Edmonton Eskimo Fans Thankful For Progress

BY DARREN POPOWICH @d_pop13


It is Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday and Esk fans have a lot to be thankful for, but mostly they are thankful for progress. The progress of the defensive line, the progress of the secondary and the progress of receivers not named Derel or Adarius. Most of all they are thankful for progress of the offensive line and running game.

The Edmonton Eskimos are finally playing playoff worthy football and that has everything to do with the offensive line and the running game. Without the dual threat backfield of John White and Shakir Bell the Eskies offense would be one dimensional. One-dimensional football teams are predictable and much easier to defend against setting the table for attacking defenses. The good news is that Esks are not predictable and thanks to mixing in the run the Esks own the CFL’s top rated offense for time of possession.



Duelling Backs
While some will discount time of possession one must consider that the longer the offense has the ball the less the defense is on the field attempting to prevent scoring. In essence, a good time of possession offense is also a good defense or at least helps the defense. In the Eskimos case in seven out of eight games they led the time of possession they either won or took the game into overtime. The only game the Esks led the time of possession and lost in regulation was the Hamilton Ti-Cat collapse at home in week 5. A game the Esks owned in time of possession in the first half and not in the second half.

In the last two games the running backs have played a big role in owning the time of possession. The two headed monster of Bell and White have kept the opposition off balance on defense, albeit in different ways. Bell is a shiftier find an opening runner that is unpredictable and is not afraid to bounce the run outside to gain yards. Bell has achieved a 6.2 per carry average by often making something out of nothing. Conversely White who hits the gap hard using a jump cut, spins and a more punishing contrasting style has a lower per carry average. However, White’s per catch average as a receiver is 8.1 yards making him a more flexible weapon on offense. The reality is that running backs get nicked up and good teams have more than a single option.

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