Technically, the Elks still have one last chance to win a game on home turf this year, but it might look a lot like a tree falling in the forest even if they do
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That’s it? That’s the result we can expect from the Edmonton Elks when they are coming off of two weeks’ worth of rest and playing at home against a .500 opponent.
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Of course, you’d never know the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were a team that had as much bad as they did good over their season prior to coming into Commonwealth Stadium, where it took no time flat for them to look like an absolute Grey Cup contender against an Elks team that might as well have just rolled out a locker-room full of uniforms still on their hangers, given the efforts made by the players who were actually inside of them.
Or lack thereof, might be a better word for any Elks player guilty of going through the motions at a time where their season is quite literally hanging in the balance.
Oh, they all still bring a certain level of individual effort expected from professionals, and some even still care, but it’s clear this team has not been playing for each other for quite a while now. And the result has seen an alarming number of empty seats in the stands with fewer and fewer fans to play for too.
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With Halloween upon us, it’s not hard to look at the Elks inaugural season of rebranding as an absolute nightmare where everything that could have gone sideways, has gone completely off the rails. Here are some of the more haunting things we learned from Friday’s 39-23 loss to the Tabbies:
NICK OF TIME?
Paging Nick Arbuckle …
Your arrival in Edmonton has come far, far too late to make any sort of difference this season.
As the only quarterback to bring down the mighty, mighty Blue Bombers by handing them their lone loss on the otherwise juggernaut of a season they’re putting together, the Elks sure could have used that same success last month when they kicked off a four-game stretch where they had to face Winnipeg three times.
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While it’s likely we will get to see the former Calgary Stampeders pivot get to start, or at least make it onto the field at some point during the playing out of the string here, isn’t nearly as important as whether he will sign a contract extension to be back in green and gold for a fresh beginning in 2022.
HOLY SPIT!
Hey, Kameron Kelly.
You are a full-grown, 25-year-old adult bestowed with the God-given talents and tools to live out every kid’s dream of playing professional sports.
But that doesn’t mean you need to act immature and go all spitting-mad in the middle of a nationally televised football game.
Oh, and also: Hey, pal. We’re in the middle of a pandemic where a virus is being spread by water droplets from the mouth. Who in their right mind thinks it would be a great idea to hock a loogie at another human being at this point in time?
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You were booted from the game. Your actions are an embarrassment to you, your family, your teammates, your club and the rest of the Canadian Football League. Dude, grow the eff up.
QB OR NOT QB?
It was Edmonton’s first game since trading away their former QB1, Trevor Harris. And it went just about as expected.
Not that Friday’s loss can be entirely lumped on the shoulders of Taylor Cornelius. The 26-year-old Oklahoma State product has seen his share of passes dropped by his receivers, but is also no longer raising any eyebrows whenever he overthrows his targets, which happens almost as often as not.
On Friday, he was 19 of 33 for 251 yards and was absolutely taken to the woodshed by another strong performance from Jeremiah Masoli, who never seems to mind returning to the city where his CFL career began, improving his record to 4-0 against Edmonton, completing 17 of 24 passes Friday for 357 yards and three touchdowns.
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But, hey, at least Cornelius finally didn’t throw an interception in this one. So, positives … right?
GETTIN’ WILD
Simoni Lawrence won’t ever win a CFL congeniality contest, but his late hit on Elks running back James Wilder Jr. came back to bite him.
Bending down for an underthrown ball, Wilder was defenceless for the unnecessary shot he took from the Ticats linebacker, who may or may not have deserved getting manhandled and driven backwards into the turf by Edmonton’s six-foot-three, 232-pound back who previously pursued professional-wrestling interests.
It led to a scuffle that raised the notion, if the Elks had shown the same spirit in fighting tooth and nail like that all season long, then perhaps they might not be in this perilous situation now.
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NEXT UP
The visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders will be in Edmonton on Friday for what might as well be a home game inside Commonwealth Stadium, given the chances there will be much more off-green in the stands than gold.
Not only have Elks home crowds been ridiculously down this year, the Edmonton Oilers are also holding the long-awaited banner raising for Kevin Lowe at the same time. And the Saskatchewan faithful always turn out in droves to support their team.
Technically, the Elks still have one last chance to win a game on home turf this year, but it might look a lot like a tree falling in the forest even if they do.
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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