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EDMONTON -- On the surface, the desperation surrounding tonight's game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Edmonton Eskimos barely moves the needle.

And, as any sane CFL observer will tell you, the lack of anxiety is sensible. The schedule has barely taken root, just scratching at the Week 3 slate of games, and teams who fall off the pace in each of the divisions quickly reference the B.C. Lions of a year ago. If anyone proved that the CFL doesn't really start until September it was the Grey Cup champs.

The Bombers (0-2) are winless this summer and the Eskimos are looking at a 1-1 start quickly heading south with a pair of road contests after this one. There's your backdrop: two teams in need of a victory, if for no other reason than to just quiet the mounting critics, and suddenly a lazy July evening game takes on a whole new level of want.

Winnipeg, currently on game No. 3 of a season-opening four-game road trip manufactured by their own design, comes into Edmonton not only looking for its first 'W' of the 2012 season but also with an eye on their overall game. It hasn't been great through the first two weeks, with the inconsistency that caused the offensive struggles in B.C. the first week infecting the defence against the Alouettes the last time out.

"In a league with eight teams... yeah, we're certainly interested in getting a win to get on the right track," Bombers head coach Paul LaPolice told reporters at his pre-game press conference at Commonwealth Stadium Thursday. Hey, remember winning and the positive charge it brought? Here's a stat that will make some Blue and Gold fans cringe: Since the Labour Day Classic, Winnipeg has just four wins in its last 14 games (post-season included).

The party line from some of the players touches on the length of the season and how this team is still the same confident group that made it to the championship game last November. There's no need to panic or worry about us, they say with a shrug. Injuries have also played a part in this early swoon, with six Bomber starters either on the shelf on playing a different position heading into tonight (8 p.m., TSN, CJOB).

Quarterback Buck Pierce was blunt when asked about casual attitudes or disguised excuses.

"A win is much needed," he said. "It is a long season, sure, but we need to get this thing going. It doesn't feel very good that we're heading into Week 3 without a win. It's one of those things where we have to play better.

"We can't wait until mid-season to get things rolling for us."

The boil of desperation is starting to bubble on the Edmonton side, as well.

The Eskimos are coming off a short week that saw the frustration towards quarterback Steven Jyles intensify after he was more successful in getting pulled (twice) than moving the offence (one point) in Regina last Sunday. If things weren't radioactive enough in northern Alberta, GM Eric Tillman caused a mushroom cloud in the lead-up to the Bombers when he went on a local radio station and said that if he had a chance to go back in time, he would think twice before making the off-season move that traded longtime Eskimos starter Ricky Ray to Toronto for Jyles.

Ka-boom!

Eskimos coach Kavis Reed, left to deal with the fallout, wasn't too keen on putting any more pressure on his team.

"We don't deal in desperation," he said. "That's the one thing that I've been very vigilant about this week in our preparation. This is not a desperation football game. We're not going to put that label on this game."

Bombers defensive end Jason Vega put things into simple terms Thursday, providing words that apply to both clubs during these early stumbles. At this time of year, when clubs are still working out the kinks and establishing identities, coaches and players can take more from the little things during the course of games rather than the end result.

"I don't think it's more important to figure out how to get more wins as it is to improve, because there are a lot of (things) we've been doing wrong the last couple weeks -- especially on defence," he said. "It would help if we'd start figuring those things out, and then the wins will come."

adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @wazoowazny

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 13, 2012 C1