Elks: Edmonton Eskimos 2018 v2

[guymez]

I think they CAN add value to a broadcast and attract viewership, but you have to choose your performers carefully to match the demographics of who is likely to be watching, and also make sure they're actually good performers with decent songs. And not oversaturate it by doing it every week. Make it something to actually look forward to.

The problem is (like most gimmicks) its not sustainable.

Promoting the CFL HAS to be about the product IMO or it will fail.
Its a good product...its entertaining.
It offers good value.
Promote it.

 

[rboomercat90]

The Esks D was so awful in 2nd half if they give up the ball there it was no guarantee the Esks were getting it back. It really didn't matter anyway. Its not what decided the game or anything.

No, it sure wasn’t.

 

[Cloned]

I think it would be a lot cheaper and makes a lot more sense than what they are trying to do now.
Also...if a CFL player has any sense they would understand the value in connecting with the fans.
This isnt the NHL were people will watch and over pay for a product.

It's probably easier for us to criticize and make proposals than it is to actually try and implement the logistics of said proposals. I appreciate that they are trying to do something to add value to the broadcast and increase exposure, and I don't even mind the actual idea behind it, but the manner in which they are executing it is horrid and just makes a mockery of the league.

They made the rapper last week in Edmonton cut out what seemed like 80% of the lyrics of his songs because it was all swear words. It sounded ridiculous and people actually LOL'ed in this thread as it happened. Just don't pick the guy if you know that's what's going to happen.

 

[iCanada]

Mostly agree with you. Except for the bolded. Plays that didn't work out was because Reilly was put in the spot of having to salvage a game against a team the Esks are supposed to beat.

To me it would be like criticizing Talbot in 16-17. Would be silly to do.

I'll repeat the question not being answered in the thread. What eskimo played well tonight. What Eskimo was better than Reilly?

No one had a better game on the club than Reilly. He was our best player. Walker was covered all game, Duke was rather pedestrian, our oline was ravaged the second half after a good first, our D once again gave up too many yards after contact.

As a team we doubled BC in penalties taken. We averaged 8 yards on 3 punt returns and 23 yards on 4 kick off returns. BC averaged 19 yards on 7 punt returns and 30 yards on 4 kick off returns. We lost 75 yards in penalties and 55 yards on special teams we matched prior to gambling then we were down with 3 minutes left. Our special teams and discipline just killed us so hard. We gave away 130 yards on penalties and special teams... you can't win that way unless you hard outclass your opponent.

Yet people are willing to single out the player who had the best night and blame him solely. I think that's disappointing. Reilly can be better sure, by he ought to have a lot more rope given some of his performances.

I think the whole team should have goat horns. Absurd amount of offsides. Absurd amount of unnecessary roughness. Absurd amount of holding. Our receivers got outplayed. Our backfield got outplayed. Our run game got outplayed.

Reilly is the only reason we were in the game, not the reason we lost. Hell we don't give up a td on special teams and dont miss a single point convert and the final score is tied.

 

[guymez]

It's probably easier for us to criticize and make proposals than it is to actually try and implement the logistics of said proposals. I appreciate that they are trying to do something to add value to the broadcast and increase exposure, and I don't even mind the actual idea behind it, but the manner in which they are executing it is horrid and just makes a mockery of the league.

They made the rapper last week in Edmonton cut out what seemed like 80% of the lyrics of his songs because it was all swear words. It sounded ridiculous and people actually LOL'ed in this thread as it happened. Just don't pick the guy if you know that's what's going to happen.

Again...IMO its a gimmick.
Selling the game is the only way to sustain it because thats how you actually connect people to it. Thats how you get them to care IMO.

 

[Cloned]

The problem is (like most gimmicks) its not sustainable.

Promoting the CFL HAS to be about the product IMO or it will fail.
Its a good product...its entertaining.
It offers good value.
Promote it.

I think you can do both. Both can add value.

The problem with the CFL historically has always been poor conceptualization + poor execution. Not a good combination. I think they're at least moving towards better conceptualization, but the poor execution is going to sink this league if it continues.

 

[guymez]

Oh oh...sacred cow time. Here come the defend Reilly at all cost posters. j/k

No one is saying that Reilly sucks or that he was the reason for the loss.
The truth...he made some very questionable decisions in this game.

 

[guymez]

I think you can do both. Both can add value.

The problem with the CFL historically has always been poor conceptualization + poor execution. Not a good combination. I think they're at least moving towards better conceptualization, but the poor execution is going to sink this league if it continues.

So maybe its time for the CFL to change. Just because they always did something a certain way doesnt mean they should stop trying.
The concert thing isnt sustainable. Its a short term gimmick. If you do it then fine but it cant be a stand alone thing IMO. I could care less who plays at half time...thats not why I go to a game and it isnt why my 18 year old son goes to a game.

So sure...do both but at some point they have to realize that the players are the only true long term marketable commodity they have.

 

[iCanada]

Oh oh...sacred cow time. Here come the defend Reilly at all cost posters. j/k

No one is saying that Reilly sucks or that he was the reason for the loss.
The truth...he made some very questionable decisions in this game.

Lets play a mental exercise for a second; switch out an eskimos performance for his lions counterpart performance and consider the impact it has if every play was called the same.

I think the only trade tonight that negatively impacts the esks would be Reilly for Lulay. Every other guy got outplayed expect maybe Boateng.

 

[Cloned]

So maybe its time for the CFL to change. Just because they always did something a certain way doesnt mean they should stop trying.
The concert thing isnt sustainable. Its a short term gimmick. If you do it then fine but it cant be a stand alone thing IMO. I could care less who plays at half time...thats not why I go to a game and it isnt why my 18 year old son goes to a game.

I like that they're trying. I think they can do a whole bunch of things to improve exposure of the game. Concerts are one of them, but I agree that it's more of a short term thing and that it should be done in conjunction with other things. I do like that they're at least trying though. They need to balance that effort with some more refined focus and execution.

 

[guymez]

Lets play a mental exercise for a second; switch out an eskimos performance for his lions counterpart performance and consider the impact it has if every play was called the same.

I think the only trade tonight that negatively impacts the esks would be Reilly for Lulay. Every other guy got outplayed expect maybe Boateng.

Reilly was helped immensely in this game by Williams and Walker. Do you not agree?

I mean how sustainable is it when Reilly knows that he just has to throw the ball in the general vicinity of Walker or Williams and they will more often than not come down with it.
Thats this teams identity on offence. Its not sustainable especially when the weather gets cold.

It seems to me that Reilly has input into the offence decision making.

 

[MoontoScott]

The CFL should be ashamed of their Thursday night concert series. What a bust that has been so far. There have been maybe 2 good/decent acts out of the 9 weeks so far. The rest have been abysmal.

We could always go back to the high school marching bands. Those guys from Vic Comp were awesome back in the day.

 

[guymez]

I like that they're trying. I think they can do a whole bunch of things to improve exposure of the game. Concerts are one of them, but I agree that it's more of a short term thing and that it should be done in conjunction with other things. I do like that they're at least trying though. They need to balance that effort with some more refined focus and execution.

Yes...and player access. If the PA is stupid enough to reject that initiative then they might as well fold the tent.

 

[Cloned]

Yes...and player access. If the PA is stupid enough to reject that initiative then they might as well fold the tent.

Honestly, the league should offer a significantly higher salary cap number in exchange for something like that. The higher cap will HELP the league retain talent. The teams aren't so crippled financially anymore that they can't afford a higher cap.

 

[guymez]

Honestly, the league should offer a significantly higher salary cap number in exchange for something like that. The higher cap will HELP the league retain talent. The teams aren't so crippled financially anymore that they can't afford a higher cap.

I agree that the players are underpaid but this is primarily a gate driven League.
Instead of spending the money on bands spend it by giving to the players as a bonus for connecting with the fans.

 

[Cloned]

We could always go back to the high school marching bands. Those guys from Vic Comp were awesome back in the day.

Hey, if they can do stuff like this:



I'd be all for it.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

No one had a better game on the club than Reilly. He was our best player. Walker was covered all game, Duke was rather pedestrian, our oline was ravaged the second half after a good first, our D once again gave up too many yards after contact.

As a team we doubled BC in penalties taken. We averaged 8 yards on 3 punt returns and 23 yards on 4 kick off returns. BC averaged 19 yards on 7 punt returns and 30 yards on 4 kick off returns. We lost 75 yards in penalties and 55 yards on special teams we matched prior to gambling then we were down with 3 minutes left. Our special teams and discipline just killed us so hard. We gave away 130 yards on penalties and special teams... you can't win that way unless you hard outclass your opponent.

Yet people are willing to single out the player who had the best night and blame him solely. I think that's disappointing. Reilly can be better sure, by he ought to have a lot more rope given some of his performances.

I think the whole team should have goat horns. Absurd amount of offsides. Absurd amount of unnecessary roughness. Absurd amount of holding. Our receivers got outplayed. Our backfield got outplayed. Our run game got outplayed.

Reilly is the only reason we were in the game, not the reason we lost. Hell we don't give up a td on special teams and dont miss a single point convert and the final score is tied.

Absolutely nobody has laid all the blame at Reilly's feet. He had a below average performance tonight, along with several others.

Agree that special teams largely shit their pants tonight. That's pretty much a given at this point.

I do not understand the criticism the defense and O line are getting though.

It is very, very difficult for an offensive line when you go deep on nearly every single play. If they've kept the heat off for 3 steamboats, they've done their job. Almost all the pressure Reilly faced tonight was long after the snap. The fact that "offensive guru" Jason Maas is totally incapable of calling a quick hitter, a roll-out (ok he actually did this once in the first quarter tonight and I almost fell out of my chair), a screen, or using any sort of misdirection to throw off or back off a blitzing defense is on him, not the line.

As far as the defense goes, we allowed 31. And part of that was a punt return TD. And a FG after BC scrimmaged deep in our territory. And a single after a two and out. So the defense gave up 20. They were also responsible for 7 after the long INT return, caused a turnover inside BC territory, and held for a two and out after the failed gamble. The defense more than did their job tonight. You should win 19 times out of 20 in this league with that sort of result from your defense.

 

[Cloned]

Instead of spending the money on bands spend it by giving to the players as a bonus.

Thankfully the League doesn't have an absolute idiot for a commissioner anymore. Orridge set this league back a decade with his inability to do anything meaningful during his tenure. He was in so far above his head it wasn't even funny. The owners only have themselves to blame for hiring that guy.

 

[iCanada]

Reilly was helped immensely in this game by Williams and Walker. Do you not agree?

I mean how sustainable is it when Reilly knows that he just has to throw the ball in the general vicinity of Walker or Williams and they will more often than not come down with it.
Thats this teams identity on offence. Its not sustainable especially when the weather gets cold.

It seems to me that Reilly has input into the offence decision making.

I'll give you Walker, but I thought Duke got beat more than he didn't tonight. Pedestrian night by him. Every bit as pedestrian a night by him as by Reilly.

Going forward, I think improving the special teams and taking less stupid penalties is a much easier way to improve than expecting Reilly to have a hall of fame night.

 

[guymez]

Thankfully the League doesn't have an absolute idiot for a commissioner anymore. Orridge set this league back a decade with his inability to do anything meaningful during his tenure. He was in so far above his head it wasn't even funny. The owners only have themselves to blame for hiring that guy.

I agree. There are so many flaws with this League and its actually part of its history. I mean 2 teams with the same nickname? No Pro League on the planet but the CFL would allow that...lol
The issue as I see it is that you could get away with nonsense like having 1 owner own 2 teams back in the day.
Now a days there is so much to compete with that you have to clean up your act and offer a credible product.
In the mean time let the players connect with the people. Bring players to schools in their community and let the kids create a connection with the local team at a young age. Then when they are adults they are less likely to need a concert to care about the local team.
Just my thoughts.

 

[guymez]

I'll give you Walker, but I thought Duke got beat more than he didn't tonight. Pedestrian night by him. Every bit as pedestrian a night by him as by Reilly.

Going forward, I think improving the special teams and taking less stupid penalties is a much easier way to improve than expecting Reilly to have a hall of fame night.

Thats a strawman though...I am not (and neither is anybody else) suggesting that Reilly needs to have a Hall of fame night very night.
I am suggesting that he be a part of a sustainable offence that reduces the need for him to make poor decisions. Instead of running a limited offence run a variable offence that utilizes more elements and makes it harder to defend.
It will also help to extend Reilly's career because he wouldnt be standing in the pocket and taking hits as much as he does now.

Are you suggesting that there is absolutely nothing that Reilly did in tonight's game that was questionable?

If you are suggesting that Reilly is well down the list of talking points in tonights game then we agree.

 

[Cloned]

Re: the differing views on the players.

I think we're all Esks fans here, and probably pretty hardcore ones at that since we're posting on an OILERS board at 1 AM about the Esks.

We all want to see the team succeed and we all know there are some pretty massive flaws with the organization. I think we can all agree that the entire team played like crap tonight, but it doesn't mean that every player on the team is a crappy player (except Edwards, you can GTFO now lol). Maybe we should just give it a good night's sleep and revisit it in the morning when our perspectives aren't so soaked in raw emotion and anger from the game tonight.

It's an incomplete, unbalanced team with inconsistent coaching and terrible special teams. Sunderland needs to do more to improve the roster. Maas needs to be better, period, but particularly with his play calling. And the team misses Zylstra a lot.

 

[guymez]

Re: the differing views on the players.

I think we're all Esks fans here, and probably pretty hardcore ones at that since we're posting on an OILERS board at 1 AM about the Esks.

We all want to see the team succeed and we all know there are some pretty massive flaws with the organization. I think we can all agree that the entire team played like crap tonight, but it doesn't mean that every player on the team is a crappy player (except Edwards, you can GTFO now lol). Maybe we should just give it a good night's sleep and revisit it in the morning when our perspectives aren't so soaked in raw emotion and anger from the game tonight.

It's an incomplete, unbalanced team with inconsistent coaching and terrible special teams. Sunderland needs to do more to improve the roster. Maas needs to be better, period, but particularly with his play calling. And the team misses Zylstra a lot.

You didn't even mention anything about establishing a running game. Dammit Cloned.

 

[Cloned]

You didn't even mention anything about establishing a running game. Dammit Cloned.

I thought that was inferred.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

I agree. There are so many flaws with this League and its actually part of its history. I mean 2 teams with the same nickname? No Pro League on the planet but the CFL would allow that...lol
The issue as I see it is that you could get away with nonsense like having 1 owner own 2 teams back in the day.
Now a days there is so much to compete with that you have to clean up your act and offer a credible product.
In the mean time let the players connect with the people. Bring players to schools in their community and let the kids create a connection with the local team at a young age. Then when they are adults they are less likely to need a concert to care about the local team.
Just my thoughts.

I remember when they used to give out the free ticket vouchers to kids in all the area schools. First week of school, free ticket for a kid to the Labour Day Rematch with a paying adult. And then they changed that to some other game late in the season against a non-descript opponent when the weather is getting cold. As far as I know now, the program no longer exists at all now.

On the concourse at the last game they had a draw for a Reilly jersey that you could enter with a small donation. The cause? Sending underprivileged kids to Eskimo games. Sounds great to me, I threw in my $5. But why the hell isn't the organization simply giving tickets to underprivileged kids, period? There are 25,000+ empty seats at every game ffs.

This next point isn't the Eskimos fault but liquor/licensing laws straight out of the bloody temperance movement era don't help bring in anybody in that 18-35 demographic that wasn't already a fan. I looked into starting my own party bus/pre-game tailgate type of thing. By the time I was even halfway through the AGLC document I knew it was a lost cause to even attempt it. It would be less hassle to build a spaceship and go to Jupiter than buy an old school bus and go to Commonwealth with an ounce of liquor on board with the Draconian laws this province flaunts.