Five on-field matchups to watch in the 103rd Grey Cup

WINNIPEG —The 103rd Grey Cup between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Ottawa Redblacks gets rolling Sunday at 6 Eastern (TSN/ESPN2/WatchESPN/Youtube outside areas with broadcast deals), and much of the attention this week has been on off-field matters. Whether it's the return of an Ottawa team, their head coach being the son of a legendary Eskimos' figure, the unusual figures who won at the awards, the commissioner's press conference, or even the Eskimos barring the Redblacks' logging team, though, those stories aren't going to matter a ton once kickoff rolls around. Following in last year's tradition, here are five matchups to watch on the field. (Also see our players to watch.)

5. The ground games versus the rushing defences: Neither Edmonton's Akeem Shavers or Ottawa's William Powell played a huge role this season, and both only emerged late in the year. The passing attacks on each side are likely to be more important. However, effective running could take pressure off the quarterbacks, especially on first down and especially if it's cold. If either team can really get their ground attack working, that could make a difference. It's not going to be easy, though; both defences were good against the run.

4. The Edmonton offensive line versus Ottawa's pass rush: The Redblacks have an impressive front four of Shawn Lemon, Keith Shologan, Moton Hopkins and Justin Capicciotti, and if they can beat Edmonton's offensive line for a few sacks, that may make a big difference here. Mike Reilly is a mobile quarterback, and that does make him harder to bring down, but they did pretty well against Hamilton's Jeremiah Masoli last week, and he has a similar skillset. If they can get to Reilly and knock him down, that should put a dent in the Eskimos' offence.

3. The Eskimos' receivers versus the Redblacks' DBs: Edmonton has two very good receivers in Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker, and potentially a third in Kenny Stafford (who has flashes at times, but isn't always used that much), but the rest are a bit more iffy. It's going to be interesting to see how intently the Redblacks focus on that top pair, who they have cover them, and how often they double-team one or both. The success (or lack thereof) of those tactics may be important.

2. Mike Reilly versus the Ottawa defence: Reilly has been a solid quarterback in this league, and he was dazzling last week against Calgary, but he hasn't always thrown for a ton of yards and he was largely overlooked this week thanks to all the Burris storylines. If Edmonton's going to win, though, they'll need Reilly to play quite well. He's certainly capable of that; we'll see if he can do so Sunday.

1. Henry Burris and Jason Maas versus Chris Jones' blitzes: The most interesting chess match here may be when Ottawa has the ball. Eskimos' head coach Chris Jones loves to dial up blitzes, and frequently unconventional ones, and he said Wednesday he's been preparing for the Redblacks for weeks. Still, 15-year veteran Burris and offensive coordinator Maas (a long-time CFL QB himself) have plenty of experience that should help them diagnose those blitzes and find who's open. The other advantage is that Burris has a fantastic receiving corps, with Chris Williams, Greg Ellingson, Ernest Jackson and Brad Sinopoli all topping 1,000 yards this season. Those are four tough guys to cover. How well Burris and Maas do in identifying the blitzes and adjusting accordingly may be this game's most critical factor.