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A 35-20 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats vaulted the Eskimos back into a playoff spot as the crossover team in the East Division.
Much of the kudos went to the performance of the offence and why not. They haven’t been very potent this season but last Friday, they were. Four offensive touchdowns, 472 yards of net offence, a quarterback with a 300-yard passing game and Fred Stamps becoming unleashed for 204 yards and a touchdown.
As the offence received most of the attention, the defence needed a bounce-back game and they rose up in a big way.
During the Eskimos’ slide in September, the defence was averaging 32 points allowed per game. At one point, the defence was tops in the Canadian Football League in both total points allowed, and average points allowed per game. Now they’re in the middle of the pack.
Against the Tiger-Cats, the Eskimos allowed 384 net yards of offence, against a team that averages 417 yards per game. A defence that gives up 308 passing yards per game held the CFL’s leading passer Henry Burris to 284 yards. The only blemish was 130 yards surrendered on the ground. Most importantly, the Eskimos ‘D’ allowed just 20 points.
Defensive back Joe Burnett says the defence redeemed themselves from their earlier poor performances.
“It feels real good to get the monkey off our back, we needed that performance, we needed that (kind of) play,” Burnett said. “You know, a lot of guys were banged up and hurt and a lot of guys stepped up for us. We wanted to have a chip on our shoulders, we got a lot riding on this game as far as our playoff berth (is concerned) and getting to where we want to be.”
Defensive back Chris Thompson picked up two interceptions, tying him for the CFL lead with five picks drawing himself even with Joe Burnett. Thompson picked up CFL Defensive Player of the Week honours for his effort.
It was part of a six turnover night for the defence.
Newcomer Brandon Lang picked up his first CFL interception. Clint Kent and Shawn Lemon recovered a fumble each.
The unsung hero of the defence might have been defensive lineman Jermaine Reid. He sat on the nine-game injured list at the start of the season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. He returned to the lineup last month. His stat line will only say one quarterback sack and two defensive tackles but his last tackle had the biggest impact as he stuffed Tiger-Cats running back Avon Cobourne on a third-and-one gamble late in the fourth quarter.
The Eskimos defence has been a unit based on creating turnovers. They lead the CFL with 40 takeaways and they also lead in points scored off turnovers with 102. The ‘D’ has mastered the art of making you pay according to Joe Burnett.
“It’s all about takeaways, gotta have a knack for creating turnovers, making the offences get off the field real quick and putting our offence in a great position as far as field position and giving the ball back to score points.” Burnett said. “
The difference on defence last week was, first of all, tackle better. This team let too many second-and-longs turn into first downs recently because the defence simply used poor tackling fundamentals.
Secondly, the Eskimos finally got pressure on the quarterback, and the front seven and the secondary didn’t give up the big play nearly as much on the ground or through the air.
What also helped was the time of possession from the offence, they held close to a five minute advantage. Meanwhile, the defence had time to sit on the bench and receive a rest.
They are the heart and soul of the Eskimos team, the straw that stirs the drink.
It must return to the old saying “bend but don’t break.” Except only to break the heart of the opposing offence.
NOTES: The Eskimos will have the services of middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt against the Roughriders He missed last week’s game with a knee injury. Slotback Cary Koch will return to the lineup Saturday after missing two games with a collarbone injury. Koch is the Eskimos fourth leading receiver catching 27 passes for 427 yards and catching four touchdowns. Fullback Calvin McCarty will make his return after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain. The team is hoping next week vs. Lions will see the return of fullback Mathieu Bertrand. He’s missed 11 games with a groin injury. The Eskimos have a five-game home winning streak against the Roughriders.
