Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, wrote in a letter in 1789 that “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
You can add one more sure thing – the Eskimos defence will go hard after the opposing team’s quarterback every single game and get to him more often than not.
“We know that most teams know this D-line is coming off the ball, we’re coming after them,” said defensive tackle Mike Moore, who collected his team-high ninth quarterback sack and his second fumble recovery of the season in Saturday’s game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium.
“We know they’re trying to slow us down, but we’re doing what we can to get there,” Moore added.
Defensive end Kwaku Boateng and nosetackle Almondo Sewell each have eight sacks this season while defensive end Nick Usher has six for the Eskimos, who lead the league with 54 celebrations after tackling the opponent’s QB while he still has the ball.
“We were on attack mode,” weak-side linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox said about the Eskimos defence last week. “We are an aggressive defence, for sure, and we showed that early. They made adjustments, like the great team that they are, so hats off to them. But we’ll make our adjustments, too, and we’ll be better.”
The Eskimos and Riders will play the second half of their home-and-home series to conclude the CFL’s regular season at 2 p.m. Saturday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
Santos-Knox, who has been with the Eskimos all season, has played only the last two contests. He had a team-high eight defensive tackles and a sack against the Riders.
“It definitely feels good to find where I fit in this defence,” he said after the game. “At one point, I didn’t know if I was going to be out there (because of his injured foot) this year, so just to be out there is a blessing, for sure.”
Santos-Knox had only one defensive tackle in his season debut on Oct. 12 against the BC Lions, but he was just as effective as he was against the Roughriders, according to Eskimos Linebacker Coach Travis Brown.
“He wasn’t a huge factor, statistically, but he was firing off the ball, he was in (BC quarterback) Mike Reilly’s face on those first two series, he got two quarterback hits,” Brown said after the BC game. “And then he just does his job and brings a different type of energy. You’ll see him running around being excited for other guys.
“He just helps to bring up the morale of the defence. He’s a playmaker. I’m excited to see him progress through the post-season.”
Brown has been spoiled by the high calibre of linebackers he’s been able to work with during his first two seasons as a CFL assistant coach.
Last year, there was middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt, an eight-year CFL veteran who was the heart and soul of the defence and the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2012.
This year, middle linebacker Larry Dean, who was signed as a free agent after playing three seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, has excelled in the same role.
“I’ve been very privileged with this (linebacker) group,” Brown said. “One of the best leadership groups that I’ve been a part of, and that’s not going against J.C. (Sherritt) at all. He was a great leader.
“But with this group, it’s a really tight group. And Larry Dean is just a different animal. He demands respect and the players give it to him.
“He’s just awesome to not even coach because he’s very savvy as is, but more mentor him along as the season progresses on little things we’re doing with the scheme,” Brown continued. “But he’s very intelligent. He’s got a good grasp on that meeting room. He’s a very respectful guy, and the players respect the heck out of him.”
Brown also has been impressed with rookie linebacker Vontae Diggs, who played the first 15 games on the weak-side while Santos-Knox was recovering from the broken foot he suffered while playing against the Eskimos in the final game of the 2018 regular season.
“He stepped up and had a heck of a year,” Brown said about Diggs. “He’s still a young guy. With Santos-Knox coming back, both of them are playmakers, and we’re finding ways to get them both on the field at the same time. That’s kind of what we’re working towards.
“What says a lot to me is Diggs had a heck of a rookie year so far, Santos-Knox comes back, sits a week and then earns the starting spot back, and Diggs had nothing bad to say. Vontae sat there and supported Santos-Knox the whole time, helped him with the little things that he missed from practice.
“That’s something you don’t see all the time,” Brown pointed out. “A lot of guys, especially younger dudes, you get in that situation, and they shut the door on everybody, and they throttle it down, and they feel sorry for themselves. Diggs has been the opposite of that. He’s only been more positive about the situation, and he knows it’s a long season, and there’s still the playoff picture to go, and he’s got a big role on special teams. He’s handled the situation really well.”
Of course, you can’t really talk about the Eskimos linebackers without mentioning strong-side linebacker Don Unamba, even though his role is more often associated with the defensive backs. Unamba had two quarterback sacks against Saskatchewan, giving him six on the season, forced his second fumble this year and made his 40th defensive tackle.
“He’s more with the DBs, but we have packages where I have the privilege to work with him a little bit more and some of his (plays) versus the run,” Brown said. “Don is an awesome dude. Same way as Dean very respectful. Both of those guys, Dean and Don, plus Almondo Sewell provide great leadership.
“Really, the one guy who surprised me – and I’m talking more about the full defence now – is Jordan Hoover (50 defensive tackles, including five in Saturday’s game, two interceptions, a quarterback sack and two fumble recoveries in his first season as the starting safety). He’s really stepped in and become one of those (leadership) guys. When he makes a play, he gets everybody excited.”