Elks look like prey animals in first two outings
They may have settled on the name Edmonton Elks coming into the 2021 Canadian Football League season but, so far, they've looked more like deer in the headlights on the way to opening their schedule 0-2 at home.
Or, is it deers?
Either way, the rebranded club, now under the guidance of rookie head coach Jaime Elizondo, has come up short in more than one phase of the game out of the gates.
Offensively, they give off every bit the appearance of their new namesake: big, burly and dangerous at first glance.
But underneath all the sharp points and thick hide, the Elks are acting every bit the part of a hunted herbivore with an offence that spooks at the slightest sign of danger.
Seemingly conservative play-calling, less than convincing quarterback play and red zone ineptitude are all beginning to add up to an intimidation factor that mimics the high-pitched elk call shrilling throughout the stadium on game day.
Let's just say it's a sound unfitting for any 300-kilogram beast, and doesn't exactly leave anyone shaking in their cleats on the opposing sideline.
And it can't help their own egos being named after an animal known in some parts of the continent as a 6-by-6 — referring to the points on the antlers — when the team only has one side of said rack to show for their points that have come out of the end zone over their first 120 minutes of play.
Eighteen of their 25 points have been scored via the foot of veteran kicker Sean Whyte, who is — fittingly — a perfect 6-for-6 in field goals to open the season.
While they cleaned up the penalties, only taking two for a total of 20 yards Saturday, the Elks are still looking for their first plus in the turnover department, having given the ball up twice on downs to push their giveaway-takeaway ratio on the season to 0:5.
And while the defence has yet to take one of those turnovers back from the opposition, that side of the ball has been outstanding, especially in comparison.
The Elks have only given up nine and 23 points to opposing offences for an average of just 16 points against per game, if you take away the interception-return touchdown by the Ottawa Redblacks and Montreal's major on special teams.
As phenomenal as that is, it only serves to highlight the extent of Edmonton's issues elsewhere on the field.
Chief among them is the offensive red zone.
Both times, Edmonton's defence forced a 2-and-out to get the ball back for the offence, which had a chance to set the tone early, driving the field in mechanical fashion right up until getting inside the 20-yard line.
And, both times, they settled for a field goal, which is better than Edmonton's second visit to the red zone Saturday, which saw a bobbled snap on 3rd-and-1 lead to a turnover on downs at Montreal's 8-yard line.
Thankfully, while it didn't make a difference on the scoreboard Saturday, Edmonton was finally able to score its first touchdown of the season, which came in the red zone in the final two minutes with a 10-yard touchdown catch by Shai Ross.
That gives them a red zone touchdown rate to 1-for-6 on the season, while the Elks defence has allowed one red zone touchdown in four opportunities so far.
“On third and one, we've got to be able to get that and give us another chance. We were down inside the five and didn't get it in the end zone,” Elizondo said after Saturday's loss. “We're getting down there and I think everybody was ready for that first drive to end in a touchdown and it's just kind of like, `Here we go again. Field goal.' So, it's got to get fixed.”
Elizondo knows exactly what's wrong with his offence right now. And you can bet he's working morning, noon and night to sort it out just as soon as humanly possible.
“Yeah, it's a combination of everything,” Elizondo said following Monday's practice. “And what's happened is it's one player here, it's a receiver, it's a lineman, it's a quarterback, it's a running back, and the problem is, on offence, to execute at a high level you need 12 guys operating together.