Edmonton Eskimos
In football, there’s a tremendous amount of focus on the quarterback. There’s an old saying: “The quarterback gets too much credit when the team wins and too much blame when the team loses.”
For the most part, the above statement is true. The quarterback has to be sure of the type of defensive coverage he’s facing. He needs to be accurate, make plays, and be a leader in the huddle and under centre.
Ah yes, under centre. As important as the quarterback position is, the next or perhaps first important ingredient is the offensive line. In 2013, Edmonton’s offensive line is under the heat lamp.
General Manager Ed Hervey called out his group just days before training camp opened last Sunday saying they need to start answering the questions directed at them about their performance.
There have been plenty of questions already directed towards the offensive line, or should we say, question marks. A knee injury has already knocked out the Eskimos top man from last season, as Orrin Thompson was hurt on the opening day of training camp.
Throughout camp, the group is going up against arguably the best defensive line in the CFL. And as expected, the D-Line is winning all the battles.
It all boiled over on Tuesday morning as both head coach Kavis Reed and offensive line coach Kris Sweet laid into the front five.
“Block somebody!” said Reed. And I can’t possibly repeat what Sweet had to say to his group but they involved plenty of expletives.
The offensive line was not surprised at all to get such a tongue lashing, it comes with the territory. Right guard Simeon Rottier says he knows his group is struggling.
“There’s been a lot of install over the last few days, nothing new in camp but the offensive system is pretty in-depth,” Rottier explained.
“I think guys are just thinking too much, myself included. We just need to get in our playbooks some more so we don’t have to be thinking ‘we can just go out there and compete’.”
There is a new offensive coordinator in Doug Sams which means a new offensive system to learn. The offensive line looks very different from last season.
Rottier, who returns to the Esks in 2013 following an injury-plagued 2012 season, will shift from left guard to right, the spot he played at for the most part during his time with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Third-year Eskimo Scott Mitchell is currently at left guard. The tackles consist of second-year big man Matt O’Donnell and his 6-foot-11, 340-pound frame on the right side, and 6-foot-8, 315-pound rookie Cliff Louis on the left side.
At centre you’ll find fifth year Eskimo Gord Hinse, as fellow veteran Kyle Koch was released on the eve of training camp.
Hinse says it’s tough to see a quality player and person like Koch go, but he knows his oppourtunity is there for the taking.
“That’s part of the game, people are going to come and go all through training camp and you just have to make sure you’re here at the end and in the right spot,”Hinse said.
“With Kyle, I wish him all the luck in the future and I hope he gets somewhere. Its part of the game and you have to deal with it and keep going.”
It remains to be seen if the current starting five are the five who’ll start in the regular season opener vs. Saskatchewan on June 29. 
There are 13 offensive linemen currently in training camp; the latest addition is Thaddeus Coleman who attended training camp with the Eskimos back in 2008.
The group is a young and inexperienced one, that has been going up against a star-studded defensive line that received a major boost of energy during the off-season when Odell Willis joined the Green and Gold through free agency.
Down the road, you have to think the offensive line will benefit and improve from facing such a stellar group.
In the meantime, the front five have been struggling to find any sort of consistency. Despite the rough start, however, Rottier remains hopeful that the group will be able to find its step.
“We want to have confidence going into pre-season games and into the regular season,”Rottier said.
“The more you play against guys the more you start to learn what they’re about.”
The coaching staff is trying to get a proper evaluation of Matt Nichols and Mike Reilly for the starting quarterback job and would like one of them to make the decision an easy one to make.
While there’s no questioning the ability of both pivots, like all other QBs, they need the time in the pocket to do their job and can’t be pre-occupied with wondering if they have to run for safety more often than not.
The offensive line can be broken down in simple terms: Beat the man in front of you.
It all starts up front. Always.
