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Can it get any worse for the Esks?

How putrid did that get?Even the most die-hard Edmonton Eskimos fan had a hard time keeping their game-day snacks and beer up after the Eskimos’ most embarrassing loss to the Calgary Stampeders in Labour Day classic history.

How putrid did that get?

Even the most die-hard Edmonton Eskimos fan had a hard time keeping their game-day snacks and beer up after the Eskimos’ most embarrassing loss to the Calgary Stampeders in Labour Day classic history.

I wrote in this column space two weeks ago how the Eskimos had hit an all-time low this season, but in the wacky world of the CFL they still had a chance to make the playoffs.

Then they come out after their first embarrassing loss to the Calgary Stampeders and beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

But they certainly gave their fans a false sense of hope after the Monday massacre at McMahon Stadium.

How low can they go?

They’ve already fired their GM, their linebackers coach, and their offensive line coach.

I don’t believe firing head coach Richie Hall is the answer. Their problems run far too deep than that.

Quarterback Ricky Ray has been battered and bruised all season long after taking several licks from the opposing defences.

His confidence looks shot. When he does have time in the pocket to throw to his receivers, they aren’t catching the ball.

Their offensive line has been dreadful all season long.

Despite the fact this team is still in the playoff hunt at the midway point of the CFL season even though having a dreadful 2-7 record, their season is lost.

A plethora of bad moves by former general manager Danny Maciocia has handcuffed this team and set them back a number of years.

His idea of trading numerous first-round picks the last several years has come back to bite the Eskimos, and while we thought the club missing the playoffs in back-to-back years after winning the Grey Cup in 2005 was bad, what the organization and fans have gone through this year is downright torture.

It’s one thing to get blown out in a game, but to lose to your biggest rivals in back-to-back games by a combined score of 108-20 is pathetic.

They had more turnovers than they did points (six turnovers, five points), and their five rushing yards matched their point total on Monday afternoon.

While the team has endured its share of injuries this season, nobody can blame it all on the injuries. Eskimo fans are being parlayed into watching a sad sack group of players that lack focus and drive to play the game of football.

Even a soft spoken Ray who has always had a “cool as a cucumber” approach to his demeanor, has clearly had enough.

That’s a sign that all is rotten in the soon-to-be-frozen tundra at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Eskimos now have to pick up their tails between their legs and go out on Friday night against the same Stampeders team that have kicked them to the curb in their previous meetings and shown just how awful this Eskimos season has truly been.

In previous years I would expect the Eskimos to come out and prove to their fans and the rest of the CFL that they won’t stand for getting embarrassed the way they did.

But this Eskimos team is certainly different from those in the past, and I’m having a hard time believing that we’ll see much better from this squad during the rest of the season.

Jason Hills is an Edmonton-based freelance writer whose column appears every second Wednesday in the Advocate