Isaac Owusu
Ticats.ca
Kent Austin already knows where this week’s game will be won or lost.
The battle in the trenches.
With a shortened week of preparation, head into Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium looking for their first win against the 1-0 Eskimos on Friday night.
Austin will be paying close attention to how his largest players perform.
“If we don’t control the line of scrimmage, we won’t win the game,” Austin said to media members on Wednesday afternoon via conference call.
“The old adage is true, you have to win at the line on both sides of the ball. That’s where it starts and that’s where it ends. The playmakers and the skill guys have no opportunity to go out and make plays if we don’t control the line of scrimmage.”
The Ticats along with their head coach remained in Regina, to practice throughout the week after Sunday’s 31-10 loss to the Roughriders.
That game was overshadowed by the poor conditions that plagued the entire city, where the 175 approximate millimetres of rain that fell before and during the game made for a much slippery affair on the field. With the loss amid such ugly field conditions, Austin can still commend his team.
“We did a good job protecting the ball.
The ball slipped out of Zach’s hands more than one time, as it was pretty bad conditions out there. So I thought the turnover situation was decent, considering the environment and the conditions,” he said.
As with any football coach, a compliment is usually followed up by a point of improvement and Austin put that focus on his team’s mental mistakes.
“Our penalties were an issue,” Austin stated, speaking of the team’s 17 flags resulting in being penalized 148 yards.
“We’re going to have to get way more disciplined, especially on the kick team. That’s on me and the coaches, to make sure the individual players are disciplined. We want them to play hard, but to play between the whistles.”
There will be one player one the opposing sideline of Commonwealth Stadium that already has the Ticats head coach on notice, quarterback Mike Reilly.
“He’s a real good quarterback, I’m a big fan of his. He’s very accurate, got a strong arm, he’s very competitive,” Austin said.
For him, Reilly’s strengths command that his Ticats’ defensive front is the one who sets the tone.
“He makes plays, he’s a natural playmaker. He can pull the ball down and run if he needs to. So it is a great challenge for a defence, but one of the ways to counter a great quarterback is to collapse the pocket and get hits on him.”
