Monday Morning Sentimonies: Limping Into First

Riders 21 – Elks 18

You kind of have to feel for Cody Fajardo. He gets absolutely battered in Saskatchewan behind a terrible OL, finally gets a chance for glory on a better team, is promptly traded to a terrible team and once again finds himself on the Mosaic tuft getting assaulted by opposing D-linemen that Brett Boyko has no ability to block. For a nice guy, the universe does seem to hate him. 

I am pretty sure that Fajardo was the only person who enjoyed that game less than those forced to watch it. That was a whole lot of bad football. Not super surprising to see that coming from the Elks but man o man did we seem determined to unite in solidarity with them on a quest for futility. We tried really hard to lose that game and fortunately faced a team that was so bad it could not even take advantage. 

Let’s start with the D-line. The lone bright spot and the only reason we won that game. They assaulted that Edmonton OL and made life miserable for Fajardo. There were plays where the edge rusher had a legitimate chance of getting to Cody before the snap. 8 sacks, 6 of which came from the front 4… and even the other 2 were caused by the front 4 and linebackers were just the beneficiaries of finishing things off. Defense as a whole did their jobs. We completely shut down any semblance of a run game and held the Elks to 4 points through 3 quarters of play. The issue was how soft they suddenly got in the 4^th. Now in fairness to them they were probably exhausted from having to carrying the weight of the entire team as the offense was being about as useful as the doctor that diagnosed Collaros with a “neck injury”. But the glaring liabilities of this team were once again on display. Fields has talent and on about half the plays does a great job. On the other half he is getting picked on and exposed by the opposition because he struggles in coverage. That first TD to Julien-Grant he chose to cover no one and then in his haste at trying to make up for his lazy coverage took a terrible angle eliminating any chance of a tackle. I also still have no clue what Lokombo does. If it’s a run or a pass under 10 yards he’s fine. But any pass over 10 yards and the man is invisible or only visible exactly 3 seconds too late. 

But while the defense had some issues, they more than pulled their weight in this one. The offense… well the are starting to remind me a lot of Brett Lauther. We know they can play at a high level and they are lethal when they are on… but game to game, quarter to quarter you have no confidence in whether they will actually show up. In this one the O chose to take the first and 4^th quarter off. It was the fourth time this season they had 3 points or less in the first quarter and the fourth time this season they failed to score a point in the fourth quarter (including each of the last 3 weeks). That is simply not sustainable. As expected, Emilus was a lot more involved and was one of the lone offensive bright spots… at least until he got hurt on a really dumb screen call (hopefully its not a long-term thing). After absolutely ripping BC a new one last week we logically decided to make Myers a complete afterthought. The talent and the firepower are there on O but it shows up so sporadically. This was the worst defense in the CFL. Unfortunately the old Rider habit of playing down to our competition was on full display. 

I won’t lie I put the odds of Lauther making that 51 yard FG after missing his first one about on par with the Elks selling out a home playoff game in 2025. Glad to see he recovered and made everything after the miss but how much longer can we just accept his constant struggles without at least bringing someone into practice to compete with him? Also on special teams, Drae McCrae sure tried really hard to give the ball to the Elks. He fumbled 3 times once he recovered, once he was barely saved by the ball going out of bounds, once he was saved by a no yards penalty. Since we clearly had no intention of using Myers on offense we should have at least let him return. That or inject Alford with steroids to literally make him Super Mario.  

While the preceding paragraphs may seem very negative I do want to stress that in spite of all the areas we struggled in we managed to battle through and emerge with a victory. In the process we vaulted ourselves into sole possession of first place. Frustrating as it may have been to watch, when you can win despite not playing your best football that is a great sign. Look around the West division, the Elks clearly don’t have enough talent to compete, the Bombers are about to face the consequences of letting Collaros try and sweep another concussion under the rug, VA is hurt and we hung 70 points on BC in two games. All things considered I'll take our situation. We are far from consistent and the need to sacrifice a player to the injury list for every win is getting concerning but through 8 weeks we have battled our way to the top of the pack. Ultimately winning is the only stat that matters… though seeing Cody get plastered to the turf 8 times in an opposing jersey is a pretty close second.

Other random thoughts:

-        I’ll give the Riders credit for at least trying something new for once but Christmas in July was not great. I think it could work for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon game but it just sucked all the energy out of what should have been a rowdy Friday night. Tough to get pumped up for Christmas music.

-        The light show thing was insanely cool. I hope that returns for the lights out game.

-        Dan Clark filling in as game day host was something. He clearly had first day jitters as it was painfully obvious anything he said had to be read verbatim from his clipboard. I did find it hilarious how obvious it was that the contestant was reading the answer directly of the clipboard in the “Where in Saskatchewan is Gainer" segment.

-        If you want a vastly superior “Where in Saskatchewan” segment check out my Twitter @RiderProphet

-        I can’t believe the refs finally called a penalty for Harris getting hit in the head.

-        The Riders are missing a golden opportunity to allow live betting on those halftime dog races.

Riders vs. Elks: Cody Plays

From guy we were not sure was even worthy of being a back-up, to beloved Jesus sprinkling corndog eater, to scapegoat of a failed coaching regime. Fajardo has seen the highs and lows in Saskatchewan. One thing he has never seen is the field as an opponent. It took 3 years but Friday it finally happens. 

Edmonton turns to Fajardo desperate for some sort of offensive spark. Its been another bad year in Edmonton. 1-4 with their only win coming against the team vying with them for title of worst in the CFL. Their offense has been non-existent. Dead last in yards gained, 2^nd last in point scored. 43% of their drives are 2 and outs… 43%!!!! Here is a list of Ford’s that could run an offense at least as effectively as Tre has this season: Tyrell, Doug, Jaxson when he still had a cast and Harrisson. The good news for Fajardo is that the bar is set so low than even the slightest success will make him a hero in Edmonton. 

Fajardo does improve the Elks under centre. The issue is that he does not improve their receivers. With guys like Gittens, Julien-Grant and Dunbar they have a wealth of #2 and 3 receivers… but no #1. By far the weakest set of WRs in the CFL. Led by Rankin (and I assume a decent dose of Fajardo) the Elks have a decent run game. Focus needs to be on shutting that down. I may eat these words but Fajardo with a B-list group of receivers beating us through the air is a risk I am willing to take. We need pressure up front. We want our line to make happy feet Cody appear. The one who won’t step up into the pocket. The one who spins left like its an unstoppable surprise play. That said, at least once I fully expect Carney to get absolutely embarrassed by a left spin as he cheats inside. Last week we shut down Nathan Rourke…a better QB, with better receivers. As long as Cody is uncomfortable in the pocket there will be turnovers and stalled drives. And if a pass happens to bounce off a crossbar, well that would be a delightful bonus.  

Sadly for the Elks, Fajardo also does not improve their defense. In fairness to that group, being shackled with an offense that couldn’t gain a first down if you put them at 2^nd and inches and pushed them forward does not help. Its tough to find a defensive stat that they aren’t the worst at: most TDs allowed (despite playing the least amount of games so far), most points allowed (have yet to hold a team under 31), most yards, least sacks, least takeaways. The best thing I can say about them is that they do not have the worst run D… they have the second worst run D. They have playmakers like Ford, Morgan, Ceresna and Barlow but overall that D is not great. Only thing I do not like going into this game is starting our 5^th different combination on the O-Line in 7 games. This time we lost Fry to a god damn car accident. At this rate it would not surprise me for OL to start dropping off for the same reasons Mr. Burns’ softball team did: Radiation poisoning, helping some lady get things out of a burning house, gigantism. Feed Ouelette to keep us in 2^nd and manageable and then let Harris go to work. Other than Ford not much scares me about that secondary. Look for Emilus to play a bigger role in his second game back. 

In terms of special teams, we all have horrible flashbacks on what Javon Leake can do so we need to not let that be a factor that swings momentum. Lauther is on schedule for an absolute stinker of a game after a perfect game in BC.

On paper there is zero reason the Rider should not absolutely pound the Elks. But we have all been Rider fans long enough to just know that this one will be an absolute nail biter even though it shouldn’t be. 

I grew up in a time where Friday night games and good Rider teams were few and far between… getting both at the same time was as unlikely on the prairies as adopting daylight savings time. Well we have a winning team and a game under the Friday night lights. Let’s get loud! 

Riders by a Johnson TD… most likely KeeSean but if it happens to be Miach I’m taking credit too.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: BC Beatdown

Riders 33 – 27

In a week where embarrassments abounded, including the cheating CEO being exposed at Coldplay, the Exec Director of the NFLPA losing his job because he charged strip club visits to the organization and Fortnite proudly announcing Fantastic Four skins, we were all hopeful the Riders would not add themselves to the list… turns out it was the Lions who tried to take the place on the list. 

What a resounding beatdown! The Riders went into BC (a place they have not played great in recent years) and imposed their will on the Lions. The score does not do justice to how lopsided the game was. The Riders stormed out with a 2 and out on D, a 50 yard TD bomb and a forced fumble on special teams. Before the Lions could even blink they were down double digits and failing in all 3 phases. 

This game was all about Trevor Harris. He put on a masterclass, carving through the Lions secondary (as if they were the Rider secondary). And it wasn’t just your typical dink and dunk Harris performance. He attacked the secondary. Five different receivers had receptions over 20 yards. Other than an ill-advised pick where he was trying to force it to Emulis and whatever that weird pirouette throw he did, Harris was dialed in. A key factor was success on 1^st down. Ouelette was routinely getting 4-5 yards and that opened things up for Harris. O-line gave him plenty of time. I specifically watched Washington. We gave him some help on a few plays (with an RB or FB chipping) but by and large we left him one on one and he fared OK. He had a great pulling block on the first big run. Probably the best performance of the whole O on the young season. 

Defense was equally impressive. I fully expected Rourke to throw for 400 with ease. There was nothing easy for Rourke on Saturday. D-line had one of their most impactful games of the year. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it coincided with Sanders’ return. He is a difference maker. It took Rourke making ridiculous miracle plays for BC to find the endzone at any point before garbage time. James Butler was a complete non-factor in the game as were BC’s top receivers McInnis and Hatcher. Mace called a great game. With each passing week the spotlight shines brighter on AJ Allen. Last week he had a pick. This week he should have had another and was the one tipping the ball on the Sayles pick. His growth some solid special teamer to impact starter has been great to watch. I am officially eating crow on all me preseason reservations about Campbell. He has been solid in coverage. I know Baldonado jumping offside negated it but the way he jumped that pick was like Rourke had told him the play. Can you imagine how dominant this defense could be if just one of Fields and Lokombo was useful? We are solid in-spite of those two. 

Lauther was on schedule with his alternative perfect and trainwreck performances. Does not bode well for Friday but Saturday was a pleasant treat.

There were only 2 things that did not go our way. Gotta feel for Kadeem Carey. When TSN refuses to show an injury you know its gruesome. Wishing him a full recovery no matter how long that takes. What that means for back-up RB? Gotta imagine calls are being made to Mario Anderson, Kevin Brown and Walter Fletcher.  The other thing that did not go out way was the reffing. While the review booth felt it essential to insert themselves and call a hit on Rourke, they did not seem to care about the 2 times Harris’ head was hit by BC defenders.

The end result was a hugely important win:

-        Bounced back from a bad performance

-        Won on the road (we are now 3-0 on the road)

-        Beat a western opponent (in their own stadium)

-        Most important… already secured the season series against a western rival.

It was also reassuring that we didn’t just fall into the same extended losing streak we saw last season.

Other random thoughts:

-        While I think overall O’Day is doing great work as GM, he screwed up by not putting Bane (and to a lesser extent Onyeka) on the 6 game IR to start the season. Could have saved some cap money.

-        Robustelli just makes plays. Gonna to tough to take him off the roster if/when we activate Bane.

-        Duncan-Busby makes the most of every opportunity he gets.

-        Actual logic: BC dummied Edmonton and we dummied BC so Friday should not even be close

-        Rider logic: Edmonton will damn-near beat us Friday because that’s what we do.

Riders vs. BC Lions: Rebound

Saturday the Riders are in BC looking to bounce back from a performance last week that can only be described as horriawful (a combination of horrible and awful). They face the 3-3 Lions who are on a 2 game winning streak since the last time these teams met. That match-up was a lopsided victory at home. While the hope is for a similar result, the Riders don’t get the benefit of playing Jeremiah “the turnover machine” Masoli this time. So it will not be near as easy.

 

Despite the fact that PFF’s math somehow had Trevor Harris as the most efficient QB last week, it was clear to anyone who watched the game last week (and probably a few blind people) that the offense was abysmal last week. They did not show up until the 2^nd half and they produced exactly 1 scoring drive. If we are to have any chance to win, they need to show up. We should be bolstered by the return of Sam Emilus. That said we are also starting a new offensive tackle, the 3^rd or 4^th o-line combination on the young season. The game plan should be pretty simple. The Lions boast the #1 pass D, but the 2^nd worst run D. After a frustrating game last week, you can bet Ouelette is raring to go. He had over 100 last time he played BC and we should give him every chance to do it again. In the pass game, we should focus on getting Johnson and Emilus going. When Harris does make a good pass our receivers need to not drop it and even more importantly not fumble it. Plays will be hard to come by so we need to not piss away the ones we get.

 

Defensively, I don’t know what the over/under is on Rourke passing yards… but bet the over. BC has the most passing yards. Even with Campbell back, we are built to give up yards. The last game about the only thing that went right for BC was Butler. We uncharacteristically struggled to stop the run. That needs to change in this one. It will be tough to slow down Rourke even if he is one dimensional. We need two things in this one. First, pressure from the front 4. They have been very average this season and we need them to step up and generate pressure. Second, we need turnovers. Mace’s entire defensive philosophy is built on turnovers. Even if you factor out Masoli’s INTs, BC would still be among the league leaders in turnovers, so opportunities will be there. Most important is that unlike last game when the D does get turnovers, the offense needs to turn those into points.

 

Special teams could be a factor in this one. With Alford out McCrae is expected to make his debut. He impressed in the preseason so it would be great if he could start with a bang. Based on how the kicking game has gone this season, Lauther alternates making all his kicks and kicking like his thinks his job is to get the ball outside of the uprights. That means he’s due to make all his kicks. I don’t understand why there is not at least a kicker brought in to push him in practice. I hope O’Day knows better than me on this one.

 

I originally had this game pegged as the game our hot start ended. I thought we’d get through Calgary at home and then put up a dud on the road. I am hoping that the magnitude of just how much they sucked last week is a sufficient wake-up call to prevent the dud on the road. We are allowing 24 points per game and that seems like a likely number in this one. That means that our offense will need to find a way to produce 25 points (unless McCrae or the D can chip in a major). If Harris shows up in the first half, 25 points is possible (he did put up 400 yards in essentially 30 mins of work last week). I honestly would peg BC as the favourites in this one based on it being a road game. But I do think the Riders pull one out by a hair.

Riders by a Tommy Time TD

 

Monday Morning Sentimonies: What The Hell

Riders 10 – Stampeders 24

What the heck guys?!? I go away for one week and everything goes to hell. Team forgets how to play. Game can’t even be played on the right day. Just complete chaos without the Prophet around. And instead of finding out about the result after the fact I was forced to endure listening to it on the radio while driving back hungover. The pounding on the field was equal to the pounding in my head. 

Look, we all knew the Riders weren’t going 18-0. Well I mean I’m sure some die hard out there believed but realistically it was not happening. So a loss is not the hardest part about this to take. Its that the Riders did not bother showing up. They were outplayed, outcoached, outworked and outright embarrassed on their home turf. That’s the part that’s hard to take. The Riders got to sleep in their beds while the Stamps had to frantically try and find a dorm to house them. Watching that game I would have believed the opposite was true. 

Lots is being made of the defense’s failures in this one. Yes they allowed VA to slice through them like a hot knife through butter. He almost had 300 yards at half. Yes there were some major busts in coverage. But simply put, if you think the defense is to blame for the loss you are either an idiot, did not watch the game, or live in Manitoba (which is kinda redundant given the first point on this list). The defense was the only part of this team trying. They forced 2 turnovers in the first 5 mins and 3 overall. They held the Stamps to 24 points despite all their aforementioned struggles. They gave us a chance to win and it would have ben an absolute massacre if not for their efforts. They tried. 

The offense did not. 

Here is a listing of every offensive drive in the first half: 

·        2 and out, FG (7 yards) * after defense got a pick

·        2 and out, Punt (net loss of 7 due to penalty)

·        2 and out, Punt (6 yards)

·        4 plays, Punt (net 8 yards)

·        3 plays, Punt (17 yards)

·        2 plays, Fumble (18 yards)

·        6 plays, Fumble (44 yards)

 It took until the 3^rd quarter before they put together a drive that had more than one first down and didn’t end in a fumble. I know Calgary has a good defense but that level of futility is unacceptable at a pro level. O-line got dominated. Receivers struggled to get open. Harris was not decisive. Mueller looked like he gave his playbook to Calgary before the game and had no backup plan when it didn’t work. We clearly could not run up the middle but the answer is not to ignore Ouellette completely. We should found ways to get him or Carey the ball in other ways. This is not the first time the offense has started a game like they were asleep. We need to find ways to start game better. 

My patience with Brett Lauther is about run out. In 3 out of 5 games this season he has kicked 50% or less. You can’t preach accountability for the team and continue to let one guy repeatedly fail without consequence. I am not saying cut him. But if there is not a second kicker in camp this week to at least push him then O’Day is failing at his job. 

Certainly not the end of the world to lose. It was going to happen eventually. Our 4-0 record had been hiding some of our shortcomings. Calgary is a good team. But this needs to be a wakeup call because that kind of effort can’t happen again. 

Other random thoughts:

-        Fields continues to be a glaring liability in coverage. Teams are clearly seeing it on film and going after him.

-        Brooks had a costly bust but I like his potential.

-        D-line has been very underwhelming  this year. It looks like a line with a lot a good players but no great ones. No one is stepping up to be THE guy. Pressure is lacking and without pressure our zone defense gets exposed.

-        Robustelli was obviously the only positive on offense. If we ever get to a point where every receiver is healthy, we will have some tough decisions to make.

-        For those curious about the results of my scientific expedition, it was a success. I caught fish on 100% of the days I drank beer. So did the rest of my research team. That seems pretty conclusive to me that it does indeed improve effectiveness.

 

 

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Gone Fishing

By the time you read this I will have already left on a scientific expedition. What noble pursuit of science does the Prophet devote his efforts to you might ask? Well, me and my research team will be conducting an experiment aimed at uncovering the effects of alcohol on fishing effectiveness. 

It’s hard work but I am willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of knowledge. 

I will be back next weekend. Yes I will miss Friday’s game. I think Calgary makes it close but we pull out another close one at home. 

Cheer loud for me. Wish me luck in my research. See you next Monday.