I had a terrible sleep last night. Awful. I tried to re-watch the Eskimos’ game, only to find that my PVR — man’s supposed best friend — had betrayed me and decided to un-schedule the scheduled recording I set up last week. I gave up on the TSN broadband feed when it froze up on me for the third time inside the first minute of play (for the record, I blame Shaw for this and not TSN — bad looking out, cable/Internet provider).
The technological glitches only added to my problems, and left me feeling unprepared for what was in front of me. On Sunday afternoon I got a text from Dustin Nielson at the TEAM 1260, asking me if I’d join him and Wil Fraser for an hour for their Monday morning roundtable to talk about the Esks.
If you’ve been following along this season, you understand why this might be a stressor. The Eskimos are 1-7. They’re on a six-game losing streak. In each of their last four games they’ve shown that yes, you can get closer to winning without actually doing it and they’ve done so by infuriating a chunk of their fan base along the way, making for a hostile online environment. Have you seen Twitter during/after an Esks loss this year? It’s like a Sharknado, but the sharks have arms and in those arms are chainsaws and bats with nails in them. It’s vicious.
I expected that same fury on Monday morning but I was pleasantly surprised by the calls and texts that came into the show. For the most part, there was a tremendous amount of patience being shown. Maybe the heat-of-the-moment nature of Twitter makes for a harsher reaction from fans and with a few days between Saturday’s loss to the Riders, an understanding sets in. Or maybe it’s two entirely different crowds.
Online, fans’ most consistent gripes have been with the coaching staff. Offensive co-ordinator Doug Sams caught his share of grief in the first few weeks of the season, but the offence’s improved play over the last three games appears to have fanned that fire. Defensive co-ordinator Greg Marshall gets some heat for the defence’s underwhelming play this year, but the focal point of the fans’ anger falls on Kavis Reed, thinking that a firing will fix everything for the team.
There was frustration from callers on Monday, but the demands for coaching turnover were minimal. One fan emailed in to say that this was the happiest he’d been with the team in 20 years in terms of its direction and having a plan and praised GM Ed Hervey for that (UPDATE: Said fan tracked me down on Twitter; it was a text, not an email and the text is here). Other callers said that the last four games have been close, they’re not getting blown out and that while this year could be lost, there are things to build on for next year.
When you lose your last four games by a combined 12 points and save for a few mental errors and ill-executed plays could be a 4-3 team, there’s reason for frustration, but consider this: Would you rather go forward with this year’s Eskimo team at 1-7 or last year’s team, which was propped up at 5-3 heading into the Labour Day game against Calgary? I know which team I’d take.
The Eskimos appear to have their quarterback in Mike Reilly and have three other intriguing young options at the position. Matt Nichols’ injury could spare him from Ottawa in the expansion draft; Jonathan Crompton, while not yet ready, has the ability to be a good quarterback in the CFL, as does Jacory Harris, who sits on the Eskimos’ practice roster. That’s a drastic change at the most important position on the field in less than a full year on the job for Hervey. The defence will likely need to be re-examined when the season ends and the offensive line, I’d assume, will be the top priority. But in terms of building for the future, there’s a lot there that’s good. One fan said on Twitter Monday morning that the Eskimos reminded him of the 2010 Winnipeg team that won four games and blossomed to go to the Grey Cup game in 2011. If you’re looking at the long-term and even at the offence’s development over the last month, there are positives there.
I can see those things and clearly a lot of fans can as well, but it’s always better to hear it from the person who built the team. Unfortunately, Hervey has refused or ignored interview requests, depending on your approach, after each of the Eskimos’ last two losses. Until that changes, those applying heat to Hervey’s head coach and his staff will continue to do so. Silence speaks volumes and today more than ever that silence is open to interpretation.
Week-end winners
Game of the week: B.C. at Montreal, aka Marsh Madness – Any time the #CFL column on your Tweet Deck starts rolling like it’s the Matrix, you know something special has happened. A rookie third-string QB in Tanner Marsh that absolutely refuses to quit comes in and erases a 14-point deficit against a Grey Cup contending team (though the Lions didn’t look like it last week) for a storybook ending. The Montreal Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky says it best.
Forget about Marsh’s four interceptions. Forget about his fumble. And forget about Montreal’s seven turnovers.
This is all you need to know: With 48.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Als scrimmaged from their five-yard line. On third down, Marsh connected with Deslauriers, an afterthought throughout his Montreal career, for a 22-yard gain.
And then, several plays later, he found Deslauriers for an incredible 57-yard gain, to the Lions’ seven. With 1.9 seconds remaining, Sean Whyte calmly kicked a 15-yard game-winning field goal.
It was simply incredible, especially considering the Als lost last weekend, at Saskatchewan, on a last-play field goal.
Players of the week
Offence: Kory Sheets, Saskatchewan – Really, Sheets could have his name here seven out of eight weeks this year. Seeing what he does in person and his role in the Riders’ offence in their second-half play on Saturday against the Eskimos gives more than enough convincing. The Eskimos did a good job of containing Sheets in the first half, holding him to 44 yards. The Riders’ offence stuck with him and Sheets rewarded their faith with 95 yards in the second half and two touchdowns. For all of the grace and poise that Ricky Ray has shown in his MOP-worthy season, Sheets is on the other end of the spectrum, a muscle car’s engine crammed into a sedan’s body, motoring around and through whatever it wants.
Defence: Aaron Lavarais, Montreal – Tied with Chip Cox for the team lead in tackles with six, the defensive end had a special teams tackle and got to Travis Lulay for two sacks as part of a win that the Als needed badly.
Special teams: Tyron Carrier, Montreal – It’s tempting to go co-winners on this one, but again, the Als won and Carrier was the better of two very good return men, going up against B.C.’s Tim Brown. He followed up his third quarter, 65-yard kickoff return with a 90-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter that got Montreal back within a score of the Lions. Without him, the most watchable game of the season isn’t that.
Retweetable
