Cornish, Stamps run over Eskimos, who finish off the first winless September in club history

Two elements stood out in Friday's late game between the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Eskimos; the impressive performance of the Jon Cornish-led Calgary offence and the way the Edmonton defence rolled over and played dead in a 39-15 loss. You could create a whole chicken-and-the-egg debate about which was responsible for the other; were the Stampeders so successful offensively merely because of the Eskimos' defensive weakness, or did the Edmonton defence just fall in the face of superior firepower? The truth may be out there, but as it so often does, it probably lies somewhere in the middle.

First off, the Calgary offence deserves plenty of credit for this performance, and perhaps no one more so than Cornish. The Stamps' running back became just the eighth Canadian in league history to rush for 1,000 yards Friday, and he did so with a spellbinding 73-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter that put his team up 7-0. That opened the floodgates, as after a defensive stop, Kevin Glenn followed it up with long passes to Joe West and Johnny Forzani for another touchdown. There are still questions about if Glenn should have played Friday, but he certainly played well, completing 21 of 28 passes (75 per cent) for 292 yards and two touchdowns. Plenty of Calgary receivers had great nights too, including West (six catches, 135 yards), Forzani (two receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown) and Nik Lewis (five catches for 64 yards and a touchdown), and the offensive line was dominant all night. Cornish might have had the best night of all, though; in addition to shattering that 1,000-yard mark, he solidified his hold on the league rushing title by picking up a tremendous 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 20 carries (an average of nine yards per carry). He made headlines for his sideline behaviour last week, but the focus was all on his on-field skill this week, and he certainly has plenty of that, showing off his versatility, agility and game sense.

However, while Calgary's offensive performance was impressive, Edmonton's defensive showing was appalling, and that means that the Stampeders' solid performance may not have been completely of their own making. Sure, there are some mitigating factors for Edmonton; they've had a ridiculous amount of injuries on the defensive line, which was a factor in how they lost the trench battles all night, they were playing on the road, and they couldn't get any offence from either the arm of rookie quarterback Matt Nichols (although he did pick up 36 yards on just two carries) or the vaunted running back pairing of Jerome Messam and Hugh Charles, which left the defence out there for long stretches. They were also playing a team that can beat you on the ground or through the air, and that's never easy to prepare for. Still, this was an atrocious performance up there with the way they rolled over in a 51-8 loss to Hamilton two weeks ago, and it was a fitting way to lower the team's record this month to 0-5, capping off the first winless September in the club's 64-year history. Given how little effort the Eskimos put in, this wasn't entirely a complete sign of the Stamps' greatness.

Where do these teams go from here? Well, the Stampeders are in excellent shape. The win improves their record to 8-5, solidifying their hold on second place in the West and the home playoff berth that comes with it, and depending on other events, they may even be within striking distance of the 9-3 B.C. Lions (who play the Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday). However, their defence still has a few issues, and just because the offence looked terrific against Edmonton doesn't mean it will against tougher opponents. Those problems are molehills compared to the mountain range facing the Eskimos, though.

Edmonton's at 5-8 now and could be as far as two games back of 6-6 Saskatchewan for the final West Division playoff spot if the Riders win their clash with B.C. Saturday; moreover, Hamilton's win earlier Friday means the Eskimos would no longer claim a crossover berth at the moment, which could leave them on the outside of the playoffs looking in. There are concerns about the offence, as while Nichols showed a little potential, the Eskimos still have next to no passing game, and they haven't been able to establish the run in weeks either. The ones about the once-strong defence are even more worrying, though. This team looks like a squad in crisis, and they'll have to turn things around quickly if they want to save their season. Regardless of how much of this blowout was about Calgary's strengths and how much was Edmonton's weaknesses, the Stampeders' playoff hopes came out of it on solid ground, while the Eskimos' are dangling from a high cliff...and their grip may be starting to slip.