The Maas effect was felt back in early 2000s by the Edmonton Eskimos when Jason Maas joined the team as a quarterback to Dan Crowley and Nealon Greene. The subsequent replacement of then head coach Don Mathews with Tom Higgins facilitated the move of Maas to starting quarterback by Week 7 of 2001. His passionate demeanour on the field quickly made him a fan and player favourite.
The new quarterback’s fiery disposition was often turned inward as he challenged himself to succeed, and in turn through competition, he challenged all of those around him. Maas took a 2-4 Eskie squad in 2001 and ripped off four wins, including two close hard fought victories against their closest rivals the Calgary Stampeders. These triumphs had many Eskie fans anointing him the next one, but injuries and timing seemed to conspire against the former Oregon Duck in 2002. In 2002, Maas gave way to a little known third-stringer from Happy Camp, California named Ricky Ray. How Maas reacted to his shoulder injury and the four touchdown debut of Ray in week 4 of 2002 would define the man as a leader and future coach.
Resume Building
From the early portion of the 2002 season onward Maas started to apprentice Ray. The relationship between Maas and Ray is well documented and under coach Higgins and Danny Maciocia the two players were given license in providing substantial input into the weekly plans of the offense. Over the period of 2002 to 2005 Maas was a de facto player/coach with Ray in and out of the Eskimos lineup giving Maas both starter and bench time, but always input into the offense. It was clear to many early on that Maas would be a football coach someday and in 2011 under Scott Milanovich, Maas officially joined the coaching fraternity as the Toronto Argonauts Receiver/QB Coach.
In 2012, the Argos won a Grey Cup with Maas on the coaching staff, resulting in Maas becoming the offensive coordinator in Ottawa. Rick Campbell knew Maas from his time as a coach with the Oregon Ducks and Edmonton Eskimos and hired Maas for his work ethic and knowledge. Maas did a masterful job with the Ottawa offense going back to the Grey Cup as a coach for the second time in five seasons. Without Maas, does the 40-year-old Henry Burris led the league in passing yards, completion percentage, completions, attempts, second down conversions, 30-plus yard completions and 300-yard passing games last season? Well, the previous year Smilin’ Hank threw for almost 2000 less yards, 10 points lower completion percentage, 15 less TDs and the list goes on. The two years before in Hamilton, Burris also had lesser numbers and in fact his interceptions were far higher. Was it coincidence or was it the Maas Effect? Most likely the latter.
Infusing Styles
While with the Esks Maas had developed his own views on offense, but he certainly has been influenced by fellow QBs Joe Paopao while in Hamilton as a player and Milanovich during his time with the Argos as coach. Paopao’s philosophy of using running backs as receivers, such as Josh Ranek in 2005 with 76 receptions as an Ottawa Renegade, and Milanovich’s belief in the QB reading and reacting, have both permeated the Maas coaching consciousness.
Add to these influences his own innovations concerning the use of motion as seen during his time as offensive coordinator in Ottawa. Maas uses motion to change formations at the last possible moment countering the defensive scheme. He also used slot backs as tight ends, holding them in pass protection on one play and shifting into a bunch formation with layered level routes the next. His offense flexes and uses levels to spread and attack the opposing defense at its weakest point.
One can see why Burris and the Redblacks had such an affinity for Maas and the reason why they were so upset to see him take the head coaching job in Edmonton. The expectation for the 2016 Eskimos offense is that it will be a hybrid mix of a flexbone and the more traditional CFL spread offense, that uses level receiving giving the QB options that will be selected by their reads. In essence, the 2016 Eskimos offense will be far more dynamic and attack orientated under Maas.
Turning Weakness into Strengths
What Maas does not bring to the Edmonton Eskimos is a defensive mind set, but he is a realist and understands that he required a defensive alter ego to partner with. Maas has selected Mike Benevides as the Eskimos assistant head coach/defensive coordinator. Maas is smart enough to find an experienced coach/coordinator to balance the staff.
Benevides brings 15 years of CFL coaching experience. More importantly, Benevides has won a Grey Cup as a DC with the Lions while coaching the #1 defense in 2011. The Lions defense that season had attacking elements that boasted a front seven that had Keron Williams, Solomon Elimimian and Khalif Mitchell. Look to the 2016 Eskimos to emulate the same attacking philosophy with Odell Willis, Deon Lacey and Almondo Sewell, to be a top three defense in 2016 under Benevides. While many teams will be focused in on Chris Jones defensive schemes, Benevides can slip under the radar with a different flavour of attacking defense.
What this gives Maas as an OC is field position, which is critical in a three-down league where sustained drives via short yardage plays are difficult. As the Eskimos found out over the last two years under offensive coordinator Steve McAdoo, the offense cannot just rely on a short passing and run game, or else the two and outs pile up. Prior to last year, the Calgary Stampeders had the Eskimos number in large part, because they could wear down the Eskimos defense with a sustained more dynamic offense than the Eskimos. It was only when McAdoo placed Walker at wide receiver and moved Stafford inside that allowed for the Eskimos to vertically challenge the opposition, and the Eskimos became offensively significant and Grey Cup champions.
Clichés Have No Impact On The Maas Effect
While many, mostly in Riderville, will quote is the cliché “defense wins championships”, the reality is that this applies more to four-down football with the smaller field, where defenses have a bigger impact. In 2010, the year before Maas joined the Toronto Argos they had the #1 ranked defense and a last ranked offense. Most don’t remember this version of the Argos simply because the Argos went 9 – 9 and lost 48 – 17 to Montreal in the East Final, who went on to win the Grey Cup with the second ranked offense. In fact, over the last decade all the Grey Cup champions have been top three in offense and not always top three in defense. The exception has been the 2012 Toronto Argos, who Maas helped new QB Ray gel with his teammates and turned it on offensively scoring over 35 points on average at the end of the season into the playoffs.
In the CFL lately, defenses have overshadowed offenses, but without a high powered offense that can put up points and keep the opposition defense on the field, it is hard to win a Grey Cup. The Maas effect has substantially improved the Eskimos offense and position them as Grey Cup contenders once again.
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