Edmonton Eskimos Pass Defence Needs to Improve
Heading into their game against Toronto on July 13, linebacker J.C. Sherritt labeled the Eskimos defence as, “improving” and noted that there were going to be “growing pains.”[1]After a close win 16-15 against the Argos there remains a lot of progress left to go, particularly with the Eskimos’ pass defence.
Problems Hidden in a Win
While the Eskimos won, the Argonauts found success in their passing game. The Argos picked up 17 first downs through the air and James Franklin completed 26/36 passes, resulting in a respectable 72% completion rate. But it’s not the completion rates that should worry Eskimos fans; it’s the distances that Franklin completed at, as well as the yard after catch average. First, let’s take a look at the distribution of the Argonauts’ completed passes.[1]
| Yards (without Yards after Catch) | Number of Completed Passes |
| 0-10 | 23 |
| 11-20 | 1 |
| 20+ | 2 |
Not so bad right? It seems like the Eskimos pass defence eliminated the deep threat and kept the majority of the Argonaut completions within the first down yardage. However, the true problems occurred once the catch was completed. Let’s take a look at the pass distribution with yards after catch included into the number. (The yardage will properly reflect how many yards were gained on the play)
| Yards gained total (Pass +Yards after catch) | Number of Completed Passes |
| 0-10 | 16 |
| 11-20 | 7 |
| 20+ | 3 |
The distribution gets larger. Once the Argonauts completed the catch, they often gained yards. That turned six catches from inside the 10-yard range into an 11-20 yard gain and one into a deep gain. Overall, the Eskimos allowed 5.3 yards after every catch. Combined with the gains from the initial catch, the yards that the Eskimos are giving up are translating into opponent first downs and longer opponent times of possession. That wears out the defence quickly and keeps Edmonton’s most valuable weapon, Mike Reilly, off the field, limiting potential Eskimo points.
An Isolated Incident?
So what is the problem? It is tempting to look at the very wet weather at Commonwealth Stadium during the game as contributing to missed tackles and slow footwork. However, throughout the season, opponents have racked up an impressive amount of average yards per pass against the Eskimos. Heading into the bye week the Eskimos offence gave up an average of 8.6 yards per pass. That’s 2nd worst in the league with only Toronto lagging behind at 9.4 yards per pass.
Opportunity for Improvement
Something is going to have to change if the Eskimos want to be able to have a defence that can help the team compete for a home Grey Cup. The CFL is a pass first league and it is rare to see a team that can compete and win consistently without a good pass defence. The Eskimos next game against Montreal will provide an opportunity to refine the Eskimos pass defence and try to bring that yards allowed after the catch down. The Alouettes are 5th in the league in total average passing yards per game and 8th in the league in completions.
Can the Eskimos work through their growing pains and take the next step towards an pass defence that excels? Stay tuned.
[1]All stats taken from CFL.ca Post Game and League Wide Stats.
[1]https://www.esks.com/2018/07/06/rebuilt-eskimos-defence-upgraded-improving/
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