The Edmonton Elks injury list is starting to balloon.
Currently, there are 12 players on their six-game injured list and that list will grow this week.
Defensive tackle J-Min Pelley left practice early on Monday with what the injury report labeled as a calf injury. Middle linebacker Nyles Morgan also left practice early with a chest injury. Head coach Chris Jones says Pelley will be out long-term.
“It doesn’t look good for J-Min and we’ll just see about Nyles,” Jones said. “Both were having a good year it’s just one of those things. You try to come out and practice hard and get ready to play but it’s just a part of pro football.”
Morgan won’t play on Thursday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as well, now the question is if the Elks leader in tackles and defensive plays will be added to the six-game injured or not. That answer will be revealed when the depth chart and roster is released on Wednesday morning. Offensive lineman and starting right guard Tomas Jack-Kurdyla missed practice on Tuesday with an illness and is questionable to play on Thursday.
Canceling out the noise
The Elks are off to their worst start in franchise history at 0-6 after last week’s 37-29 loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Many pre-season predictions had the Elks with anywhere from 8 wins to 11 with some saying a home playoff game wasn’t out of the question. Fast forward to the one-third mark of the season and those predictions are fading fast. More people are now concerned if the Elks can avoid going 0-18 which despite the bad start, might be a stretch.
History will tell them other CFL teams have started slow only to get hot at the right time to make the playoffs. It’s hard to imagine that scenario playing out for the Elks who have the Bombers twice and a home date with the B.C. Lions in their next three games. Veteran linebacker Adam Konar says the best thing to do is leave the first six games in the past.
“You really can’t worry about the outside noise, it’s all about what’s happening inside this building,” Konar said. “You just have to keep working and there’s nothing you can do about it, what’s done is done. We started the season off way worse than we thought in the first third but it’s time to move on to the second third of the year and focus on winning this game, this week.”
Ford itching for playing time
Last season, Tre Ford was one of the better stories in the CFL. The eighth overall draft pick out of Waterloo won in his first CFL start on Canada Day in Hamilton.
Ford was lost for two months because of a suspected collarbone injury a week later. Ford would start the final regular season game for the Elks in 2022. This season in training camp, Ford was slotted as the backup to starter Taylor Cornelius but has struggled since the second week of training camp. He was beat out for the backup role by Kai Locksely and found himself out of the lineup for one week.
Now, Ford is the number three quarterback behind Cornelius and Jarret Doege and says he’s frustrated by the demotion.
“Everybody wants to play, you don’t want to sit there and watch the game from the sidelines,” Ford said.
“It’s not ideal, they want to give Taylor (Cornelius) and (Jarret) Doege a shot, they’ve performed well in practice and I understand that but I’m still just waiting for my opportunity.”
Head coach Chris Jones is seeing progress from Ford lately but says he’s playing catchup at this point of the season.
“It’s tough, camp is the time when getting the opportunity to go out and play,” Jones said. “Everything is a competition and everything is graded every single day. If he continues to improve and continues to be positive and work hard and come in and do things he needs to do every day, more than likely his opportunity will show up.”
Sticking with the status quo
Many fans and CFL pundits think Tre Ford or Jarret Doege should be given the starting reigns of the offence but Jones will go back to Taylor Cornelius for a third straight start.
Cornelius was pulled again in the third quarter of last week’s loss to the Tiger-Cats after throwing for 177 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.
Cornelius’ second interception of the game was costly. While trying to avoid a sack early in the third quarter, Cornelius threw the ball with his left hand and was intercepted by Tiger-Cats safety Stavros Katsantonis who scored a touchdown off the play.
The Elks fell behind 24-13 and couldn’t recover. Cornelius knows he made the wrong decision.
“Definitely, especially the play of not trying to take a sack. I can’t do something like that,” Cornelius said. “Trying not to make a negative play and I obviously made it worse.”
Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius on turning the page on a tough outing against the Tiger-Cats last week
Cornelius is now 4-21 as a starter and he will get the chance for the fifth win of his career on Thursday in Winnipeg. Chris Jones says he considered making another change at quarterback for this week’s game but instead is sticking with continuity. Jones says he wants to see the work and execution Cornelius shows in practice carried over into the game.
“He wants to do it as bad as anybody and works just as hard as anybody,” Jones said. “He’s here early and stays late. He watches film as do all of our quarterbacks. He just has to let his talent go and make sure that he’s going through his proper reads and put the ball where it’s supposed to be.”
Cobb makes an impact
2023 is a comeback season for Canadian receiver Gavin Cobb.
The fourth-round pick of the Elks in 2022 suffered a severe ankle injury in the second pre-season game was lost for the season.
Cobb caught a touchdown pass in during pre-season play this season and made his first significant contribution of the season last Thursday with four kick-off returns for 103 yards and recording a 25.8 yard average.
Chris Jones says the Tiger-Cats were trying to kick away from primary returner C.J. Sims which played into Cobb’s favour. Cobb says he’s starting to now feel more comfortable in his first full season as a pro
“I think coming into training camp I was a little slow mentally on my alignment, assignment, and execution wasn’t where it needed to be,” Cobb said. “I think just spending the extra time looking in my playbooks and looking at the film making sure I get my alignment, assignment, and execution down every single time.”
The Elks visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday night. 630 CHED will have live coverage starting with Countdown to Kick-off at 5 p.m., the opening kick-off from IG Field in Winnipeg will be at 6:30 p.m.
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