REILLY WANTS A FAST START

The Comeback Kids are hoping to get o to a good start in Saturday’s 2 p.m. MDT CFL game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. But the Edmonton Eskimos aren’t likely to panic if they have to rally in the second half for a third week in a row. Norm Cowley rev

FIRST HALF HUSTLE

“We want to come out and have a good first half and set the tone early,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly. “You don’t want to let a team hang around in the second half and let them build confidence.

“We’re going into a place (Investors Group Field) that has been a pretty loud place to play, they’ve got a good fan base and they’re right in the hunt of the playo race. They’re going to be hungry and they’re going to be ready to play.”

BOMBING OUT

Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea was asked Friday why his team can’t score on the Eskimos. The Bombers have been outscored 99-15 in their last three games with Edmonton, losing 32-3, 41-9 and 26-3.

“They’ve got a good defence,” O’Shea said. “I’m sure they’ve controlled the time of possession. With turnovers, you lose possessions, you lose opportunities. They’ve got a good defence. We’ve got to fix that now.”

DOMINANT DEFENCE

The Eskimos’ defence is allowing an average of 18.3 points per game, a pace that would rank fifth-lowest in CFL history if the trend continues.

“What I’ve learned playing against them in practice is not to panic when you see guys running all over the field, D-linemen dropping 15 yards back, and corners and hal acks blitzing,” said Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols, until recently an Esks pivot. “… They try to pressure you in di erent ways and disguise coverages.”

WATCH WALKER

Derel Walker, the Eskimos’ rookie wide receiver, was contacted by a former college teammate after burning B.C. Lions cornerback Steven Clarke for a couple of big catches last weekend.

“We were going at it,” Walker said about his head-to-head battle with Clarke. “The crazy thing about it is one of my teammates at Texas A&M, they went to high school together. … He called me and was like, ‘Oh man, why did you do it like that to him?’ I said, ‘We had to win the game.’ ”

FRESH STARTS

Selvish Capers, the American o ensive lineman traded to the Bombers for national O-lineman Chris Greaves on Sept. 9, will make his first start with Winnipeg on Saturday.

Sederrik Cunningham will replace the banged up Kendial Lawrence on kick returns. His game plan is to “Get the football, make a decision and go, because you don’t have too much time to dance around back there.”