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EDMONTON – With bye week out of the way, the Elks have begun their preparation for Thursday’s Home Opener against the Montreal Alouettes.
The focus on the field for Day 1 of practice was getting the players going after a week off, and most importantly, making sure everyone is on the same page.
“I’m glad it was hot because we had to work through a little bit of that bye week,” Elks Head Coach Mark Kilam said after Sunday’s practice. “So we worked it out and we pushed today.”
Kilam and his staff are tasked with turning around a Green and Gold side whose on-field play the last few years doesn’t fit with the franchise’s legendary reputation. Getting the Double E back on track will not be an overnight process. The task of integrating 19 new starters – when compared to Week 1 of the 2024 season – into brand-new offensive, defensive, and special teams systems is a monumental undertaking.
The Elks players are taking it upon themselves to make sure that they are all speaking the same language once the home opener hits. Plenty of time was spent on refining their craft following Sunday’s practice, including running through plays to get the timing down, and the chemistry necessary for success, in a game with so many moving parts.
Leading that charge was the offence and Tre Ford, who is looking to build off a season debut where he showed off his electric ability, but also some of the hiccups that come along with learning a brand-new offence. Ford completed 67 per cent of his passes for 178 yards in Week 1, but an errant interception to Lions linebacker Ben Hladik are the moments in a game that can be cleaned up with more time spent as a team in Jordan Maksymic’s offence.
“He’s one of 12. The offense doesn’t work unless all 12 are doing their jobs,” Kilam said about his QB. “That’s just like defense. That’s just like special teams. We all want to be responsible for our 12s, and we all have things that we need to correct. That’s what the focus is on. It’s not just Tre, it’s not just one spot, it’s all of them working together.”
Nick Anderson, who notched a team-high nine tackles against B.C., believes that home opener against Montreal can serve as a measuring stick towards the work the team has put in over the bye week and during the time away from the team facility. The Alouettes enter Thursday’s game with a perfect 2-0 record, but to be the best, the Double E need to prove they can beat the best.
“I like us against anybody, but that’s what we want,” Anderson said. “Beginning of the season, we want to play who seems to be the best in the league, so we can see where we are at, and we can really show what we can do.”
Anderson was a member of the last season’s Elks team that had to drag itself out of an early season hole caused by a 0-7 start. While this year’s squad is filled with enough talent and character that a rehash of last season seems unlikely, it’s up to the guys in the room to turn over that narrative and show the fans that this team is different than years past.
“I feel like starting this week, this is the time to get over that hump instead of just saying, okay, we’re going to do it,” Anderson said. “Let’s start with this week getting over that hump, being able to finish close games, and get a win at home in front of these fans.”