Changes for the 1-5-0 Eskimos
"Let's be clear about one thing right off the start, the Eskimos will not be sitting Ray as long as there is still hope for a playoff spot"
In this week’s CFL Point/Counterpoint, Chris Powell and Jonathan Hamelin debated whether or not the Eskimos should bench starting quarterback Ricky Ray in favour of second-year man Jared Zabransky, who has developed somewhat of a cult following in Edmonton. Zabransky is well known for quarterbacking the Boise State Broncos in one of the greatest college football games of all-time in the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and some fans believe that with the Eskimos starting the season with a record of 1-5-0, the time has come for a changing of the guard under centre.
Let’s be clear about one thing right off the start, the Eskimos will not be sitting Ray as long as there is still hope for a playoff spot. As one of the premier quarterbacks in the league over the past couple of seasons, the team needs to have their leader under centre. If the team falls out of contention for the playoffs the possibility of a change can be revisited, but for now, the Green & Gold will be going with Ray.
The quarterback issue aside, the Eskimos do need to make some changes. However, the first move should not be wholesale changes to the active roster. With the removal of Danny Maciocia as general manager, the team needs to find a football operations leader that can oversee the complete overhaul of the team’s on-field personnel. There have been at least a dozen candidates debated in both the media and fan forums around the league with no clear cut favourite emerging for the job. Without a leader to implement what amounts to a complete cultural change within the Eskimos organization, sitting a player here or there will have about as much impact as a mosquito crashing into the front of a car on a highway.
Looking at the Eskimos players today, there are only two spot that needs to be upgraded. Is it at the quarterback position? Certainly not with Ray continuing to play well and Zabransky waiting on the sidelines. Receiver? Not with talent like Fred Stamps and Kelly Campbell running routes. How about running back? Arkee Whitlock is second in the league in rushing yards so it’s not likely. If not offence, what about the defence? The Eskimos are fine on the defensive side of the ball with impact players such as Maurice Lloyd, Chris Thompson and Kenneth Pettway continuing to make their mark on opposing offences. Special teams? Nope. Noel Prefontaine and Tristan Jackson are both two of the best at their respective positions.
Ready to give up on what needs to be improved?
Okay, here’s the answer. The first item is non-import talent. The Eskimos have a strong group of non-imports on their team, but when injuries occur, the team’s depth of impact Canadians is lacking. The team has not properly managed their non-import assets over the past couple of years and the impact is starting to be noticeable. Most of the team’s younger prospects are not cut out to be impact starters in the CFL with perhaps the exception of safety Saleem Borhot. The changes needed to the team’s non-imports will not happen overnight, but getting a new general manager in place will put the team on the right track.
"(Edmonton) needs to find a football operations leader that can oversee the complete overhaul of the team's on-field personnel"
The second part of the equation is winners. Simply put, the Eskimos need to find players like Toronto’s Cory Boyd who care only for winning and will not be denied in their pursuit of this goal. Boyd finishes each run as if it might be his last and refuses to make it easy on those trying to defend against him. The current Eskimos roster simply does not have enough of these type of players. As pointed out earlier, the Green & Gold have plenty of talent, and if you don’t believe that, just check out the stats page on CFL.ca. That being said, when it comes to winning, the Eskimos are at the bottom of the CFL barrel for a reason. Dropped passes, fumbles and missed tackles at key moments in the game are all signs that the Eskimos don’t have enough winners on their team.
So should the Esks sit down Ricky Ray? Maurice Lloyd? Kelly Campbell, perhaps? Maybe, but the chance that it resurrects their season are slim to none. A new general manager with the vision and knowledge of what it takes to win in the CFL is needed first. Once that person is in place, the other changes will start to follow.
Gizzie Willie is a popular CFL blogger, writing for the Edmonton Eskimos, as well as his blog, EsksNation.ca. You can follow EsksNation.ca on Twitter.
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Great article Gizzie. The line: "Sitting a player here or there will have about as much impact as a mosquito crashing into the front of a car on a highway," was golden. While you're right, hiring a manager is important, the benchings have to start if the losses keep piling up.
I don't think it's benching that we will see as the Esks showed yesterday by releasing Andre Coleman and Joe McGrath. If you are not playing to an acceptable level, the team will simply cut bait. The Esks didn't need to release those two players as they had room on their roster. Both moves were performance related and send a strong message to the rest of the roster.