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It’s time to trade in the gridiron for a times table.
The Edmonton Eskimos have given up an average of 33 points to the Calgary Stampeders in each of their four meetings this year.
A calculator hasn’t been invented that would help the Eskimos defence answer if holding the opposition to that number again in Sunday’s West Division semi-final would give them a chance to win.
“The way Ricky Ray and our offence is playing right now, I hope it is,” said Eskimos defensive co-ordinator Jim Daley. “But we’ve got to go in with the mindset of minimizing that offence. They are a very powerful team, have been a powerful offence for years. George Cortez, their offensive co-ordinator, does a great job.”
After winning the first meeting 38-35 in Commonwealth, the Eskimos dropped the Labour Day game in Calgary 35-34 and the rematch at home 32-8. Their last game was a 30-7 decision in favour of the home-town Stampeders.
“We’ve got to go in and play one down at a time. If you remember in the last game, early in the fourth quarter the score was still 16-7 (for Calgary),” Daley said. “We had done a pretty good job of minimizing their offence. They have big-play capability and we cannot give up the big play.
They scored a couple on us late in the fourth, but for three quarters of that game we played pretty good football against them.
“We need to be able to do it for four quarters.”
It’s a feat the Eskimos attained in the final two games of the season, surrendering just 23 combined points to the Toronto Argonauts and B.C. Lions to put a little winning streak together in time for playoffs.
IN AND OUT: Middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd and cornerback Byron Parker returned to practice yesterday after sitting Thursday’s session with illness.
