West final: Stampeders, Eskimos will wait to see which defence breaks first

EDMONTON— The Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders agree Sunday’s CFL West Division final will be a bruising chess match between two defences that punish opponents in different ways.

The winner gets a berth in the Grey Cup.

“(Calgary’s) defence doesn’t give a lot of opportunities to go down the field in big chunks,” quarterback Mike Reilly said Saturday after the Eskimos’ final walkthrough at Commonwealth Stadium. “(Calgary defensive co-ordinator Rich Stubler) is going to make you be patient, make you march down the field (and) expect you to make a mistake.”

Edmonton’s defence, by contrast, he said, will try to shift, confuse, then pounce.

“We give a ton of different looks because we have guys in certain positions that can play multiple spots on the field,” he said.

Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, however, said Edmonton also plays rope-a-dope defence.

“They play smart and they make you try and drive the entire field, because they feel at some point you’re going to get impatient and you’re going to want to take that shot,” said Mitchell. “You’ve got to more play chess, you’ve got to play the field position battle. You’ve got to move the ball and you’ve got to be smart with it.

“And when they do make a mistake, you’ve got to take advantage.”

Statistically, there is little difference between the Alberta rivals. Edmonton’s defence led the league with just 18.9 points per game allowed. Calgary was a close second at 19.2.

The key for the Eskimos will be to take advantage of a banged-up Stampeders offensive line to shut down running back Jerome Messam.