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.