Sep
Esk anticipated Morgan’s gamble
Courtesy Edmonton Journal:
It’s often all about risk and reward in professional sports. Sometimes the gamble pays off, sometimes it smacks you up the side of the head, as it did to Omarr Morgan and the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday afternoon.
Morgan, who earlier had returned a fumble recovery 108 yards for a touchdown that seemed to turn the CFL game Saskatchewan’s way, paid dearly for his gamble with 80 seconds left that gave the Edmonton Eskimos the game-winning touchdown on a 68-yard pass to a wide-open Maurice Mann.
“It can be feast or famine and for us it was a good play,” a weary-looking Eskimos head coach Richie Hall said Monday. “I wouldn’t say we were setting him up, but the situation happened on a previous possession and he was jumping a route and (offensive co-ordinator) Kevin(Strasser) made a good call. Ricky (Ray) and Mo executed, you couldn’t execute any better.
“A lot of times you anticipate something, but you have to be patient. You work for a particular situation, you have a particular play and it’s important when it comes up that you execute.
“It’s important that you take advantage of those opportunities because you can wait all game long just for that chance. ”
Some would think it was a risky call by the Eskimos because if Morgan doesn’t gamble that he knows the route Mann is taking, and simply plays Mann tight, there’s little chance of a completion and that would leave them third-and-six with time running out.
“It wasn’t a risky call,” said Hall. “They were anticipating the short route to move the chains … where we went for the home run ball. I think (Morgan) had it in his mind what he wanted to do and we were hoping what we would try (would work) and it came open.”
The late touchdown countered a second-half Saskatchewan rally and gave Edmonton only its second road win of the season–against three losses–and both wins have come in Regina. Perhaps it’s karma, perhaps mere coincidence that Regina is where Hall coached the Roughriders for a number of years before becoming Edmonton’s head coach this year.
“Things have just worked out,” Hall said when asked about the Regina wins. “I don’t think we’ve played any harder. We might have played smarter and we might have finished opportunities and finished off plays.”
“I thought some of our better games all around have been in Saskatchewan,” Hall said. “I don’t know why that is, but we need those games to occur at Commonwealth, in Winnipeg, in Calgary, in B. C. and those places.”
The Eskimos host the Riders at Commonwealth Saturday afternoon (4 p. m.) and then play four of their final six games on the road–in Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
The Sunday win gave Edmonton a share of first place in the west, tied with Saskatchewan and Calgary at 6-5, despite having scored the second fewest points in the division (291) while giving up the most (346).
“Stats can be very misleading,” countered Hall.
“The bottom line is you can win big and have a lot of points and when you lose it’s a close game. Look at us all, our victories have been close games and when we’re lost we’ve lost (big), to Calgary, B. C. And Montreal.”
Those three losses were by a combined 76 points.
In their six wins the Eskimos have only once won by more than five points, a 33-19 win over Montreal Alouettes.
“I say this, despite all those stats, we’re 6-5 and tied for first place,” added Hall.
SHORT YARDAGE: Hall said defensive lineman Dario Romero left Sunday’s game because of illness — perhaps a touch of food poisoning–and should be ready to play in the rematch…The news wasn’t as good about running back Calvin McCarty who returned after missing two games and left after just one play. “I didn’t have a chance to talk to him, but I think a lot of times when you see someone only play one play and that’s it, it’s usually a long shot to expect him back in time for Saturday.” said Hall.
