Eskimos looking forward to another shot at Argos: ‘Our guys will respond’

The Edmonton Eskimos returned to the practice field on Tuesday to continue the process of moving on from a tough loss last Saturday in Toronto, falling 20-17 to the Argonauts.

The start was poor for the Eskimos as Edmonton fell behind 12-0 after only running one offensive play.

The Eskimos would dominate the time of possession and take over the game on offence but despite having the ball for most of the second quarter, the team could only come away with six points and trailed 12-7 at the half.

The Eskimos finally took the lead in the fourth quarter and held a five-point advantage until the Argos scored the final eight points of the game and sealed the win.

The Argos ran 19 offensive plays in the final five minutes of the game while the Eskimos only had two offensive plays.

Defensive back Aaron Grymes says watching the film was tough.

“Not to just watch but to be out there and be a part of it is tough,” Grymes said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Not to just watch but to be out there and be a part of it is tough," Grymes said.

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“You want to get off the field so bad but you’ve got to remember to do your job first because the minute you try to come off your job and try to do somebody else’s is when you give up the play and you don’t want to do that.”

Discipline was also a key issue in the loss as the Eskimos took 12 penalties for 126 yards with several fouls occuring in the two trips the Eskimos made in the red zone.

Fullback Calvin McCarty says the loss is hard to take but should serve as a learning tool for his team.

“It’s better to happen now than later down the road,” McCarty said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's better to happen now than later down the road," McCarty said.

“Guys get back to the drawing board and guys focus on technique and you try and get the ship right to go the whole way.

“Even though it’s a bad taste in fans’ mouths, it’s also a bad taste in our mouth and I know Coach Maas as a person and a player — he wants to win just as much as anybody else here and I know that for a fact. I’ll put it on the line for Coach Maas any day.

“I know he has our back and we definitely have his back and our guys will respond this week.”

Listen Below: Head coach Jason Maas says his team needs to be sharper mentally

The good news for the Eskimos is they will get another chance to play the Argos and it’s this coming Friday on The Brick Field at Commonwealth Stadium. Kick-off is at 7 p.m., live coverage will begin on 630 CHED starting with Countdown to Kick-off at 5:30 p.m.