CFLCFL teams closer than records indicate

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The Edmonton Eskimos and B.C. Lions have proven that there is a fine line between winning and losing in today's CFL. (Ian Jackson/Canadian Press)

There is such a fine line between winning and losing. I would often say that being a football player was a great job if you remained healthy and you were winning games. If you were hurt or losing games, you were in for a tough season.

At 5-0 the Edmonton Eskimos are feeling great and the B.C. Lions, with their 0-5 record, are wondering if their equipment will be in their lockers tomorrow.

The first month of the season is over and, as fans, we have been entertained by some extremely close games. The 2011 CFL season is going to be difficult to predict.

Games have been very close this year. As an example, the Calgary Stampeders, with a record of 3-2, have seen all five of their games decided by a total of 14 points. For a team to win each week, it needs to buckle up and execute a thorough game plan while making very few mistakes.

Many have been taken by surprise with the Eskimo's early season success. As such a young team, it has been very impressive to see how they have executed week after week. Although impressive, head coach Kavis Reed is doing his best to keep his young team's emotions in check. He knows staying focused every week will be critical in order to have success through a very long CFL season.

I remember in 1997, while playing for the BC Lions, we got off to a fast 7-2 start to the season, only to finish off the second half at 2-7, and barely making it into the playoffs.

I also fondly remember an amazing season with the Stampeders in 2001, when we went 8-10 in the regular season yet went on to win the Grey Cup that year.

Momentum can shift extremely quickly.

Tremendous confidence

Confidence is everything in football, and when you are winning games you feel a surge of positive momentum that makes you feel unstoppable.

Right now, the Eskimos are playing with tremendous confidence. Offensively, quarterback Ricky Ray is confidently standing in the pocket behind a solid offensive line, delivering throws with pinpoint accuracy to spots on the field well before his receivers make their final cut.

They are mixing up the passing game with a solid running attack, keeping opponents constantly guessing, all while feeling completely in control of the game.

Defensive coordinator Rich Stubler has introduced a young group of players to his defensive system and they have discovered that his scheme works. It is such a great feeling when you know as a player, that if you execute your defensive assignment, you will have success as a group.

With this kind of confidence, the game simplifies for you, freeing you up to allow your athleticism take over and quickly react to opportunities on the field.

There are five to seven plays in every contest that a team needs to make if it is to win a football game - a big catch, a key block or a momentum-shifting interception.

When you are playing with confidence, making these plays is the most natural thing to do. You find yourself in such a rhythm that clutch catches are just expected plays for you to make. When you are playing with confidence crucial plays become routine.

When you are winning it feels like everything, even calls on the field are going in your favour. Take for example this past week's game that Edmonton hosted against Toronto.

Reed decided to go for a touchdown with three seconds left and it appeared as though the clock had run out to end the half with Edmonton stuffed at the goal-line.

Toronto headed into the locker room feeling great, excited for to play the second half. But players were called back out to the field as there was still 1.5 seconds remaining, giving Edmonton another chance to punch the ball into the end zone.

The Eskimos capitalized on the opportunity, cutting Toronto's lead to only two points before going on to beat the Argos 26-25.

Losing also a habit

Losing, on the other hand, is not a fun experience. Unfortunately, as much as winning is a habit, so is losing.

After their 0-5 start to the 2011 season, head coach Wally Buono has described his team as "fragile". The Lions came into the season with plenty of confidence, feeling good about their veteran defence and a promising offence lead by an up and coming young quarterback.

Football is a result-based business, and if you are not winning games the pressure mounts as everything is magnified and placed under a microscope.

The personal pressure that you place on yourself as an athlete tends to be the most intense. When you are working hard to accomplish something and you don't see success, it is extremely deflating. You begin the inner battle to keep your spirits up along with confidence in your abilities.

As the losses mount, the intensity rises and the criticism starts to escalate. Head coaches start to yell and scream for no apparent reason at their assistant coaches, who then start to yell at players, who then start to get intense with each other. Soon you have a wonderful symphony of senseless yelling. Let the good times roll!

As a player you find yourself struggling to get in sync with the rest of your teammates. You start to scrutinize every step that you make in order to be perfect. The harder you work to be correct the more you turn your once fluid natural athleticism into a mechanical mess because you over think every situation rather than simply react. Your fear of making the wrong step makes you a step late.

When you are losing, you don't seem to recover from the crucial mistakes at critical times in the game. A couple of dropped balls, a costly punt return fumble like the one that resulted in an 82-yard touchdown by the Bombers to start the second half is all it took for B.C. to remain winless.

Crucial calls late in a game seem to not go your way. Did Geroy Simon have a justified complaint for pass interference late in the contest against the Bombers? Absolutely, but when you are 0-4, things like that tend to happen.

When you are constantly losing it becomes increasingly difficult to turn the ship around, and so the assessment of the Lions being fragile is pretty accurate.

There is a very fine line that a coach needs to walk while he attempts to shake up the team rather than completely disrupt the foundation.

The first instinct is to assume that if a team is losing, it must not have enough talent. The reality is that it is tough to increase your talent level early in the season because additional players are not available until September [after NFL cuts) at the earliest. Even if you could find some new players, the talent level of the team is often not the issue.

Winning formula

When your team starts to forget how to have success you bring in a veteran player who has been part of a successful organization. Running back Avon Cobourne is a great example of this. The Hamilton Tiger-cats needed to establish a championship culture this season. Yes, Cobourne is a great player, but he is also one who has two Grey Cup rings with the Montreal Alouettes and understands winning.

I think the recent acquisition of Tad Kornegay was a great pick up for B.C. Buono even admitted that he doesn't know exactly where Kornegay will fit in, but the attitude he will brings to the locker room will be valuable.

Mentally, the Lions are in a very tough spot. It will be interesting to see what kind of strength this team has through the rest of the season.

While the Eskimos and Lions currently sit at opposite ends of the spectrum, there really isn't glaring differences between the two teams.

And this proves that there is a very fine line between winning and losing.

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