Champs look a bit rusty

Swagger missing in pre-season

After all that cheering for the Flames in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it was an excellent opportunity to get back to booing Calgary.

Trouble was, the team you ended up wanting to boo was Edmonton.

The defending Grey Cup champion Eskimos barely managed to defend the turf, as their season slogan suggests, against Matt Dunigan's team of destiny - the team almost every expert has destined to be the worst team in the CFL this season.

It took a blocked punt by Scott Robinson and a 26-yard field goal by Sean Fleming with no time remaining for 'First' to break a 19-19 tie with 'Worst' and win 22-19.

That was more likely to inspire a 'Yahoo' from Calgary, where the Stampeders created nine turnovers and lost 29-14 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week than in Edmonton where the Eskimos were presented with their Grey Cup rings the other day.

'THE GAME DID NOT HAVE FLOW'

"The game did not have a flow," admitted Eskimos coach Tom Higgins. "We never created any consistency.

"The only time we had any flow was when Jason Maas worked the no-huddle offence in the first half and on his drive at the start of the second half."

The idea, for the Eskimos, was that there was some sort of quarterback contest involved in this one. But when the fans departed the question was more IF there is a No. 1 quarterback than WHO is No. 1.

The day Ricky Ray went away, Jason Maas was conceded first-string status. Or, at least, that was the way I understood it.

Apparently, according to coach Tom Higgins, this was written in pencil pending how the two performed in the final pre-season game against the Calgary Stampeders.

If that indeed is the case, then most would have got out the eraser at the end of the first half.

Maas didn't manage to manufacture much, going 13-for-20 for 204 yards with one interception and one three-play touchdown drive. For some reason, however, Higgins felt obliged to give Maas the front end of the second half as well. He responded with a second touchdown and improved his numbers to 15-for-22 for 229 yards.

WHY GIVE MAAS UNFAIR ADVANTAGE OF TIME?

If this was a contest for No. 1, why give Maas the unfair advantage of no time?

Correct answer: It was never a contest.

"We wanted to split the game but we decided to allow Jason to have half time and we were very pleased how Jason finished up," he said.

"Jason was spotty at times but we were pleased he finished up on a high note. We wanted to give him the opportunity to settle down. We saw the old Jason in the no-huddle and the first series of the second half," the coach expanded, adding that Maas would likely have had another series had he gone two-and-out the first time to start the second half.

Bart Hendricks didn't exactly seize the moment - if in fact there was one to seize - as he went 11 for 18 for 83 yards and failed to put up a touchdown.

Yet Higgins stood there when it was over and said no decision on who would start the season at No. 1 would be made for several days. Sometimes I think the guy thinks every other coach in the league, not to mention every football writer in the country, is from the same village which produced an unusually high percentage of idiots.

Jason Maas will start the season No. 1 in Montreal. Take it to the bank. Take it to the Bank of Montreal.

Bigger questions, real questions, are whether veterans A.J. Gass and Winston October, who both looked to have decent games, are going to make this team.

Higgins said getting questions answered is what pre-season games are for and the Eskimos think they managed to get the questions answered.

"We had three Canadians in the secondary and they started to get picked on. I'd pick on 'em too. We learned a lot there," he said. "Some of the questions were answered negatively. But you need 'em answered both ways.'

Higgins claimed to be excited because "everybody was evaluated" and said "I'm very much looking forward to getting up early and selecting the 40 players to take to Montreal."

Dunigan said it was like the first pre-season game in terms of evaluation for Calgary because the first time out wasn't worth a damn.

"With nine turnovers ...

"We were a little better with the football tonight. It was a better chance to evaluate the team.

"We played the best team in the CFL tonight and it was a good litmus test."

But Dunigan wasn't trying to buffalo anybody.

"We've got a long way to go."

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