Reclaiming His Spot: Reilly eyes passing Alberta rivals and returning to cup

“I believe that we’re the best team in the league. Me believing it and us proving it are two different things”

Mike Reilly stands at the cusp of his seventh season in the CFL and he understands what’s in front of him and the Edmonton Eskimos.

There are the standard adjustments that every team has to make at the start of a new season. For the Esks, that’s replacing star receiver Derel Walker in their potent offence. They have to plug the hole on defence and special teams left by linebacker Deon Lacey — and his replacement, Cory Greenwood, who took a season-ending knee injury in training camp — and if the defence as a whole could get a little stingier this year, everyone that frequents Commonwealth Stadium might sleep a little easier at night.

The most immediate thing facing Reilly and the Eskimos this year though, is the same issue that all of their neighbours in the CFL’s West Division are anticipating. This division might be even tighter than it was a year ago, when the 10-8 Eskimos crossed over and made it all the way to the East Final, before falling to the eventual Grey Cup Champion Ottawa REDBLACKS.

The Eskimos face BC twice in the first six weeks of the season. They won’t see a Western opponent again until Week 9, when they’re in Winnipeg. A strong start out of the gate is crucial. This is not the year to be playing catch-up in the West.

With the competitiveness in the West heating up, Mike Reilly knows his team needs to start the season on a winning note. (Photo: Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

“I look in the West, I know what (Chris) Jones and his staff are capable of. I expect them to be very difficult this year. Calgary’s always strong. BC was strong last year and I think they’re improving again as they have the last couple of years. They’ve continued to build and have a good foundation,” Reilly said.

“Winnipeg, they rode one of the best defensive performances, in terms of turnovers, that I’ve seen in a long time. That’s what I look at as an offensive player, is other teams’ defences. That’s one of the best defences you’ve seen in a long time and their offence is very efficient too.”

Reilly led the league with 5,554 passing yards last year, but lost one of his most lethal targets in Walker. After two years in the CFL and a 2016 season that saw the wide receiver pull in 109 passes for 1,589 yards and 10 touchdowns, Walker has earned himself a NFL shot with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Reilly still has his No. 1 target, in slotback Adarius Bowman, who led the league with 120 receptions and 1,761 yards, but there’ll be pressure on the rest of the Eskimos receiving corps to either have someone step up and try to replicate a Walker-type season, or have those numbers taken on by committee.

“Football is a team game. It’s bigger than one person, but losing a guy like Derel is going to be tough,” Reilly said. “But honestly throughout this camp I can’t say that we’ve skipped a beat. Our guys that have filled in and gotten their opportunities have done a tremendous job.”

Reilly looks around and sees Vidal Hazelton, Brandon Zylstra and Bryant Mitchell as potential candidates to fill that void.

“Those three guys are hungry. They were here with Derel, they know what he was. I know that they’re hearing that those are big shoes to fill. They’re ready to prove that they’ve got bigger shoes than him,” Reilly said.

“I love Derel, I loved playing with him. He was an even better person than he was a football player and I wish him all the best. But we’ve moved on and we’re humming right along. I think the guys have done an incredible job and I expect our offence to be more potent than it was last year.”

An improvement to the offence in Jason Maas’ second year as a head coach is a scary thought. The Esks put up 549 points (30.5 per game, second in the league behind Calgary) and a league-best 418.7 yards per game of net offence, while tying with Calgary for the league-lead in offensive touchdowns, with 53.

Mike Reilly and his favourite target Adarius Bowman, will be looking to pick up right where they left off last season in 2017 (Photo: Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Bowman is confident that he’ll have another big year. As he heads into his 10th season in the league, the 31-year-old wants his fellow receivers to focus on the present and the opportunities in front of them.

“I need them to be Brandon Zylstra. I’m going to continue to be Adarius Bowman. I need Vidal Hazelton to be Vidal Hazelton,” he said. “I think they get it, but we definitely have trust in Coach Maas, and (offensive coordinator) Carson (Walch’s) offence. I think that’s it right there. As long as you can execute and catch the balls that come your way I think you can be successful in this offence.”

Of course, Esks assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Mike Benevides wants to see his defence take a step forward this year. Edmonton’s 496 points allowed were the worst among West playoff teams. That and slow start to last year — the Esks were 5-7 before winning five of their final six games to go into the playoffs — factored into their crossover berth in the playoffs.

This is a new year, and Reilly is confident that the Eskimos will build on what Maas and his coaching staff started.

“I believe that we’re the best team in the league. Me believing it and us proving it are two different things,” he said. “It’s going to take everything we’ve got, every single game for 18 weeks and then the postseason. It’s going to be a long road. Of course over the season injuries and things like that play a big part in that. Right now on paper, the West Division looks tough.”