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Eskimos seek second straight win in bout with Argonauts

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08/04/2010 - Edmonton, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off their first win of the 2010 campaign, the Edmonton Eskimos hope to carry over some of that momentum when they host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium.

Edmonton, which finished an even 9-9 during the 2009 regular season, kicked off the new campaign with four straight setbacks and was the last team in the league to record a win, thanks to a narrow 28-25 decision over British Columbia at home last week. However, even with the victory the Eskimos have now turned the page on general manager Danny Maciocia who was fired on Saturday. In a move that was apparently made prior to the win over the Lions, president and CEO Rick LeLacheur said it was in the best interest of the team long term and also says there is no timetable for naming a replacement.

The triumph for Edmonton almost didn't happen, given the lengthy interruption brought on by a massive storm that delayed play for about 40 minutes and even caused a blackout at Commonwealth Stadium. Nevertheless, the Eskimos refused to give up easily and made it into the win column when Ricky Ray hit Andre Talbot with a nine-yard scoring pass late in the decision. Ray, was on fire after the weather delay and finished with 360 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25-of-34 passing, although he was also picked off once by Davis Sanchez in the fourth and saw it returned the other way 54 yards for a score.

Fred Stamps, while not crossing the goal line himself, generated 118 yards on five receptions for the Eskimos, while running back Arkee Whitlock chipped in with a game-high 102 yards on 18 carries as well.

Also adding to the pressure set by Edmonton was defensive back Chris Thompson who tallied a pair of interceptions against Travis Lulay, on his way to being named the CFL Defensive Player of the Week.

As for this week's opponent, the Argonauts got a lethal dose of Alouette offense last Thursday when Anthony Calvillo threw for nearly 400 yards and a pair of scores in the 41-10 thrashing of Toronto.

Toronto starter Cleo Lemon converted just 8-of-17 passes for 143 yards, gained another 35 yards and scored once on the ground, but for the most part the Argonauts were of little consequence in the matchup on the road. After several successful efforts in recent weeks, running back Cory Boyd finished with just nine carries for 53 yards. Boyd maintains his place atop the league rushing list with 484 yards on 75 carries, but despite is 6.5 yards per attempt, he has made it into the end zone just once and that's the fewest of any of the top seven ground gainers in the league entering the sixth week of the season.

Even though Boyd is working as hard as any running back in the league to keep his team moving the ball, the fact remains that he can only do so much when Lemon can't get on track with his passing. Of the quarterbacks who have started every game thus far, Lemon is the only one with a completion percentage below .600, standing at just 57.6 percent at the moment. With a mere three TD passes, Lemon by no means strikes fear into opposing defenses.

Placing so much faith in Lemon and Boyd, two players who are both in their first year in the league, is quite a commitment by the Argonauts and will probably pay off in the long run, but for now the duo has to be given room to grow. It also doesn't help that leading receiver Brandon Rideau, with his 12 catches for 226 yards and one touchdown, is also a first-year player for the Argos. Perhaps putting Chad Owens on the field with the offense more will give opponents more to think about in their coverages, but to this point that possibility has not been explored enough.

Due to the huge setback against Montreal, the Argonauts fell three spots in the most recent power rankings, all the way down to eighth. For a team that has a winning record, that's a definite sign that something is not quite right in Toronto. On the other hand Edmonton, by snapping its slide, moved all the way up to fourth in the rankings, basically because there's too much talent there to ignore.

Ray has managed to throw no more than just a single touchdown in any one of his previous encounters against Toronto, but that could change this weekend with Stamps and Kelly Campbell both warming up.

As far as the all-time, regular-season series between these two squads is concerned, dating back to 1949 Edmonton owns a 40-37-1 advantage over the Argos. Last season the Eskimos won both encounters, first taking a 22-19 decision on the road in the middle of October and then capturing a 36-10 verdict two weeks later at home. These teams are set to meet once more during the regular season on September 26 in Toronto.