The Edmonton Elks are in familiar territory as they’ve opened the season with seven straight losses for the second straight year and are firmly the ninth-place team in the CFL. The club’s latest loss came by a score of 44-28 at the hands of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Below are my thoughts on the game.
No offensive
After having the worst game of his Elks tenure last week, McLeod Bethel-Thompson put in a worse performance this week as the offence looked out of sync for the majority of the game. Passes went long, short, or were thrown so hard receivers struggled to get their hands on the ball.
MBT completed 10-of-22 pass attempts for a lowly 85 total yards and a quarterback rating of 37.1. He also threw an interception late in the second quarter that Hamilton turned into a touchdown before the half, which led the team to be booed off the field amid chants for Tre Ford. I’ll tackle that topic in a moment.
The offensive line gave MBT little time to work, again, which forced a lot of throws and allowed the Ticats to make two sacks. The right side of the line in particular, which had Shane Richards in for injured Hunter Steward at guard, struggled to keep Hamilton at bay, which prevented MBT from getting through his reads.
When he did have time, though, MBT’s reads seemed to involve attacking a lot of double teams or receivers in tight windows. He only targeted Eugene Lewis twice in the first half, which was a surprise considering how well Lewis played in Edmonton’s last home game.
The Elks’ running game struggled once again as their ball-carriers had little space to operate, combining for 14 carries for 75 yards. Javon Leake had to be called upon more often after Kevin Brown got knicked up in the second quarter and did admirably considering the circumstances.
Overall, the offence provided very little excitement for local fans until the game was well out of reach.
Cue the Ford entrance music
With Hamilton coming off their fifth touchdown to make the score 41-8, Tre Ford came on in relief of Bethel-Thompson. The quarterback change drew a standing ovation from the crowd and it didn’t take long for the feel of the game to change.
Yes, it was garbage time. Yes, it was very unlikely the Elks would put 33 points up in the remaining ten minutes of the fourth quarter. There’s no denying, however, that the offence did a complete turnaround with Ford at the helm.
There were running lanes available for Leake. Ford connected on passes to wide-open receivers. The offence stayed on the field for more than a two-and-out. It was a miracle.
Ford went three-for-seven and ran for 11 yards in his first drive and, with the help of a pass interference penalty on Richard Leonard, marched 87 yards to get Edmonton’s first touchdown of the game. The stadium exploded with excitement.
Hamilton answered with a field goal but Ford was not done. On his second drive, he escaped what should have been a sure sack by two Hamilton defenders, ran across the field, and threw a strike for 22 yards to Leake. It was the longest play the Elks generated on the night. The young passer went five-for-six on that drive and again capped it with a touchdown, this time hitting Gavin Cobb.
“I didn’t feel like there was an energy shift until I made a couple throws,” Ford said postgame. “Then there was a bit of an energy shift. I was just happy I could provide my team with that energy.”
The defence then got the ball back at Hamilton’s 20-yard line and, one run and one pass later, a third touchdown was on the board. 20 points in just under ten minutes of work. The game remained well out of reach but it was impressive nonetheless.
“I felt like (Hamilton) were still playing,” said interim head coach and offensive coordinator Jarious Jackson. “There was still time left in the game. I felt like Tre came in and gave us the spark that we needed. Everybody knows he’s a great athlete and he can use his legs and get out of trouble pretty easily. That’s what he was able to do a few times.”
Elks-plosions return
After a good week in Ottawa during which the Elks allowed only one play over 30 yards, there were three given up against the Tiger-Cats. Bo Levi Mitchell diced the defence for five touchdown passes. I was shocked to hear this was the first time he’d ever done that, and yet, not terribly surprised it happened this year against Edmonton.
The defence started well, holding the Ticats to just two field goals through the first 27 minutes of the ball game. They even contributed an interception from cornerback Marcus Lewis. I began to suspect we were in for a long night of punting and not a lot of points for either team. Clearly, I was wrong.
With the offence struggling to the tune of four punts, one of which was blocked, the defence could not get a rest and the wear and tear started to show near the end of the first half. MBT saw the ball for two series in the second half, both of which were two-and-out. The Ticats scored a touchdown on five of six drives after that blocked punt.
Adding to the trouble of short drives were injuries. Marcus Lewis left in the second quarter, which forced local product Jake Taylor into the game at field-side cornerback and Mitchell tested him often. Defensive lineman Noah Curtis also went down in the second frame and did not return. Less pressure from the defensive line left Mitchell with all the time he needed to make his five touchdown passes.
I saw the spark come back for the defence when the offence picked up under Ford. Weak-side linebacker Nick Anderson made a spectacular forced fumble, which was picked up by Kai Gray and lateraled to Darius Bratton to set up the third Ford drive. It was just too late to recover.
“We have to play complementary football,” Jackson said. “We left (the defence) on the field entirely too long. There was seven minutes difference in time of possession — that’s a little too long in my eyes. We had a lot of two-and-outs on offence, so they are coming to the sideline and getting a breather for one minute and then right back out there. We need to be better to finish on offence and keep the defence off the field.”
More kicking adventures
For all the great things Jake Julien has done this year, he did have a bit of an off-game. He had two punts sail into the end zone for singles and gave Hamilton some field position. The turning point of the game came on a big blocked punt in the second quarter. He still had a net average of 48.5 yards, which is a great number.
Boris Bede connected on both of his field goals this game, one of which came from 26 yards and the other from 47 yards. It was a big relief after the struggles he had last week.
The veteran kicker struggled mightily on his onside kick attempts, however. The first was an obvious duff on which the ball went a measly four yards. Being that it did not travel the 10 yards needed to recover, it gave Hamilton the ball on the Edmonton 33-yard line. Even with the two-and-out the defence forced, it was an easy field goal for Marc Liegghio.
The next two tries he had for onside kicks went 39 and 35 yards, respectively. I’ve watched football for nearly 40 years and I don’t think that’s how onside kicks are completed.
These last three weeks have been difficult to watch as the kicker who was a highly-paid off-season signing has struggled. If Edmonton is to have any success, Bede needs to be back to the top of his form.
What happens next
Edmonton is back on the road next week to face the West Division-leading Saskatchewan Roughriders. It won’t be an easy task with the way the two teams have played recently and the Riders coming off of a bye week.
The question everyone will be asking is who starts for Edmonton on Saturday. Ford ignited a stagnant offence but MBT knows how to bounce back. The fans will chant for Ford. Jackson has a tough task in managing how this plays out.
“I just try to focus on the game,” said Ford of the crowd chants. “Yes, you hear it, but I’m trying to be a good teammate and support McLeod in his situation. He’s been fantastic to me with learning from him and the connection we have on a day-to-day basis. He’s a great dude and I am going to cherish the time we get together.”
“Tre gave us a spark,” said Jackson of the team’s preparation for next week. “We will try and build on the good things we did through the night. We only had four penalties on the night, so that was definitely a positive. Offensively, we will come back and look at it tomorrow and see what side to go.”
It’s time to try Ford in a starting role and let Bethel-Thompson help him from the sideline. If Ford struggles, you can always change things back to the way they were.
At 0-7, what do the Elks have to lose?
Andrew Hoskins is a lifelong Edmonton resident and the host of the Turf District Podcast.
