Esks aim to right ship against Lions
GAME DAY: B.C. AT EDMONTON, 7 P.M.
EDMONTON — Given injuries and all the new faces, it might have been tempting for the Edmonton Eskimos to lean on excuses after having their defence dominated last week.
Instead, the Eskimos spent the days since looking for answers, knowing Jonathon Jennings and the B.C. Lions will be eager to provide another test tonight at Commonwealth Stadium.
Between off-season personnel changes and having five starting defensive players, including both cornerbacks, on the six-game injured list, the defence the Eskimos put on the field last Friday was no match for Jeremiah Masoli and the Hamilton Tigercats, who waltzed to a 38-21 win.
“First of all, in our culture that’s never going to be tolerated,” said linebacker J.C. Sherritt. “Feeling sorry for yourself, that’s the quickest way out the door.
“You’ve just got to learn from your mistakes. It’s a very long season. I was here when B.C. was 0-5 [2011] and it was the worst team I’d ever seen in my life. I watched them become unbeatable and Grey Cup champions. That’s the CFL. It’s who can improve every week, who can learn from their mistakes.”
Masoli passed for 332 yards and three touchdowns and the Ticats rushed for 196 yards to roll up 528 yards of total offence. That loss came on the heels of what was anything but an airtight defensive display in a 33-30 season-opening win over Winnipeg.
More of the same won’t do against the Lions and Jennings, who opened the season with 22-10 win over the Montreal Alouettes.
“For us, it’s just a matter of learning, understanding what we have to do and being consistent,” said defensive co-ordinator Mike Benevides. “We were victimized. We weren’t good enough. That’s my responsibility.
“In Week 2, we were from being as good as we can be, but we need to make sure we make it right tomorrow.”
Jennings, who went 20-for-24 for 183 yards and two touchdowns against the Alouettes, faces an Edmonton defence that ranks seventh in total offence allowed per game (409.5 yards) and sits eighth in rushing yards allowed per game (166.5).
“There’s things here and there that we’ve seen on film that might be able to work,” B.C. receiver Bryan Burnham told bclions.com after practice Wednesday. “But we know that after that [Hamilton] game they’re going to come hungry.
“They’re going to come ready to play, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re on our P’s and Q’s and, you know, making plays, doing the right thing, not making any mistakes because they’re going to come fired up and ready to get a win.”
Jennings, like Masoli, is capable of buying time with his legs, if need be. He rushed for a career-high 57 yards against Montreal.