Contenders? Not without a win over Calgary
Edmonton must end long losing streak against provincial rivals
The Edmonton Eskimos haven’t beaten the Calgary Stampeders since Sept. 5, 2011, when they won 35-7 at McMahon Stadium.
The Eskimos have lost 10 consecutive Canadian Football League regular-season games to Calgary and last year’s playoff game during the past 48 months.
They’ve been outscored 331-238 in the regular season and were clobbered 43-18 in the playoffs.
The race to the CFL playoffs begins on Labour Day, and if the Eskimos hope to return to the Grey Cup for the first time since 2005, they have to find a way to defeat the Stampeders.
Adarius Bowman, Calvin McCarty, J.C. Sherritt and Marcus Howard are the only players on the Edmonton roster who know what it feels like to beat the Stampeders while wearing Green and Gold, but those memories are buried deep under 11 consecutive losses. Until the Eskimos defeat their provincial rivals, they won’t be considered a Grey Cup contender.
DUOS O R TRIOS ?
I’m told Oilers head coach Todd McLellan has not spoken to his players about line combinations, but like most NHL coaches he will lean more to duos than trios.
It is rare for three forwards to play together for the majority of the season and I expect the Oilers lines will change at times, but look for Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall to be a pair as well as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle.
Video of Hall and McDavid skating together at the BioSteel hockey camp in late August made headlines across the country. A source said Hall reached out to camp organizers to see if he could come skate with McDavid and they gladly obliged.
An agent said Monday that Hall, McDavid and Teddy Purcell were also skating together for a few days at Gary Robert’s camp late last week, as well.
Purcell is the best option to start the season with Hall and McDavid while Benoit Pouliot is a good fit alongside Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins. The latter three played well together last year.
Hall’s decision to find the opportunity to skate with McDavid illustrates to me that he is determined to have a good season and put the Oilers in a playoff race. He has been a top-10 scorer twice in the past three seasons. Imagine what he can produce playing with McDavid.
R ANDOM THOUGHTS
Toronto Blue Jays fever is spreading like wildfire across Canada. It is great to see baseball fans enjoying their run to the playoffs. The Blue Jays are extremely entertaining to watch.
I imagine Edmonton fans would be just as excited if the Oilers are in the playoff hunt next February/March. Heck, they might be as excited right now considering how many tickets have already been sold for the Oilers rookies game against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
Eskimos quarterback James Franklin showed great poise and accuracy in his first CFL start. He completed 76 per cent of his passes (29 of 38) for 335 yards and one touchdown. If he can beat the Stamps, then head coach Chris Jones might have a difficult decision to make when veteran QB Mike Reilly is ready to return to the lineup.
Speaking of position battles, Derel Walker is pushing Bowman as the Eskimos’ No. 1 receiver. Walker has a ridiculous 31 catches and 472 yards in his first three CFL games. The crazy part about his success is that he doesn’t even know all of his pass routes right now.
Reports out of Saskatchewan suggest the Roughriders might consider Eric Tillman for their vacant general manager’s job after they fired Brendan Taman and head coach Corey Chamblin on Monday. The Roughriders need stability, but bringing back Tillman would create too many distractions considering the circumstances (pleading guilty to a sexual assault charge) that led to his resignation in January 2010.
Kudos to Eskimos president & CEO Len Rhodes for sharing his story about domestic abuse and to the Journal’s Chris O’Leary for writing such an important article. We need more men and women to step out of the shadows and not be afraid to shed light on domestic abuse. Sadly, it still happens far too often and, hopefully, Rhodes and O’Leary’s excellent work will spur on more conversation. Edmonton Journal You can listen to Gregor weekdays from 2- 6 p.m. on TSN 1260 and read him at oilersnation.com. Twitter.com/ JasonGregor