© 2025 Edmonton Elks. All rights reserved.
EDMONTON – Sunday’s game against Ottawa is all about continuing to build.
Reestablishing the culture of the Double E has been an ongoing process in the early parts of the season, and the contest against Ottawa gives the Elks a chance to see how much closer they have come to making it a reality.
One of the pieces brought in to help the Elks rebuild their identity is defensive lineman Robbie Smith, who has seen first hand what it takes to win as a multiple time Grey Cup Champion. The veteran was sold on the vision of what the Elks Football Operations wanted to build in Edmonton, and believes the team is close to achieving it.
“I’d say it’s a great culture and I think it starts from the top down,” Smith said. “I think that’s why the culture has been so good. Coach Killam has done a great job and he has great energy from what I’ve seen, and the players have really rallied off of him.”
“I think we’re just going to keep building and just keep continuing that good energy, and it’s going to keep stacking and turn into positive outcomes.”
There have been signs internally that this is not the same team that has had its struggles over the last four years, and it was evident last week in Winnipeg. After the Blue Bombers broke a couple of big plays in the second quarter to take a 13-point lead, the team could have folded in a similar style to last season’s 55-27 romp. Instead, the Elks battled back and entered the fourth quarter tied.
The energy on the bench was a marked difference, and it was the type of energy they want to bring into the game against the RedBlacks.
“I think that’s part of the culture, it’s not over till the final whistle is blown,” Smith said. “I think that’s just on us to keep playing and keep being competitive until late in the games. It’s not having bad body language, bad body posture, not feeling defeated early in games, knowing that we’re still competitive and we can still play.”
Part of the cultural shift is returning Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium to a place where opposing teams know it’s more likely than not they will be taking a sad trip home.
In a potential good omen for the Elks, Ottawa has historically been a team to set the home defending tone — with the Green and Gold sporting a career 27-5 record against the Canadian capital club at Commonwealth.
One area where the Elks will have to be on their A-game is slowing down RedBlacks quarterback Dru Brown. The pivot has missed the last three games due to a hip injury, but when he’s been behind centre, they Oklahoma State product has been slinging the ball. Brown’s last three starts dating back to 2024 have seen the pivot pass for over 400 yards in each contest. It’s a pedigree he has already shown against the Green and Gold – albeit a much different version of the team – when he torched the Elks for a career-best 480 yards passing in Week 5 of the 2024 season in a 37-34 barnburner.
“In my experience playing against him, he is definitely a guy that gets the ball out,” Smith said. “He’ll scramble to throw, and he is definitely a good passer, but I think he’s nothing that we can’t get after, or we can’t cause him to take some sacks, or cause some pressures, or cause some turnovers. I think that him coming back, they’re going to try and reignite their offense and we’re going to be out there to stop that.”