Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
The Edmonton Eskimos are hoping the bye week helped them find the answers to wave bye-bye to their five game losing streak.
The Eskimos were 7-0 and were being talked about as Grey Cup contenders. Jason Maas was being heralded as the coach of the year. Mike Reilly was dubbed the most likely to win Most Outstanding Player.
Now at 7-5, the storylines switched to how far the Eskimos will fall and if major or minor changes are necessary.
That leads us to Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
What the Eskimos put on the field after the bye week may just tell the tale on where their season is truly heading.
RELATED:
» Duke Williams heads Most Outstanding Rookie race
» CFL Simulation: Neutral Esks gain ground
» Buy: Bombers at Eskimos tickets
Mike Reilly and the Eskimos look to end their five-game losing streak in Week 15 (Walter Tychnowicz/CFL.ca)
The changes have been minor in Edmonton with two kickers added this week after missed kicks have helped the losing streak, as the team is hoping a week away from the growing negativity has the team ready to make a final push back up the standings and back in the conversation of Grey Cup contenders.
The other big addition was getting Aaron Grymes to return to the green and gold after his time in the NFL.
The Eskimos need a few things to start going right again and health is top of the list. The first 12 games of the season had the Eskimos putting player after player on the six-game injured list. Some of those players should start to come back.
The healthier this team gets, the more dangerous it becomes.
Looking at the numbers, two things jump out at me for the Eskimos in their five-game losing streak.
The first is the run game. It has definitely been one of the many positions that has been hampered by injury with John White, Travon Van, and Ladarius Perkins sharing the carries.
The team had four games of over 100-yards rushing in the first seven games and hasn’t been able to find that same balance in the losing streak with zero games over 100-yards rushing in that time.
Mike Reilly reviews notes during a game early in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Yes, when you’re playing from behind you run the ball less at times, but the Eskimos have had close games in this five-game losing streak where the run game could still be effective.
The second thing for the Eskimos is the pass rush. The team has dropped off in sacks and pressures and the one player that is the most telling is defensive end Odell Willis.
Let’s look at his first seven games of the season, in which he had six sacks in the first seven games. He doesn’t have one in the last five. When it comes to QB pressures, Willis has had just four in the five game losing streak. In the first seven games, Willis had 24.
Overall, the Eskimos’ defence mirrors Willis in that they are getting to the opposing quarterback far less than the first part of the season.
Those two things improve and they are no doubt going to find the success they saw at the start of the season.
You know Head Coach Jason Maas, his coordinators and assistants have been in the film room trying to figure out how this season took such a quick turn south and what tweaks they can make to have the Eskimos climb back into a home playoff spot.
And what a test to see where the Edmonton Eskimos are after the bye week, which is at home against Winnipeg, a team that has passed them in the Grey Cup contender conversation, and a team they need to catch to have a home playoff game.
A win will put the league on notice that Mike Reilly and Eskimos are ready for a late-season push.
A loss and the doubters will continue to write them off.
We are going to learn a lot about whether some R&R was all the Eskimos needed to turn things around.
