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EDMONTON -- Edmonton Eskimo quarterback Mike Reilly wasnt eager to shake hands with a reporter Thursday but pronounced himself ready to take his injured thumb into battle Friday against the Montreal Alouettes. You can watch the game on TSN1, 3, 4, 5 and TSN GO at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt and listeners in the Montreal region can follow the action on TSN Radio 690. "Its not 100 per cent but its good enough to play football and play at a high level," Reilly said of his injured thumb. "Its going to take a couple of weeks before it feels 100 per cent normal but right now its not affecting my ability to throw the ball and play football." Reillys injured thumb on his throwing hand has kept him out of the last two games, both losses to Calgary. His return is welcome news for Edmontons offence that will be looking for more consistency to try to end a two-game losing streak. The losses have dropped the Eskimos to 7-3 and into third place in the west. Reilly, injured on the opening drive of a 41-27 win over Toronto three weeks ago, said the Eskimos have to get back to the basics, get back to competing, playing hard and executing their plays to get past the Alouettes. "If this week of practice is any indication, were going to be back to where we were early in the year," he said. "We came out with a kind of new mentality and a new focus and thats a good thing." While Reilly is back with Edmonton, former Eskimo Jonathan Crompton will get his third start for the Alouettes. In his two previous starts Crompton completed 33 of 52 passes for 451 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. "Hes done a very nice job getting the ball out of his hands, he knows where his weapons are," said Eskimo coach Chris Jones. "Hes done a great job of managing (the offence) and I think hes brought a level of energy that they were maybe lacking. "The last three weeks they have a lot more energy and a more positive aura about them so its going to be interesting to see how we come out of the locker-room and attack them." Crompton was Reillys backup last season but slid to fourth on the depth chart in training camp before leaving. He wouldnt talk about the Eskimo situation, saying hes just happy where hes at and is back in Edmonton for a "business trip." "Its not about me," he said of his recent success and the Als two wins. "The O-line has been blocking their butts off, the running backs have been running well, blocking well, the receivers have been making plays. When all those go together it makes my job easy." The Eskimos are 5-0 versus eastern teams, including an 33-23 win over Montreal in early August, but, like very other western team, they have a better record on the road (4-1) than at home (3-2). Montreal has won its last two games but is winless in four road games this year. A lot of Edmontons success this season is due to the improved and aggressive play of the defence that leads the CFL with five touchdowns -- three on interceptions and two on fumble recoveries. Rookie Dexter McCoil, who won a linebacking spot in training camp partly due to the injury to J.C. Sherritt, has been a big part of the defence with four interceptions and two touchdowns. "Those days just happened to be in the right place at the right time," he said. "We have great game plans. Our coaches put us in great positions to make plays. . . and our job is to execute to the highest level." Sherritt is back on the roster but McCoil, Rennie Curran and Otha Foster are the starting linebackers. The three starters have a combined 95 tackles and five interceptions. "Its about everybody buying into the defence and wanting to be good," McCoil explained. "We pride ourselves on being aggressive and physical. We have a long way to go to be great, but every time we step on the field were trying to be the best we can." Dillon Maples Cubs Jersey .Impact president Joey Saputo confirmed Thursday that he is part of a group of investors whose offer to buy the 105-year-old Italian club was accepted by the teams board of directors. Mickey Morandini Jersey . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. https://www.cheapcubs.com/2500t-derek-holland-jersey-cubs.html . - PGA Tour rookie Tony Finau shot a 9-under 63 at Del Monte and had a two-stroke lead over Billy Andrade and Lee Janzen of the Champions Tour after Thursdays opening round of the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational. Chicago Cubs Gear . Curlings version of the Ryder Cup will introduce a new format beginning with the 2015 event, set for Jan. 8 to 11 in Calgary, as itll be Team Canada taking on Team Europe this season and in the 2017 event, while itll be Team Canada against Team World (including the U. Allen Webster Jersey . Dallas also Monday recalled defenceman Aaron Rome from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League and assigned goaltender Jack Campbell to the AHL squad. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In packed stadiums, Tom Brady had one of his worst statistical seasons. Behind the scenes, hes working hard to have a better one. And, more importantly, carry the New England Patriots further -- to the Super Bowl -- than they went last season. Brady has heard coach Bill Belichick stress throughout their 14 full seasons together "that whatever matters to you as an individual, its far distant from what the team goals are," the quarterback said Monday. Achieving those goals is a year-round pursuit with intense off-season preparation setting the stage for the regular season. "What youre trying to establish this time of year is what kind of team youre going to be," Brady said during the Patriots third week of organized team activities. "Whos willing to put it all on the line when theres really no glory in this. Theres no glory in an OTA practice. Theres no glory in the weight room or out there on the conditioning field, but itll show up at some point. "Its a long season, so, at some point, the mental toughness, the discipline of the team always shows up and those are the things that were trying to work on." Last season, Brady was 17th in the NFL in passer rating, 21st in completion percentage, 22nd in average gain per pass attempt and 11th in touchdown passes. Of course, Wes Welker left before the season for the Denver Broncos, Aaron Hernandez was charged with first-degree murder last summer and Rob Gronkowski was limited by injury to seven games. The Patriots leading returning receiver was Julian Edelman, and he had just 21 catches in 2012. He followed that with 105 receptions in a breakout season, but the rest of the receiving group suffered from injuries and inexperience. The only significant addition to the group is Brandon LaFell, who had a career-high 49 catches in his fourth NFL seaason last year with Carolina.dddddddddddd. "Theres always ways to find improvement," Brady said after posing for photos with winners of the 2014 Myra Kraft Community MVP awards in honour of team owner Robert Krafts late wife. "Youre always working with lots of other guys. So its not necessarily just my improvement, but how my improvement relates to the rest of the team. And we all change from year to year." Receivers Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins are entering their second season with the Patriots. Brady is starting his 15th and wants to play as long as possible. "The thing that Ive learned over the years is youve got to pay the price in advance," he said. "You just cant run out on the field and expect things to be better without putting the time in and extra effort. I try to be really consistent and dependable for our guys, and I think thats what the quarterback position needs to be." The Patriots won their fifth straight AFC East title last season and 10th in the past 11. But Brady was outplayed by Peyton Manning in the AFC championship game. Denver won 26-16 as the Patriots made it nine straight seasons without a Super Bowl title. The off-season intensity increases next week with a three-day minicamp followed by training camp next month. For Brady, theres no time to waste. "I dont think theres any time that we come out of a meeting thinking, Man, were great. Weve got everything figured out. Its really a time of year where youre going to make a lot of mistakes," he said. "Youre going to give great effort and youre going to fail and then youve got to gain trust in each other and become more consistent." Then, after speaking with reporters for nearly 10 minutes, Brady was eager to return to work. "Back to practice," he said with a big smile. ' ' '