First of all thanks Kyle for the way you are able to actually discuss things on this and other threads. Its nice to have convos that don't go sideways.
My concern is the d pulled together too late. Many of us had commented that Bazzie was specifically underwhelming for the first dozen games. Also noted that the secondary was suspect. Reilly and the offense carried this club for the first dozen games for the most part. At which they were fairly spent, banged up, and exposed to injury due to having perennially be the difference makers, see, Williams, Walker, Reilly.
So Its nice the D kind of showed up for a few games. Good of em, but even when they have there has been holes. Also like I noted that was the first D TD all year. Other WC clubs have D's that punch the ball in regularly or get special teams TD's or both. On the good ship Eskimo its riding on offense almost all day any week.
The comment about Reilly I can't agree with. Some of those games he was trash he was running for 50yds, getting a lot of our first downs, and taking punishment and still standing up. Matt Nichols, Travis Lulay, others wouldn't even be still standing if they took this much punishment.
I find it incredible to come here and consistently find the teams best player, Reilly, the most likely to be named and singled out for criticism on the team. Its myopic, right?
Does anybody even debate Reilly is the best player on this team and its leader? Unfortunately being mortal means you can't be superhuman every day on the gridiron. Especially when you're getting pounded non stop and receivers are not getting open.
What is trash is that Reilly is being wasted here, quite clearly.
The D pulled together too late...alright, I can agree with that. But wouldn't you agree that it's better late than never? The offense really never got any traction after the first three games of the season, other than games against the Alouettes and the Labour Day Rematch. And they got progressively worse week after week during the crucial stretch of the season. I can't buy the notion that they were "spent" after having to be the difference maker earlier in the season. Some key injuries, yes, but you seem to be implying that they "ran out of gas" or something, which really makes no sense to me. Snaps are snaps, regardless of what the other side of the ball is doing.
The D not scoring any points compared to other D's is a function of spending the bulk of our salary cap on offensive playmakers. Reilly, Gable, Walker, Williams, Stafford...big-name vets with big contracts. Compare to Sask who has a patchwork crew of relatively unknown receivers and backs. Their big-ticket playmakers - Hughes, Jefferson, Gainey - are all on defense. Plus a huge year out of Nick Marshall, Auburn star QB converted to Rider star DB.
We simply don't have those playmakers on D. That falls at the feet of Sunderland and our scouts. I also think part of it was the organizational philosophy that this team would be based around Reilly and the offense, and that's where resources were directed. We were only ever supposed to have an average defense; it was the elite offense scoring 30+ in most games that was going to be the reason we were successful. Chris Jones and the Riders, the exact opposite. The difference in records comes down to the Eskimos having a coach that was actively handicapping the side of the ball that was supposed to be our meal ticket. Jones sucks offensively too, but lives and dies with his defense anyway, and builds rosters accordingly.
Reilly being singled out for criticism comes with the job. The QB touches the ball on every offensive snap, far more than any other player. He is accordingly credited with the lion's share when things go well, and also when they don't. You can still agree that a player is the leader and best player on the team, while criticizing him after bad games. Reilly has thrown some really bad picks lately, which is out of character for him, but they happened. He has also missed wide open receivers even on short passes with regularity the last month. He's probably hurt, but it is what it is. If Connor McDavid has a month of hockey where he only scores 5 points, he will deservedly be criticized while still acknowledged as the league's best player. No different with Mike.
No question that he's been wasted though. Just like Ray before him. Years on end of Hall of Fame level QB play and Maciocia and Maas still managed to f*** it up. 1 Grey Cup appearance in 13 seasons with a Hall of Famer at QB for 12 of them is an absolute joke.