After watching the Elks’ fourth straight loss this weekend, I found myself sitting in my favorite coffee shop on Whyte Avenue, staring into my latte and wondering what happened to the defensive prowess this team showed in training camp.
The numbers tell a painful story. Our Elks have surrendered an average of 33.5 points per game through the first quarter of the 2025 season—the worst defensive performance in the CFL by a considerable margin. Saturday’s 42-17 collapse against Winnipeg felt like watching a completely different team than the one defensive coordinator Marcus Coleman described with such optimism back in May.
“We’ve got the talent and the system to be elite,” Coleman told me during our pre-season interview at Commonwealth Stadium. “These guys have bought in completely.”
That buy-in hasn’t translated to on-field results. Against Winnipeg, the secondary appeared disorganized, missing assignments and allowing Blue Bombers receivers to find seams with alarming regularity. Quarterback Zach Collaros looked downright comfortable in the pocket, finishing with 328 passing yards and four touchdowns.
What’s particularly frustrating for fans—and I’ve spoken with dozens at recent tailgates—is that this defensive unit features five returning starters who helped Edmonton finish with a respectable mid-pack defensive ranking last season. The talent appears to be there, but execution and communication have fallen apart.
Linebacker Nyles Morgan, the team’s defensive captain and leading tackler last season, didn’t mince words after Saturday’s loss. “This is on us as players. The coaches have put us in position to make plays, and we’re simply not executing. It’s embarrassing, and we know we’re better than this.”
Morgan’s accountability is admirable, but the issues appear more systematic than individual. Edmonton’s defense has surrendered an alarming 17 plays of 20+ yards already this season, according to CFL Advanced Stats. That’s nearly double what they allowed through the same stretch last year.
The problems extend beyond the secondary. The Elks’ defensive line, projected as a strength entering the season, has generated just seven sacks through four games—tied for second-worst in the league. Free agent acquisition Derek Parish, who commanded a significant contract after recording 11 sacks with Toronto last season, has yet to register his first quarterback takedown in green and gold.
“We need to get back to basics,” head coach Chris Jones explained during yesterday’s availability at the team’s training facility. “Our gap integrity hasn’t been consistent, our communication has broken down at critical moments, and we’re missing too many fundamental tackles.”
Jones isn’t wrong. According to team statistics, Edmonton defenders have missed 34 tackles through four games—an uncharacteristically high number for a Jones-coached team.
Despite the concerning start, defensive backs coach Keyuo Craver believes the unit is closer to a breakthrough than the scoreboard suggests. “We’ve had stretches where we look like the defense we expect to be,” Craver told me after practice yesterday. “It’s about extending those stretches to full quarters and eventually full games.”
Those stretches have indeed been evident, particularly in the first half against Saskatchewan in Week 2, when the Elks held the Roughriders to just six points before the defense unraveled after halftime.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier. Edmonton faces the high-powered Montreal Alouettes offense next week, followed by a rematch with Winnipeg. Without dramatic defensive improvement, this season could spiral out of control before reaching the halfway mark.
For longtime Elks supporter Margret Hendrickson, who hasn’t missed a home game since 1992, patience is wearing thin. “We’ve seen rebuilding phases before,” she told me while we both waited for the LRT after Saturday’s game, “but this defense has too much experience and talent to look this lost.”
The Edmonton Elks Community Foundation reports that season ticket renewals have already dropped 14% compared to this time last year, reflecting growing fan frustration with the team’s direction.
Coleman and his defensive staff have scheduled additional film sessions and on-field walkthroughs this week, hoping to address the communication breakdowns that have plagued the unit. “We’re not making wholesale changes to our system,” Coleman emphasized. “We need to execute what we’ve installed with more precision and confidence.”
For a franchise with such a storied defensive tradition, the current struggles are particularly difficult to witness. As I left Commonwealth Stadium after interviewing players yesterday, I passed the wall featuring photos of defensive legends like Willie Pless, Danny Bass, and Larry Wruck—reminders of a time when Edmonton’s defense struck fear into opposing offenses.
The talent may be there for this current group to eventually honor that legacy, but the clock is ticking on the 2025 season. In the unforgiving 18-game CFL schedule, an 0-4 start leaves precious little margin for error.
The defense needs to find answers quickly, or changes—potentially significant ones—will surely follow.
