Edmonton vibe good feeling for Reilly, Eskimos
The Life of Reilly is a much brighter place these days as the starting quarterback in the CFL’s northern outpost of Edmonton.
In a city accustomed to gridiron glory, the mood over the last two seasons alternated from anger to disbelief to apathy for loyal followers of the once-mighty Eskimos.
These are early days in the season, but the Esks sit at a perfect 3-0 under rookie head coach Chris Jones. A first-place showdown looms Thursday against the equally perfect 3-0 Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Who would have thought? “I don’t get out in the city all that much, but even going to the grocery store or running errands, people are always talking about the Eskimos,” Mike Reilly said this week. “I’ve got people coming up to me and congratulating me on our start.
“It’s definitely exciting. It’s nice to get a few wins for our fan base here at Commonwealth.”
Exciting, yes. But Reilly knows better than to spend his days lingering over the site of the Eskimos at the top of the CFL West Division standings. For the Grey Cup is handed out in November, not July, and a three-game winning streak at the right time is all it takes in this league to win a championship.
“As players, we understand we’re not nearly where we need to be yet,” said Reilly, respected throughout the league for his ability to take hit after hit and keep getting up. “We’ve still got a long road to go. We’re only three weeks into the season, and this is an 18-game season.
“We’ve still got a long journey ahead of ourselves, but it has been a good start.”
HIGH HITS ON QBS
On his pre-season tour of all nine CFL cities, director of officiating Glen Johnson warned teams of an impending crackdown on high hits to the quarterback.
Some how, Edmonton’s Odell Will is escaped a suspension in Week 2 on a questionable wallop that sidelined Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Zach Collaros, out with a suspected concussion. But Willis did get fined by the league.
In Week 3, the officials were, perhaps understandably, a little flag happy in terms of protecting the stars of the game.
The first instance came in Edmonton when Ottawa Redblacks defender Brandon Lang received a phantom flag for a clean hit on Reilly. The roughing-the-passer call changed the momentum and pretty much spelled the end of Ottawa’s chances at escaping Commonwealth with the two points.
Then came another puzzling call in Toronto when Calgary Stampeders defensive end Shawn Lemon clobbered Ricky Ray behind the line of scrimmage. Bracing himself for contact, Ray ducked at the last moment — leaving Lemon no choice but to hit the Argonauts quarterback north of the shoulder pads.
“I was puzzled,” Lemon said. “I’m just going to continue playing my game and continue to be aggressive.
“It’s tough thinking I’ve got my first sack of the season on that play and then something like that happens.”
Stamps head coach John Hufnagel engaged referee Andre Proulx in an animated sideline discussion on the matter.
“That was a tough call,” Hufnagel says. “There was contact, but the quarterback ducked also.
“It’s a judgment call, and obviously I had a little conversation with Andre. Andre’s an excellent official, and he saw it a certain way and he made the call.”
In Reilly’s mind, defenders across the league will get a better idea of the so-called “strike zone” as the weeks go by and at least some of the grey area will be eliminated. NOTES: Say this about Chad Johnson: the Montreal Alouettes receiver automatically generates exposure for the CFL by his mere presence. The six-time NFL Pro Bowler once again sparked headlines south of the border last week for hugging side judge Jocelyn Paul upon scoring his first CFL touchdown. Johnson makes a habit of hugging everyone in his vicinity. Recipients of the embrace this season include commissioner Mark Cohon, Sports Illustrated writer Peter King and Montreal Gazette beat reporter Herb Zurkowsky, but Paul hardly looked thrilled by the gesture … Toronto GM Jim Barker loves a project, and the conversion of former defensive lineman Chris Van Zeyl to the other side of the ball will go down as a huge success. Van Zeyl signed a contract extension last week worth $200,000 a season, making the McMaster University product one of the highest-paid offensive lineman in the league … Injured B.C. Lions QB Travis Lulay and his wife, Kim, celebrated the birth of their second daughter last Saturday.