2014 marks the start of the Chris Jones era as head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos and many, myself included, think they may have found the right one. If you ask Jones what he looks for in a player, his response is "aggressiveness with intelligence that play with a ‘liitle edge.” That is a good definition of desire but could also be a description of Jones himself. Being aggressive is always a priority for a player; there are not many situations where being passive is beneficial on the football field. Pro football is not a nice game. In many ways and at the majority of positions youre imposing your will on another player, another athlete, and quite often the player with the strongest will and desire wins that battle. Sometimes you qualify it as mental toughness, but an aggressive mind set wins in this sport as long as it is disciplined and under control. Speaking of mind set, it may surprise you but intelligence is as important as any aspect of performance there is. The best linebacker in CFL football just may be J.C. Sherritt, the Eskimos middle linebacker. By no means is he physically imposing or dominant but when it comes to football smarts there are few that are his superiors. Interesting this year in that the injury adversity Sherritt faced last year gave an opportunity for another linebacker to shine in rookie Rennie Curran. This year both could be playing side by side in Edmonton, a strength for the Eskimos as both are athletic and very bright; they do not make the same mistake twice. The third quality of a Chris Jones player is one that plays with a little edge. Note those three words, "a little edge," are not easy to define or visualize. Is it a player who is exceptionally aggressive or intelligent? Or perhaps it is an attitude or enthusiasm. I think it is a guy who has no fear, cant be intimidated and, either subtly or overtly, does the intimidating. I dont know if you can describe it in words, but I do know coaches, especially veterans, recognize and want it. So the Chris Jones era begins and the Mike Reilly era, still in its infancy, continues. What was interesting to watch last year was how the Eskimos fans embraced Reilly as their quarterback. Not for the beautiful touchdown passes from the perfect spiral, or the ultimate three-minute drill to lead his team to poetic victory; they embraced Reilly because of the courage he played with in each and every game. Reilly was pummeled last year for many reasons, sometime poor pass protection, sometimes too many predictable passing situations. Add in a poor running game Reillys penchant for taking too many risks, hes gambling with his longevity. But what I observed is the Edmonton football faithful recognize his courageous performances and genuinely respected and responded positively to it. In a time when maximum revenue is a key priority for many, Reilly demonstrated an opposite mentality of thought; risking all for the cause in many situations. Now he has to temper it down however and he will or hell still be a football hero in Edmonton, just not for 18 games. The West is pretty good this year. Winnipeg will be better, Calgary and BC have good personnel that just need to stay healthy and focused, and Saskatchewan is the defending Grey Cup champion. So where does that leave Edmonton? They will be aggressive, they will be intelligent, and they will play with an edge. They will pressure the quarterback relentlessly and take risks one-on-one in coverage. And of course, their quarterback will continue to play with the definable quality of courage each and every game. Edmonton may just be pretty good this year. Cheap Patriots Jerseys . The England international had both goals in TFCs season-opening 2-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday. New England Patriots Pro Shop .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/.com) - Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points with eight rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 92-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Patriots Jerseys China . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. Stitched Patriots Jerseys . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona.PHOENIX - Seahawks All-Pro safety Earl Thomas promises he will play in the Super Bowl and will remain fearless when he gets on the field.Thomas pronounced his separated left shoulder pretty good when the team arrived Sunday for the Super Bowl. He was injured in Seattles overtime victory against Green Bay a week ago for the NFC championship. He left the game but returned, and says there is no way he wont face New England next Sunday.After delivering a message to U.S. troops that he is banged-up, just like you guys probably are, and I am going to fight through it, Thomas relayed a story from when he was a youngster playing Little League.A ground ball hit him in the mouth and his lip stuck to his braces. His father took Thomas to the emergency room at a hospital for treatment, and then asked his son if he wanted to go back to the baseball game. His immediate reply was of course.This is me, Thomas said. I love competing. I am just glad we are reliving our dreams. It feels like a movie.Thomas added that tackling the likes of star tight end Rob Gronkowski will be a challenge he will meet in the Super Bowl. If his approach is strong, Thomas adds, his physical status wont be an issue.If my mental is right, my body just mirrors that, said Thomas, who returned to practice Friday. Its a lot to deeal with, my first major injury.dddddddddddd I got the big picture.When I come alive nothing is limited. I can still play fearless and throw my body around and whatever happens, happens.Seattles other All-Pro defensive back, cornerback Richard Sherman, has an elbow injury that he also dismissed as a non-factor for next Sunday. The Seahawks know they need both Thomas and Sherman as close to full strength as possible against the potent Patriots.If the Legion of Boom is not, well, booming the opposition, particularly in this matchup, Seattle will be in trouble.Richard practiced in all the practices and he looks to be fine, coach Pete Carroll said. He still has an elbow to take care of, but hes practiced well. Earl practiced (Saturday), the day before and got the last day of practice in and looked fine. Both those guys are scheduled to play and should be OK. They have to deal with their issues, but theyll be playing in the football game.Thomas cant wait. He sees his team on the verge of a memorable achievement.I am too young to be thinking about legacy right now, the 25-year-old Thomas said, but sometimes you dont have to say anything because your work speaks for itself. So we definitely have that on the table.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '