Eskimos don’t figure long layoff will be a factor in CFL West final

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Eskimos are confident that a three-week layoff will work in their favour as they prepare to host the Calgary Stampeders in Sundays CFL West final.

Teams finishing first in the West and being off the semifinal week have just a 5-5 record over the past 10 division finals.

But the Eskimos, who finished first in the CFL West at 14-4, had a bye the final week of the regular season as well so they won’t have played for 21 days, the second-longest layoff in the division’s history.

The positive there is that teams with layoffs of 16 days or more since 1959 are 7-1 in the West final.

“That’s pretty good,” Edmonton centre Julian Sorensen said. “Let’s keep the trend going.”

Doing that, however, won’t be easy against the defending Grey Cup champions who rolled past the B.C. Lions in last week’s semifinal.

Both teams are evenly matched and have very similar statistics offensively and defensively. Eskimo head coach Chris Jones smiled when he said it would be “a fun game Sunday.”

“We have a good run game and so do they. We have good quarterbacks, so do they. They have a good receiving corps and so do we.”

Everything, he said, points towards a tight, hard-hitting final.

“You have two great defences … so points could be scarce.”

The difference in the season was Edmonton beat Calgary, also 14-4, two of three games to claim first place.

“It was huge winning back-to-back against them,” said Sorensen. “And let’s face it, if we didn’t we would have played last week so it was huge for the organization and as a team. Plus it gives you confidence, winning two in a row against Calgary.”

And the Eskimos believe the layoff will be more beneficial then detrimental, giving them time to rest, heal any nagging minor injuries and get their minds refocused.

Quarterback Mike Reilly said it was an ideal scenario for the Eskimos because they have a lot of veterans and Jones runs intense practices.

“It was a good break for us – something that we needed,” said Reilly.

Defensive end O’Dell Willis is one of those veterans and he agreed the long break — including 10 days away from the practice field — was a huge benefit.

He said playing 17 straight weeks was tough mentally and physically but after the break “my body is well rested … we’re ready physically and mentally.”