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The Ottawa REDBLACKS and Edmonton Eskimos have come a long way in two years. The Eskimos climbed quickly from a four win team in 2013 to what they are now under Chris Jones.
The REDBLACKS have rallied as a new franchise in just their sophomore season to become East Division Champions.
But only one will see the work pay off with a Grey Cup title on Sunday and here are five things you should keep an eye on that will determine who walks out of Investors Group Field with the Cup.
Esks DBs vs Ottawa WRs
There is no doubt the Ottawa receivers have been lauded all season long. The REDBLACKS went big, paid big and it paid off with four 1,000 yard receivers this season.
Now it’s up to the Edmonton Eskimos secondary to batten down the hatches to make sure Henry Burris has trouble finding them down field. The biggest headache for the Eskimos is every one that the REDBLACKS deploy has the ability to have a big game. Burris spreads the ball around like no other QB in the CFL. He truly didn’t have one favourite target.
The REDBLACKS were the only team in the CFL with more than two players with over 100 targets. They had four players reach that mark, while their fifth receiver, Maurice Price, had 98 targets this season.
| Out of the shadows? |
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While everyone’s talking about the CFL’s leading offence and its four 1,000-yard receivers, the REDBLACKS’ defence has stealthily put up a strong campaign. CFL.ca’s Don Landry has more on Rick Campbell’s underappreciated defence. |
It’s truly ‘pick your poison’ when it comes to covering the Ottawa receivers. If Jason Maas is able to find a soft spot during the Grey Cup game, he and Burris aren’t afraid to start picking on a favourable match up and make the adjustment in game.
If you hear TSN’s Glen Suitor and Chris Cuthbert say ‘coverage sack’ for the Eskimos defense on Sunday, it’s an indication the Eskimos are winning this battle.
On the flip side, the likes for Aaron Grymes, Patrick Watkins, John Ojo and Marcus Young are one of the best set of defensive backs in the CFL.
Ottawa pass rush
Ottawa defensive end Shawn Lemon doesn’t think this will be a problem.
The REDBLACKS need to help out their banged up secondary by getting to Mike Reilly before he finds his favourite targets of Derel Walker and Adarius Bowman.
“I’ve played him in the Western Final. I hit him, knocked him out of the game,” Lemon told me earlier this week.
“Not that I want to knock him out of the game but you hit him and see what happens from there.”
Reilly is able to extend the play with his legs but Lemon thinks his defensive line will do a lot better than Calgary did last week in rattling the Eskimos heart and soul of offense.
“It’s yet to be seen. He hasn’t been hit in a while so we want to hit him. It shouldn’t be difficult at all. We’re the best defensive line in the league, so we’ll hit him.”
Lemon’s talk has to be backed up on Sunday as well as the others on that defensive line that Mark Nelson likes to rotate to keep them fresh for the fourth quarter.
Keeping Reilly in second and long by sack, pressure or otherwise will be up to the defensive line to own trenches against the Eskimos offensive line. The Eskimos gave up just one sack last week.
Kicking/special teams
We saw how important this can be last season when Brandon Banks nearly brought B.C. Place down with a punt return that was brought back due to penalties.
But we’ve seen players before make an impact in the return game, like the ’91 Grey Cup in Winnipeg when Rocket Ismail took one back to help Toronto win that Grey Cup.
Field position is also going to imperative in the game and the coverage teams can be the unsung heroes by containing the returners and pinning the opponents deep.
Then there are the kickers. Sean Whyte and Chris Milo were mid-season additions for these two teams and have paid off big time. With the colder weather it is going to be harder to kick and be accurate on field goals as they get farther away from the 35-yard line.
The added interest in the PAT also puts the pressure on as many Grey Cup games have come down to a single point making a world of difference.
Milo has visualized making the big kick like Dave Ridgway, Lui Passaglia, Mark McLoughlin etc. as Grey Cups have often come down to the foot of a field goal kicker in the final seconds.
Points off turnovers
Turnovers, period, will be a big factor, but it’s all about capitalizing on your opportunities.
When either the Eskimos or REDBLACKS force a turnover, their offence needs to put on the points because wasted opportunities will come back to haunt you.
Who wants to be the hero
Championship games are a place where a player can make a name for himself. While Eric Rogers’ first three games last year were impressive, he blew everyone away by leading the Stampeders in receiving with over 100 yards in last year’s Grey Cup.
He turned that into an exceptional season.
But we’ve also seen small contributions, like fullback Mike Maurer catching some key passes for the Eskimos in 2005 when he didn’t make many offensive contributions in the regular season.
James Johnson of the 2007 fame intercepted Ryan Dinwiddie three times, one for a touchdown, to help Saskatchewan win the Grey Cup in Toronto.
Like Greg Ellingson last week, when there is a play that needs to be made, who will that player be to step up when the spotlight is at the biggest and make something happen to help win the game?
There will be four or five players that will have a major impact, and the great thing about sports nobody will know who those players will be to punch out the ball, make that key second down tackle, catch the highlight reel catch.
A star will be made, Sunday.
