QB Reilly showed his toughness against Stamps
Eskimo sacked 7 times
EDMONTON — Keon Raymond chuckled Thursday upon hearing the news that Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly is alive and breathing in the Alberta capital.
“I hope so,” the Calgary Stampeders linebacker said. “I don’t want anybody catching homicide charges on our defensive line.”
Perhaps lucky for Charleston Hughes and Co., Reilly lived to tell the tale from a seven-sack beating in a 37-34 Calgary victory in the Labour Day Classic.
Just four days later, Reilly is ready to stand in the pocket and stare down the Edmonton front four in the Labour Day rematch at Commonwealth Stadium.
Call him a masochist. Call him a sucker for punishment. Call him whatever you want.
“It doesn’t change anything for me,” said Reilly, turf burns on both elbows the only visible sign of the pounding endured at McMahon Stadium. “It’s just like if I throw a pick, I’m not going to be scared to throw the ball again.”
Reilly, 28, a former B.C. Lions quarterback, is not one to complain about life as a crash-test dummy — even if outsiders marvel about his ability to get out of bed.
“If we get sacked, it’s part of the game of football,” he said. “You can’t worry about it. You’ve got to let it go.”
The Eskimos, however, are clearly worried about the health of the man dubbed the next “franchise quarterback” for a team still reeling over the Ricky Ray trade. As such, the Esks will deploy three import offensive linemen (Thaddeus Coleman, Miles Mason and Cliff Louis) Friday.
The Eskimos sit at an abysmal 1-8, and a major injury to Reilly would turn the 2013 season from a joke into a travesty.
“I’ve never been somebody that’s going to quit,” Reilly said. “I’m not the most athletic guy. I’m not the most strong-armed quarterback. I have enough talent to make things happen, but I’ve always got by on just being very tough mentally and physically and not worrying about the negative things that happen in football.”
If the Stampeders think they can break his will, Reilly wants the guys in red to know they have another thing coming.
“As long as I can stand up and throw the football, I’m not coming off the field,” he vowed. “And that’s just how it’s going to be.”