THE CANADIAN PRESS
It’s usually not like me to point to an early season win as an important one. In the case of the defending Grey Cup Champs, though, their Week 8 triumph was absolutely crucial. With their 23-12 win over Montreal, the Edmonton Eskimos snapped a three game losing skid and they should feel good about it, too.
Getting defensive
The Eskimos needed that one. Having lost their last three games by a combined 16 points, Edmonton was understandably frustrated and in search of something positive. The Esks made that good news happen on Thursday night and did so with a formula we haven’t seen since 2015.
Much of the positive talk surrounding the Eskimos this season has surrounded their exploits on the offensive side of the ball. With Mike Reilly chasing history and the two-headed monster of Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker, Edmonton has given us more than enough to talk about on that front. But what about the hallmark of their title-winning team from last year?
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Mike Reilly and the Eskimos were back to looking like the champs in Week 8 (The Canadian Press)
As good as Reilly, Bowman, and Walker were en route to a 2015 title, the identity of the Eskimos was predicated on their terrifying defensive group. Thanks to massive coaching and personnel turnover, 2016’s defensive unit has been a different story. Thursday, though, was Edmonton’s best defensive effort of the season.
The Eskimos held the Alouettes without a major and allowed just 12 points on four field goals and had their opposition frustrated start to finish. While it’s fair to suggest Montreal’s recent offensive struggles made Edmonton look even more dominant, that also detracts from the good work that was accomplished.
Thanks to varied packages, solid coverage and outstanding tackling, Als quarterback Kevin Glenn was unable to find any type of groove. He was able to connect on a couple of big plays and put together a few decent drives, but Glenn was never able to effectively move the ball on a consistent basis. The Eskimos deserve a lot of credit for that because their fundamentals were extremely strong.
Even though Glenn’s two late interceptions came in the face of obvious maximum pass coverage, they were both great examples of how Edmonton mixed things up defensively. Linebackers did a nice job all night in disguising their drops and the Eskimos varied their pressure effectively, too. All of it combined to aid Glenn’s tough night.
Just as impressive was Edmonton’s work against the run. This was a close game throughout and it presented Montreal numerous opportunities to establish its ground game. Solid tackling from the Esks at the point of attack prevented that from happening though. In fact, if you eliminate Brandon Rutley’s 12 yard scamper in the first quarter, Edmonton limited Montreal’s top tailback to less than three yards per carry.
It remains to be seen whether this effort is a harbinger of things to come for the Eskimos or just the product of a struggling opponent. If Edmonton can gain some confidence defensively from the outing, though, Thursday’s win should remain an important one.
Deeper issues
In our weekly showdown, Marshall Ferguson and I debated whether the return of quarterback Zach Collaros would turn the Hamilton Tiger-Cats into the East Division’s Grey Cup favourite. While not denying the impact of an elite quarterback like Collaros, I pointed to two reasons why his return wasn’t a slam-dunk for the Ticats.
First off, I believe the Ottawa REDBLACKS are the best and most balanced team in the division. They played for last year’s Grey Cup for a reason and look to be an even more complete team in 2016. The second point I made is what we’ll focus on today, though. The Ticats have another issue they need to rectify independent of who their quarterback is.
Right now, this Tiger-Cats team is far too inconsistent defensively. This was on display in Saturday’s 45-38 setback in BC and is the biggest reason Hamilton sits 3-4 and third in the east. Until the Ticats get things back to a much more even keel, I think the Ticats are going to continue to post varied results.
It’s not like Hamilton doesn’t have the personnel to get the job done defensively. Right now, though, it’s struggling with some of the most important facets of strong defensive football. That starts with tackling, which was rather dismal on Saturday night and has been a struggle at different times throughout 2016.
On far too many occasions, Lions receivers were able to bounce off initial contact to stretch a moderate gain into a big one. We saw the same thing happen numerous times in Hamilton’s Week 7 loss to Winnipeg. It’s a fairly easy thing to fix, but until the Tiger-Cats get on top of their tackling issues, they’re going to keep struggling.
What was a very airtight unit for most of 2015 has also been far more prone to mistakes one year later. Let’s take Saturday’s loss in Vancouver as a case study. At least four times we saw Lions quarterback Jonothon Jennings hook up on a big gain when he probably shouldn’t have.
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Jeremiah Johnson celebrates the Lions’ Week 8 45-38 win over the Ticats (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
In all of these scenarios, Hamilton’s coverage was solid and yet Jennings was able to thread the needle for a complete pass. While some credit always goes to offensive playmakers, the Ticats were missing a simple pass knockdown or quick contact to force an incomplete pass. We just praised Edmonton’s job with fundamentals on Thursday night, and for too much of this season, Hamilton has struggled in the same area.
So, yes, Collaros obviously makes the Tiger-Cats a much better team now that he’s back. But Collaros can still only do so much and until we see Hamilton turn the corner defensively, his impact will be slightly limited.
Fair is fair
Controversy emanating out of Regina carried much of the conversation over the last week, at least prior to kicking off Week 8 on Thursday. I know on our show out here in Calgary, it was the biggest topic of the week. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were fined $60,000 by commissioner Jeffrey Orridge for violating CFL roster rules, but that didn’t necessarily end the discussion.
Knowing the MMQB is an opinion-based column, we kind of have to weigh in on one of the bigger off-field stories in quite some time. While published on CFL.ca, always remember the opinions here aren’t representative of the league but only of one writer. I do have a couple thoughts on the situation, though.
First off, Bo Levi Mitchell isn’t a snitch as has been floated in some circles. In fact, when it’s all said and done, the Stampeders quarterback ends up being largely irrelevant in the whole story. Yes, Mitchell floated the idea on social media, but the league was already well aware of what was going on.
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Chris Jones and the Riders were the centre of discussion in Week 8 (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)
The eventual penalty levied on the Riders was going to happen whether he said something or not. Mitchell has never been afraid to speak his mind, so what happened this past week is not out of character. I like how outspoken he is, and I also like how Mitchell always backs it up on the field.
Second, the Riders aren’t being victimized here as has been discussed in some circles. They broke the rules and were punished in turn. The league didn’t launch a thorough investigation because it felt like it. Saskatchewan rather blatantly flouted the rules and got caught as a result, not because the league was unfairly targeting it.
Mr. Consistency
On the bright side of this weekend’s Saskatchewan-Calgary showdown was the play of Marquay McDaniel. The Stampeders receiver was an integral part of a hard fought 19-10 over the Riders on Saturday night as he finished with 110 receiving yards on eight catches. It was just another in a long line of solid outings for the veteran pass catcher.
McDaniel hasn’t, doesn’t, and likely won’t ever get the same type of recognition we see guys like Bowman, Walker, Chris Williams and others receive. That doesn’t diminish how important he is to Calgary and just how consistent he continues to be. In fact, it’s impossible to argue the assertion McDaniel has been one of the league’s most consistent receivers over the last half decade.
Since arriving in Calgary in 2012, McDaniel has been the Stampeders’ most reliable possession receiver while also providing big play chops. While his touchdown totals will rarely knock your socks off, it’s McDaniel’s work en route to the red zone that really shines.
Because he runs his routes so well and rarely drops the ball, McDaniel is a consistent target over the middle of the field. While he is a great option on first down, it’s his proficiency in second down scenarios that shines brighter than anything else.
Marquay McDaniel has quietly been one of the CFL’s most productive receivers (The Canadian Press)
Let’s take Saturday’s game against the Riders as an example. Six of McDaniel’s eight catches came on second down and every single one of those moved the chains. That type of reliability in helping to extend drives is why McDaniel is one of the two or three most important pieces of Calgary’s attack.
At 32, McDaniel looks to show no signs of slowing down. In fact, with 526 yards through seven games this season, McDaniel is on pace to shatter his career high of 1047 yards set back in 2013. While he may not be the biggest name for fans across the league, every single defensive coordinator game planning for McDaniel is key to slowing the Stamps down. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for Calgary, doing that consistently remains a rather large challenge.
