Riders vs. Bombers: Goth Labour Day Classic

It’s the biggest regular season game of the year. It’s the biggest crowd ever for a Rider game at new Mosaic. It’s a bitter rivalry between teams. Sunday is a big one.

Before I get into the game itself, I want to take a learning moment.  This weekend many Bomber fans will be making the trek from Winnipeg. Here are a few tips for interacting with them to ensure a safe and positive weekend for all.

-        Speak in very simple vocabulary. In Manitoba, 3^rd grade is considered “higher education”

-        Don’t be surprised or offended if they are missing a few teeth. A combination of inbreeding and a general disregard for hygiene make poor dental health very common.

-        They will be quick to try and make a joke about 4 cups in over 100 years. Just kindly point out that in the 2000s they have the same amount of cups as us. Since 1989 they also have the same number of cups. Its not their fault they want to dwell in the past, many have been stuck in 2^nd grade since the 90s. Time is relative.  

-         They may be easily startled by bright lights and cell phones. They only recently got electricity in the province.

-        Be kind to them. Literally any time they get to leave Manitoba it’s a highlight in their life. Manitoba is like if the worst parts of Prince Albert were a province. 

Onto the game.

I have been chatting about Labour Day with my boys and realized they have a very different view of it from me. I’m of a generation where it was a huge deal. One of the few times a Rider game would get televised. One of the few times the stands would be full. One of the few games we always won.  But their very recent experience is a 1-3 record in the past 4 years. Whereas my perspective is 15-4 since 2005. So I guess what I am saying is that you damn Riders better win this one so my kids grow up right. 

Defensively this could come down to which team ends up healthier. We will be missing Lokombo and Sayles. Demksi is questionable at this point with the patented Bomber “neck” injury. Demski being out would be massive as he is a notorious Rider killer and leads the Bombers in TDs. Collaros has been giving fans flashbacks of failed Bomber QBs of the past this season (Bishop, LeFors, Jyles, Brink, Brohm, Goltz, Elliot). He still has the potential to turn it on at any point but he has spent almost as much time throwing the ball to the other team has he has nursing his neck injury. He leads the league in INTs and uncharacteristically the Bombers have just the 6^th best O. They remain #1 in rushing so priority has to be slowing Olivera down. Second priority (especially with a patchwork secondary) will be limiting big plays. If you make him drive the field in greatly increases the odds of Collaros throwing a pick or taking a sack. Bombers have the second least big plays and we need to keep it that way. Front 4 needs a big game. We would all be ok with recreating the Craig Butler on Buck Pierce hit.  

Offense comes in much healthier and that’s good because we will need them. Bombers are 4^th in points allowed. They are good run stoppers but 6^th in passing yards allowed. The biggest thing is to not let Jefferson knock things down at will. Harris should be able to move the ball on Winnipeg provided he decides to show up in the first quarter and the receivers catch for him. I don’t see big yards from Ouelette in this one but he needs to play a consistent role and run for hard yards. Pass game runs through Myers and Johnson. I see Nield and Robustelli making some key catches.

Biggest thing is limiting mistakes. Catch the ball when its in your hands. Block the pass rusher in front of you. Don’t let WRs behind you in coverage.  The Bombers will make mistakes. We need to make less. 

Special teams will play a role in this one. We get Mario back which will be huge. Bombers have a good returner in Vaval and a kicker they can count on. I expect Lauther to kick and becoming a father will inspire him to nail his kicks… maybe. 

Bombers are 2-3 on the road this season. That said since 2021 we are just 2-9 vs. the Bombers. 2-11 if you include playoffs. Much like my blood alcohol level on Sunday, I see the Riders as a team trending up. Much like genetic diversity in Manitoba, I see the Bombers as a team trending down. We can and should win this game. 

Normally I would predict a game that takes years off my life and we come very close to using. But in a stunning change of pace I just have this feeling that we come out fired up and lay a beating on Collaros and the Bombers. 

Riders by 14. Mario scores a return. Zach throws 2 picks. High scoring game that's close until we pull away in the 4th.  

 

Riders vs. Stamps: Quarter-Assed Effort

Riders 15 – Stamps 32

 The saying goes, to be the best you gotta beat the best. Well Saturday quite clearly established who the best in the CFL is at this point in the season. Despite what the standings will tell you, it is definitely not us. The game at points was better than the first meeting but ultimately ended in mostly the same way. 

Here’s what was pretty clear watching that game (and the last one), Calgary is better on both sides of the trenches than us. The Riders have 27 sacks in the 8 games not against the Stamps. They have 1 against them. The Riders have allowed 8 sack in those 8 non-Calgary games… and 7 to the Stamps. There are many more ways to analyze this game but I can tell you the Stamps won because they are better in the trenches. 

I don’t even where to start with this mess. Much like in July it started out with us digging a hole. The good news was we manned up and punched back this time. We had the lead at half and looked to ready to go toe to toe with the Stamps. We apparently assumed that the Stamps would just stay down after we punched back because we seemed to have no answer when they responded with a punch of their own. We also seemed to think the second half was optional. 

There was some good on offense. Ouelette had a good day against a tough front and I like that we kept him involved. 2^nd quarter Harris looked like the guy we all think should be in the MOP conversation. Unfortunately the list of good things was much like our offense for most of the day… 2 and out. Harris tried in the first quarter but his receivers could not catch. Then out of frustration he decided to throw to Calgary instead. You can’t beat a top end team like the Stamps when the offense only puts in a quarter worth of work. 

The defense came into this game having not given up a TD in 2 straight games. As I predicted, they promptly ended that streak on the first drive. D-line couldn’t get within an area code of pressuring VA. Even when we tried sending pressure it looked like we just blitzed 3 versions of Scott Gordon (some of you may be too young for that reference but I assure you anyone who watched the Riders of the early 2000s knows vividly the Scott Gordon safety blitz/vanishing act). No one could tackle. Secondary looked exactly like you would expect when only 2 actual starters are playing their normal position and one of them is Fields. Communication was a mess and there were more missed assignments than a high school math class.

You may be expecting me to now join the mob and turn my anger to Lauther. Much like Lauther’s kicks, you would be inaccurate. I was originally pissed at him like the rest of Rider Nation but a buddy pointed something out. Go back and watch that kick… specifically watch the holder. Odds are you will yell out “Laces out Dan!” as I did. Couch screwed up the hold and Lauther hit nothing but laces.  Lauther is too much of a leader to say but its quite clear that even if its just mental… Couch is not working on holds. Please let Maier or Tommy try and see if it calms Lauther down. That does not in anyway absolve Lauther of responsibility here. He’s been atrocious this season but for at least this game… it was not all his fault. And if we are being honest, Couch is at best a mediocre punter.  

Look, we are still a good team. But Calgary is better. And you can’t make as many mistakes as we did and hope to beat a top team. Johnson dropped an easy TD. Brammer got rightly yelled at by Hardrick because he missed a fairly routine block that resulted in a sack. We missed tackles. We missed blocks. We missed coverages. Harris forced bad throws. The mistakes piled up and Calgary made us pay. The great teams will do that. We on the other hand still struggle make teams pay for mistakes. We had 2 INTs in that game and got exactly 1 point off those turnovers. On the season we average 2.5 points off turnovers. 

With the season series lost and Calgary hot on our heels, our hopes of first now hinge on staying ahead of Calgary in the standings. Once they pass us I don’t see them relinquishing first… unless VA is struck down by lightning or a car or Micah Awe en route to record setting 15th consecutive fine.  

Other random thoughts:

-        Jaxon Ford has potential to be an impact safety but he tackles exclusively with his shoulders. A bad habit he will need to correct if he wants to stick in the starting rotation.

-        If you watched on TSH you would have been oblivious to the fact that Lokombo got hurt at some point in the first half and never returned. TSN either did not notice or feel the need to mentioned that Exume had taken over at corner. They were too busy talking about German soccer for some reason. 

-        We need to start getting some bodies back. We have outstanding depth but are starting to reach the limits of it. Not a Lokombo lover but at this point we can’t afford him to be out any length of time. Guys like Wiebe, Korte-Moore, Hudon, Miller may not be starters but that some rock solid depth that has been taken out.

-        Exume looked like a lot less of a trainwreck at corner this game. Still don’t want him playing defense but he has improved.

Riders vs. Stampeders: Western Supremacy

For the second week in a row the Riders find themselves in a marquee matchup against one of the top teams in the CFL. The team and the fans are hoping for a similar anti-climatic outcome as last week. Pretty much everyone else is hoping this one lives up to the hype. The Riders will be looking to avenge the lone blemish on their 2025 season. The Stamps will be looking to show that they are the top team in the West.

Calgary has had a weird year. They have just 3 losses but they came against Ottawa twice and a Bethel-Thompson-led Alouettes. Though to be fair, they have just one loss in games that VA finishes. So I guess our best chance at winning is injuring VA. I’m kidding. I mean I do want us to hit him but I don’t wish injury upon him. 

Last game we got utterly embarrassed. And I say that as a man qualified to speak on embarrassing yourself because I have done it many times. That was an utterly embarrassing performance. So what went wrong last game, other than smoke messing up the scheduling? Well, the biggest issue was we got dominated on both sides of the lines. Our offense was also nowhere to be seen in the first half. Popping up only occasionally to gain a few yards and fumble. But you know what? For that being a pathetic performance… we were not that far off from a chance to win. We played like hot garbage and the supposed best team in the CFL only put 24 on us and won by 2 scores. If Lauther makes his kicks that's a one score game. I realize that is the equivalent of saying if I had psychic powers I would win the lottery but my point remains. Any kind of effort in that first game and its close. 

So the key Saturday becomes show up and put in effort.

Let’s start on offense. Outside of this province I don’t think people are giving Trevor Harris enough credit. The Riders have the #1 scoring offense, he has 16 TDs to just 5 INTs. What has changed this year is his deep ball. He is a league best 67.7% on passes over 20 yards. There are QBs that aren’t that accurate overall let along on deep shots. Helps having a guy like Myers at your disposal. This one will be strength on strength though. No one has more big plays than the Riders. The Stamps allow the least big plays of any team. We need to get the run game going. We had no ability whatsoever to do that last time. Stamps have the #6 run D so they can be ran on. Injuries have forced the Stamps into starting Godfrey Oneyka at corner. That seems like a great place to attack. Key will be patience. Stamps have a great D. We need to stay committed to a run game and not turn the ball over. I unfortunately fully expect Harris to struggle through the first quarter as he always does only to figure it out in the second.

If you want the stat that gives me the most hope, its this: in games that Vernon Adams starts the Stamps are averaging 29 points per game. We played our worst game of the season and received zero offensive support and only allowed 24. Also need I remind you of how quickly we made people forget about Bo Levi Mitchell’s lofty offensive stats last week? VA poses a different challenge as he can burn you with his legs. He will have a banged up receiving core. Rhymes is out. Alford (who torched us good) is back. Tevin Jones is out (through that may be a net gain fir the Stamps, Jones remains the laziest WR I know when he’s not getting the ball). We do need to stop the league’s best rushing attack. Mills is probably not a guy we can eliminate but we do need to limit him. I think the biggest key is don’t give up big plays. If we can actually force VA to have to drive the field consistently he will get sacked and he will make mistakes. If we have busts in coverage and gift easy long bombs then we are in trouble. 

Here's another quirky stat for you. The game features the 2 worst kickers in the CFL. Go back in time 3-4 years and try convincing someone that statement would be true. 

Dave Dickenson teams typically play well coming off a bye. Stamps will be rested and playing at home. Though a game in Calgary in the summer is at best a neutral site game because it’ll be half Rider fans there. 

I keep trying to find a reason to bet against the Riders. Not because I want to but because this just seems like the kind of game we could lose. But watching this team I cannot see a reason to doubt them at this point. We shut down Bo twice. We went into BC and shut down Rourke. Only 2 teams have held VA under 25 points this season. We did it in our worst game of the year. We haven’t allowed a TD in 2 full games (by the way we definitely allow an opening drive TD in Calgary to break that streak before our D locks things down).

This will be a knock down drag out fight that comes down to the wire. 

Riders by a Tommy Time TD.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: I Was Saying Boo Levi

Riders 29 – Ti-Cats 9

What was supposed to be a battle of the top teams in the League turned out to just be one top team showing up and dismantling the other team. In the process the Riders extended their league leading record to 8-1 and remained undefeated in games that occur when scheduled.

First off, it was great to see a crowd befitting this first place team. Seats were full and the fans were among the loudest I have heard them at the new stadium for a non-labour day regular season game. 

Supposedly we just took down the top offense in the League for a second time this season. I say supposedly because when they play the Riders the Ti-Cats go from the best offense in the League to Timmy Chang-level production (many might not get that reference but I assure you its good). Bo has 5 INTs on the season. 3 to the Riders and 2 to everyone else. The Ti-Cats have allowed just 15 sacks all season. 8 to the Riders and 7 to everyone else. The Ti-Cats average 33.5 points per game when not playing the Riders compared to 16.5 when they do. Its time to start given this defense the credit it is due. They didn’t just best Bo and Lawler/White/Smith. They suffocated them. The front 4 have been becoming more noticeable with each passing week and they were on full display on Saturday. We also sent 5 pass rushers on almost every play to add to the pressure. Also credit to the coverage. Bo is a smart QB who can make quick reads and get the ball out. He was not finding open receivers. He completed just 3 passes to his favourite target Lawler. That must make Rider DBs his second favourite target since he completed just 1 less pass to them than Lawler.  

The offense unfortunately took a full quarter to wake up. They managed a solitary point and an INT in the first quarter (and definitely should have had a second INT). Harris looked bad. Not seeing the field well. Locking onto receivers despite them be the absolute wrong read. Then the second quarter hit and he suddenly remembered we were good at football and proceeded to carve through their D. I saw that Myers TD coming as soon as they lined up. Single coverage. Safety on the other side of the field. Easy decision and man oh man did Myers run a beautiful route to just embarrass the DB. Just feed 88 the ball. Teams are struggling to keep him contained. Nield just keeps making plays and manned up to take a big hit to secure that TD. Ouelette didn’t have the flashiest game but was a consistent cog in the offensive wheel churning out over 100 yards from scrimmage. 

The Nield TD is what broke the game open but the 3^rd quarter was what sucked any remaining life out of them. The Cats started the 2^nd half with the ball and the wind desperately needing a spark to get back in. The quarter went like this:

-        Campbell INT

-        4 minute offensive drive for the Riders

-        Force a 2 and out

-        Brief idiot kick returner interlude

-        Milligan INT

-        8:30 minute drive

We let them accomplish zero with the wind. Just dominant football.

 Seems wrong to highlight the negatives after a win that big but this is currently the best team in the CFL and 43 of the 45 players are playing at a high enough level that we have a chance at the Grey Cup (I am reluctantly even including Lokomob in that 43). Unfortunately we are currently being weighed down by a kick returner who cannot catch and a kicker who cannot make a kick. At least with McCray he is not the intended starter and actually rips off some good runs when he manages not to have frying pan hands. I think we need to activate Bane and let Myers return. Hell let Picton return. Just someone that can catch. Mario cannot get healthy soon enough. 

As for Lauther… how many more chances can we give him? Yes he is a great leader and has the respect of the room. Yes he has done great things in the past. But he has now missed 11 FGs and 1 convert. That 29 points that he has cost this team. Any other player would be benched for sucking that bad. We inexplicably don’t even have any competition in practice. Don’t even try to give him an excuse with the wind. Hamilton’s kicker seemed to figure it out just fine. Because that’s his job. Lauther is going to cost us a game. Its inevitable at this rate. I have not confidence when he lines up (except that 59 yarder, oddly enough that was the only kick of his I was confident would be good). Maybe he gets it figured out but we NEED some competition for him. Can't preach accountability and not address our weakest link. 

Overall though, another statement win for the Riders. They keep stepping up and taking down whoever they face.  

Other random thoughts:

-        While its likely forgotten with all the other big catches Johnson made, he may have had the best 2 yard reception you will ever see. Scooped it inches off the turf and prevented an INT.

-        The Riders game day crew still won’t come up to the second deck. So we continue to make our own fun and do our own prize giveaways up in Section 510. This week it was family-themed Rider trivia. Check it out here.

Riders vs. Ti-Cats: Main Event Saturday

Saturday it’s the top team in the East vs. the top team in the West in a battle to determine who’s senior citizen QB reigns supreme. Two months ago we strolled into Hamilton and squeaked out an ugly win. I think both teams are much improved since then so all bets are off on where this one goes. 

The Riders are entering a key part of their season. The next 4 games (Ham, Cal, Win x2) will go a long way to determining where we sit in the standings come year end. Win 3 or 4 and first place is almost an inevitability. Go 2-2 and we are still sitting very solid. One win or less and we suddenly make things tenser than a post-lost Dinwiddie press conference. 

Bo Levi is making me eat a lot of crow. I loudly proclaimed he was done last seasons and doubled down this year by saying there was no way he could do it again. Even Bethel-Thompson thinks those were widely inaccurate. Bo has turned back the clock (maybe we should be testing him for banned substances). He leads the best O in the league with an amazing 21 TDs to just 3 INTs. They are 8^th in rushing so that is really an afterthought in this one. The Ti-Cats pose a big challenge in the pass game. Left unchecked Kenny Lawler will make it look like he's playing on Madden rookie mode. But as teams have found out the last few weeks, if you devote too much focus to Lawler, they can kill you will their other guys like Smith and White. We need a strong push from out front 4 to make Bo have to speed up his throws (and preferably spend some up close and personal time with the turf). I think we need to play our defense straight. Yes Lawler will likely go over 150 yards but I’d rather take my chances that Milligan can make plays on him one on one rather than leaving other WRs wide open. Last game Bo/Lawler put up a million passing yards but just 1 TD. I see a similar script coming.

 As good as Bo as been, unfortunately for Hamilton, he does not play defense. They are struggling there. 3rd most points allowed, 2^nd most yards, a league high 5.5 yards per rush allowed. They have been compensating with a ton of turnovers and strong play in the other 2 phases. This is a game where we need out O to show up ready to pounce. As of writing this Peters and Katsantonis have not practiced at all and are questionable. If that defense loses its best 2 players it goes from not great to extremely vulnerable real quick. Need a big game from Ouelette in this one facing a weak run D. Use the ran to set up passes to Myers and Johnson. Harris is completing a league high 68% of passes over 20 yards. He’s dialed in on those deep shots and I see Myers breaking at least one in this one. We need to show up right from kickoff. Facing an offense this potent we can’t sleep through the first quarter and fall behind. We should be rested and full of piss and vinegar (odd saying by the way) coming off a bye. Hamilton tends to mask the weakness of their D by making a ton of takeaways. We turn the ball over less than anyone else in the league. As long as that continues we should be putting points on the board.

We catch a break as the top returner in the league Wooden is hurt and will not dress. Speaking of special teams last time we played Hamilton Lauther wen 2/5 on kicks. God could we all use a good Lauther game. 

This will be a tough game. I have a feeling it being an afternoon game its going to be an emotional roller coaster that along with the heats leaves you completely drained by the end. But here are a few reasons I think we edge them out. All 3 of their losses have come against the West. They are 1-3 against west team not named Edmonton. This will be the biggest crowd of the year. The energy in the stadium should have the team rocking. They have a good offense and so do we. We have a good defense and they do not. If it comes down to which team gets the most stops you gotta like our chances. 

It'll be like a 35-33 game that ends with Harris leading a drive with under 60 seconds leading to a 48 yard Lauther attempt than no one feels confident about. Please position the defibrillator close to my zone as I will need it.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Are We Better?

Welcome back from the bye week.

The question posed in the title of this post seems like it has a pretty obvious answer… Yes. Yes, this team is better than it was at this point in 2024. Its so obvious even CFL Command Centre couldn’t get it wrong (maybe). I mean we could go 3-7 to end the season and still have a better record than 2024. But I always like to dig a bit deeper into things. Wins can hide underlying issues. While the signs started showing up in year 2, we did not realize that Craig Dickenson was in free fall until it was much too late.  So let’s take a look at how the stats compare to this time last year.

 

	2024	2025	Difference
Wins	5	7	+2
Offensive Pts	195	215	+20
Offensive Tds	19	21	+2
Pass yds	2172	2353	+181
Rush Yds	718	884	+166
Sacks Allowed	19	10	-9
Giveaways	11	11	0
Big Plays	14	29	+15
Def Pts Allowed	194	174	-20
Def Tds Allowed	18	19	+1
Pass yds allowed	2490	2453	-37
Rush yds allowed	611	527	-84
Sacks	17	22	+5
Takeaways	22	17	-5
Big plays allowed	18	15	-3
Penalty Yds	568	665	+97

 At first glance everything looks pretty good. We are showing improvement across all but a couple categories. 

Offensively a couple things stand out. Scoring and yardage are up slightly but I think that is mainly due to Trevor Harris playing more games this season. But giving up 9 less sacks definitely jumps out. 10 total sacks is just objectively a great number. But consider the context. We lost McEwen and Gagnon before the first preseason game. We have since lost Tate and Johnson. That is 4 starting caliber players, 3 of them Canadian. That would normally be crippling. Hell, it was not that long ago that our starters we allowing exponentially more sacks that these depth guys are. The other thing that really caught my eye was that the number of big plays (30+ passing, 20+ rushing) has doubled. You see this clearly in the pass game. Guys like Myers are powering our deep game and that is making a difference. 

Defensively while 5 less takeaways might seem like a negative, in the larger context it tells a positive story. We are getting less takeaways than last year, but also allowing less points. That means we are less reliant on takeaways and more solid overall. We are also doing a better job of not letting opponents drive into FG range. We have actually allowed more TDs the season but less point overall. 

Two other things that don’t show in there that I think are important:

-        Last year we had a .500 record on the road at this point. This year we are undefeated on the road. The strength and resiliency to win on the road is a very positive thing.

-        Depth. Last year when Harris got hurt we did not win very much. Fortunately its only happened once this year but we won. We are down many starting OL as previously mentioned. We are down many starting WR. The guys who have been called to step in aren’t just surviving.. they are thriving. Real credit to O’Day and his scouting staff. 

This next 4 weeks is a critical and very difficult part of the season. We play Hamilton, Calgary and Winnipeg twice. If we go 2-2 in those games we are in great position in terms of looking to lock up a home playoff game. The way this team is playing 2-2 seems pretty realistic.