If Mike Reilly was a commodity, his stock would be soaring.
The Eskimos quarterback was already considered one of the CFL’s top players, but his value has been increasing by leaps and bounds this season.
While the Esks have suffered through an incredible run of injuries that affected players at almost every position, Reilly has been the glue that holds the offence together. He has helped Edmonton start the season with a perfect 7-0 record heading into Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. MDT game at Winnipeg against the Blue Bombers.
Only one Eskimos team (10-0 in 1955) has won more games at the start of a season.
“When you have a marquee quarterback, a quarterback who makes everyone better, it’s not as easy to see it when everyone is healthy,” said Edmonton head coach Jason Maas. “But as soon as pieces start falling down and you still play at a high level, that’s when you start recognizing how important that position is and how good he actually is.
“He’s done a tremendous job this year having pieces come in and out of the lineup, but it hasn’t stopped us from being productive as an offence,” Maas continued. “Kudos go to Mike for keeping those things together.”
Of course, Maas also acknowledged that all of the new players coming into the lineup (there are currently 20 players on the injured list, 16 of them on the six-game portion) have been also effective in doing the same calibre of job as the starter before them did because football is never a one-man show.
For example, the Eskimos played last week with an offensive line that had a national player (David Beard) making his first CFL start at centre, two players at a different position than they usually play, one player making his Eskimos debut and one player returning from the injury list and still managed to keep the Ottawa RedBlacks pressure on Reilly to less than 20 per cent.
“The difference between the pressure on Trevor (Harris, Ottawa’s QB) and the pressure on Mike was night and day,” Maas said. “In order to win in this league, your quarterback has to feel comfortable back there and being able to see things. Any time he’s not, it’s very difficult to win ball games.”
Reilly was named a CFL star of the week for a second time this season after recording his fourth straight 300-plus-yard passing game and fifth of the season last week against Ottawa. He was also named a CFL player of the month for July, passed for a touchdown in a club-record 17th consecutive regular-season game against Ottawa and his name has been already mentioned as the top candidate for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player award.
The 32-year-old veteran has passed for 2,329 yards and 13 TDs this season despite missing all-star slotback Adarius Bowman since the third game and also losing Brandon Zylstra, who was the Eskimos top receiver this year when he was injured two games ago. In addition, LaDarius Perkins is the Esks third starting running back this season.
Then there’s all of the recent changes on the O-line, which this week has veteran Justin Sorensen returning to centre and Danny Groulx back at left guard after both players missed the last game, with Matt O’Donnell returning to right guard after playing on the left side against Ottawa.
The Eskimos big changes for the Bombers game is the absence of all-star nosetackle Almondo Sewell, who was placed on the one-game injured list, and defensive end Marcus Howard (six-game). Backup nosetackle Da’Quan Bowers, who has four quarterback sacks and three pressures, and Euclid Cummings, who has three sacks and 10 pressures, will man the interior of the defensive line while 2017 draft pick Kwaku Boateng (fifth round) will join veteran Odell Willis (six sacks and a CFL-leading 18 pressures) at the defensive end positions.
Maas said that Bowers, an Eskimos newcomer this year who spent five seasons with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is “fast, powerful, he’s quick, he’s got a little bit of everything for a D-lineman” when he’s on his game.
“He’ll only improve as the year goes on and he gets more CFL reps under his belt and better conditioned,” Maas pointed out. “We’ve had a great rotation in there. Now it’s his job to step up a little bit.”
Meanwhile, international wide receiver Duke Williams (16 catches, 282 yards, 1 TD) returns to the starting lineup after sitting out the last two games with an injury.
Every Eskimos game this season has come down to one of two outcomes – either Reilly directs a game-winning touchdown march (four times) or the Green and Gold defence shuts down the opponent in the fourth quarter to preserve the win – as Edmonton has outscored its opponents by only 35 points.
“That’s been our standard,” said linebacker Kenny Ladler. “We’ve got each other’s back when we need each other.”
The Blue Bombers (5-2) will present a challenge in that aspect because former Eskimos QB Matt Nichols has assembled three game-winning drives this season and eight among Winnipeg’s 16 wins during the last two years.
“They’ve shown that they know how to close out games and make the big plays happen at the very end when they need them,” noted Reilly, who was battling the stomach flu earlier this week. “Every game this year comes down to the wire.
“You’ve got two teams who are successful at making positive things happen, so we expect the same type of game,” he continued. “We expect it to come down to the end; we expect we’re going to make the plays when they’re there to be made. I’m sure they’re confident they’re going to be able to do that as well.”
Winnipeg has scored 33 or more points in each of their last four games, winning the last three.
“You’ve just got to keep them off-balanced and keep Matty Ice (Nichols) off his spot because once they get their rhythm, they’re a pretty good football team,” Willis said. “Matty Ice, we played against him and we played with him, and once that offence gets a good rhythm going, they’re pretty tough to deal with. They’ve got a nice running game with Andrew Harris and the O-line is physical.
Edmonton has never lost in Winnipeg since Investors Group Field opened in 2013, including five regular-season games and the 2015 Grey Cup match.
“I saw that their 50-50 is starting off at ($100,000), so they’re obviously doing a lot to try and pump that crowd up,” said Reilly. “It’s always a difficult place to play and it’s always a loud crowd and they’re playing good football right now.”
The Blue Bombers are only the second West Division team the Eskimos will play this season. Edmonton has already swept two games from the B.C. Lions.
SHORT YARDAGE: The only Eskimos players to start every game this season are Willis, Cummings, Ladler and DB Brandyn Thompson on defence and Reilly, receivers Vidal Hazelton and Cory Watson, fullback Calvin McCarty and right guard O’Donnell on offence … The Eskimos have won the time of possession battle each of the last six games, have not allowed the opponent to rush for 100 yards in the last five games and held opponents to less than 300 yards passing for the last 17 regular-season games.