THE CANADIAN PRESS
CFL.ca Staff
With files from Esks.com
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Eskimos aren’t where they want to be just yet, but it appears they’re on the right track.
When Ed Hervey took over as general manager and later hired replaced Kavis Reed with Chris Jones at head coach, the Eskimos began building a sturdy concrete foundation on which to build future success.
It wasn’t enough to win the Esks a Grey Cup in 2014, but the team’s league-high seven All-Star selections (more than a quarter of the All-Star team wears Green and Yellow this year) are indicative of the core being built up.
The Eskimos boast seven all-stars at seven different positions, including three on offence and four on defence in a season that signaled tremendous growth in Edmonton.
“I’m very proud of our football team,” Hervey said following the team’s Western Final loss to Calgary. “Very proud of the way they’ve handled themselves all season, and looking forward to next season and building on the momentum that we have.”
John White, Adarius Bowman and Simeon Rottier were all first-time All-Stars, and should power a fast-rising Eskimo offence for a long time to come.
With White running the ball and Rottier blocking, the Eskimos boasted the CFL’s second-best ground game in 2014, rushing for 136.6 yards per game while leading the league in yards per carry. White was the fourth-leading rusher in the league, meanwhile, despite playing in only 11 games due to injury. His 6.9 yards per carry average was better than any running back not named Jon Cornish.
Rottier also broke out in a big way on the Esks’ offensive line, keeping franchise quarterback Reilly upright as the team allowed only 46 sacks, the fourth-fewest in the league.
While the Esks’ run game played a huge role in the team’s 2014 resurgence, Bowman enjoyed the biggest individual year for any player on the team. He was the CFL’s top receiver in both yards and receptions and set team single-season catches record. He’s big and physical and hard to bring down, and this year Edmonton’s passing game went through him.
Edmonton’s offensive outburst led to a 71-point improvement in scoring from a year ago, but more importantly aided the defence in an enormous breakout season.
As the CFL’s number one team in ball possession, the Eskimos were able to keep their defence fresh and ready to go and this season it paid dividends. Four different players were named to the All-Star team, led by veterans Patrick Watkins, Odell Willis and Almondo Sewell, along with newcomer Dexter McCoil.
The Eskimos were the league’s top defence by far in 2014, surrendering only 5030 net yards for an average of 279.4 yards per game. To put things in perspective, the next closest team was Hamilton at 314.2 yards per game, while seventh-place Saskatchewan allowed 331.8 yards per game. That’s a wide margin between the Esks and the rest of the group.
Just as impressive was the Esks’ pass defence, which led the league in almost every major category including interceptions, completion percentage and passing yards.
Watkins was a big part of the Eskimos’ superb defence, locking down any opponent he faced, while Willis and Sewell provided support both in rushing the quarterback and stopping the run. McCoil was the surprise on defence, rising to earn Most Outstanding Rookie honours and also serving as the unit’s biggest playmaker.
It’s true, All-Star selections on their own don’t win championships – but there is something useful we can take from this year’s picks: the Eskimos are well on their way. Not only do they have a lot of star power, but they’ve also proven to have depth after overcoming a number of injuries.
For Hervey, that was the key to the Eskimos getting better.
“I expected us to improve,” he said. “We talked about the building process here in Edmonton and depth being the key ingredient to having success during the season.”
“You’re never going to finish the season with the roster you started, whether due to injury or production. But I believe that throughout the year I felt we were going to be much improved.”
Led by Coach Jones and a cast of young emerging players with the right attitude, the Eskimos are building a program quite conducive to success.
