Edmonton Elks needs to stop the QB confusion

 

Tomorrow, the Edmonton Elks take on the Saskatchewan in Regina. After a bye week, the Elks have a important decision to make....do they start Tre Ford or Cody Fajardo and try to make a run for the playoffs. Last game in Edmonton, Tre Ford seems to struggle, after putting up some decent numbers in the previous games. 

Let's take a look back at this season. The Elks started off playing the BC Lions on the road. With many new pieces, a new coach and a basic playbook, they lost against the incredible BC Lions QB. Then they came home, and played a game against a Montreal team that has an incredible QB. Next, they were onto the giant Winnipeg Blue Bombers on the road, where they were tied after the 3rd quarter when the Bomber QB started shredding the Elks defence and put up 13 points in the 4th quarter. Then home to Edmonton, where they handed the Ottawa Redblacks their first loss, with Tre Ford looking incredible, while the defence looked like swiss cheese. While Tre was doing great during that game, the coaches made a decision to throw in Fajardo. Why? We don't know but it was a poor decision. 

What happened after the Redblacks game is where the problem begins. The coaching staff was panicking at their record with pressure from up top. The owner was not happy with the record. During that week, Tre Ford was told he might not be the guy going forward. Not only did he start the next game very nervous, but he didn't have much protection in front of him, and again the BC Lions shut down the run game fast. A couple missed throws and things were not looking great. Fajardo came in at the end of the game. 

There are two problems in Edmonton. First the coaching needs to make better decisions, they need to give Tre Ford full confidence. There should be zero confusion about who is the starter. Tre Ford needs to make a decision if things are not going well for him and communicate with his coaches if he needs to come off during a game to regroup. Next, the defence in Edmonton stinks. The conditioning is a joke, they bounce off the opposition like they are covered in cotton candy, they can not catch or even tackle the other teams offence. 

The Elks have had a rough start, and they need to make hard decisions about their defence and keep Tre Ford as the starter. If they don't, this team will not improve, Tre Ford will struggle and will find himself moving on from this team in the long run. Edmonton management needs to shape up.