Coming off the most complete game this season in a convincing 46-23 win at Toronto, the Eskimos greet Saskatchewan this week.
Friday, at the Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium, the Eskimos players are taking a cautious attitude.
Quarterback Mike Reilly is well-aware that the Eskimos have to keep their momentum going.
“It’s a Western Division game, for sure,” said Reilly. “Every game we play is incredibly important and that’s all we focus on. Any time you’re playing against a Western team, that importance grows a bit. They’re a team in the West and it’s an opportunity for us to build on what we did last week.
“I couldn’t even tell you who we have after Saskatchewan,” said. Reilly. “No team in this league is good enough to look past anybody else. The talent level is pretty even across the board. It’s proven this year that whoever comes out and plays the best, wins. It’s not necessarily the team with the best record. It’s the team that plays the best on game day. We have to make sure we’re that team.
“Last time out, our execution and our discipline was the best it was all year. It was nice to see we didn’t hurt ourselves like we have done in the past.”
Reilly will not only be running against a Riders Chris Jones offence, he’ll be facing a couple of defensive players who happen to be former teammates.
“We built a lot of memories with those teams the last two years,” said Reilly. “Those are good friendships that we’ll always have. When it comes to football, it’s business. When the whistle blows, they’re the opponent.”
Even though Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker remain the CFL’s leading receiving duo, the Eskimos last outing showed the running backs and the team’s Canadian receivers can also produce.
“We had a very good outing last week,” said centre Justin Sorensen. “The best part is we left a lot out there. There’s tons of stuff we can clean up and get even more yards and more production. That’s very exciting to have an opportunity this week to click at an even higher level and put up some huge yards.
“There’s a lot of great players on that team. We definitely have a challenge.”
Saskatchewan quarterback Darian Durant has a couple of dangerous weapons in the form of receivers Naaman Roosevelt and Rob Bagg. Edmonton can counter with corner Pat Watkins, named a CFL Player of the Week on Tuesday.
“You can’t take anybody lightly,” said defensive lineman Almondo Sewell, whose two sacks in his last outing gave him a team-leading six. “They might come out here, play the best game of their lives and beat us. We have to take them very seriously no matter what their record says.
“He’s (Jones) always going to have those guys ready, so we have to be ready as well. It’s a Western Division game and we need it, we need to keep it going.”