Photo Credit: Canadian Press
Adarius Bowman returns to the Eskimos lineup after missing the last six games with the intent of changing recent outcomes in the Labour Day Classic.
But will the addition of the all-star slotback, along with weak-side linebacker Adam Konar and new place-kicker Chris Milo plus the Eskimos’ embarrassment of losing 54-31 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in their last game on Aug. 25, be enough to stop a surging 7-1-1 Calgary Stampeders team that has limited opponents to only 11.8 points while winning its last five games?
“What better game to come back in,” Bowman said about facing the Stampeders, who are riding a 14-game winning streak at McMahon Stadium.
“I’ve been here seven years now, so it’s been tough when we go down there,” Bowman said. “We’re really trying to make a change this year. … We’ve got our things that we do and don’t do during this week and we’re teaching them to the younger guys. This is definitely something that’s serious with the veteran guys.”
Calgary has led each of the last four Labour Day Classics from start to finish and won each of the last five Labour Day games plus nine of the last 11.
The last time the Eskimos held a lead in the first game of the mid-season home-and-home series was in 2012, but their 30-25 advantage in the final two minutes didn’t stand up.
“This is when the CFL season starts to me,” Bowman said. “From this point all the way to the Grey Cup, it’s totally different. I think these (young) guys are going to see something that they’ve probably never experienced in their life. I just try to keep them calm.”
The Eskimos got off to a 7-0 start this year, which was incredible considering the boatload of injuries the team has suffered at almost every position. But that sense of optimism has been disrupted by back-to-back losses that dropped Edmonton into a dog fight for first place in the West Division with Calgary and the red-hot Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-2).
Considering Calgary’s recent domination of the Labour Day Classic plus winning nine of the last 10 games when the teams meet for a rematch at Commonwealth Stadium later in the week, some fans are worried that the Esks’ losing streak may quickly double to four games.
“Our guys are ready to roll,” said Eskimos head coach Jason Maas. “They want to get the bad taste of the last two weeks out of their mouth and go down there and smack somebody up.
“The objective is to win both games, but ultimately, you want to be playing really good football at the end of the year and this helps that. But by no means does (a loss or two against Calgary) end your season.”
Maas pointed out that the Eskimos lost the second game of last year’s series with the Stampeders in double-overtime and “probably should have won that game.”
“We got on a roll right after those games (losing only one game for the rest of the regular season), so sometimes when you play someone like Calgary, who are as good as they are, they bring out the best in you and you kind of get to measure yourself up,” he said. “That’ll just be like it is this year. It’s a good measuring stick for both clubs to see where we’re at this time of year.”
Of course, if the Eskimos can win one or both of games against the Stamp, “the confidence you gain from beating a great football club is a huge momentum deal for the rest of the year, for sure,” said Maas.
The leadership of Esks quarterback Mike Reilly could be a huge factor in Monday’s game. Reilly is on a mission to perform better than he did against the Roughriders, when his streaks of five straight games with 300 or more passing yards and 18 games in a row with at least one touchdown pass were broken.
“It wasn’t good football on my part,” he said. “It wasn’t good enough in a lot of areas.”
Reilly couldn’t wait to get back to practice after the Saskatchewan game, so he had a bunch of the offensive players come out to Commonwealth Stadium for a workout during the team’s five-day break last week “because I didn’t think the guys wanted to sit around that long.” Unfortunately, the players were able to practice for only 20 minutes before getting kicked out by the security for the Guns N’ Roses concert.
“The first two days after the (Riders) game were tough days. I didn’t sleep very well,” Reilly said. “I take a lot of pride in how I play, I take a lot of pride in how I prepare and how I lead our team. It always starts at the top. My performance wasn’t good enough in general, of course, but also, that type of stuff trickles down to the rest of the team.
“Once I moved on from that, it kind of lit a little bit of a fire. I think I always play a little bit better pissed off, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”
The Eskimos also had some team bonding last week, with a team picture and picnic on Wednesday.
“I wanted that family feel for this game,” Maas said. “We’re going to need it going down there in a hostile environment.”
It may seem like a quick shift from “family feel” to “hostile environment,” but that’s what the Eskimos are going to deal with in Monday’s game.
“At the end of the day, our guys have got to beat them up up front,” Maas said about his offensive and defensive lines. “It’s going to be a physical matchup and our guys have to physically dominate the game. If they can do that, it’ll be a good day for us.”
The Eskimos defensive line expects to provide more pressure with recently acquired veteran defensive end John Chick having had a full week of practice instead of a day-and-a-half to get to know new teammates after travelling across the country.
“He’s had time to adjust now to our team, to how we do things here, how we practice, terminology,” Maas said. “You’re going to see a more comfortable John Chick and, for that, our D-line will help out and it’ll pay dividends for all of us.”
Maas also expects Konar to “give us the juice that we need at that position” after missing the last six games with an injury. Since Konar was injured, two of the other three players who attempted to fill his cleats at weak-side linebacker were also hurt.
The Eskimos picked up Milo late in the week. The 30-year-old kicker, who had been recently hired by the Esks as a Canadian university scout, played six years in the CFL and was on the winning team in two of three Grey Cup appearances.
“Very unexpected, but very happy to be here,” Milo said after practising with the Eskimos for the first time on Saturday. “I’ll try to help this team win some crucial games.”
Milo, who last played with the Ottawa Redblacks last October (he missed the last four games of the season with an injury), is already familiar with the other two members of the kicking team he’ll work with. Levi Steinhauer, who is replacing the injured Ryan King, was his long-snapper with Saskatchewan while backup quarterback Danny O’Brien was his holder with the Redblacks.
He also has previous experience of joining a team in mid-season, having been picked up by the Redblacks in 2015.
Hugh O’Neill will remain the Eskimos punter, which is his forte, according to Maas.
SHORT YARDAGE: The Eskimos haven’t had their entire starting international receiver corps on the field since the third game of the season. With Bowman rejoining Brandon Zylstra and Duke Williams on Monday, only wide receiver Vidal Hazleton (hamstring), who suffered a setback in practice and was placed on the six-game injured list, is missing … The Eskimos have 24 players on the injured list, including 22 on the six-game list. Among the players joining the walking wounded this week are cornerback Johnny Adams, who injured his shoulder in practice, and defensive lineman Da’Quan Bowers, who are both placed on the one-game injured list. Linebacker Terrance Bullitt, cornerback Arjen Colquhoun and safety Josh Woodman were added to the six-game injured list … Mercy Maston, who will make his sixth appearance this season, replaces Adams while 2017 draft pick Jordan Hoover will back up Cauchy Maumba at safety … New additions are Darius Allen (defensive line) and James Tuck (special teams) … National running back Pascal Lochard makes his first start because of ratio challenges, although international running back LaDarius Perkins is still on the game roster … Several former Eskimos players were recently released by NFL teams – wide receiver Derel Walker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), linebacker Deon Lacey (Miami Dolphins), defensive back Aaron Grymes (Philadelphia Eagles) and linebacker Otha Foster (Baltimore Ravens).