Edmonton Vs Montreal #1/ Winnipeg #1
September 27, 2008

I learn much more in losses than I do in wins. Wins tend to mask things that your team may not be doing well, or that you individually may not be doing well enough, because they are glossed over and washed away with the glow of the win itself. Whether the loss is a blowout like it was in Montreal, or a close loss like in Winnipeg to me makes little difference because struggle is something that cannot be measured. The one thing that a blowout has in common with a close loss is that for either to occur one team must be struggling. What I've learned from the last 2 weeks of play is that while I do believe us to be a good team, we're not a good enough team to just show up and win the game against anybody in this league. While our talent is more than sufficient, I would go as far as to say that our talent can match any team in the leagues we still must execute and play a physical and competitive game in order to come out with a chance at winning. I must emphasize the word competitive because to me that's all this game ever comes down too. Scheme helps a great deal in that a good scheme can mask a lack of talent. However, in my opinion a talented team that loves to compete and yearns to beat the men across from them individually can do much more for a good scheme than the other way around.

The Montreal loss was upsetting because we showed so little fight in such a big game, while the Winnipeg loss was disheartening because we came undone at times when it was crucial for us to remain focused and composed. There is no way of knowing whether or not we would have come out on top if we kept our heads last night in Winnipeg and didn't self destruct at in those key moments I can safely say that losing our composure pretty much ensured that we would not win that game. If we can find a way to improve our game situation awareness, and couple it with the same competitive streak that we showed early in the seasonwe'll be just fine. An understanding that when we're in field goal range, penalties, sacks and turnovers are the only thing that can turn the drive into a negative one. Understanding that when the defence has you pinned down, extra fight without securing the football is only going to make matters worse. It's about understanding that when a team has weak links in its chain defensively, they MUST be exploited repeatedly.

Once we can start to do some of these things, I expect that our fortunes may turn. If we can't find it within ourselves to recognize these deficiencies and take the time to fix them who knows what we will finish the season like. ©

Kp8