September 8, 2017

Game Day Preview: Stampeders at Eskimos

The Eskimos were hoping to sweep their annual home-and-home series with the Calgary Stampeders and wanted to have at least a split of the two games.

Obviously, the first scenario is out the window with Monday’s 39-18 loss in the Labour Day Classic at Calgary, but the second option is still in play.

The Esks can win the season series by knocking off the Stampeders in Saturday’s 7 p.m. rematch at The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium plus the third game between the teams on Oct. 28 in Edmonton.

But, right now, they’ve fallen further behind their provincial rivals. Calgary leads the West Division with a 8-1-1 record while the Eskimos have dropped into a tie for second place with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 7-3.

“Stop the bleeding for us and get back onto a positive note of what we do, defend your home turf,” Eskimos head coach Jason Maas said about Saturday’s contest. “We feel very good about this game; I feel, personally, very good about it.”

Splitting the two games this week would allow Edmonton to snap a three-game losing streak.

“What just happened to us and what just transpired over the last three games is going to make us a better football team,” Maas said. “All of the adversity we’re facing right now … we faced a ton of it through our first seven games and came out on the better end of all of them. But this is a different type of adversity. This is a mental adversity, this is a physical adversity, this is a little bit of everything and we’re going to come out of it. And when we do, you better watch out.

“I feel like the same team that won seven games is pretty close to the same team that just lost three,” Maas added. “There’s things we haven’t done well enough in those three games to win.”

He said the recipe for disaster in the last three games, when the Eskimos have fallen behind early each time, “has been turning over the ball on offence, having key penalties on defence and giving up things on special teams early in games.” He called them “self-inflicted” wounds that have led the Esks to play like they’re “the worst team in the league.”

“I feel like that’s behind us,” said Maas. “I feel like our fourth quarter in that game (Monday) was more of a testament of who we are and of the team that was 7-0. That was the positive I took in that game, the finish that we had in that game propels us into the next one and then it’s a fresh start.”

The Eskimos are excited about playing on their home turf, where they have a 4-1 record this season. An added bonus is having former CFL all-star wide receiver Derel Walker rejoin the team after an unsuccessful tryout with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I’m just comfortable here; I feel home,” said Walker, whose agent was contacted by all nine CFL teams. “I’m happy to be back.”

Walker, who combined with veteran slotback Adarius Bowman for a CFL-record 3,318 yards by two receivers last year, said he feels like he’s joining what was already the best receiving staff in the CFL.

“He’s going to have a big impact right away for us,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly. “Obviously, I couldn’t be more excited about getting a piece of our puzzle back in action.”

Kenny Stafford comes off the roster to make room for Walker.

Maas said the Eskimos “weren’t good enough on Monday; we need to be good enough on Saturday.”

It should help getting several players back from the injured list this week – including defensive end Phillip Hunt (missed eight games) and defensive tackle Euclid Cummings (two games), who were pulled off the six-game injured list early, plus defensive tackle Da’Quan Bowers and linebacker/special teams Blair Smith.

The Eskimos depth has been challenged all year, with 39 of the 77 players who have played at least one game spending time on the injured list. The team had 24 players on the injured list for Monday’s game.

The Esks made only five player changes this week, but it was mostly adding former starters to the roster rather than losing them this time. The only starter from Monday’s game who isn’t playing is offensive lineman Danny Groulx. Backup David Beard will start at left guard.

Because of ratio issues, 2017 draft pick Christophe Mulumba-Tshimanga is listed as the starter at middle linebacker, with international Alex Hoffman-Ellis and Smith backing him up.

The defensive line, which hasn’t been able to create much pressure on the opposing quarterback in the last couple of games, gets a huge boost with the return of Cummings, Bowers and Hunt.

The Eskimos only victory in the rematch game during the past decade was 27-16 in 2015 when Reilly returned from an injury to make his first start since the season-opener. Edmonton went on to win 10 straight games, including the Grey Cup over the Ottawa RedBlacks at Winnipeg.

“This is the big weekend,” Reilly said. “In the championship season we had, this is when we kind of turned the corner.”

The Esks didn’t win last year’s rematch, losing 34-28 in double-overtime, but Maas says they “probably should have won that game.” It also served as a turning point for the team.

“We lost both games (Labour Day Classic and the rematch) and we lost only one more time the rest of the year until the playoffs,” Maas said about the 2016 season. “We got on a roll right after those games, 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.

“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. 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 this end your season.”

Besides getting their confidence back and knocking the Stampeders off their high horse, a win Saturday would also provide a little breathing room in the West Division standings for Edmonton. Behind Winnipeg are the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who enter the week at 5-4, riding a three-game win streak, and the B.C. Lions at 5-5. The playoff race in the West could feature a wild finish this season involving at least four and maybe all five teams.