Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly hoists the Grey Cup after his teams win over the Ottawa Redblacks during the 103rd Grey Cup in Winnipeg on Nov. 29, 2015.NATHAN DENETTE/The Canadian Press
The Edmonton Eskimos and Ottawa RedBlacks meet Saturday to launch their CFL seasons in a Grey Cup rematch, with the RedBlacks keen to prove 2015 was no fluke and the Eskimos to show their championship was no flash in the pan.
But Eskimo quarterback Mike Reilly said neither team has to prove anything to anybody.
"Ottawa's a good football team and there's no doubt in our minds that we're a good football team as well, so everybody else can say whatever they want," said Reilly after practice Friday at Commonwealth Stadium.
"It's up to our team, and their team and everybody else in the league to go out there and prove what you're worth on the field, so that start's tomorrow."
Ottawa rebounded from a 2-16 inaugural season to advance to last year's Grey Cup only to lose 26-20 to Edmonton, a team that itself was only one season removed from the basement district of the CFL.
The brains behind Edmonton's championship season, head coach Chris Jones and his coaching staff, have since bolted to Saskatchewan, raising questions on whether this year's Eskimos team has the stuff to repeat.
It's a matchup with a number of compelling storylines, beginning with Jason Maas. Mass was Ottawa's offensive coordinator last year but is now the new head coach in Edmonton.
Maas said it won't be a distraction looking across the field to his former team Saturday.
"I've tried to block all that stuff out," said Maas.
"I have such a focus on what we're doing today and in the future. I don't worry about the past one bit."
The Eskimos plan to raise their 14th Grey Cup banner in a ceremony before the opening kickoff.
The game also features at matchup of star quarterbacks in Reilly and Ottawa's Henry Burris. Burris led the entire CFL in 2015 with 5,693 passing yards.
Burris, asked by Edmonton reporters about the rematch against the team that defeated them, had a little fun with the Eskimos' record of futility in the past decade.
"It's about time you guys got there," he laughed.
"You guys have been rebuilding since like what, 2003?"
Burris gave Edmonton full credit for the cup win.
"We gave it all that we could, (but) for us to go from being in the basement of the league to back up top and playing for the championship and being one drive away was a truly remarkable season for us."
The Eskimos come in on a 10-game winning streak that began after Labour Day last season and ended in the Grey Cup.
Ottawa has also never beaten Edmonton, sporting a 0-5 record over two seasons.
The game will also see the return of Eskimos running back John White.
White was an all-star in 2014, racking up 852 yards on just 123 carries, almost seven yards per rush.
However the 5-foot-8, 186 pound scatback from California tore up his Achilles tendon in the 2015 pre-season and missed the entire Grey Cup year.
He's back now and said he's looking forward to running the ball or laying out someone with a block.
"I'm ready to get that first play," he said.
"I hope it's blitz protection and somebody comin' up the A-gap so I can get the first hit off him. I gotta protect Mike," he said.
White said he spent the 2015 season and off-season rehabbing at home in Los Angeles, running hills and hitting the weights.
"There were people that talked to me and said I wasn't going to be the same and I wasn't going to play until a few weeks into the (2016) season but I proved them wrong," he said.
The RedBlacks know firsthand the setbacks of an Achilles tear.
Starting running back William Powell is out for the year after an Achilles tear in training camp. Travon Van will take his place in the backfield.