Edmonton Elks Punter Jake Julien moves to 4th place for the all time highest punting average for a single game;
- 64.7 - Nick Setta (2008)
- 64.3 - Cody Grace (2022)
- 63.5 - Paul Osbaldiston (2002)
- 62.4 - Richie Leone (2016)
- 61.8 - Jake Julien (2024)
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Also he is currently sitting at 54.7 average yards per punt (82 attempts). If this continues through the end of the season he will easily break the record for highest punting average for an entire season;
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[quote=āBetweenTheGoalposts, post:164, topic:90222ā]
ā¦Also he is currently sitting at 54.7 average yards per punt (82 attempts). If this continues through the end of the season he will easily break the record for highest punting average for an entire season;
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Paul Osboldiston:
Good olā Ticat 
.
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Jacksonās play calling sucked. We needed to go play action heavy the whole game but didnātā¦
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About 90% of other fans who bash Tre Ford, for real here, or of course they simply would not bother.
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There are only three more games, so itās simply time to give Tre Ford and company a run for the money for next season.
So long as Ford does not poop the bed spectacularly enough to be benched like he did in the first game against Winnipeg, he can work on his future.
The part that p*sses me off in all that is everyone acts like Ford plays a lot when really - he played a game and a third before facing Winnipeg - not near enough time IMO to be ready for that game.
Jackson is not the guy we want for head coach - no how no wayā¦heās not even the guy we want for OC based on earlier this season when he couldnāt get plays in on time.
Shivers is a maybe at best.
The only keeper is Geroy. The rest we can move on from.
Who for head coach? I might go off the script and go with a guy with three Grey Cup rings to his credit, and some head coaching experience in the University ranks, Chris Morris.
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Iām not sure why the Elks went away from the run this past week. Its quite possible that the absence of both Ford and Leake neuters the possibilities quite a bit.
MBT seems to suffer a bit of tunnel vision. Geno Lewis should have been getting the ball earlier in the game and not until he gets into āI havenāt touched the ball yetā angry mode.
The main issue that I saw last week was how Shiversā defense got completely shredded through the first half and seemingly no adjustments being made to mitigate damage.
Man to man was clearly not working.
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The answer is:
MBT has been like that all season. Itās no wonder the team is so happy when Ford plays because he gets the ball around to every one. Plus the run game is miles better because he doesnāt hand the ball off and stand there staring at the ball carrierā¦
Thereās a reason I call MBT the Big Pylon - because he is. He gets a lot of passing yards yeas but like Friday - a ton of those have been against prevent defences while the Elks are behind.
Look at two simple things. The Elks turned the ball over a bunch last week. The Elks defence allowed very few points off those turnovers.
This week - the defence felt like there was no chance to win when they kept ending up back on the field again and again after another two and out by the offence.
On the game thread people were asking why was JJ not going to Fordā¦and I bet the new owner was asking the same.
Jackson is playing his way out of a job as an OC and a coach IMO. Donāt expect them to ever take the interim tag off his title.
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Ford is nowhere near as ready to be a full time starter as a lot of people believeā¦ ya he can run, reminds me of a young Tracy Ham and Nealon Greene.
But Fordās biggest flaw is his inability to read defences. The Bombers exposed Fordās weaknesses and shut him down.
Once teams figure out how to stop Ford on the ground then the game changes and Elks lose. He becomes frustrated and does dumb things, like throw an INT on a flat route when the scout was there the whole time.
Jackson isnāt stupid, he may not be a great coach but he was a good QB in his day and he sees that Ford is not starter material yet.
MacLeod-Thompson may not be mobile but he can read defenses, is a CFL vet and does have a Grey Cup win. Sure heās 37 but with having 3 starting running backs, they donāt need him to runā¦
Ford is done in Edmonton, they wonāt pay him the money he will be asking for in the offseason because they know heās not a full time starter yet.
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Controversial Take:
Letās make a run for Adams and keep Ford on the bench a bit longer for good backup?
Thereās nothing wrong with our running game when we have the right quarterback running the offence for it too, but it cannot be sustained without also a solid passing offence.
My take - Ford can run an RPO offence as well as almost any QB in the CFL, if we choose to stop āprotecting himā as a pocket passer.
When you get him outside the pocket he makes guys make choices and because of his skill itās never the right choice, plus that aids the run game no end.
With the right play book - Ford is the guy - he just needs more playing time.
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Further thought says - Lapo would nearly wet his pants if you gave him the Edmonton offence with Ford as QB, The misdirection options would be epic. And lets not forget a lot of what Winnipeg runs is still his offenceā¦
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I think Tre is the better option and he IS the team leader.
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Ford must prove he can perform better and consistently as a passer as well, for otherwise the defences will simply watch that film for the first game against Winnipeg and gang up on the offence.
This is not a league in which one can win consistently with a ball control offence and three downs, which is difficult enough to do in a league now with four downs in modern times.
As the best modern example in four-down pro football, just ask the Eagles since the 2023 season after defences have been able to adjust all the more.
We need insurance for a season via Adams, and itās better insurance than has been MBT.
Right - but in reality his sample size is small, really small. About 2 games small.
Despite all that he still has a 113 efficiency rating.
I think he is progressing - but he needs more playing time to continue progressing now. IE: heās starting to equate what he sees on the field to what he sees in film.
TBH - play calling let him down in Winnipeg. We needed a bunch of delayed draws with a Sally Rand to start making the defence make compromisesā¦and RPOās with motion every which wayā¦
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It can be done with time in game situations we can only hope.
NOW is next season for Ford and the Elks. Show us now what you really can do!
Remember when Henry Burris ran a lot of play action successfully for the Stamps? And he was no runner.
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Lets just hope that they continue to play MBT and donāt put Ford in a situation where he might get hurt for nothing now we are out of contention for the seasonā¦
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While Boris Bedeās missed XP was not the reason the Elks lost tonight, if he had made it, it would have been a 3 point game instead of a 4 point game with an opportunity to go to OT with another field goal.
Iāll preface this by saying that I love Boris Bede and Dean Faithful; I do not think the Elks have an elite kicker in house.
In my opinion itās time to move on from both of these guys and elevate Campbell Fair from the PS for the remainder of the season.
Fair has shown that he is reliable, going 8/8 (long of 42Y) in his 4 preseason games in '23 and '24. Additionally he has a big leg for kickoffs and his longest KO in the '24 preseason was 75 yards. Itās time he gets a chance to make the roster.
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Do you really think Ford is not going to choose free agency over signing with the Elks before he tests the market?
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