Redblacks and Esks are both hungry for a win tonight
Ottawa needs to ‘learn how to step on their throats’ after slow start to CFL season
You’d think the Edmonton Eskimos might have a bit of an axe to grind — it was the Ottawa Redblacks who knocked them out of the CFL playoffs in 2016.
But really, with a number of familiar faces working for the Eskimos these days, it’s not as much about animosity and payback as it is about getting their third win of the season.
For the Redblacks, who landed here on a charter flight late Thursday afternoon, it’s about getting back on track after a onetie, two-loss start and turning effort into results.
Safe to say both teams are hungry.
“We don’t want to get caught up in all the storylines and what happened before,” said Redblacks offensive lineman SirVincent Rogers. “Edmonton always plays us tough. They have two wins right now, we don’t have a win. We just want to go in, play good football and get a win.”
“We’ve played a lot of football against them for them being an Eastern opponent — six games in the past two years, that’s a lot of football,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly. “We know them fairly well and they know us fairly well. We have some staff and players here that were in Ottawa and same for them. There aren’t a whole lot of secrets. Just line up, play your best football and see who’s going to win.
“Last year, they had our number ... the year before, we had theirs. None of that stuff from the past has any bearing on this game — this is a totally different team, as are they.”
It could be a different story, results wise. The Redblacks had plenty of opportunities and could have won all three of their games. Finishing off an opponent, something they stumbled with until the playoffs last season, has once again reared its ugly head.
“If we can make a couple of more plays, we can swing these close games in our favour,” said Redblacks coach Rick Campbell.
“We feel we’ve played good quarters of football,” said receiver Greg Ellingson. “We’ve had decent games, we just couldn’t finish. The focus here is to finish, don’t make the mistakes that cost us and get a win.”
“We just have to learn how to step on their throats,” said defensive lineman Zack Evans. “We had three games won and we found a way to lose.
“It’s the CFL, teams can come back from a 20-point deficit in six minutes. You can’t take your foot off the gas pedal, you have to keep going, keep going and be confident you can stop them no matter what.”
You can bet Edmonton isn’t taking lightly a team that beat them all three times — including a 45-37 overtime stunner here at Commonwealth Stadium — in 2016.
“We had to kick the long field goal to get it to overtime, then find a way to win in overtime,” Campbell said. “We played five overtime games last year, which is pretty crazy when you think about it. Once in a while a team is going to blow out another team, but most of the time it’s going to come down to late in the fourth quarter.”
“There is no easy opponent in this league; every team seems to be doing some things very well,” said Reilly. “I don’t let (the Redblacks’) record fool me. I know what they’re capable of, I know they’re hungry, but so are we. They’re travelling into our house and we want to make sure we make life difficult for them.”
“We know what type of football team they are,” said defensive back Brandyn Thompson, a former Redblack. “No matter what their record is, they are the defending Grey Cup champs.”
TIME CHANGE: Friday’s game is at 10 p.m. Ottawa time. Will the time change hurt the Redblacks? Said Ellingson: “To me, it’s not a big deal. If you’re going to play a football game, it could be midnight, it could be 1 a.m. If it’s a football game, I’m ready to go. Your adrenalin is going to be pumping, you’re not going to be tired mid-game.”
WELCOME BACK, WILLIAM: William Powell will get the start at running back Friday. Said Campbell: “He can make something out of nothing. Sometimes with running backs everything’s got to be blocked up perfectly. He’s a guy if it’s not perfect, he can improvise and make people miss in small spaces.”
DID YA KNOW?: The Redblacks are averaging the second-most points per game (31.7) in the CFL, even though they’re still looking for their first win. ... The last team to win a Grey Cup after going winless in their first three games was the 2003 Eskimos, who started 0-3.
THE END AROUND: Explosive returner/receiver Daje Johnson could make his debut Friday. ... It was announced late Wednesday that Redblacks LB Jean-Philippe Bolduc was one of six players who have been fined from last week’s games. Bolduc was nabbed for a “tourist hit” on Toronto DB Robert Woodson. Basically, a “tourist hit” is deemed to be unnecessary physical contact. Argos RB James Wilder was fined for a dangerous tackle on Ottawa receiver Diontae Spencer.