Edmonton Eskimos

Hey folks, Sorry I wasn’t able to provide a post game recap from the 47-21 beating that the Eskimos took at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. That game had to have been one of the most disgraceful in team history. QB Steven Jyles in only his 2nd CFL start torched the Esks for 267 yards and a touchdown through the air and two rushing tds. That game, had me debating whether I should pick up my TV and throw it out the window or slowly lose my insanity, thankfully I chose neither as I calmed down after the game.

 

0-4 is an ugly start, 0-5 would be even uglier than John Goodman after he’s finished off a 14 course meal. The Lions are hurting due to Casey Printers going down with a torn ACL and its Travis Lulay stepping in, making only his 2nd CFL start in his place. Ricky Ray once again will look to get back on track after the loss to Winnipeg in which he was pulled for Jason Maas.

 

Hopefully some guys on the Eskimos have found “a brain or a heart” as Esks linebacker Maurice Lloyd said earlier this week. Look for this to be a high scoring game with the Esks wanting to keep their foot on the pedal for ALL 4 QUARTERS because if this team falls to 0-5 look to see heads roll in the Eskimos coaching staff or front office.

 

Prediction: Esks win 33-30.

That's all for now but be sure to check out my weekly sports show, Avry's Sports Show at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/avryofedmonton Tuesday nights at 7PM Mountain time and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/avry

The time has come for the Eskimos to finally get their first win of the 2010 season. Edmonton, is taking on a Winnipeg Blue Bombers team that is without its starting QB Buck Pierce due to a knee injury in 28-7 loss to the Hamilton Tiger Cats last week. Filling in for the Blue Bombers is former Esks QB Steven Jyles. Jyles has been a serviceable signal caller as he did fill in for Pierce well after the injury completing 9 of his 13 pass attempts but he has thrown his fare share of interceptions (5 touchdown passes along with 11 INTS in his 4 year CFL career) in his career although he is a very mobile QB and has 2 rushing touchdowns on the season.

 

The Esks and Ricky Ray do need this win big time, they clicked well late in the 4^thquarter vs. the Roughriders but as I said before, turnovers killed this team. An Eskimo team that does not commit any turnovers will be extremely hard to compete with and if they are able to finally score in the 4^thquarter than this should be an easy win for the green and gold. The defense of the Esks is one of the best in the league and if both sides of the ball are playing well, then it will be a very long day for Steven Jyles and company.

 

Prediction: Esks win 31-19.

That's all for now but be sure to check out my weekly sports show, Avry's Sports Show at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/avryofedmonton Tuesday nights at 7PM Mountain time and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/avry

 

It is near panic time in the City of Champions. Thanks to the 24-20 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders the Edmonton Eskimos have now started their season at 0-3 for the first time since 2004. The Esks, had an ok first half and were leading going into the break 14-10 although it could have been more if receiver Kelly Campbell who was wide open had not dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone, (even the TSN broadcast crew was so sure it was a touchdown they had already called it until Campbell bobbled it). Once again, It was a case of the Esks beating themselves by not being able to finish off a game as their mistakes allowed Saskatchewan to get back into the game. The Riders were able to come back on the strength of the Hugh Charles touchdown run (which was set up by a 83 yard run by fellow running back Wes Cates), Luca Congi’s three field goals and a Darian Durant touchdown pass to Andy Fantuz to make it a 24-20 game with less than 3 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. For the third straight game the Esks were unable to score in the 4^th quarter which goes to show how the offense is clearly in a state of disarray.

 

With just over 7 minutes to go, Esks running back Calvin McCarty had a chance to take back the lead for the Esks when they were down 21-20 but he fumbled on the Roughriders 14 yard line, that would be one of two Eskimo fumbles that resulted in turnovers in the quarter. Later in the 4^th, after Ricky Ray hooked up with Fred Stamps deep downfield with the score 24-20 it appeared that the Esks still had some life but the ball was stripped from Stamps’ hands as he crossed the Riders 40 yard line and that would seal the win for the Riders who were wearing black and red throwbacks to honor their 100^th anniversary.

 

The Esks are now at 0-3 and will face the Winnipeg Blue Bomers in week 4 in Winnipeg (July 24^th) but the Bombers will be without starting QB Buck Pierce who has a knee injury so former Eskimo Steven Jyles will be under centre for Winnipeg. The Roughriders, remain the only unbeaten team in the CFL at 3-0 and will face Calgary in Calgary (July 24^th) in week 4 action.

Thats all for now but be sure to check out my weekly sports show, Avry's Sports Show at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/avryofedmonton Tuesday nights at 7PM Mountain time and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/avry

Going into week 3 of the CFL season, the Edmonton Eskimos are in a bit of trouble. Edmonton is 0-2 after loses to BC and Montreal and this truly is a “do or die” game for head coach Richie Hall as rumors have started to circulate around the city that if the Eskimos do not win, Hall is out. Edmonton had many chances to finish off Montreal last week but key drops by receivers such as Fred Stamps cost the Eskimos a chance to pull away from the Als and Montreal took advantage of it in the form of 14 unanswered points to lead them to a 33-23 win after the Esks had an 11 point lead. The Eskimos recently, have had success lately in Mosaic Stadium vs. the Riders winning their last 2 games in Regina. Look for the Eskimos offense to try and get back on track to avoid the worst start the team has had since 2004.

 

The Roughriders, have been the toast of the western division at 2-0 which has included a 54-51 double overtime win vs. Montreal in week 1 and a week 2 win over the BC Lions in Vancouver. The Riders offense is firing on all cylinders with QB Darian Durant already having 733 passing yards and 6 TD passes. Durant has lately been able to find with ease his big play receivers Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz. If the Eskimos can’t stop Durant soon this game could get out of hand early, but lately The Riders have been unable to finish off the Eskimos at home.

Bonus Fact: Today's Esks-Riders game will be on the NFL Network at 4PM Eastern time/2PM Mountain time.

 

Prediction: The Eskimos have had recent success at Mosaic Stadium, and the Riders have had a hard time putting away Edmonton in their own backyard, so I’m calling a 30-25 Eskimos win.

Thats all for now but be sure to check out my weekly sports show, Avry's Sports Show at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/avryofedmonton Tuesday nights at 7PM Mountain time and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/avry

The Edmonton Eskimos kind of sort of kicked off the 2010 season, they were thoroughly trounced 25-10 in front of the home crowd at Commonwealth. The Lions dominated the game thanks to running back Jamal Robertson and his 168 yards rushing and a touchdown. 40 year old Paul McCalum tied his own team record by kicking 6 field goals for the Lions and Casey Printers had 260 yards passing on the night. The Eskimos were unable to get much going, Ricky Ray was hit early and hit often during the game but was still able to throw for 229 yards in the loss. Turnovers hurt the Eskimos as BC recovered two fumbles, one of them being a fumble by receiver Skyler Green who fumbled the ball as he was hit returning a punt. The Lions now join the Stampeders and Roughriders at 1-0 in the western division while the Eskimos become the only west team without a win.

 The Eskimos play the Alouettes next week on July 11^th at Commonwealth and the Lions head

back to Vancouver and will take on the Roughriders on July 10th.

I wont be able to provide an eskimos report for the Montreal-Edmonton on July 11th as I will be in Trinidad, but I will return for the week 3 eskimos game vs Rougriders on July 17th

As always Check out my weekly sports show, Avry's Sports Show at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/avryofedmonton Tuesday nights at 7PM Mountain time and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/avry

 

The preseason is over in the CFL and now, it’s serious. The Esks finished the preseason with record of 1-1 and will start the regular season tomorrow afternoon vs. the BC Lions (their 2^nd preseason game was a 36-32 win over the BC Lions in Vancouver). Coming out of the preseason without a doubt as always Ricky Ray remains the #1 QB for the Eskimos. The big question mark for the Esks is more on the defensive side of the ball with a lack of veteran defensive backs. The esks, do have some premier linebackers in the form of signing Javi Glatt from the Lions and the return of Maurice Lloyd who is ready to step up his play after only getting 4 sacks last season. The Esks also brought in slotbacks Andre Talbot and Brad Smith from the Toronto Argonauts.

 

The BC Lions, have back their all star quarterback Casey Printers who led the injury riddled Lions back to the playoffs and beat the Hamilton Tiger Cats 34-27 and threw for 340 yards. The Lions, also bolstered their defense with the signing of Davis Sanchez who even at the age of 35 is still one of the premier DBs in the league. Geroy Simon is back for the Lions and look for him to be as always the main guy that Printers will try and go to deep downfield.

 

This game will most definitely be a shootout with both Ray and Printers can throw deep downfield at will and the both of them do have the ability to scramble expect both teams to put up 40 points.

 

Prediction: Eskimos win 44-41.

Check out my weekly sports show, Avry's Sports Show at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/avryofedmonton Tuesday nights at 7PM Mountain time and follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/avry

The Edmonton Eskimos announced today that they have hired Morley Scott to be the main announcer for the teams games on 630 Ched radio.  Bryan Hall had been covering the Canadian Football League (CFL) team for the past 40 years.

Scott was the colour commentator for the Edmonton Oilers from 1993 until 2008.  

By bringing in Scott the Eskimos passed over colour commentator Dave Campbell who will return in his usual spot.

Scott said, "Living in Edmonton for almost 25 years, I know how important the Eskimos and the CFL are to the community. It's fair to say no one can replace Bryan Hall, but Dave Campbell and I will work hard every game to bring the excitement of Eskimo football to life for our listeners."

The change will certainly seem odd for long time listeners, but others may have felt that there needed to be a change made to give some new energy to the broadcasts.

Bryan Hall felt he was putting the broadcast into safe hands, “I have no doubt that Morley and Dave will make for a wonderful team.   Morley’s experience and passion for the job will be an excellent fit on the broadcasts. It’s great to have him back in Edmonton.”

Scott was equally complementary to the former announcer. 

On the Eskimos website he said, "As far as the broadcast business goes, he is a Hall of Famer. Hallsy was around when they invented it and then he re-invented it.  Love him or hate him…and it is possible to do both, you want to know what he has to say.  Eskimo football will miss Bryan Hall."

Listeners familiar with Scott from the Oilers will certainly be happy to see him back as well.  Scott was let go by the Oilers with the change of ownership and there was a sentiment in the city that it was unfortunate.

The Oilers loss appears to be the Eskimos gain.

The Eskimos open their season at home against the BC Lions on July 4, 2010. 

Yesterday, Edmonton Eskimos head coach Richie Hall announced who the new defensive coordinator will be  for the Eskimos will be in 2010: Richie Hall.

The Eskimos had been looking to fill the vacant defensive coordinator position, a position that had become open when defensive coordinator Jim Daley resigned last week.

“I look forward to taking over the defensive coordinator duties,” Hall said to Esks.com. “I’m excited to be more involved with the defense and I look forward to continue to build on what was established by the coaches in 2009.”

Despite the change, Hall will still maintain his head coach title.

While taking on two big roles may seem like a lot of work, no one is more qualified than Hall when it comes to coaching defence. Prior to becoming a head coach with Eskimos this season, Hall spent eight seasons as a defensive coordinator with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

In Saskatchewan, Hall’s defence constantly led the league in many defensive categories. Under his reign, the Roughrider’s defence was best known for their astute ability to stop the run. With defensive lineman like Scott Schultz and Nate Davis, and linebackers like Reggie Hunt, the Riders certainly did not make things easy for opponents on the ground.

Perhaps one of the crowning moments for Hall, and the Roughriders defence, was in the 2007 Western Final against the British Columbia Lions. The visiting Roughriders held the Lions (who had an impressive record of 14-3-1 coming into the game) to 17 points. The Riders went on to win the Grey Cup.

Hall's new permanent role with the defence will only benefit a struggling Edmonton defence. In 2009, the Eskimos seemed to lack an identity on defence. Stats wise, the team gave up nearly 100 yards rushing, and 300 yards passing a game. They also gave up an average of 28 points-per-game.

In other defence-related news, the Eskimos signed Mike Walker as their Defensive Line Coach. Walker was a former defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League, spending time in Edmonton during his career.

CFL.ca is reporting that the Edmonton Eskimos have released veteran offensive lineman John Comiskey. Comiskey was the Eskimos nominee for the Oustanding Lineman Award in 2008.

Slam Sports has reported that any speculation that the Toronto Argonauts will one day play games at BMO Field was shot down recently, after a study by the CFL deemed it would not be possible. No details of the study were released.

CFL commissioner Mark Cohon may soon have a new job. According to the Toronto Star, Cohon’s name is high on the list of possible people to run the 2015 Pan Am Games.

In some head coach news, TSN is reporting that the Montreal Alouettes are set to re-sign head coach Marc Trestman on Thursday. Trestman led the Alouettes to a Grey Cup victory this season. The Globe and Mail is reporting that Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach Mike Kelly will be back despite the Bombers 7-11 season.

Sources: www.cfl.ca , www.thestar.com , http://slam.canoe.ca , www.tsn.ca , www.theglobeandmail.com , www.esks.com .

For all the latest news and analysis on the Canadian Football League, check out Jonathan Hamelin's CFL Examiner Page .

Edmonton's defense has undergone numerous major changes over the past few days as they acquired defensive back Byron Parker from Toronto and signed defensive back Randee Drew, linebacker Reggie Hunt, and defensive tackle Jerome Haywood.

When you look at it you see aging veterans (Hunt and Haywood), an injury-prone player (Drew) and a player who failed to crack the lineup in Toronto potentially due to him "not learning the playbook" as coach Bart Andrus explained it.

But when you look at it further you see a 6-6 Eskimos team that holds a one-game lead over BC, a two-game lead of, and a three-game lead over Toronto for the fifth out of six teams in the playoffs.

Also, Edmonton has given up the most points in the league, 369 with the next closest being Saskatchewan with 331 and they are adding Hunt, a seven-year CFL veteran, to a linebacking corps who's most experienced player is four-year CFL vet Maurice Lloyd.

Haywood was brought in to replace the injured Dario Romero, yet while Haywood isn't as talented he, just like Romero, has seven-plus years of CFL experience and will likely combine with six-year veteran Kai Ellis in leading a group that contains two two-year veterans and a group of rookies.

Now Parker and Drew, while they are not as experienced (Parker has four years in the league, Drew has two), bring in more talent.

Jason Goss leads the secondary in tackles with 39 and Kelly Malveaux leads them with two interceptions after they failed to get one in seven weeks.

Both Parker and Drew should help in the tackling game with Drew having 86 (67 in 2007) and Parker having 99 (40 in 2008), while Parker has 18 interceptions with a season high of eight in 2006.

Bringing in these four players should in my opinion be able to pass the Roughriders and Calgary Stampeders who are both 7-5.

All they need now is for the the offense to step up from the fourth best (based on points for) in the league.

As the reach of social media starts to be evaluated and slowly integrated into key major professional leagues here in America, its adoption and use is starting to be uncovered in all places, our neighbors to the north.  More specially, the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Unlike the National Football League, the CFL is less restrictive on their social media policies, if they have one at all.  As a result, teams and players are attempting to find out how to use social media in ways that the NFL won’t event start.

One team in particular, the Edmonton Eskimos, found one effective way almost by accident.

Snapping a picture of the team praying together right before a game.

Edmonton Eskimos Director of Communication Dave Jamieson, spoke about how the team’s web designer had snapped a couple of “behind-the-scenes” pictures of the team and posted on the online photo sharing site SnapMyLife.com. 

They weren’t sure what the reaction would be about showing what seemed to be innocuous photos of locker rooms, players in their off time, and the team praying before a game. 

The reaction surprised them.

As Jamieson put it, “our fans reacted better than we ever expected.  We realized Edmonton fans wanted to see all the behind-the-scenes things we take for granted.  It not only helped them to feel even more connected, but it gave us a communication channel to share the passion of the team in real time.” 

As word spread about the photos, the team tried to figure out how to better utilize the site.  What they found was a nifty Snap2Twitter feature that gives team personnel the ability to take behind-the-scene photos as they happen and post them immediately to the team’s SnapMyLife profile page.

However, unlike the NFL or now the NBA, the Edmonton Eskimos are taking pictures before, after, and during the game, which has fans buzzing.  So far, Jamieson has indicated that these photos, only taken by their team personnel, haven’t impacted the game at all.  In fact the opposite has happened.  Fans only want more and the Eskimos are more than happy to oblige.

A shot of a player in his post-interception celebration?  Check.  A picture taken only five feet away of a player talking with the head coach after a great play like the one shown above?  Why not?

SnapMyLife Founder George Grey is more than happy to see the Eskimos utilize his platform that was initially focused on family and friends. He believes SnapMyLife is a perfect platform to “complement” existing media that lets fans already engage with the team including Twitter.

As a result of this opportunity and the growth of its site, SnapMyLife is making upgrades to this to be able to partner with other professional sports teams who want to use their platform to connect with fans.   

While it’s clear that the Eskimos and other professional sports teams are still in its infancy of utilizing social media, it may end up that lesser known professional leagues and teams will be the ones on the cutting edge of “social media” in sports. 

Why?

Because it’ll take large established leagues like the NFL time to figure out how to accommodate social media without compromising their multi-billion dollar television contracts.

That’s why.

And until then, the Eskimos will continue snapping away at success with their fans—off and on the field.

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Steve Raquel is sports fan and an online social media expert who helps professional athletes, individuals and businesses navigate and succeed in leveraging social media as the president of Illinois Online Ventures.  Contact Steve directly at sraquel@iovmedia.com or follow him on twitter at @sraquel.