Eskimos’ leaky run defence has no justification
Unit must prove to be much stouter if Edmonton harbours title aspirations
Indefensible is one word to describe Sunday’s West Division final.
And we’re not just talking about Edmonton Eskimos head coach Jason Maas’s much-criticized decision to kick a field goal, either.
Perhaps there was something entirely subconscious involved in the thought process behind taking the ball out of the hands of his offence on third-and-four, and hinging the game — and the season — on the ability of co-ordinator Mike Benevides’ defence to come up with a crucial stop.
Good on the head coach for having faith in his team right up until the bitter end. But it might not have had to be the end, and that’s where the rationale breaks down.
Trying to get to at least seven counting by three and then seven just doesn’t make sense.
Especially the way the offensively-minded former quarterback hoped to achieve it.
Instead of rolling the dice with the league’s top points-producing and net yards-producing offence by snapping the ball in the red zone to the quarterback who was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in Ottawa on Thursday night, Maas left it up to the defence to fail first.
While Benevides’ crew finished in the top-three in net offence allowed, surrendering 341 yards per game on the season, they were worst in the division when it came to stopping the run, allowing 98.1 rushing yards per game.
And fail they did, as the Calgary Stampeders came up with a timesapping first down that began with a seven-yard run by three-time 1,000-yard rusher Jerome Messam that contributed to the 182 yards and three touchdowns they piled up on the ground against Edmonton in the game.
It was the second divisional final in a row where the opposition ran roughshod over the Eskimos, who were buried under an avalanche of 179 rushing yards by the Ottawa Redblacks to end a crossover run through the East last year.
“We all had a discussion about that and we keep things in-house,” said seven-year CFL veteran defensive tackle Almondo Sewell, who is in the running for his fifth straight league all-star honour after earning 36 tackles and seven sacks from the interior of the defensive line, despite dealing with a rib injury.
“I can’t really elaborate on that but at the same time, we did a really poor job of stopping the run for the last two years.
“It killed us when we went to Ottawa and it was just another story over here, too. They had 170-something rushing yards on us and we can’t ever answer that.”
But anyone looking to run Benevides — the defensive co-ordinator under Maas these past two seasons — out of town should know the head coach said he wants all of his assistants back on staff again.
“That’s more on the players than anything,” Sewell said.
“You can’t put it all on the coaches.”
Yes, the Eskimos were missing a big piece of their defensive puzzle this season in J.C. Sherritt, but he was there the previous year and played in the 2016 divisional final.
The veteran middle linebacker and defensive captain suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on opening day, but the team’s real Achilles heel remains their run defence.
And you can bet rookie general manager Brock Sunderland will take a long, close look at viable solutions during the off-season.
For as much as the leadership group hasn’t changed in the Eskimos locker-room since the 2015 Grey Cup championship, Edmonton’s roster is the second oldest in the league.
“It’s a good core, good group. I’m just glad they’ve kept it together all these years with all of us that have been here so long,” said Sewell, who turns 31 in January, when fellow defensive linemate Phillip Hunt turns 32.
Odell Willis turns 33 next month, Marcus Howard, another Achilles victim, is 32 and John Chick turned 35 at the start of Grey Cup Week.
“Going into this off-season, business is business and we’ll see what happens,” Sewell said.
“It’s tough not knowing for a lot of guys, but at the end of the day, if you go out there and do what you’re supposed to do you shouldn’t be worried.
“It doesn’t always work out; you can’t expect anything. You just have to go out and control the things you can control and that’s how you play.”
One way or another, the Eskimos’ run defence has to start being much less indefensible if they hope to be an active part of Grey Cup week celebrations in their hometown a year from now.
It’s a good core, good group. I’m just glad they’ve kept it together all these years with all of us that have been here so long.