Mario Annicchiarico
Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON -- As much as last Friday's 36-10 win over the Toronto Argonauts was about getting the offence untracked, this Friday's venture takes on a much different slant for the Edmonton Eskimos.

And post, and corner, and curl, and out, and don't forget the streak.

All are pass routes the Eskimos secondary will have to be prepared for as it faces another must-win scenario, only this time in Vancouver against the B.C. Lions.

The Lions dissected the Eskimos defence for 720 yards and seven touchdowns through the air in two previous regular season outings this year.

"That's for real? That's an actual stat? Wow," said a startled Eskimos safety Scott Gordon, who missed the first blowout--a 40-22 loss in Week 3.

"Geroy -- we just have to shut him down. Paris, too," added Gordon, referring to Lions slot-backs Geroy Simon and Paris Jackson.

B.C.'s terrible twosome has caused the Esks a lot of grief.

Simon has a total of 13 catches for 292 yards and four majors against Edmonton, but Jackson was equally as efficient in his one performance against the Esks with nine grabs for 126 yards and a TD.

Rookie Emmanuel Arceneaux hasn't been a slouch, either, adding nine catches for 129 yards and one trip into the end zone.

All told, the Lions have racked up 832 total yards of offence and 74 points in two games against the Esks, including the last-second 34-31 thriller in Edmonton in Week 15 when Simon reeled in a 62-yard pass-and-run touchdown for the winning score with just 12 seconds remaining after Eskimos linebacker T.J. Hill and cornerback Byron Parker collided on the play.

"We know what they did, but that's in the past," said Hill, who wasn't with the Eskimos for the first game with the Lions.

"This is a playoff-atmosphere game. Actually, it is a playoff game. If we win, we keep going. If we don't, we probably don't keep going. The playoffs start this week for us."

The winner of the upcoming Eskimos-Lions game clinches third place in the West Division and carries on to the post-season.

The loser has to rely upon a Winnipeg Blue Bombers loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday to steal a crossover berth into the East Division playoffs.

If the Lions and Esks play to a tie, B.C. takes third place due to the regular-season tiebreaker and Edmonton automatically heads east as Winnipeg would be three points back before it even plays.

A win in B.C. might prove to be a tall order, unless the Eskimos secondary and front seven finds a way to cage the Leos.

"What they did in the past, we take note of, but it isn't relevant right now," said Hill, who had a 58-yard interception return for a TD 23 seconds into the second half against Toronto.

It was Hill's second major this season, as he also returned a pick 59 yards for a touchdown in a 23-20 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sept. 26.

"None of that means anything," he said. "We're both 0-0 right now."

The Eskimos will attempt to shut down Simon and Jackson, while trying to control quarterback Casey Printers.

"They have a great receiving corps, especially with Geroy and Paris; probably the strongest combo in the game," said Hill. "We definitely have our hands full, but like I said, we have to come in with the attitude that it's them or us. The team that goes out there and executes, eliminates the bigs plays and is fundamentally sound is the team that's going to win the game at the end of the day."

Putting the clamp down on Simon will be the responsibility of Eskimos halfback Randee Drew, who was not involved in the decisive final play in the last loss to B.C., as Simon and the Lions pulled a switch on the Esks.

"He's always a tough man to control because he is so crafty. He's a savvy veteran," said Drew. "It's always a pleasure to draw him, same as it is to draw (Jeremaine) Copeland in Calgary. I have the utmost respect for those guys, but at the end of the day, they all put their pants on the same as me."

Considering that Edmonton rates last in the CFL against the pass--having already surrendered 5,016 yards--and the Lions have a slick, shifty pass-receiving corps that features Simon's 77 catches for 1,219 yards and Jackson's 73 receptions for 1,020 yards, it'll be a bit of tricky business for the Esks.

"The one thing I'm going to do, that I do everyday, is play hard. If I play hard and they play hard, it's going to be a great, epic battle," said Drew.

The Eskimos playoff lives will depend on it.

Courtesy: www.edmontonjournal.com