The trouble with getting all enthused and excited about this Edmonton Eskimos season is how everybody got all lathered up about last year's Edmonton Oilers.
Last year you were urged to get giddy about the prospects of the Oilers returning to become a reach-for-the-top team again.
It was the way the Oilers finished off the previous season, with all the wins in the final 20 games despite Sheldon Souray, Shawn Horcoff, Ethan Moreau and other veterans out of the lineup with injury.
It was the arrival, at the same time, of young talents Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano, Robert Nilsson and Tom Gilbert. The emergence of Mathieu Garon in goal. The belief that Ales Hemsky was finally on the verge of superstar status. The team going from being desperate to find a puck-moving defencemen to having the market cornered on them. A new owner willing to spend big money.
Ah, yes, it was going to be great fun at Rexall Place all winter long and maybe for years to come.
It's like that with the Eskimos going into the season which starts here Thursday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The way the Eskimos finished off last season one win from the Grey Cup game after becoming the first cross-over club to make it to the Eastern Final. The blockbuster free agent acquisitions of Jesse Lumsden and Maurice Lloyd.
Ricky Ray no longer having to be a one dimensional quarterback with the prospects of a real running game. Dramatic upgrades on defence, especially in the area of team speed and physical play. The hiring of a new head coach and staff which has gone over very well ...
Because of what happened last year with the hockey team, there's going to be much more of a wait-and-see attitude around the football team.
What about those eight new starters on defence? What about Lumsden's record of getting hurt and not playing in the second half of seasons? What about Ray looking less than impressive in the preseason? What about Richie Hall having been passed over as a head coach so many times before because he's such a nice guy -- could he be the second coming of Nice Neill Armstrong?
Is the defensive secondary suspect?
The offensive line?
Still, there is so much optimism around the Eskimos going into this season.
Quote-unquote GM Danny Maciocia:
"I know good things are going to happen ... I know we're going to get back to those times when this team was quite successful ... This team will combine a healthy balance of youth and CFL experience ... It's a team built on speed and is a roster as balanced as we've seen it in years. ... This team will be a force to be reckoned with, week in and week out and should be an edition we can keep together for a number of years."
Quote-unquote head coach Richie Hall:
"This team has the qualities of character, toughness, speed and selflessness and has a real potential to be something special ... Looking at the roster, we have a lot of flexibility and depth ... Potentially our defence can be as good as anybody in this league in very short order ... I expect them to become relentless and really be flying around and will be a group which will play with a lot of passion and emotion ... I really think they're going to become an awesome unit."
Quote-unquote defensive coordinator Jim Daley:
"We have the makings of a very good defence ....This group has the combination of very good team speed and it's a very physical front seven .... These guys are on a very accelerated learning curve and I expect them to jell very fast and be a very good defence very early."
But with all of that, the pre-season quotes from Oilers' coach Craig MacTavish echo on the summer breezes:
"I can't remember a period over the last 15 years where we've been so excited ... This is the best chance we've had in a long time to win the division ... Our goal is to win the division this year. It's a very achievable goal ... Young players have developed. Now we have lots of depth at virtually every position ... We have a real good chance to do some great things this year."
TERRY.JONES@SUNMEDIA.CA
