Botched call by Esks coach a show of disrespect, says Stamps' Singleton
ERIC FRANCIS
Updated: November 20, 2017 7:34 AM MST
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Conventional wisdom dictated the CFL West final would be decided by the quarterbacks.
Few could have imagined that would include Jason Maas.
Yet there was the Edmonton Eskimos quarterback-turned-coach playing as big a role in the outcome as anyone on the field Sunday at McMahon Stadium.
With his Eskimos down 32-25 with 1:56 left to play and his team facing a third-and-four on the Calgary Stampeders 13-yard line, the Eskimos head coach chose to kick a field-goal.
It's possible not a single person in the CFL could understand the logic at the time, so we'll let a glassy-eyed Maas try to explain.
"We kick it deep, our defence gets a stop, and we have about a minute to go down and score one touchdown and beat 'em … That was the mindset," said Maas, whose coaching inexperience was the biggest concern most in Edmonton had when he was hired as boss.
"(It was) a belief in our whole team. The defence was going to get the stop, the special teams was going to get the ball back for us, and the offence would … go down and score."
But you needed a TD either way, a hellacious wind was at your back and a Stamps stop would still have left the hosts pinned deep in their zone.
"Yes, you're right," said Maas, whose team wasn't able to stop Calgary's offence until the dying seconds, setting up a late punt the Eskimos fumbled away anyway to seal a 32-28 Stamps win.
"You could say, 'If you felt (so confident in your team) why didn't you just go for it on third-and-five?' That's a fair question. We decided to go the other route, and it didn't work, and there are questions asked and consequences to it. You could lose a ballgame. It turns out, that was the case."
Does he regret the call?
"You can look back on it and wonder, but I won't ever regret it," said Maas.
"I have faith in our team, and it was a faith decision."
No, it was a terrible decision — one he'll have to wear all winter long, which will include next Sunday when the Stampeders will face the Toronto Argonauts in Ottawa for the Grey Cup.
The hot seat Maas sat on in the bowels of McMahon after the game was all too familiar, as it was the Stamps quarterback-turned-coach Dave Dickenson who was similarly chastised late in last year's Grey Cup when he called his backup quarterback's number on second-and-goal in the final minute instead of Jerome Messam's.
"Listen, decisions are always going to be questioned," said Dickenson, when asked if he was as surprised as everyone else at the play-call.
"I'm sure you guys question a lot of the decisions I make as well. Every coach has a reason, but I'd be more inclined to let their guys answer those questions."
They tried.
Eskimos fullback Calvin McCarty said, "Players play, and coaches coach."
Esks kicker Sean Whyte said he just does as he's told.
The only player to give an honest answer was Stamps linebacker Alex Singleton
"I thought they were disrespecting our offence," Singleton said when asked about the decision.
"To think they could come out and stop them after we rushed for 150 yards in a half with 1:40 left was a bad call in my opinion."
It was an opinion Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly couldn't share, publicly at least, insisting he'd never question a coach's decision.
Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell rolled his eyes when asked about the botched call — effectively concurring it was idiotic, before answering with classy diplomacy.
"I should have answered the question first so (Singleton) knew how to answer it — we don't want to comment on what they do," Mitchell said with a chuckle, playfully elbowing his teammate before being a little more forthcoming.
"If we were in the same situation, I think I'd be surprised because they went for it on third-and-10 and thought they'd go for it again because they would put us in a situation where if they don't get it we're on the five-yard line against the wind and we can't take a safety because then they're only down by three. Hard to tell as a coach."
As for the game, the Stamps deserve endless credit for bounding back from a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter to win a game largely on the backs of running backs Jerome Messam and Roy Finch who combined for a pair of touchdowns and 152 yards on the turf.
Mitchell, who passed for one touchdown and 228 yards, did a wonderful job managing a game in which the only turnover came on the final punt.
However, this game is going to be remembered for the mess Maas made of things in the final few minutes.
Deservedly so.
efrancis@postmedia.com
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