ESKIMOS NEED TO ARRIVE READY
‘Our focus has to be there’: Slow starts to games dates back more than three years
On your marks. Get set. Stumble.
It’s the Edmonton Eskimos’ M.O.
Dating back to the Chris Jones-coached Grey Cup team of 2015, the Eskimos are like their crowd. They’re late arriving.
First quarters are optional. Sometimes they’re there on time. More often, they’re not — they’re in the parking lot.
Sooner or later, the condition has to be cured. And there’s no time like the present.
In the last three games, the Eskimos have been down 12-1 to Toronto, 11-2 to B.C. and 14-7 to Hamilton after the first quarter.
Last year, the Eskimos were a 12-6 team but were down 10-0, 3-0, 8-6, 3-0, 14-0, 11-3. 3-0, 8-0 and 15-7 after first quarters and were tied 0-0 in two others.
Two years ago, the Eskimos had a 10-8 outfit and were down 3-1, 7-0, 3-0, 11-0, 3-2, 18-0, 6-0, 3-0 and 10-6 after the first quarter and tied in three others.
And this isn’t just a Jason Maas thing. In the 14-4 Grey Cup-winning 2015 season, the Eskimos were down 12-1, 3-1, 7-6, 9-0, 14-3, 13-1, 7-0, 7-0, 7-6, 7-3 and 14-3.
It’s making quarterback Mike Reilly a legend.
Fourteen times since the start of 2014, Reilly has brought the Eskimos back when trailing going into the fourth quarter.
He basically did it again with 17 straight points against the Argos before the defence couldn’t seal the deal and gave the game away again.
But sooner or later, it has to stop.
Here’s the thing. In the last four years, the Eskimos are 25-3 when they’ve led after the first quarter.
Yes, they have a winning record, 18-16, in coming back from being behind after the first quarter in these four years, too.
And they’re 5-5 after being tied.
And get this statistic: In the first four games this year, 240 minutes of regulation play, the Eskimos were behind for 147:12 of them and tied for 21:42 more.
“You can look at how we started and all of those things, but in the end, it was how we finished and we didn’t finish,” said Maas.
“You generally don’t win or lose games at the very beginning of the game. If what happened at the start of the games was the same reason every game, it would be easy to fix. But it hasn’t been.
“Ultimately, we want to play great football for 60 minutes. We know the beginnings of our games haven’t been up to snuff. We’ve addressed that. Our focus has to be there for 60 minutes to win games. It starts with attention to detail and discipline for 60 minutes. I’m hoping that trend stops and we start
The thing I’ve loved about this team, generally, is the way that we’ve finished. We’ve played extremely well when it matters.
being better at the beginning of games.
“While I haven’t been happy with the way we’ve started games, the thing I’ve loved about this team, generally, is the way that we’ve finished. We’ve played extremely well when it matters most.
“This last game we didn’t. When it mattered the most, we did not do anything."
Usually when you have a team that starts games like the Eskimos (a condition shared by the NHL’s Oilers, I should point out), you look at poor game plans, a lack of motivation and intensity, and a feel-them-out, conservative approach.
Quarterback Mike Reilly said it was none of the above.
“When it comes to our starts, I blame a lot of it on J.C. Sherritt,” Reilly said.
“I’d be curious to know how many of those games we’ve kicked off. J.C., for a long time there, was our captain responsible for the coin toss. There was a stretch there were he lost 12 in a row. So we have to keep him from calling the coin toss.
“I remember (the 2016 season) because he got hurt and then we started winning coin tosses.”
Sherritt said that was once true.
“But I don’t call the coin tosses any more. I lost 12 straight,” he said. “If you’re looking to finger the coin-toss caller this year, it’s Blair Smith, No. 48 for the Edmonton Eskimos. He’s to blame.
“I lost 12 straight, won one and then lost another one. So I was 1-13. And I called heads every time, too. What’s the odds of that?”
Blair Smith, huh?
All I know is game time Friday against the Toronto Argos is 7 p.m. Not 8 p.m. Not 9 p.m.
Somebody ought to inform the Eskimos.