After winning five of their last six starts, the Eskimos finished fourth in the highly-competitive CFL West.
That means they’ll have to start their playoff run in Hamilton this Sunday, something that seems to be of minimal concern since the team’s finishing drive included four road games.
Hamilton is definitely a dangerous opponent, posting the best come-from-behind record on any CFL team this season.
They’ve got a world-class kick returner in Brandon Banks.
Their coach, Kent Austin, has won Grey Cups as both a player and coach.
Still, the Eskimos are ready.
“We’re as healthy as we’ve been all year right now,” said Head Coach Jason Maas. “That’s what you’d like to be this time of year and we’re excited that we are healthy. I don’t know how rare that is, but I feel real good where our team is right now. The more bodies you can get out here practicing, the better and the caliber of player that’s out there at this time of year is something special.”
Defensive back Pat Watkins, who sat out last game, is well aware of the skill set they are about to take on.
“They have Zach Collaros at the helm,” said Watkins about Hamilton’s all-star quarterback. “Everybody knows about Zach. I could sing his praises for 10 minutes if I wanted to. When you go against elite quarterbacks, you have to be on your game because quarterbacks can make great throws. They have a talented quarterback and all a receiver has to do is been in the spot they have to be in.”
After resting many of their starters on both sides of the ball in their last regular-season win against Toronto, including quarterback Mike Reilly, the Esks are not only as healthy as they have been all year, but is now more than raring to go.
“I think we have a pretty damn good team,” said Reilly. “I like our chances. I’m sure if you asked any player on any of the other five teams in the playoffs, they’d say the same thing.
“We’ll do what we need to do to get prepared for being east on the road rather than west on the road. We’ve got as good a group as any as far as being focused and ready to play.”
The emergence of the Eskimos running game in the second half of the season has meant their success has been built on a more balanced attack.
“If the running game is effective, it makes things a lot easier,” said Reilly. “The fact we’ve been pretty balanced for two months now takes the stress off the pass game and puts stress on the defence. It allows us to maintain drives easier. I think we’re more balanced in our offence right now that we were earlier in the year.”
Travelling east for a potential three-game run has its own quirks, but with a week between games, it’s less devastating than other situations.