Riders 40 - Stampeders 27
So the Riders who were unable to beat the gong-show Alouettes, whose offense could best be described by poop emoji and whose off-field drama has consumed the media for the past week plus managed to hang 40 points on an undefeated team while their head coach (a man who hasn't been seen not wearing black in years) wore a green t-shirt on the sidelines... the CFL is a wild and whacky league man.
The Stamps were undefeated coming into this game because they play solid in all 3 phases and make very few mistakes. So how do you go about beating that? Play solid in all 3 phases and make very few mistakes. It may not always be easy to do but its not rocket science. The Riders turned in a full team effort AND gave that effort for a full 60 minutes. The result was a convincing win over the best team in the league.
One of the biggest keys to the victory was starting strong. Coming into this game the team had 1 total first quarter point at home this season and most will recall the 24 point deficit they incurred last time the Stamps were in town. They flipped that script on Sunday, scoring on their first 2 offensive drives and adding a pick 6 to build up 14-0 lead after the first quarter. Actually if you ignore the part where I predicted the Riders to lose, my pre-game analysis was pretty solid. Called the need to start strong, called the need for a couple turnovers, mentioned Nick Marshall being important, nailed Williams-Lambert needing a 100 yard game. Also nailed this one: "I expect them to come out guns a blazing (and
by that I mean defense will be awesome and offense will score 2 FGs" All in all it was a good week for Prophet.
But enough blatant tooting of my own horn, let's talk more about that great game.
We have an offense people! Zach Collaros was dialed in. Read the D well. Hung in the pocket to make some tough throws. Protected the ball. Pushed things down field. Its amazing how much having a competent QB can change this. Don't often hear me say this but credit to McAdoo. Game plan was pass heavy early was balanced overall. Found a way to rely on a WR not named Roosevelt. O-line wasn't always pretty but they once again allowed 0 sacks and kept Collaros pretty clean. Cofield had his struggles but wasn't the train wreck I was expecting (he's also built more like one of our receivers than OL). We will still need to turn more of those FGs into TDs if we want the wins to keep coming but when you put up 26 offensive points against the best defense in the CFL you had a damn good night.
Defense was yet again outstanding. 5 sacks, 5 turnovers, 1 TD. Interesting stat for you. In 6 non-Rider games the Stamps have turned the ball over 5 times. In 2 Rider games they have done so 8 times!! Chris Jones may have them figured out. There are few feelings more satisfying than seeing Bo Levi Mitchell look confused and panicked. He's used to damn near impenetrable protection from his line and time to calmly pick apart opposing defenses. We had him under siege all night and he looked lost at times trying to figure out what the D was doing. Granted he still threw for 4 TDs but the played things perfectly while protecting a sizable lead. Charleston Hughes is an amazing player to watch. 11 sacks in 8 games (putting him on pace for 24 sacks). Remember that this is a guy that 2 teams deemed expendable this offseason. Seems Matt Elam's main weaknesses is not being allowed to dress due to a roster error. When we overcome that he's a pretty good player. He's very strong. On his one sack he just blew through the RB like he was a piece of cardboard. Yet another solid outing by the defensive unit.
One of the most telling parts of the game was when the Stamps had that strong 3rd quarter and pulled within 11 points. Rather than crumble and find ways to lose. The Riders stayed clam and grinded out the W. That's the character of a winning team.
This was the first time this year that the Riders put in a full 60 minute game in all 3 phases. If they can find a way to continue that then things could be looking very bright in the second half of the season. That said, just like the world wasn't ending when we lost to the Als, we are not suddenly destined for the Grey Cup after 1 win (no matter how impressive). Lots of season left to go but certainly lots of reasons to be excited going forward.
Other random thoughts:
- I'm not a big live mic fan but one of the benefits has been TSN capturing some great Chris Jones moments. There was the clip of him having Thiggy and Christion Jones stand beside him to make him look tall a few weeks back and yesterday the mics caught Collaros pre-game asking Jones "What? They didn't have a black one for you?" to which Jones replied "Its coming next week". I love those reminders that Jones does indeed have a soul.
- Seriously, he can now not take off that green shirt until we lose right? He's undefeated in green shirt games
- I get that Marshall was a QB so you have to respect the pass but anyone who has watched film on McAdoo should know that if a QB other than Bridge or Collaros goes in there is a 99.9% chance that its a QB run.
- Big props to the crowd for being loud and disrupting the Stamps O. Rare to see them take 1 let alone 2 time counts.
- Weekly reminded that Brett Lauther is a stud.
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Monday, August 20, 2018
Friday, August 17, 2018
Riders vs. Stampeders: The Rematch
Sunday the much hated
Stamps are back in town for the 2nd of 3 meetings this year. The
Stamps are undefeated (though for context they have only beaten 1 team that
currently has a winning record). The Riders are looking to end a 2 game slide
and to prove that life can go on without Duron (that’s the last you’ll hear me
mention Duron as I’m already sick of talking about it). The Stamps are about
the most well rounded team there is. They have few weaknesses and have been
dominating most opponents… there has however been one exception.
The Stamps and their #1 D
have not allowed more than 18 points to any team… except the Riders. The Stamps
and their #2 ranked O rarely turn the ball over. In 7 games they have a league
low 8 giveaways… 3 of those came against the Riders. While there’s no bonus
points for coming close, the fact is that the Riders have been the only team
thus far to put up a respectable fight against the much vaunted Stamps. Now to
be fair that fight came after spotting them a 20+ point lead in one of the
worst quarters of football I’ve witnessed but the Riders played the Stamps hard
and hopefully that’s something that can be built on.
This goes without saying
for anyone who witnessed the 1st quarter massacre a few weeks back
but if we hope to have any chance of beating the Stamps, we need to start
strong. Slow starts have plagued this team, particularly at home. Trivia
question for you… in 4 homes games, how many first quarter points have the
Riders scored? Then answer is 1, 1 solitary freaking point! We are not exactly
built to come from behind so maybe not starting the game like were half asleep
would be a good idea. Interestingly enough we also average just 3.8 points in
the 3rd quarter at home. Seems it takes us a while to get going out
of the tunnel. Problem is Calgary isn’t a team that will give you that time.
Calgary has never trailed after half time this season, we will need to change
that narrative if we want an upset.
On defense, provided we
can manage to put every player we intend to play on the game day roster, we
should be good. A big change from last game is that Don Jackson is likely to
return at RB which will be a big upgrade from Morris who we saw last time.
Still our run D has been rock solid so not overly worried. The big concern is
limiting the big plays (I realized I just used the word big 4 times in 2
sentences, I should maybe look into a thesaurus). Mitchell leads the league in
passes over 30 yards. Having Marshall in the secondary again should help in
that regard. While the Stamps rarely turn the ball over, we will need our D to
force a couple turnovers in this. They got 3 last time so there’s hope.
Offensively Collaros
should give us a boost from the non-existent O we had in the first meeting.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that Terran Vaughn is injured so Takoby
Cofield will be manning the left tackle spot. Our O-line is not great but have
been holding their own not bad of late. From what I remember of Cofield in the
preseason he made Charles Thomas look like an impenetrable wall by comparison. Definite
concern here. We will need to establish a run game to save our line and
Collaros. We managed 100 yards rushing last time we played… though that was
more a quantity than a quality thing. But running alone will only lead to the
chorus of boos we heard last time. We need to throw. Provided he is given time
Collaros should be able to move the ball. We will probably need to use Spencer
Moore at TE to help Cofield with blocking. With that WR who use to wear #89
gone and Roosevelt likely facing quadruple coverage someone is going to need to
step up. Based on what I’ve seen I would say the most likely candidate is
Williams-Lambert. He’ll need 100 yard game. As for Rob Bagg, if he dresses I
expect he will make a max of 2 catches. Each will be for 5 yards of less and
lead to a thunderous standing ovation (He’s the new/old Chris Szarka). Above all
we need to limit turnovers. We remain undefeated when winning the turnover
battler and winless when losing it.
Special teams is going to
be a factor in this one. Last time we gave up a punt return TD and we can’t do
that again. Christion Jones has been consistently good but it would sure be an
opportune time for him to make a huge impact on a game again.
Our next 4 games are
against western opponents and we need to win at least 2 of those to stay relevant
in the division. BC suddenly has some life again so we can’t even coast into
the crossover anymore. Both logic and my gut tell me that this will not be one
of those 2 needed wins.
I do expect a tight game
like we saw in quarters 2 through 4 last time. After the loss in Edmonton and
all the drama of the bye I think this team is ready to blow off some steam.
With the home crowd on their side I expect them to come out guns a blazing (and
by that I mean defense will be awesome and offense will score 2 FGs… that’s
guns a blazing by our current standards). The game will be closely contested. I
will even go so far as to say the Riders will lead at some point in the second
half. That said in the end I think the team that is excelling in all 3 phases
will overcome the team that is excelling in 1 phase, doing pretty good in 1
phase and doing not even good enough to earn a participant ribbon in the other.
Just because it sucks to hear, doesn’t make it any less true.
Stamps by a DaVaris
Daniels TD
If there’s any
consolation, it’s that generally when I write the Riders off, they play really
well to spite me. Hopefully that means both me and the Stamps will be smoten.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Bonus Tuesday Sentimonies: Where are we at?
*** I originally had this typed up and ready to go for Monday thinking this would be a great bye week post but then the damn Riders had to go and make headlines and force me to do work and type up a whole other post. Anywho, the end result is you get a bonus post***
Last year around this time I did a comparison of where the 2017 Riders were at in comparison to the 2016Riders after 7 games . Given the bye week, I thought I would take the opportunity to do something similar and compare where the Riders are at this season after 7 games in comparison to where we were last year at this time.
Last year around this time I did a comparison of where the 2017 Riders were at in comparison to the 2016Riders after 7 games . Given the bye week, I thought I would take the opportunity to do something similar and compare where the Riders are at this season after 7 games in comparison to where we were last year at this time.
| After 7 | 2017 | 2018 | Difference | % Change |
| Wins | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Offense | ||||
| Points | 197 | 151 | -46 | -23% |
| Offensive TDs | 20 | 8 | -12 | -60% |
| Passing Yards | 2228 | 1407 | -821 | -37% |
| Rushing Yards | 514 | 823 | +309 | +60% |
| Sacks allowed | 16 | 10 | -6 | -38% |
| Turnovers | 9 | 16 | +7 | +78% |
| Defense | ||||
| Points allowed | 172 | 175 | +3 | +2% |
| Passing Yds allowed | 2041 | 1796 | -245 | -12% |
| Rushing Yds allowed | 678 | 536 | -142 | -21% |
| Sacks | 15 | 16 | +1 | +7% |
| Turnovers | 12 | 15 | +3 | +25% |
| Special Teams | ||||
| Punt Return Avg | 11.1 | 11.7 | +1 | +5% |
| Opponent Punt Ret Avg | 9.4 | 10.6 | +1 | +13% |
| Kickoff return avg | 25.5 | 23.1 | -2 | -9% |
| Opponent Kickoff Ret Avg | 20.6 | 19.6 | -1 | -5% |
| Net punt avg | 35.7 | 34 | -2 | -5% |
| Penalties | 50 | 57 | +7 | +14% |
| Players Dressed | 60 | 55 | -5 | -8% |
The results should not be
overly surprising. In very general terms, the defense is playing much better
and the offense… well they are offensive. While we have the same number of wins
as last season, I would say we got there in very different ways. We started
very slow in 2017 losing our first 2 and going 2-4 before starting to right the
ship. In many respects our offense had to compensate for our defense, which
struggled out of the gate. This year we have essentially been playing .500 ball
all season and it’s our defense compensating for our offense.
Let’s dig deeper into the
numbers…
Offensively the thing that
stands out (other than the fact that touchdowns have become an endangered
specifies) is that we have actually improved in 2 surprising areas. Our run
game is vastly improved. As someone who has devoted more space on this blog to
bemoaning McAdoo’s staunch opposition to running the ball than pretty much any other non-ostrich related topic, I do have to
acknowledge that he’s changed this year. And while the “run up the middle a
million times” philosophy is not what I had in mind, we are running more and we
are gaining more yards per run than last year. The second surprising area is
that sacks are down. Our O-line scared the crap out of me coming into the
season (and for the first few games they proved me right). But they have been
steadily improving and as a unit are ahead of last year. Obviously running the
ball a lot more plays into this as you can’t give up a sack on a run play… well
I’m pretty sure I have some teams that could but it is a lot harder.
The bad news (and more
important news) is that scoring in down, TDs are way down, passing is down (in
a league that now revolves around passing) and turnovers are up. Hopefully with
a healthy Collaros and all our receivers actually playing receiver we can build
on our run game and improved protection as the season progresses.
Defense is unsurprisingly
better across the board. Points allowed is up a tiny bit but when you consider
that the offense is turning the ball over more (creating short fields) and
offering next to no offensive support, I would argue that even holding points
allowed consistent is an accomplishment. Biggest improvement is in our run
defense and to me that is clearly a product of the emphasis we put on improving
our front 4… particularly the interior of the line. Last year Steele was our
best DT. This year he is our 3rd best DT. That’s helping stuff the
run and helping keep Hughes and Jefferson free to pressure the QB. The fact
that the D is generating more turnovers is a big reasons we have 3 wins, as is
their ability to contribute to scoring. Last season the D scored 5 TDs all season… we have
3 in just 7 games so far. Just imagine how much better this D could be if they
got some offensive support?
Special teams is a bit of
a mixed bag, though we are generally around where we were last year. When you
consider that we are without our top 2 special teams tacklers from last season
(Denzel Radford and Glen Love) and guys like Francis have missed time, it’s not
entirely surprising to see some struggles here. Young guys like Gagne and
Chevrier are being leaned on in their place. One area that’s not on my table
that I do want to note is our surprising improvement in the kicking department.
I think we were all expecting a drop off from Crapigna to Lauther but thus far
he’s been 5% more accurate on his kicks and (in an underappreciated but
important category) averaging close to 5 yards more on kickoffs.
Looking at the last 2
lines we see that penalties are up, which is not a good trend. We also see that
our roster is continually getting more stable. In year 1 Jones swapped players
in and out like they were playing cards en route to dressing a record number of
players. Last season we got more stable and this season we are even better. It
shows that Jones has pretty much identified his core group and is now making
changes mostly for injury sake.
While our offense has been hot garbage, I would argue that as a whole team we are likely slightly ahead of last season. Remember that we got hot in the second half. Jones may be unconventional (to put it lightly) but he's been winning games. With Calgary, BC and Winnipeg x2 on deck,it would be a great time to start that second half surge.
-->
Monday, August 13, 2018
Monday Morning Sentimonies: Bye Bye Duron
In a rare act of proactiveness I had actually typed a blog post in advance of going away this weekend. I figured it was the bye week, I wouldn't feel like doing it when I got home (I was at a wedding after all) and there wouldn't be any news anyway. Well... in the continuing theme of the Riders doing things to spite me, they made some big headlines late Saturday. So here I am typing up a new post to make myself seem at least remotely current. Feel sorry for me dammit.
I will post my original post for today tomorrow so as not to let it go completely to waste.
On to Duron...
The Riders dropped a bombshell Saturday when they confirmed that Duron Carter had been released. Fortunately I was at a wedding and had access to ample coping mechanisms. In a recurring theme with Duron, his release was a very divisive issue. Some were happy to see a diva receiver who runs his mouth finally out of the picture. Others bemoaned the release of an elite offensive weapon at a time where our offense doesn't seem like it could score even if it ruffied the opposing defense. Then there were those outside of Saskatchewan that just laughed. If you could bottle the misery of Rider fans and sell it across Canada you would be very rich. Also, when you look at this history of this franchise, its not like you would ever be lacking in supply.
Lots of people have asked me what I think about the move. Straight up, I don't like it. Look I can buy that Duron was a shit head that likely wore on teammates and coaches. College through the pros, Duron has never lasted anywhere more than 2 years. There's a reason for that. But here's the thing, we knew what we were getting into. Its not like its a big secret what kind of guy Duron is. We knew what we were getting last year when we originally signed him and we knew even better when we re-signed him this offseason. Despite that knowledge we knowingly took on the risk. If we had any doubts about our ability to cope with him in the locker room we should not have re-signed him. We should have used the close to $200K to instead pursue another receiver that would better fit our plans or at least more permanently fit in them. But we did not. We chose Duron and now 7 games into the season have to jettison him. Its a waste and its another case of the roster mis-management which has plagued Chris Jones.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't have a problem with Jones the coach not putting up with a player who puts himself before the team but I do have a problem with Jones the GM investing so heavily in a guy who knew would be high maintenance and then giving up when it came time to putting in the required maintenance work. It really makes me wonder how much gutting all the veterans from offense had to do with this falling out. Maybe last season Bagg, Grant, Roosevelt, Owens and Glenn we're able to exert their veteran majority to keep things functional. Now the offense is full of young/new guys and Carter's antics become harder to keep in check as a result. Just speculation on my part but it would make sense.
While this isn't going to doom our team, this is a blow to an already struggling offense. It leaves our team down a top end player in the middle of the season. There's a chance ridding him from the locker room could give the team a needed boost and that would seem to be what Jones is banking on. It could just as easily go the other way and be one more form of adversity for a team already struggling to keep pace in a very competitive division.
As long as Jones delivers wins then we are going to have to learn to live with his methods no matter how crazy they may seem... and quite frankly I'm fine with that. The man is paid to win. But when you look at the growing list of questionable roster moves I think it's fair to start pondering Jones' future if those wins don't keep coming. Its far too early in the season to considering that now but should the Riders not make the playoffs it suddenly becomes a very fair question.
I will post my original post for today tomorrow so as not to let it go completely to waste.
On to Duron...
The Riders dropped a bombshell Saturday when they confirmed that Duron Carter had been released. Fortunately I was at a wedding and had access to ample coping mechanisms. In a recurring theme with Duron, his release was a very divisive issue. Some were happy to see a diva receiver who runs his mouth finally out of the picture. Others bemoaned the release of an elite offensive weapon at a time where our offense doesn't seem like it could score even if it ruffied the opposing defense. Then there were those outside of Saskatchewan that just laughed. If you could bottle the misery of Rider fans and sell it across Canada you would be very rich. Also, when you look at this history of this franchise, its not like you would ever be lacking in supply.
Lots of people have asked me what I think about the move. Straight up, I don't like it. Look I can buy that Duron was a shit head that likely wore on teammates and coaches. College through the pros, Duron has never lasted anywhere more than 2 years. There's a reason for that. But here's the thing, we knew what we were getting into. Its not like its a big secret what kind of guy Duron is. We knew what we were getting last year when we originally signed him and we knew even better when we re-signed him this offseason. Despite that knowledge we knowingly took on the risk. If we had any doubts about our ability to cope with him in the locker room we should not have re-signed him. We should have used the close to $200K to instead pursue another receiver that would better fit our plans or at least more permanently fit in them. But we did not. We chose Duron and now 7 games into the season have to jettison him. Its a waste and its another case of the roster mis-management which has plagued Chris Jones.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't have a problem with Jones the coach not putting up with a player who puts himself before the team but I do have a problem with Jones the GM investing so heavily in a guy who knew would be high maintenance and then giving up when it came time to putting in the required maintenance work. It really makes me wonder how much gutting all the veterans from offense had to do with this falling out. Maybe last season Bagg, Grant, Roosevelt, Owens and Glenn we're able to exert their veteran majority to keep things functional. Now the offense is full of young/new guys and Carter's antics become harder to keep in check as a result. Just speculation on my part but it would make sense.
While this isn't going to doom our team, this is a blow to an already struggling offense. It leaves our team down a top end player in the middle of the season. There's a chance ridding him from the locker room could give the team a needed boost and that would seem to be what Jones is banking on. It could just as easily go the other way and be one more form of adversity for a team already struggling to keep pace in a very competitive division.
As long as Jones delivers wins then we are going to have to learn to live with his methods no matter how crazy they may seem... and quite frankly I'm fine with that. The man is paid to win. But when you look at the growing list of questionable roster moves I think it's fair to start pondering Jones' future if those wins don't keep coming. Its far too early in the season to considering that now but should the Riders not make the playoffs it suddenly becomes a very fair question.
Monday, August 6, 2018
Monday Morning Sentimonies: Close But No Cigar
Riders 19 - Eskimos 26
Just like much of my love life, the Riders' performance on Thursday can be best described as coming up inches short. Well if I'm being honest, in my case it would be many inches short and early as well... but I digress. In what seems to be becoming a theme this season, the Riders hung with one of the top teams in the league but ultimately come up short. If effort and coming close without actually accomplishing anything were worth anything we would surely be in first place... I mean sure the Stamps would be the undisputed champs of that mystical league... but yet again I digress.
The frustrating thing about that loss is that despite playing one of the best teams in the league, most of the things that contributed to the loss were self inflicted wounds. We just can't seem to get out of our own way. We had to play 1 man short because we submitted a roster with an error on it. We have an almost comical inability to convert from the 1 yard line. We went 1 for 5 in that game and even the one that succeeded was more dumb luck than good execution. We continue to deploy our players in some very curious ways (more on that later). I honestly don't think the talent gap between us and the top teams is very wide at all. The difference is that the good teams find ways to help themselves win rather than find ways to make life more difficult for themselves.
Yet again our defense put in a herculean effort (and this was despite essentially playing 2 men down for the entire game: Elam and Brouilette). They held the best player in the CFL to 250 yards passing (107 of which came off 2 passes) and a 48% completion rate. For the bulk of the game they managed to neutralize him which is no small feat. The got 4 sacks on a team that had only given up 4 total sacks all season (and could have had more if Reilly wasn't slipping away like a greased up Scotsman). They force a turnover. Sure we ultimately needed one more stop from them but I credit this unit who has done their job every single game except the Ottawa one. Nick Marshall came back with authority. Noticed him holding his hand after the Reilly TD, hopefully its nothing serious.
Offense was definitely better... not good but a big step forward. Our playbook actually appeared like it contained a second page, possibly even double sided. Collaros was poised, did not turn the football over and was apparently aware that throwing more than 10 yards downfield is legal. Duron made his presence felt... both on the scoreboard and the penalty sheet. So life's back to normal there. O-line held up alright yet again. Williams-Lambert finally stepped up amongst the non-Duron/Roosevelt WRs (I think I may have called that in my game preview). So there's hope and hopefully it will continue to improve as Collaros gets more rhythm with the group. That said we still don't have a good offense. Plays were still too often predictable. That first series could not have been more predictable if we announced it over the PA system. As previously mentioned we are just all kinds of awful when try to punch it in from the 1. No push, no effort, sloppy play, just bad. We very curiously gave Thiggy next to no reps in the second half despite the fact that he's one of our best offensive weapons. Instead it was the Mason show. He's ok but very odd not to lean on one of the only 2 offensive guys to actually locate the endzone more than once this season. And as much as it was desperation time, that last series was infuriating to watch. We need 70 yards and a TD so what do we do? 3 straight check-downs. We don't even attempt 1 deep shot. Why employ a bunch of big bodies receivers if you don't intend to use their size or even attempt to?
The lack of Thiggy wasn't the only curious personnel move we made. Why was Duron returning punts? I get that he's done it successfully before but we have a guy whose sole job that is. In fact, Coach recently said they intentionally don't involve him on O to save him for kicks. He also happens to be one of the top returners in the CFL. I'm also about done with Mason on returns. He seems to mishandle a lot of them. Plus he is at best our 4th best returner behind Jones, Thigpen and Duron.
We have now progressed to a team with an Elite D and a not completely awful O. We know we can compete with the best teams in the West. But if we don't start actually turning that into wins we will quickly find ourselves out of the picture in the West.
Other random thoughts:
- TSN caught some great footage of both coaches in a very candid moment on the sidelines. They showed that Jones does indeed smile and have a personality with this hilarious exchange. And also showed further proof that Maas is a childish, snap case who has an odd hatred of Gatorade jugs with this even more hilarious encounter.
- Now that Caleb Holley isn't around to hate on, I find myself not liking Shaq Evans very much. Is it just me?
- I had to Google the origins of the "close but no cigar" expression after using it in the title. Turns out carnivals used to give out cigars as prizes in the 19th Century. There's your useless piece of knowledge for the day.
Just like much of my love life, the Riders' performance on Thursday can be best described as coming up inches short. Well if I'm being honest, in my case it would be many inches short and early as well... but I digress. In what seems to be becoming a theme this season, the Riders hung with one of the top teams in the league but ultimately come up short. If effort and coming close without actually accomplishing anything were worth anything we would surely be in first place... I mean sure the Stamps would be the undisputed champs of that mystical league... but yet again I digress.
The frustrating thing about that loss is that despite playing one of the best teams in the league, most of the things that contributed to the loss were self inflicted wounds. We just can't seem to get out of our own way. We had to play 1 man short because we submitted a roster with an error on it. We have an almost comical inability to convert from the 1 yard line. We went 1 for 5 in that game and even the one that succeeded was more dumb luck than good execution. We continue to deploy our players in some very curious ways (more on that later). I honestly don't think the talent gap between us and the top teams is very wide at all. The difference is that the good teams find ways to help themselves win rather than find ways to make life more difficult for themselves.
Yet again our defense put in a herculean effort (and this was despite essentially playing 2 men down for the entire game: Elam and Brouilette). They held the best player in the CFL to 250 yards passing (107 of which came off 2 passes) and a 48% completion rate. For the bulk of the game they managed to neutralize him which is no small feat. The got 4 sacks on a team that had only given up 4 total sacks all season (and could have had more if Reilly wasn't slipping away like a greased up Scotsman). They force a turnover. Sure we ultimately needed one more stop from them but I credit this unit who has done their job every single game except the Ottawa one. Nick Marshall came back with authority. Noticed him holding his hand after the Reilly TD, hopefully its nothing serious.
Offense was definitely better... not good but a big step forward. Our playbook actually appeared like it contained a second page, possibly even double sided. Collaros was poised, did not turn the football over and was apparently aware that throwing more than 10 yards downfield is legal. Duron made his presence felt... both on the scoreboard and the penalty sheet. So life's back to normal there. O-line held up alright yet again. Williams-Lambert finally stepped up amongst the non-Duron/Roosevelt WRs (I think I may have called that in my game preview). So there's hope and hopefully it will continue to improve as Collaros gets more rhythm with the group. That said we still don't have a good offense. Plays were still too often predictable. That first series could not have been more predictable if we announced it over the PA system. As previously mentioned we are just all kinds of awful when try to punch it in from the 1. No push, no effort, sloppy play, just bad. We very curiously gave Thiggy next to no reps in the second half despite the fact that he's one of our best offensive weapons. Instead it was the Mason show. He's ok but very odd not to lean on one of the only 2 offensive guys to actually locate the endzone more than once this season. And as much as it was desperation time, that last series was infuriating to watch. We need 70 yards and a TD so what do we do? 3 straight check-downs. We don't even attempt 1 deep shot. Why employ a bunch of big bodies receivers if you don't intend to use their size or even attempt to?
The lack of Thiggy wasn't the only curious personnel move we made. Why was Duron returning punts? I get that he's done it successfully before but we have a guy whose sole job that is. In fact, Coach recently said they intentionally don't involve him on O to save him for kicks. He also happens to be one of the top returners in the CFL. I'm also about done with Mason on returns. He seems to mishandle a lot of them. Plus he is at best our 4th best returner behind Jones, Thigpen and Duron.
We have now progressed to a team with an Elite D and a not completely awful O. We know we can compete with the best teams in the West. But if we don't start actually turning that into wins we will quickly find ourselves out of the picture in the West.
Other random thoughts:
- TSN caught some great footage of both coaches in a very candid moment on the sidelines. They showed that Jones does indeed smile and have a personality with this hilarious exchange. And also showed further proof that Maas is a childish, snap case who has an odd hatred of Gatorade jugs with this even more hilarious encounter.
- Now that Caleb Holley isn't around to hate on, I find myself not liking Shaq Evans very much. Is it just me?
- I had to Google the origins of the "close but no cigar" expression after using it in the title. Turns out carnivals used to give out cigars as prizes in the 19th Century. There's your useless piece of knowledge for the day.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Riders vs. Eskimos: Dare We Get Our Hopes Up?
Thursday the Riders are in
Edmonton for their first road game against a western opponent. The Riders will
be looking to right the ship after a disappointing outing against Calgary. The
4-2 Esks will be looking to keep their 2 game win streak going. Edmonton’s 2
loses have come against teams that we have beaten this season. Then again they
also pounded the Als, something we failed to do so I’m not sure how much
inferring you can do.
To me this is a very
interesting match-up of contrasts. The Esks have a powerful (though at times
inconsistent) offense and an underperforming D. The Riders have an
over-performing D and no offense to speak of. So in a sense this will be their
strength vs. our strength and their weakness vs. our… well weakness seems like
too flattering of a word for our offense, let’s go with glaring lack.
After a frustrating game
last week where more boos were hurled at the Riders than the much hated Stamps
(I was saying McAdoooooooooooo), the stars seem to be aligning for the Riders.
Collaros is healthy and will play, Roosevelt seems unscathed after bouncing his
head off the turf like a pogo stick and Carter will to return to O with Nick
Marshall healthy. While on the surface it would seem like a negative, I would
add the release of Jerome Messam to that list. Look Messam wasn’t playing that
well or holding onto the ball. Turning our 3 man RB rotation into a 2 man
should help with consistency and production for the remaining 2.
Edmonton is averaging 28
points per game and given that we have no offense, keeping them under that mark
will be key. So, like every week, it’s all on our defense. And it’s a tough
task. Reilly is the best QB in the league. His O-line has allowed the least sacks.
He’s got a strong running back and many talented receivers at his disposal
(Williams, Walker, Stafford, Behar). D-line will need to get to Reilly. If he
has time he will pick us apart. They also need to stay disciplined in their
rush to not let him escape and run for first downs. Gable is a good runner but
overall the Edmonton rushing attack is not that worrisome. They have the second
lowest yards per carry in the league. We have the #1 run D so we should be OK
there. That leaves our secondary to limit the big plays to receivers (Williams
in particular). We will need a turnover or 2 in this one and for the love of
god return it for 6 because that’s our best chance for a major.
Offensively it’s hard to
know what to expect. Collaros will be the primary QB but Bridge will also play
(and possibly Watford) so get ready for a confusing QB rotation. I don’t
suddenly expect our offense to magically turn into a juggernaut with Collaros
back. Jones wasn’t lying when he said our offensive game plan is run and short passes.
Edmonton allows the second most rushing yards so staying committed to the
ground is a good idea. I would prefer if we add in a run or 2 that isn’t just
up the middle just to spice things up a bit. That said, that secondary does not
scare me. Grymes is as good as they get but the others can be beat. I would
lean heavy and often on Duron in this game. He’s been away from O for so long and
you know would love nothing more than a monster game so we need to get him
involved early and keep riding him. Caleb Holley’s struggles this season have
landed him on the bench. Duron is so dangerous and Roosevelt is so reliable
that Collaros will need to lean heavy on them (Bridge too when he’s in though
that means neither could run a route over 10 yards). While the opportunities
will be less for Williams-Lambert in that #3 spot (the one Bakari was so
productive in last season) he should be open for a few big plays and needs to
capitalize on those chances. The biggest
challenge though, starts up front. Esks lead the CFL in sacks and you can bet
they will be sending pressure given that our O-line is improving but not great
and stuffing the middle eliminates 80% of our playbook. Keeping the recently
over a concussion Collaros from having a relapse will be important. Move the
pocket add in some screens. I get that I may sound hypocritical for advocating
screens after blasting our OC for using them that week. To clarify, there is
nothing wrong with screens and runs up the middle as your base offense. But you
need to build off those into other plays in order to not become predictable and
ineffective. We also need to control the ball. Turnovers are killers. We are
winless in games where we lose the turnover battle and undefeated in games
where we win.
Two other things that I
think could play into this game. First is penalties. Edmonton leads the league
in penalty yards (hard to imagine why a Jason Maas led team would struggle with
discipline). We need to play a clean game and not hurt ourselves. Second is big
plays, particularly on kick returns. Edmonton has given up the most “big plays”
which are runs of 20+, passes of 30+, kick returns of 40+ or punts of 30+. No
one has allowed more passes over 30 yards. I know pushing the ball downfield is
not something we are big on but we need to try in this game. They have also
allowed the second most kickoff return yards. Blair Smith is their best special
teams player and will miss the game due to injury. Paging Christion Jones.
Another thing to watch
will be the first quarter. To put it bluntly, both teams suck in the first
quarter. Edmonton has trailed after the first quarter in their last 5 games. We
have scored a total of 11 points in all our first quarters combined (failing to
score at all in 3 of them). If one of the teams can overcome their early game
blahs it would give an edge.
Bold prediction time. I
think we manage 2 offensive TDs (bold indeed) and add a defensive or special
team TD. That means if we can hold the Esks under 20 points we can win. Toronto
managed to do it twice and I think we have a better defense than Toronto. This
is another game where logic says bet against the Riders. Comparing Mike Reilly
to whatever we will be serving up at QB should be enough to settle that for
you. But I have another gut feeling about this game. With the exception of
Moncrief we are essentially as healthy as we will get this season. The Esks are
a good team and certainly better than us on paper but their O has shown a lot
of inconsistency this season and their defense hasn’t been all that great (yet
again injuries play a role in this). Provided our defense plays like they can
this will be a very close game. I know I am seeing things through green tinted
glasses but I think our O can do just enough in this game to squeak out a
narrow victory.
Riders by a Lauther FG of
45+ yards.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Monday Morning Sentimonies: Fractions
Riders 22 - Stamps 34
The Riders that we saw on Saturday night can best be described by fractions. Sorry to drop math on you this early in the morning but stick with me because I have some good Michael Bishop lines coming up later. What we saw on Saturday was 2/3's of a football team giving 3/4's of effort. You don't need to be a mathmagician to figure out that that won't cut it against the #1 team in the CFL.
By 2/3's of a team I am obviously referring to the fact that this team lacks anything remotely resembling an offense (more on that gong show later). Our defense is world class. They got 2 sacks on a great OL, forced 3 turnovers on a team that protects the ball better than anyone and can only really be blamed for 1 of the 3 offensive TDs allowed because 2 times an offensive turnover left them with a short field to defend. Our special teams are pretty good. Our kicker is just booming kicks. Don't think I've ever been so confident in a guy over 45 yards. Our kick returns are dangerous. Our coverage team have allowed 2 punt TDs in 2 weeks but overall have been doing well. Even a mildly competent offense would catapult this team into the top of the division. At this point mildly competent seems like a pipe dream.
By 3/4's of effort I mean that the 1st quarter of that game went about as bad as humanly possible. Turnovers, defensive busts for big plays, punt return TD. But if you look solely at the final 3 quarters we outscored the Stamps 22-10. Granted I think the Stamps would have employed a slightly less conservative offense had they not been way up on us but still. Had we not dug ourselves such a deep hole, we may have been able to hang with them. I say may because truthfully we need on offense to have a legit shot at beating the Stamps but damn if it wouldn't have been close.
Aside from the crappy start (which was on the whole team), the blame for this loss is being directed at the offense... or at least the members of the team supposedly responsible for offense, and rightly so. Our offense is an utter embarrassment. We have 6 TDs in 6 games (or defense and special teams have 5). I have used a lot of this space to hurl insults at Steve McAdoo and believe me I still think he's a huge part of the problem. His entire game plan was run up the middle a million times and hitch screen to the WR with swing passes to the RB and some really awful QB scrambles mixed in. That's it. That's the whole playbook. I have more plays for my kid's Atom team. And we used people in awful ways. Should we use our big honking RB to run a 3rd down gamble? No. The smaller but still powerful runner? No. The smallest guy we have straight up the middle? Perfect! We have all big tall receivers, should we call plays that utilize their height or size? No. Run quick screens where all their size is useless? Genius! Should we even attempt the stretch the field? No, let's not attempt a pass over 15 yards. I kept thinking that by repeatedly running the same stupid plays we were setting up a wrinkle or deep shot. It's really my fault for believing in them. I see the error of my ways.
But rather than focus on McAdoo today, I'm going to focus on another glaring issue with our offense. I get that this may be an unpopular opinion but Brandon Bridge simply isn't very good. I'm paraphrasing but in the post game comments Coach Jones essentially said that Bridge is not good enough to open the playbook any further than the 4 plays we used on Saturday. Hell he is running a playbook so dumbed down that even Michael Bishop could understand it (and at least he could stretch the field... well that pretty much all he could do). Now if the coaches have that little faith in him it begs the question why they made him the starter but I digress. I have been saying for a while now that if Bridge wasn't Canadian, no one would care about him. People rave about his mobility but the thing is he is an awkward and utterly ineffective scrambler so really by mobile they mean he can move around behind the line of scrimmage which is a great skill only if you can translate that into actually making plays. Which Bridge can't . He can't read a defense. He can't throw accurately even when he has a wide open receiver and he took 2 time counts (one of which was when he came off the bench). You could excuse this as growing pains if he was a young QB but he is a 4 year vet that has been the unquestioned #2 for 2 years and seen significant playing time. He's not getting better. I'm not a fan of rash QB changes but I honestly think its David Watford time. He can run the 4 plays we have for Bridge and would have the added bonus of being a competent scrambler. Plus he still has room to grow where I fear we have seen Bridge's ceiling. He can come in in relief but I just haven't seen anything to lead me to believe he can be a starter.
What looked to be an early embarrassing beat down turned into a competitive game and credit the Riders for not giving up. I think they can compete with the Stamps in 2 our of 3 phases. But until we address our offensive futility, the absolute best we can hope for is beating the bottom tier teams and hoping for the cross over. It's a waste of such a good defense but its the best we have right now.
Other random thoughts:
- O-line was better than expected. They still aren't great but I expected them to get murdered by that front 4 and they held their own not bad.
- We miss Moncrief on defense. I few times I saw Elam running around trying to get his assignment. He did not bad for a first start but he's no Moncrief.
- Charleston Hughes is almost inhuman in his pass rushing ability. To play at the highest level for as long as he has is amazing.
- Jerome Messam sucks. I knew we shouldn't have signed him.
- Speaking of sucking, Caleb Holley. Massive disappointment this season. I would gladly take back Bakari, fumbling sleeves and all, in his place at this point.
- Junior cheerleaders were the half time show and that always reminds me of that infamous game where the junior cheerleaders had to dance around the unconscious corpse of Spergeon Wynn and the awaiting ambulance. A truly classic Mosaic moment (even though it may have still been Taylor Field at that point).
The Riders that we saw on Saturday night can best be described by fractions. Sorry to drop math on you this early in the morning but stick with me because I have some good Michael Bishop lines coming up later. What we saw on Saturday was 2/3's of a football team giving 3/4's of effort. You don't need to be a mathmagician to figure out that that won't cut it against the #1 team in the CFL.
By 2/3's of a team I am obviously referring to the fact that this team lacks anything remotely resembling an offense (more on that gong show later). Our defense is world class. They got 2 sacks on a great OL, forced 3 turnovers on a team that protects the ball better than anyone and can only really be blamed for 1 of the 3 offensive TDs allowed because 2 times an offensive turnover left them with a short field to defend. Our special teams are pretty good. Our kicker is just booming kicks. Don't think I've ever been so confident in a guy over 45 yards. Our kick returns are dangerous. Our coverage team have allowed 2 punt TDs in 2 weeks but overall have been doing well. Even a mildly competent offense would catapult this team into the top of the division. At this point mildly competent seems like a pipe dream.
By 3/4's of effort I mean that the 1st quarter of that game went about as bad as humanly possible. Turnovers, defensive busts for big plays, punt return TD. But if you look solely at the final 3 quarters we outscored the Stamps 22-10. Granted I think the Stamps would have employed a slightly less conservative offense had they not been way up on us but still. Had we not dug ourselves such a deep hole, we may have been able to hang with them. I say may because truthfully we need on offense to have a legit shot at beating the Stamps but damn if it wouldn't have been close.
Aside from the crappy start (which was on the whole team), the blame for this loss is being directed at the offense... or at least the members of the team supposedly responsible for offense, and rightly so. Our offense is an utter embarrassment. We have 6 TDs in 6 games (or defense and special teams have 5). I have used a lot of this space to hurl insults at Steve McAdoo and believe me I still think he's a huge part of the problem. His entire game plan was run up the middle a million times and hitch screen to the WR with swing passes to the RB and some really awful QB scrambles mixed in. That's it. That's the whole playbook. I have more plays for my kid's Atom team. And we used people in awful ways. Should we use our big honking RB to run a 3rd down gamble? No. The smaller but still powerful runner? No. The smallest guy we have straight up the middle? Perfect! We have all big tall receivers, should we call plays that utilize their height or size? No. Run quick screens where all their size is useless? Genius! Should we even attempt the stretch the field? No, let's not attempt a pass over 15 yards. I kept thinking that by repeatedly running the same stupid plays we were setting up a wrinkle or deep shot. It's really my fault for believing in them. I see the error of my ways.
But rather than focus on McAdoo today, I'm going to focus on another glaring issue with our offense. I get that this may be an unpopular opinion but Brandon Bridge simply isn't very good. I'm paraphrasing but in the post game comments Coach Jones essentially said that Bridge is not good enough to open the playbook any further than the 4 plays we used on Saturday. Hell he is running a playbook so dumbed down that even Michael Bishop could understand it (and at least he could stretch the field... well that pretty much all he could do). Now if the coaches have that little faith in him it begs the question why they made him the starter but I digress. I have been saying for a while now that if Bridge wasn't Canadian, no one would care about him. People rave about his mobility but the thing is he is an awkward and utterly ineffective scrambler so really by mobile they mean he can move around behind the line of scrimmage which is a great skill only if you can translate that into actually making plays. Which Bridge can't . He can't read a defense. He can't throw accurately even when he has a wide open receiver and he took 2 time counts (one of which was when he came off the bench). You could excuse this as growing pains if he was a young QB but he is a 4 year vet that has been the unquestioned #2 for 2 years and seen significant playing time. He's not getting better. I'm not a fan of rash QB changes but I honestly think its David Watford time. He can run the 4 plays we have for Bridge and would have the added bonus of being a competent scrambler. Plus he still has room to grow where I fear we have seen Bridge's ceiling. He can come in in relief but I just haven't seen anything to lead me to believe he can be a starter.
What looked to be an early embarrassing beat down turned into a competitive game and credit the Riders for not giving up. I think they can compete with the Stamps in 2 our of 3 phases. But until we address our offensive futility, the absolute best we can hope for is beating the bottom tier teams and hoping for the cross over. It's a waste of such a good defense but its the best we have right now.
Other random thoughts:
- O-line was better than expected. They still aren't great but I expected them to get murdered by that front 4 and they held their own not bad.
- We miss Moncrief on defense. I few times I saw Elam running around trying to get his assignment. He did not bad for a first start but he's no Moncrief.
- Charleston Hughes is almost inhuman in his pass rushing ability. To play at the highest level for as long as he has is amazing.
- Jerome Messam sucks. I knew we shouldn't have signed him.
- Speaking of sucking, Caleb Holley. Massive disappointment this season. I would gladly take back Bakari, fumbling sleeves and all, in his place at this point.
- Junior cheerleaders were the half time show and that always reminds me of that infamous game where the junior cheerleaders had to dance around the unconscious corpse of Spergeon Wynn and the awaiting ambulance. A truly classic Mosaic moment (even though it may have still been Taylor Field at that point).
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