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“Last week was definitely a disappointment”
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A loss doesn’t make a season.
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Until one becomes two. Maybe then?
Especially when one of them was of the 59-15 variety, the Edmonton Elks suffered at the hands of a dominant BC Lions team to open the season a week ago.
At least they looked dominant against the Elks, who have a chance this week to turn things around and show that the last one won’t rule all season when they take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday (May 19). :30 p.m., TSN, ESPN+, 630 CHED).
“This is professional football. If you’ve been around long enough, even if the tables have turned and we’ve won big, we still have to do the exact same things this week to win the game,” head coach and general manager Chris Jones said last Game of the Week , his first on the Edmonton touchline since leading the club to the Gray Cup in 2015. “You have to take care of the football, we have to block, we have to tackle, we have to play great special teams. All of those things need to come into play every week regardless of what happened last week.”
They didn’t spend the week pretending to get over anything other than the most embarrassing loss of most of their careers.
“Last week was definitely a disappointment,” said Veterans Center David Beard. “But mark my words, we came in with our chins up this week and we were ready for the ball. I think coach Jones talked about that, we even shot on day 2 and we had a great competition that week.
“So it’s going to be a dogfight in there, it’s going to be really fun.”
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And really, how can you look at it any other way? Except, of course, for choosing to have a selective memory when it comes to being asked about it again.
“What was last week? We don’t even know what happened last week, do we?” Running back James Wilder Jr. joked after Friday’s walk-through practice at the indoor field house. “No we want to get that taste out of our mouth man and we want to come here and be able to perform here and put on a nice show for the home fans.
“Winning big or losing big doesn’t matter, you have to move onto next week and if you lose like we did, there’s a lot more to learn,” said quarterback Nick Arbuckle. “We’ve seen a lot of things that we can correct and improve, so there’s a lot of room for improvement.
“We’re looking forward to getting on the field and showing that this isn’t the kind of team we are.”
WAR OF WORDS
Cody Fajardo could have more in his sights than his receivers at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday.
The Roughriders quarterback was the talk of the town when Jones was interviewed by former Postmedia columnist Terry Jones (no relation) during the offseason.
The Elks headman was quoted as saying Fajardo is not a “top five quarterback,” while adding that he doesn’t see the Riders quarterback as a great passer. And Fajardo wasn’t exactly shy about answering either.
“It was a situation where I was misquoted,” Chris Jones said Friday. “But if he needs that for motivation, then that’s good for him. Again, I’m not talking about them, they fined me for making any comments about another player.
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“He’s a very good player, he did a really good job in the off-season. I think Jason (Maas, Roughrider offensive coordinator) did a good job with him in many different aspects. But certainly he’s only lost a few games as a starter (22-8) so we’ve got our hands full.”
WET WEATHER
Rain in the forecast has not deterred Wilder.
“I love it, it’s the perfect scenario,” said the Elks running back, who was 87 yards from scrimmage on 12 touches on dry field last week. “Wet? That means we’re running the ball. That means we can put the ball in my hands and I can take it upon myself to feel like we can put offense on the back of the running game.
Other than that, the prognosis doesn’t change the Elks coaching staff’s game plan.
“It will rain on both sides. So when it rains, it rains on the sidelines,” Jones said. “We just have to manage the game really well in all three phases and just drop the chips.”
In and out: The Elks placed DT Jake Ceresna on the six-game injury list despite practicing all week and speaking to the media after Friday’s walk-through practice. They have 10 new starters on the list compared to a week ago…DL Pharoah McKever activated from the training list…This week are LB Tobi Antigha, DB Nate Hamlin, WR Caleb Holley, RG Tomas Jack-Kurdyla, KR Martese Jackson , DL Claudell Louis, LB Ethan Makonzo, CB Nafees Lyon, P Matt Mengel, CB Rashaun Simonise and LT Tony Washington… Out are: LB Wesley Appolon, DB Anthony Hoskins, RG Mark Korte, LB Deon Lacey, LB Enock Makonzo, WR Jalen Marshall, DL Nyles Reaves, DB Malik Sonnier, and WR Derel Walker.
Email: [email protected]
On twitter: @GerryModdejonge