Does Eric Tillman really want to turn back time, or just find a way to start winning?

Marty McFly, Dr. Who, H.G. Wells, John Connor and Bill and Ted might all want to keep a close eye on their time machines this week, as Edmonton Eskimos' general manager Eric Tillman told 630 CHED's Dan Tencer Tuesday that he probably wouldn't make the Ricky Ray trade again if given a DeLorean. However, Tillman's comments are far from the wholesale repudiation of the trade they're being billed as in some quarters, and given the timing (the Eskimos are coming off a stunning 17-1 loss, one where Tillman's already tried to get the blame focused on him, and they're also dealing with the aftermath of a weird injury disagreement between Tillman and head coach Kavis Reed), it's not inconceivable that this is just a ploy to take pressure off the team in the lead-up to Friday's clash with Winnipeg. Read Tillman's entire comments from the Tencer exchange (transcription courtesy of Chris O'Leary) and judge for yourself:

The "I would probably not" is being jumped on here, and deservedly so; that's really the only thing that's different from what Tillman's said before. Everything that follows is along the lines of Tillman's previous justifications for the trade, though, and it's worth pointing out that the main reason he gives as why he might not make the move again is to "have an off-season where I might be semi-popular in Edmonton for a change and to just stay status quo". He's not admitting to being wrong on the football side whatsoever, and if you think Eric Tillman is going to make football decisions based on what the public wants, I have a bridge to sell you. He just might want Eskimos fans to love him like they used to do.

Keep in mind that this is the man who traded reigning league Most Outstanding Player Kerry Joseph after winning the 2007 Grey Cup, and although Joseph's 2007 season was subpar statistically compared to Ray's 2011, the outrage Tillman got from Rider fans in the wake of that was far higher than anything we've seen this offseason. (Funny side note: that 2007 trade was mostly a big deal thanks to media members who somehow picked Joseph as MOP overquarterbacks who had superior years, including Kevin Glenn, Henry Burris, Anthony Calvillo and Ray, to say nothing of receivers like Geroy Simon and rushers like Charles Roberts. However, if Tillman realized that Joseph was past his best-before date as a quarterback following 2007, which he certainly was, why in the world has he brought him back to Edmonton five years later and expected him to somehow be a useful quarterback?) Tillman's not afraid to defy conventional wisdom (cf. his wholesale makeover in Edmonton last year), so the idea that he suddenly wants to redo the Ray trade because it wasn't popular doesn't fit. It's pretty clear Tillman does know why he did the things he did.

It also doesn't seem logical that Tillman would completely change his belief from "this trade can only be evaluated in a few years" to "nah, I wouldn't do that again" overnight. This corner's always been critical of the Ray trade's benefits for Edmonton, and the belief here is that they thoroughly lost that deal, but the deal can't be completely analyzed until we see where the Eskimos are (and where Ray is) in a year or two. With all that considered, it seems more likely that Tillman's trying to draw attention away from his team's current struggles rather than seriously rethinking his past moves; he seems more likely to just yell "Edmonton Eskimos football rules!" This looks like more of a plot to steal a sports almanac or pass a history report than a sincere attempt to save humanity (or in this case, the Eskimos' season). However, if Tillman gives a performance of this Cher number at the start of Friday's game, then we can all believe he really does want to turn back time.