And so it begins again for the Edmonton Elks heading into week 7. Only this time, it will be on the road vs the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.  The Edmonton Elks (0-6) appear as the punching bag for all the other eight teams of the Canadian Football League. And it does not seem to stop anytime soon.

The Edmonton Elks have not been able to establish consistency enough to win games from whoever has been given the task of the signal caller. Whether it be that of Jarret Doege, or Taylor Cornelius who have taken the majority of the snaps this season; it seems to be the same old song. Still to this day, nobody has been able to take charge of this offense and create any offensive threat for the majority of the previous six games played.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (4-2) on the other hand have had a couple of losses thus far during the 2023 CFL season. Their first loss was a 30-6 defeat at the hands of the BC Lions in week 3. Their second loss occurred last week in week 6 of the CFL season in which the Ottawa REDBLACKS shell-shocked the Winnipeg Blue Bombers with a 31-28 come-from-behind win in overtime.

If there is going to be any ray of hope for the Edmonton Elks when they take on the mighty Winnipeg Blue Bombers, it will be out of a page from the Ottawa REDBLACKS as seen last week. Fourth-string quarterback Dustin Crum exposed the Winnipeg defence with his running ability which was very effective in the fourth quarter. It was also evident in a week 5 loss for the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Dustin Crum was taken down short of the goal line from a long run to close out the possible tie with a touchdown and a two-point conversion needed vs the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In the end, Ottawa would fall 21-13.

So it begs the question with Edmonton fans entering week 7.

If the same results with either Jarret Doege or Taylor Cornelius continue with the same results, at what point do you let Tre Ford attempt to take control of the offence?

Because after all, the Elks are almost at the halfway point of the 2023 season and have no wins to show for it.

If this game vs Winnipeg becomes an enormous amount of two-and-out drives going into the second quarter and or at halftime, Coach Chris Jones has got to pull the plug for the time being on Taylor Cornelius and Jarret Doege.

Unfortunately, Tre Ford has not taken any snaps at all this season with all things considered in Edmonton’s stagnant offence. At some point, a change is going to have to be made with Tre Ford getting a start to bring a different dynamic to the Edmonton offence. Edmonton has a prospect that has a great upside, and a bright future in the CFL.

If the Edmonton Elks continue the losing streak, and Tre Ford has not seen any playing time or a start; Then will he ever play a game this season?

Edmonton fans want to see progress in the offence. And at the moment, it does not hurt at all to have Tre Ford as part of this process.

Game Details

Date / Location: Thursday, July 20th, 2023 / IG Field / Winnipeg, Manitoba

Kickoff Time: 8:30 pm EST

Channel: TSN / TSN+ 

Weather Forecast

Temperature: 25 Degrees Celsius feeling like 28 Degrees Celsius. Mainly sunny with some clouds.   

Wind Gust: 26 Kilometers per hour.     

Percentage of Precipitation: 20% 

Odds

Spread: Winnipeg Blue Bombers – 16.5 (-111), Edmonton Elks + 16.5 (-111)  

Moneyline: Winnipeg Blue Bombers – 900, Edmonton Elks + 600    

Over / Under: Over 45.5 (-120), Under 45.5 (-110) 

Edmonton Elks Week 7 Depth Chart vs Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Injury Report

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Note:  As of now, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have not released their recent list of injuries. The following list of players are have either had a full practice as of Wednesday, July 19th, 2023, and or listed as questionable. No players are listed as officially out as of now:

Jamal Parker, DB, Ankle injury, Questionable

Redha Kramdi, DB, Hip injury, Questionable

Winton Rose, DB, Foot injury, Questionable

Kyrie Wilson, LB, Achilles injury, Questionable

Malik Clements, LB, Hip injury, Questionable, Did not practice

Celestin Haba, DL, Hip injury, Questionable, Did not practice

Edmonton Elks 

The Edmonton Elks have announced the following list of players for Week 7 vs the Winnipeg Blue Bombers that are either out or questionable:

Woodly Appolon, LB, Knee injury, Out

Jake Ceresna, DL, Illness, Out

Marloshawn Franklin Jr, DB, Hand injury, Questionable

Andrew Garnett, OL, Abdominal injury, Out

Aaron Grymes, DB, Knee injury, Out

Tomas Jack-Kurdyla, OL, Illness, Questionable

Eli Mencer, LB, Chest injury, Questionable

Nyles Morgan, LB, Chest injury, Out

J-Min Pelley, DL, Calf injury, Out

Jake Taylor, LB, Foot injury, Questionable

Players to Watch

Dalton Schoen:  Simply put, he has been a player that has not missed a beat since joining the CFL last season. He is a receiver that makes it very difficult for any defence to cover him game in and game out. Dalton Schoen currently is second amongst all receivers in yardage as he accumulated 431 receiving yards. He also has 16.0 yards per catch average, along with 71.8 yards on average per game. The Edmonton Elks might be better on the pass defence rather than the run defence, but Dalton Schoen is going to be one player that will expose the Edmonton defence.

Loucheiz Purifoy:   It will be difficult to stop the Winnipeg running game with the absence of Nyles Morgan at linebacker. Nyles Morgan, Loucheiz Purifoy, and A.C. Leonard have been the most consistent on the Edmonton defence. Purifoy will have a solid game as he will be effective in disrupting the passing lanes that Zach Collaros will throw at the Edmonton defence.

Adam Bighill:  He has been a solid all-around linebacker going back to his days in Vancouver for the Lions. And he has been the same with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He will be a player that will create a lot of confusion vs the Edmonton offence as he is talented in both stopping the pass and the run. Adam Bighill is currently tied at fifth with 30 tackles this season.

A.C. Leonard:  Staying with the Edmonton defence, because after all the Edmonton offence has a lot of issues; A.C. Leonard will anchor the right side of the defensive line in trying to disrupt the Winnipeg running game, along with adding to the pass rush. 

It all begins and ends with the Edmonton offence. The fact that it is like pulling teeth to get a consistent offence in a game is an understatement. With the Elks only averaging 15.16 points per game and allowing an average of 26.16 points per game heading into week 7, it is simply hard to imagine that they will have a gun-slinger shootout with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are scoring an average of 27 points per game, and allowing an average of 22.16 points per game. The Blue Bombers might not be as dominant as they were the last three seasons on both sides of the ball, but there are still the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are still one of the heavyweights of the CFL, and it appears that going forward they will not take any game lightly.

The question is when will Coach Chris Jones say enough is enough, and put in Tre Ford? This Edmonton offense needs a shot in the arm. And they need one sooner rather than later.

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