Can the Edmonton Eskimos keep winning despite their discernible lack of passing offence?

If anyone still needs proof that quarterback wins are a ridiculous statistic, the Edmonton Eskimos' start to the season is a perfect case in point. Yes, the Eskimos are 2-1 and could tie Saskatchewan for first in the West Division if they beat the B.C. Lions Friday night (10 p.m. Eastern, TSN), but starting quarterback Steven Jyles has completed just 56.8 per cent of his passes this year (fifth-worst of anyone who's thrown a pass, and worse than every current starter except Winnipeg's Alex Brink, who may not have that job for much longer), thrown for just 599 yards (worst than all current starters except Brink, who wasn't a starter at the beginning of the year) and thrown three interceptions against one touchdown. Given that they've received that kind of quarterbacking performance, the Eskimos' 2-1 record is slightly less expected than the Spanish Inquisition. Just because they've won despite their horrid aerial attack thus far doesn't mean they'll keep that up, though.

What's led Edmonton's success? Quite simply, the Eskimos' defence. So far, they've allowed 15, 17 and 10 points, a ridiculously-low average of 14 points against per game. (It says a lot about this team that their one loss was a 17-1 debacle against Saskatchewan.) The defence has been effective on a wide variety of fronts thus far, with middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt flying all over the field and recording a CFL-leading 22 tackles, giant Canadian tackles Ted Laurent and Don Oramasionwu and rotation import tackle Almondo Sewell stuffing the run and applying pressure up the middle and defensive ends Marcus Howard and Julius Williams bringing heat from the outside. Teams have had a difficult time moving the ball against Edmonton in both the ground game and the aerial attack, and that's allowed the Eskimos to win despite Jyles' struggles.

That trend may not continue indefinitely, though. While wins and losses are about much more than the quarterback, it's difficult to keep recording CFL victories when your passing offence isn't effective. Even in last week's 42-10 beatdown of Winnipeg, Jyles only completed 55.6 per cent of his passes on the night and threw two interceptions. The problems aren't just about him, of course; Adarius Bowman's injury has really hurt the Eskimos' receiving corps and allowed teams to focus on shutting down Fred Stamps. There are some promising younger players in this offence, including Canadians Nathan Coehoorn and Shamawd Chambers (both starting at wide receiver Friday night) and import slotback Cary Koch, but they're all still figuring out the CFL, and that doesn't help; the offensive line is still rounding into form as well.

Still, Jyles has shown very little promise thus far, and that leaves some hard questions to be asked in Edmonton despite last week's blowout win. A win Friday night would certainly be important for the Eskimos, but what's perhaps even more important than the final result is if Jyles is able to get the aerial attack going. If he can, maybe he is the answer under centre, but if he struggles yet again, the Eskimos will have to ask if they should move onto someone else. You can win at times without great quarterback play, but it's awfully tough to do it consistently in this league.