Riders vs. Elks: Back At It

What a wild week. I could literally write pages on what went on this week (rule changes, owner of the Elks passing away etc…) without even touching on the actual football game. 

The Riders have an opportunity the size of Gene Makowsky’s head in front of them. With 5 games to go we have a 2 game lead on first place. The next 3 games are against the 3 lowest teams in the standings. Not one of our next 3 opponents has a winning record including the team we face on Saturday in the Elks. The football gods have essentially done this…

 

We just hope that those football gods don’t go full Will Smith and slap us.

At 5-9 Edmonton is circling the drain. They essentially need to win out to have a shot at the post season. They had a brief upswing with a 3 game win streak shortly after we first played them. But they are 1 for their last 4. Though they lost their last 2 games on last second FGs. As bad as their record may be they are playing competitive football and a desperate team is one you gotta watch out for. Much like a desperate parent fighting for that last tickle me Elmo  there’s no telling what they will resort to (kids ask your parents, I assure you this is a quality reference). 

Riders are fresh off a bye and hoping that the rest will help avoid whatever garbage performance they tried putting in last game. Mixed news on the injury front. The good news Sayles, Emilus and Hudon should be back. The bad news still no Campbell, Ray or either safety. 

Let’s start on the offense. As much as the Elks have been playing better football since Fajardo stepped in, their D remains not so great and their injuries are piling up worse than ours. Elks have the #2 run D but a pass D so bad that rumour is it was the Elks who petitioned Stewart Johnston for a shorter field in an effort to reduce the yards they give up. Scouting report on the Elks’ secondary is simple. Avoid passing towards Tyrell Ford. Literally anyone else is a good option. Harris needs to step up in this one. Its been a while since he had a solid outing front to back. Lately we’ve had to settle for a brief quarter or 2 of him remembering he can play football and that just won’t cut it if we want that first round bye. Oueltte needs to be a consistent part of the O but the Elks allow the highest completion % in the CFL. For a QB like Harris this should be a dream.  Get Myers going. Mix in some Johnson and Emilus. This could be a game where Harris completes to 7 or more different players (I just hope they are all Riders). Only once in the past month has Edmonton kept a team under 28 points.

Defensively I would feel a hell of a lot better with Campbell and Ray but just having Sayles back and not going into the game with Exume being a legit option is a step forward. The book on the Elks’ offense is pretty simple Rankin is their best player, Cody is completing a high % of his passes and not turning the ball over but they give up a ton of sacks and their receivers are not very good. Last time we played them we had 8 sacks. I don’t expect that many this time around but our success will be dictated by how disruptive that front 4 can be. They were non-existent against Montreal. Hopefully a week of rest put some pep back in their step. Elks will try and counter their glaring pass blocking deficiencies (and Fajardo’s patented calmness in the pocket) by getting Rankin going, both on the ground and through the air. He is their leading receiver … can’t imagine why they are in last place. Slow Rankin down and dare them to beat us through the air. Just don’t give up the big chunk plays and I think even an injury riddled D can grind one out. 

As much as I would love to roll into Edmonton and lay an emphatic beating on them, I just don’t see it. They are too desperate and we never do anything the easy way. But here’s the reality, the Elks are 1-5 against the West. Were it not for 2 wins against the only team in the league crappier than them (Ottawa) they would be mathematically eliminated already. We are rested off a bye. They haven’t had a bye week since Week 7. We are a better team even though I’m convinced it will take a 48 yard FG from Lauther in the dying seconds to prove it. 

We all think this team has the potential to be champions. Well champions deliver the kill shot to struggling opponents when they have the chance. So let’s see it. 

Riders by a Lauther FG

Is it wrong that I hope Cody hits the uprights one last time for nostalgia sake?