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Professional athletes will often say, "its never as good as it looks when you win, nor is it as bad as it looks when you lose. Ryan Carrethers Blue Jersey ." As we head into the final week of the regular season it will be the last chance for two teams in the CFL to lace them up. It is also a last opportunity to take a look at both the Edmonton Eskimos and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and try and figure out if it was as bad as it looked. First the Eskimos, a team that was for years the flagship organization in the CFL, but has now missed the playoffs for the second time in the last four seasons. It is just too easy to blame all the issues and losses on a trade that happened two years ago, when Ricky Ray became an Argo. Yes, it has taken the team two full years to find their franchise player, and even with Mike Reilly now established as the starter, it may take a couple of more years until the franchise is a true Grey Cup competitor. However, while the play at quarterback in 2013 wasnt perfect, Reillys body of work this year was good enough to get this team into the post-season. Whatever fate lies ahead for Kavis Reed in Edmonton, the head coach can take pride in the fact that by being convinced to give Reilly a real opportunity, he just may have led the franchise out of the shadow of the Ray trade. Early in the year, after a loss in BC, the head coach was being pressured by the media and fans to make a change at quarterback. Most felt that Reilly had enough of a chance at that point, and it was time to look at other guys. Reed said recently, "there was a lot of noise in that regard, the fans wanted me to make a change, but I knew we had to be patient with Mike." Despite the dismal record in Edmonton that patience has paid off. They now have a quarterback that they can build a team around, and will also have a healthy Matt Nichols back in the mix in next years camp who can, at the very least provide a solid back-up, and at best challenge Reilly for the starting job. Such a competition that would make them both better. So if the play at the most important position on the field was good enough for a post-season berth than what happened in Edmonton? It seemed this year that both sides of the ball, the coaching staff, and even management took turns making mistakes along the way that led to the teams struggles. Those errors have been well documented and dont need to be rehashed, but the organization does need to make a list of every decision made, every policy implemented, and rewind what was said in every press conference, and make sure that the mistakes are not repeated. There are holes to fill in the roster for sure. For instance, unless your quarterbacks name is Allen, or Ham, your pivot cannot be your leading rusher. Running the ball successfully depends on the entire offence pulling the rope in the same direction and a coaching staff that is committed to that balanced attack. All aspects of the running game then have to be examined in Edmonton. The defensive side of the ball was supposed to be the strength of this team, and they simply underachieved. So yes, general manager Ed Hervey has his work cut out for him this off-season. However, maybe on D it is not so much about finding better starters as it is about finding better depth that will push the starters. While in Vancouver last week Mike Reilly said, "we were close this year to turning it around but it would be a mistake to think that if we just get the bounces next year we will get in the playoffs." He went on to say, "so Im sure there will be changes this off-season." Reilly is bang on. For the Esks, it cant be status quo, but they arent that far off either. It starts with self evaluation, which Im sure has already begun. Then the next step is to eliminate the mistakes. Then finally, build a positive and professional culture that will give the players in Edmonton a chance to be successful. Now to the Bombers where the issues, from the outside looking in, appear to be much deeper, and may take longer to fix. If the first step to building a winning football team is to find a franchise player/quarterback, and then secondly, build a team around that person, well then the Bombers are still trying to negotiate step one. It may be stating the obvious but, you can bet they will be preparing offer sheets in January for free agent QBs, and that is not an indictment on Max Hall. Hall has done his best in a very difficult situation, and has shown glimpses. However, I think it is safe to say it will be tough for the Bombers management to sell "glimpses" to their season ticket base. Hall doesnt necessarily have to be kicked to the curb, and could be invited to camp in 2014, but there simply has to be a stable of quarterbacks to compete for the starting job, and at least one of the new horses should be a player on a current roster that is heading for free agency. Like the Eskimos, the Bombers made mistakes this year from management to the players, but when you take a look at both teams rosters it is clear that Edmonton is closer.   There really needs to be a shift in overall philosophy when it comes to the Bombers approach to re-signing players on their current roster, or attracting free agents. For instance, it has been suggested on TSN broadcasts multiple times this year that one of Winnipegs top priorities should be to re-sign Henoc Muamba, which has ignited a wave of Twitter responses from Bomber fans saying that Muamba wont sign anything until he sees whats out there, so why bother giving him an offer? Here is why. He is vital to the rebuilding process when it comes to Canadian talent. In this particular situation, the Bombers may have to overpay for Muamba, or lose another huge Canadian cornerstone, reminiscent of Brendon Labatte from a couple of years ago. He still may say thanks but no thanks, and move to a different team. However, assuming that he will and therefore holding off on making him an offer he cant refuse is not a strategy that will ever work. On a radio interview a month ago acting general manager Kyle Walters said that the organization has been talking to Muamba and that is a start, as long as it isnt just talk. If the Bombers have to make Muamba the highest paid linebacker in the CFL next year so be it, they can deal with that contract down the road as their overall Canadian content improves. But to let him walk would be devastating. Yes, a highly paid free agent quarterback, overpaying for a Canadian middle linebacker, while paying at least two and possibly three head coaches, may cause the teams accountant some long nights but what is the alternative? Some will say the team cant afford to do that while they are paying for a brand new stadium, but can they afford not to? If Muamba does move on, and it is later learned that the money was close, then the Bombers have fumbled yet again. The team needs a quarterback and Canadians plain and simple, so its time to do whatever is necessary to get them. Ultimately, it will be the Esks and Bombers fans who will be the judges as to whether or not it was as bad as it looked in 2013, but what is important now is to look forward and not back.  Its next year country in Winnipeg and Edmonton and next year starts now. Ryan Carrethers Kids Jersey . The result is a reflection on the nostalgia of playing hockey on frozen ponds growing up in Parry Sound, Ont. www.authenticchargersshop.com/Chris-Watt-Chargers-Jersey . Eintracht Frankfurt, Fiorentina, Salzburg and Ludogorets Razgrad also made it three wins out of three, while Swansea, Sevilla, Rubin Kazan and Genk dropped their first points as they were all held to 1-1 draws.MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Grizzlies are happy to be back in Memphis, where they finished the regular season by winning a franchise-record 14 straight games. They brought home-court advantage with them. To guard Mike Conley, that ratchets up the pressure even more. Its time for the Grizzlies to protect the place they call the Grindhouse. "Its going to be tough against a team thats played so well, especially on the road," Conley said Wednesday of the Thunder. "But were happy with our position, I can tell you that much." The Grizzlies evened this first-round Western Conference series by winning 111-105 in overtime at Oklahoma City on Monday. Being the visitor Thursday night in a hostile arena for Game 3 isnt a concern for the Thunder, who went 25-16 away from Oklahoma City for the NBAs second-best road record in the regular season. "Everybodys going to be there. Theyre going to have T-shirts. Theyre going to be swinging towels," Kevin Durant said. "Its the playoffs. Its going to be hostile, but weve been there before." Yes, the Thunder certainly have. But they have exactly one win in five previous post-season games in Memphis, and they needed three overtimes to pull that out in the 2011 conference semifinals. Memphis took both matchups in last years semifinals en route to winning the series in five. Memphis went 5-2 at home in the 2013 playoffs, when San Antonio, in the conference finals, was the only visitor to win. Tony Allen, who has made Durant work so much harder for his points in this series, said the Grizzlies cant become complacent knowing theyll have a loud crowd at the FedExForum. "We got to understand its one game at a time," Allen said. "Its the playoffs. Each game counts. Each possession counts. We cant get caught up in that." Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger also has cautioned his team not to simply assume being home will make everything work. That 14-game winning streak that helped them reach the pllayoffs as the seventh seed also is meaningless.http://www.authenticchargersshop.com/Jason-Verrett-Chargers-Jersey. Joerger said its time to start over now, and the team that sets the tone for its style quickest has won each of the first two games. Oklahoma City ran all over Memphis in winning the opener 100-86 in a game that was only that close because the Grizzlies had a big third quarter. The Grizzlies slowed the Thunder down from the opening tip Monday night in leading by as many as 10, even if they needed overtime after Durants amazing four-point play off his 3 falling out of bounds. "Our team is a team that cant play too far from behind because we play a certain style of basketball, and its tough," Grizzlies forward Mike Miller said. "Our starts are big for us. They do have some pressure. They have some expectations." The Thunder practiced Wednesday in Oklahoma City before travelling to Memphis. Coach Scott Brooks wants the Thunder to keep Conley and backup guard Beno Udrih in front of them. Udrih had 14 points in 14 minutes, giving Conley plenty of rest in his first extended action since being claimed off waivers in February. Brooks also wants to make sure Memphis big men work for what they get. Zach Randolph scored 25 points Monday, hitting 10 of his 20 shots. Offensively, Oklahoma City wants to screen better to keep Allen away from Durant as much as possible. "If we dont have good setups and good screens, its going to bog down and its going to be tough shots at the end of the shot clock," Brooks said. Of course, thats exactly what the Grizzlies want to slow down the Thunder. "We just keep slogging along and we feel always that if we get you in a possession game, we feel like that over the course of 48 minutes that we can grind you down," Joerger said. ___ AP Sports Writer Cliff Brunt contributed to this report from Oklahoma City, and AP freelance writer Clay Bailey contributed in Memphis. ___ Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker ' ' '