passing touchdowns in the league, which must be looked at.
Finally, as well as the cover teams played, the return game didn’t do much this season. That might be as simple as first-year players needing more time to season up. Does Jason Armstead stick around? He warrants at least another look in training camp.
At the end of the day the 2011 Eskimo season was a big success. Many pundits expected Edmonton to finish out of the post-season. Despite enjoying a good season, Peach says expectations are higher for next season.
“This organization is about winning and that’s why we’re not satisfied with just getting there to the finals,” Peach said. “This needs to be a building block. We need to start doing this every year. Not just expecting playoffs, but expecting Grey Cups.”
The Eskimos are on the right track.