EDMONTON – It’s a fresh start for the Elks under Interim Head Coach Jarious Jackson.
As the team prepared for Friday night’s rematch against the Ottawa RedBlacks, the newly installed Head Coach was working to make the small changes necessary to push his team in the right direction.
Edmonton comes into the contest with a deceiving but earned 0-5 record, having lost the last four games all by a field goal margin – with an incredible three straight walk-off defeats. The results dictated a change in their football operations, with General Manager and Head Coach Chris Jones being relieved of his duties after two-plus seasons on the job.
Jackson now gets his opportunity to lead the Green and Gold, and it will be up to him to find a way to turn those narrow defeats into wins.
“It’s been numb, to say the least. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” Jackson said about the week. “I’m telling the guys, we have to focus on what we control at this time — and that’s our energy, effort, and our focus and attention to detail. If I’m giving that advice, I’ve definitely got to take it.”
GAME NECESSITIES
The changes in Jackson role are sweeping. The former quarterback is no longer only responsible for just the offence — he must make sure the other two phases of the game are up to snuff as well. On gameday, Jackson will be trading in his birds-eye view from the pressbox to one right in the action on the sidelines.
It’s one that the coach has experienced before and he believes will keep him better connected to the feel of a game.
“Being the interim head coach now, I’ve got decisions I have to make on the sideline and understand the flow of the game,” Jackson said. “When you’re on the sideline, you get more of a feel for the players and what’s going on the sideline as opposed to kind of being isolated upstairs in the booth.”
Jackson already has all the experience needed to be a leader of men, it’s the product of being a pro quarterback for the better part of a decade. He’ll need to tap into that experience as he shifts the leadership spotlight to himself
“I’m just going to be me and I think the guys have accepted me. I mean, guys are coming up here to me left and right, telling me how they’ve got my back,” Jackson said. “That’s awesome to hear and know that the guys are pulling for me. They’re going to do everything that they can to help us get this thing turned around.”
Part of the turnaround Jackson hopes to enact centers around team discipline. The Elks are currently second last in the CFL in penalties per game (8.6) with a league high 19 on defence and 13 on special teams. With all of the Elks games being decided by a single score, a 15-yard penalty here or there could be the difference between a win and a loss.
“That’s been my biggest thing to the guys this morning when I was telling them no more of the 15-yard penalties, no more penalties that are putting us in bad positions,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to play complimentary football in all three phases, and that’s what it comes down to.”
The Elks are expected to dress much of the same lineup that they trotted out last Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium. The only change on the depth chart was back up linebacker and special teamer Aubrey Miller Jr. sitting out for rookie defensive lineman Nate Taylor.
For the RedBlacks, they will be without outstanding kick returner DeVonte Dedmon and lineman Zach Pelehos. Former CFL number-one pick Dontae Bull draws in for his second game of the season.