Trevor Hagan
But based on an impressively veteran roster, a strong coaching staff and — granted — a sample size of precisely one regular-season game (a 36-28 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers), they don’t look or play like one. So far.
Nor do they think of themselves as an expansion outfit, which is important, given the value of self-belief on the field of play.
“We are a first-year team,” said Rick Campbell, the longtime Eskimos assistant who will be coaching his second CFL game, but his first in the stadium where teams his father, Hugh, coached or managed won so many championships. “I don’t think we get offended by that (being called an expansion club), we just have the attitude that we’re not that way.
“There are enough veteran coaches and players that have been around this league long enough and know what it takes to win games, and we feel we’ve got some pieces in place to where we can be competitive.
“So, why not us, as far as going out and winning games?”
From the Eskimos perspective, here’s why not: If you’re on the rebound from a 4-14 season, and you’re off to a 2-0 start in 2014, you have to keep the momentum going against Ottawa. You have to beat the REDBLACKS, no matter how high their collective self-esteem is. You have to run your won-lost record to 3-0. Simple as that.
You have to do this not merely to continue to re-establish your on-field performance under first year head coach Chris Jones, but to keep on winning back fans who have drifted away from the fold.
The REDBLACKS are an uncommonly solid ‘expansion’ team. For the Eskimos, that can’t matter.
Yes, Campbell’s first-year coaching staff includes former Eskimos staffers Mark Nelson (defensive co-ordinator), Marcus Crandell (quarterbacks), Travis Moore (receivers) and Leroy Blugh (defensive line), a former Eskimos star defensive lineman who coached here under Kavis Reed.
The REDBLACKS roster is dotted with ex-Eskimos such as Dobson Collins, Marcus Henry, Matt Carter, Alexander Krausnick, Brandon Lang, Justin Capicciotti and T.J. Hill, long their leader on defence.
Oh. Plus, their quarterback is Henry Burris, an Eskimos killer for a decade as a Calgary Stampeder, who signed a three-year deal in Ottawa after the Hamilton Tiger-Cats cut him loose at the end of last season.
“Yeah, they have a mixture of different offences because they have players from different teams,” Eskimos middle linebacker Rennie Curran said. “There are a lot of different influences.
“But we know, at the end of the day, it’s a team with a chip on its shoulder. They’re going to try to come in here and establish themselves. We’re not taking them lightly, by any means. It’s definitely going to be a battle.
“We’re definitely not expecting just to roll our helmet out there and win the game. We know it’s going to be a fight for every inch. We saw what they did last week, coming out on fire and getting early points.
“We’re really going to have to shut them down from the get-go.”
Indeed, the REDBLACKS racked up three early touchdowns against the Blue Bombers, but weren’t able to hold the lead.
Curran said Job 1 for the Eskimos is to shut down Ottawa’s run game, which is built around former Tiger-Cats standout Chevon Walker, who carried the ball 15 times for 62 yards against the Blue Bombers.
The Eskimos will take their chances by “putting the game in Henry Burris’s hands,” Curran said.
Not only does Burris know the Eskimos will live and die with forcing him to rely on the pass, the 39-year-old, two-time Grey Champion knows precisely how a Jones defence will try to attack him.
Jones, of course, was defensive co-ordinator in Calgary for years when Burris was the quarterback there.
“You have to have an answer for everything they throw at you,” Burris said. “He’s going to throw a boatload of things to make sure that they can get you in second and long.
“They’re going to overload blitzes, they’re gong to bring seven-man blitzes with that front four, all three of their linebackers, six-man pressures with Rennie Curran and J.C. Sherritt on the inside, getting their guys to play man-to-man on the back end, do whatever they can to make you one dimensional … If the QB has a great day and picks them apart and the opposition wins because of that then, hey, they gave it all they could, that’s what he lives and dies for.
“ … It’s going to be a tough match up for us, this defence is playing great football. They lead the league in turnovers for a reason, and we have to be successful as far as knowing what their fronts are, knowing what to expect and having an answer for whatever blitzes they throw at us. And to make sure we discourage them from running those certain things and letting them know that if you do this, we’ll capitalize on it and hopefully get them out of those things.”
All except for the part about Sherritt, who is injured and will not play, sounds like Burris has a firm handle on what and who (rush ends Odell Willis and Marcus Howard) is coming.
For his part, Curran believes the Eskimos have to keep editing more and more chaff from their game.
“We have to not do those things to kill ourselves — penalties, letting the big plays happen, things that aren’t necessarily because of ability, but because of lack of concentration or a lack of discipline,” Curran said. “We know if we take care of those things, we’ve got a chance to be really good.”
