Saturday Morning Sentimonies: /=S=/ucks to /=S=/uck

I am going to put as much effort into this post as the Riders put into the game last night. Also, I am about the flee the country for a few days so wanted to leave you with my sentimonies before I left.

And those sentimonies are… we suck. In a massively important game in front of our home crowd the team game out with all the energy and urgency of a preseason game. Defense delivered one great series, which Quali Conley them promptly f’ed up. The offense responded with one great drive and then when to sleep until it was time to pile up garbage time stats. D-line could not get within an area code of D and we suddenly seem religiously opposed to pressure… instead opting for the “drop 9, fail  to cover anyone” zone. O-line could not generating anything resembling a run game against one of the statistically worse run defenses in the CFL. We just looked bad. 

We keep digging our hole deeper and deeper going from contending for first, to in the mix for a home playoff game to now our options are looking like crossover or miss the playoffs.

At leas the halftime show was really cool.

See you next week

Riders vs. Stampeders: Friday Night Lights

It may be the lights out game but the spotlight will be shining bright on the Riders on Friday night. The Stamps are in town and the Riders need a win. A win clinches a playoff spot and keeps us in the hunt for second. A loss could drop us down into the West basement and leave us having lost the season series to every western opponent. 

Coming into town is a team that quite frankly defies most conventional logic. The Stamps are at risk of missing the playoffs despite leading the CFL in scoring, having a +9 turnover ratio, having a QB with a 29/3 TD/INT ratio, and the CFL sack leader. They should be in contention for a home playoff game not in contention for an extra early Dickenson bowling extravaganza. 

If you want to know how you struggle with an offense this powerful, just pair them with an abysmal defense like the Stamps have. The existence of the RedBlacks is the only thing keeping the Stamps from being worst in every defensive category. 8^th in both yards and points allowed. Where I would immediately look to attack is the ground. They allow a league worst 6.0 yards per carry. Neutralize the pass rush of Hicks and attack a weak point. Ouellette ran well against the league’s #1 run D last week. He should have a big game against the 8^th ranked run D. We even have an opportunity to mix in Conley for the first time this season with both on the roster. The Stamps will give up a ton of yards and points but they are ball hawks and look for turnovers. Gotta be smart with the ball. I think getting Wiebe back will be an underrated boost. He is essentially a Canadian Dressler at this point and Harris likes him underneath. Now with Keesean, Baker and Wiebe there’s no reason not to not only chew up yards but get into the endzone with some regularity. 

Defense is really gonna depend on which version shows up. I have seen them punch above their weight class and keep us in games our offense has no interest in helping them win. I have seen them look so lost they can scarcely tie their cleats let only cover a pass. The run D will be rock solid, that we know. Pass D… who knows. We know that VA is a Jekyll and Hyde type QB. When he’s on he can play like the second coming of Doug Flutie. When he’s off he makes Chris Jones’ assessment that Brandon Bridge belonged above him on the depth chart seem justified. The key is pressure. If he has time he will dissect you. If he is rushed and more importantly hit, he will make mistakes at an increasing rate. The good news is that Calgary’s O-line’s only claim to fame is that they have made VA the most sacked QB in the league. No excuse not to win the battle in the trenches. In their second game as a unit we need to see the secondary look they aren’t looking at 5 different play books. 

Another weakness of Calgary that could play a role is discipline. No one has taken more penalties than the Stamps. They balance that with a dangerous kick returner that I could see having a big return at some point. 

The Riders need a win. We could win out and still finish 3^rd place. That’s how tight the race in the West is. But here’s the thing… the Stamps are 2-5 vs. the West. Their offensive stats are impressive but they are somewhat inflated from averaging 42 points per game when playing Ottawa or Hamilton. We should be the better team. But the Stamps are no pushover. If we take them lightly they could easily lay a beating on us. 

The last time we played at home we won. Hopefully the comforts of home are exactly what we need to get back on track. 

Riders by an Ouelette TD.

 

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Not Good Enough

Riders 24 – BC 31

As I processed that loss on Friday (aka drank rye), I kept coming back to one phrase to summarize our performance… not good enough. We weren’t bad, but we were clearly not the better team in that game. Not by a wide margin but close only counts in horseshoes and the degree of kinship relative to how attractive a cousin is to a Manitoba resident. 

The positives? We moved the ball. After struggling to get anything going in previous attempts, we saw an offense that could sustain drives and put up yards. I would also add that the running of Ouelette was a pleasant surprise. Yes, he looks like he’s held together with duct tape and pipe cleaners but I was expecting very little against the top run D in the CFL. Ouelette gave us more than just an emotional boost, he ran very well. Everyone’s favourite kicker (until he misses and we all hate him) Dawson Hodge remained perfect. Yes, he has yet to attempt anything close to a difficult kick but he’s done everything we asked him to do. Lastly I would add to the list of positives that our ever-reliable run D made Horvath a non-factor. 

Unfortunately that’s about where the positives end. 

Offensively, for all the yards we chewed up, we struggled to find the endzone. Through our first 4 trips inside the 20 yard line we managed a solitary TD. That’s not good enough when you D is allowing 30 points. We came close a few times. Not sure the doink of the uprights would have been a completion but the WR at least had a chance. The finger tips of Robert Carter foiled a huge play to Baker. But the theme of the night was promising drives with no finish. Was it us being bad or just a product of BC being very good? Probably a dash of both. But one way or another, a path to the Grey Cup likely requires beating BC so offense needs to be better. 

Other than run stopping D had a very poor outing. Front 4 struggled to get pressure on Rourke which left a very sub-par secondary even further hung out to dry. Its easy to say this retrospect but I do questions shuffling our secondary (without being forced to by injury). Communication is key in that group and usually continuity improves communication. Bell looked like a rookie. He will likely be a solid player in the near future but he and Fields were not on the same page a lot of the time (and Fields is barely good enough to handle his own responsibilities let alone when his partner is lost). Coaching also shares in the blame. Despite the most recent game film clearly showing it, we seemed wildly unprepared for hurry-up offense. Hell we tried to make a substitution while they where in hurry up. The result was a penalty, mass confusion in coverage and an easy score for BC. Brooks played OK but is a downgrade from Oladipo. This is not a defense that can make a “big play”. We don’t get turnovers. Sacks were hard to come by in this one. So you need to play rock solid if you aren’t making big plays… we were about as solid as a wet napkin. 

I don’t know if Corey Mace runs challenges or has a designated guy in the booth calling it down but whoever is in charge is terrible and needs their challenging powers taken away. Last game we wasted a challenge way to early in the game on something that was anything but a safe bet. This week we challenged OPI when the video clearly showed our player holding BC’s arm in what could have been defensive pass interference. 

Again, we played a good team and came up short. So we are close… but now on the outside looking in. We have lost the season series to 2 western opponents and now sit just 1 win ahead of the team in 5^th. We have placed ourselves in a very difficult spot and need to starting finding some wins and fast. 

Other random thoughts:

-        So the Command Centre (which normally seems to be watching reruns of Murder She Wrote when we actually need them) decides the one time they will step in is when there is no reason whatsoever to do so? Stevens needed 2 yards and got 1. That was clear as day in real time. Somehow the booth decided this was the one they want to review for us… and they didn’t even have the decency to blow the call like they normally do. 

-        Speaking of that play, I like the call to go with Tommy time in that situation but Tommy always goes right following Brammer and Hardrick, predictable but effective as hell. This time he went left for reasons I don't understand.

-        Logan Ferland has like 2 penalties in the past decade of regular season play… both are for roughing after the play.

Riders vs. BC Lions: High Stakes

Fresh off a bye week the 8-5 Riders are in BC to face the 7-6 Lions. Winner gets second place and the season series. The stakes are as high as Ross Rebaliati. (A sure fire way to remain relevant and attract younger readers is Nagano 1998 references). After struggling out the gates the Lions have been surging of late. The Riders have been stumbling a bit. 

All eyes will be on the offense after they failed the find the endzone the last time they took the field. The big news is that we get Ouelette and Baker back. While far less heralded I will also note that we get Awachie back too (give the fullback some love). This will give a much needed spark to an offense that has been so flaccid that even the boner pill companies that advertise during the games could not perk it up. Not only do Ouelette and Baker bring talent but they also bring energy. That’s an intangible that I think will have an impact. With Awachie it also brings stability and comfort back to Harris. As an aging man myself I can empathize with Harris. Old guys don’t like change. We want it the same damn way its always been. Harris has been dealing with an ever-changing rotation of offensive teammates. With all due respect, when injuries leave you with Mimbs as one of your best options there is only so much the QB can do. So with a go to receiver, BFF runningback and fullback back Harris should feel more at home and just be able to go out a play. After starting the year so embarrassing that even Ryan Dinwiddie would point and laugh, the BC defense has done a complete turnaround. They have the #1 run D and allow the 3^rd least points. Perfect game for a grinder RB like Ouelette to help set a physical tone and slow down Betts and co. With 2 of his big 3 WRs out there, it will be on Harris to get the pass game going. I don’t expect an air show like game 1 but a mix of underneath and deep shots is the key. 

Defense has been playing well despite our overall struggles and they will have a stiff test in Rourke and BC O. #1 in total yards. #1 in rushing powered by Horvath and #2 in passing. If you are looking for weaknesses it would be OL (3^rd most sacks allowed) and turnovers (4^th most giveaways). So it makes the key real simple… win in the trenches. Slow down Horvath and pressure Rourke. Do that and we have a chance. Fail and it could be a long night. We are #2 against the run and #2 in sacks so I have faith in the front seven here. I am very interested by our move to relegate Edouard to back-up duty, move Sayles to HB and start Bell. Going to assume Mace knows what he is doing here. I don’t like losing Oladipo and being forced to reinsert Brooks. Maybe he was actually hurt, maybe some time on the sidelines will give him the kick in the ass he needs. Either way Brooks needs to play better than he has been or he could quickly be back to making 9 tackles a game because the QB is targeting him. 

I think special teams could play a factor. Sean Whyte has been kicking an impressive 91% but he is not Dawson Hodge who has not missed (I know instantly as I type this that I have cursed Hodge but I stand by my biased presentation of the stats and maintain that Hodge is 9% better than Whyte). On a more serious note, BC is among the worst in the league when it comes to kick return yards allowed. If Letcher could make it through a game without getting hurt this would be a hell of an opportunity to make his first big impact play as a Rider. The term protect the ball must also be taken literally when playing BC because they lead the league in nut shots administered. 

At this point its up in the air whether Montreal or Edmonton will care when we play them next, so of our remining 5 games this could very well be the toughest one of them all. Late games in BC are tough and BC is a good team. Win and we go 2 games up on BC with 4 remaining in the driver’s seat for a home playoff game. Lose and we drop to 3^rd without the season series, playing chase and fighting with the Bombers for scraps in the West. Implications are massive. If we did not get Baker and Ouelette back I would have very little faith. But people are quick to forget how potent this offense can be when it has all its weapons. 

I expect D to start strong and O to struggle early (shocking I know). While it won’t be pretty O should be able to scratch and claw their way to a very close back and forth game. Bettor in my says put your money on the home team. But I think the healthy reinforcements will give us a boost both on the field and emotionally. 

Riders by a Tommy time TD (he gets 2 to move into a tie with Horvath for the league lead)

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Home Stretch Sentimonies

The Riders are coming off a bye week and knock on wood will emerge from this one in better shape than the last one. With 5 games to go we enter the most crucial part of our schedule. Legitimately depending on how the next month plays out we could technically finish anywhere where 1^st to 5^th. I think 2^nd/3^rd is most realistic but any outcome is in play. 

If you had handed us a spoiler list of injuries we’d deal with at the start of the year but said we’d still be in second place at this point, I think we would all have been pretty happy. Things could certainly be better (we squandered some winnable games) but also they could be worse. 

You have to be pretty happy with the defense. Despite getting essentially 3 drives out of our best defensive player we remain one of the league’s top unit. Among the league leaders in points allowed, run stopping and sacks. The fact that we have so few turnovers actually make things more impressive. We are just generally solid, not reliant on game changing plays (though a few more of those would be nice). D-line get more impactful each week. Roberson has been a huge addition off the edge. I thought Vaughters would be a solid rotation guy but he’s actually been a legit impact starter. Woods and Thurman have been solid (as has Miller). Swapping Oladipo for Brooks has given us a huge boost. In the secondary Edouard has been playing great given when we signed him. Sayles is solid has ever. I find myself cursing Fields less. I was vocal about Campbell’s mediocrity before his injury so I am happy with Burgess. Somehow this season has reduced me to being a reluctant pro-Lokombo guy. He is the least crappy safety we have. 

Much like the daylight hours, the offense was great in the summer and has slowly disappeared with each passing week. Our offense is directly tied to how many of the Big 3 (Emlius, KeeSean, Baker) play. All 3 – we are deadly. 2 of 3 – we are solid. 1 of 3 – we might not find the endzone if you set us up on the 1 yard line and pushed us in the right direction. We just need bodies. Anything resembling a WR has been hurt. Harris thrives on rhythm and anticipation. You can tell when new guys are in he slows down, thinking about his throws rather than just reacting. I have been very happy with Conley (and honestly think he adds more explosiveness to the O than AJ) but I think just the emotional boost Ouelette will bring and the peace of mind it will bring Harris is an intangible that Conley just can bring. The O-line has been rock solid. 

Special teams remains like hitting random on a child’s spotify… not sure what I’m going to get but pretty sure I won’t like it. Chapman has been a decent enough punter. Cover teams are solid as always. If we could keep a god-damn returner healthy I think our return game could thrive. After 2 straight years of talking about kicking, I think we could all use some boringness. Hale can’t make a kick in his home stadium. The best thing I can say about Hodges is that he has not screwed up yet. 

The next few games are going to be a big test. I think that if we can add back some bodies (Baker, Ouelette, Wiebe) I do believe offense will pick back up. But if the offense still stagnates this could be a long loooonnnnggg month. We have a winning record in the division. We have 3 big western opponents in our final 5… plus a back to back with Montreal. Short of Montreal shutting it down early because they have clinched everything there are no gimmes on the schedule.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Coming Up Empty

Riders 6 – Bombers 19

Truth be told I have never attended a Banjo Bowl in person. I would like to at some point. But Saturday’s result only helps reinforce my procrastination. I have travelled to see the Riders lose and that is bad enough. But to watch the Riders lose AND be stuck in Winnipeg of all places… well that just sounds awful. 

For the 6^th time in the last 7 and 9^th in the last 11 Banjo Bowls, the Riders lost. The analysis in this one is pretty simple: the defense came to play, the offense evidently thought the bye week arrived a week early. We scored more points while literally crapping our pants in the infamous stomach flu game of 2022 than we did on Saturday.  The Riders looked like they were told that the endzones were infected with Manitoba gonorrhea and couldn’t risk going within 20 yards of it. 

Defense tried their damnedest. 5 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 interceptions and help them under 20 points. That should be more than enough to win. Front 7 was all over Collaros. Truthfully, the way Collaros was squinting after each sack I was pretty sure he was concussed long before his night ended when he lightly fell down chasing down his second INT. I really like Oladipo and have noticed a big improvement in the overall D play since we swapped him for Brooks. While Brooks piled up a ton of tackles because he was being picked on, you rarely here Oladipo’s name and when you do he is making a big play. Also continue to see Roberson make an impact. It’s really a shame that a defensive effort that good was wasted because the other half of the team was useless. 

The offense would have been better off to just not show up and take an extra week off. There was too many things going wrong for them to overcome. First and foremost they were terrible. Just could not get anything going. Harris couldn’t get it figured out. We were out-schemed. By the second half we were literally reduced to just running the exact same 10 yard out to the right over and over. Second, the few times we got something brewing offensively someone would fumble. I am not really a Mimbs fan but the more I watch him, the more I see that he does a lot of things well. Unfortunately maintaining possession of the ball is not one of them, and that’s kind a big deal. Third we ran out of bodies. We came into this one already down Baker, Emilus and Wiebe. We lost Bridges early. I don’t really know when it happened but Letcher got hurt at some point. There was literally a point where Johnson III limped to the sideline only to immediately return… I assume after the coaches told him that as our last remaining receiver unless he is dead, he’s healthy enough to stay on the field. It limits your playbook and it limits your good receiving options. Outside of Keesean and Busby you can tell Harris does not really trust anyone. Lastly we were fighting the refs. I will say clearly that reffing is not the reason we lost. But they missed a blatant facemask (apparently the booth can call in minor offsides but not major penalties), Harris getting belly flopped on, and PI at least a couple time. To win in the Banjo Bowl you need to play mistake free ball. We were not playing good enough to overcome one obstacle, let alone multiple. 

This was a big opportunity missed especially since BC and Winnipeg gained ground on us and Edmonton further separated. We desperately need this bye week. Defense is doing OK but offense is clearly stretching our depth far too thin. If we can get Baker and Wiebe back after the bye I think they get back on track. But if the injury trend does not start reversing then points may be harder to come by than Winnipeg cheerleader with a full set of teeth. 

Other random thoughts:

-        I think Djete could be a very solid receiver. If he is like many Canadian WRs and takes a step forward in year 2 he could be very solid.

-        We did not test him all that much but Hodge did his job.

Riders vs. Bombers: Banjo Bowl 2026

Saturday the Riders are in the crime capital of Canada. Or would you prefer the inbreeding capital of Canada? Or would you prefer the “education system is so poor they don’t know what a capital is”? Yes, it’s the Banjo Bowl. I still find the Riders’ refusal to call it that and insistence on “Labour Day rematch” some Manitoba-level stupidity. Just roll with it, its great marketing. 

The Bombers are 6-6 and desperately trying to avoid dropping into the West basement. The Riders are 8-4 and looking to keep pace with Edmonton at the top end of the standings. A win for the Riders would be massive as it would put them 3 games up on Winnipeg with the tiebreaker and just 5 games to go. We have a chance to bury them, it would sure be nice to take it.  

The problem is that as much as Labour Day has become guaranteed win night for the Riders, the Banjo Bowl is guaranteed win night for the Bombers. We are 1-5 in the last 6 Banjo Bowls and never scored more than 21 points… even in the win. It’s been as hard to find a win in Winnipeg as it is to find a full set of teeth there. But last year proved it can be done. 

Expect the Bombers to try and counter by leaning on Olivera. I mean, they should do that all the time but Tommy Condell seems to care not for RBs even if they are his best player. Last Banjo Bowl Olivera got 20 carries. I expect a similar workload. It will once again be on the D-line to stop the run and generate pressure on Collaros. Bombers also get Demski back, who is a noted Rider killer. Our defense did well last week and I expect that to continue. It will be a matter of whether the Offense can provide them enough support that they don’t run out of gas late in the game. 

Offense worries me. Last year was the best we played in a Banjo Bowl in years and it was still god awful. We needed 5 FGs last year to win… tell me how confident you feel in that happening this year? Though oddly enough Hale is a really good road kicker. Just apparently cannot manage to adjust his tint to the Mosaic colours. The re-addition of Baldonado makes us all hope that this is the last game we have to withstand Hale (we can always hope right?). Wiebe is out so Bridges checks back-in. I think as he gets more time with the offense Bridges can be a very solid contributor. Still need to stay committed to running the ball. And we can’t afford turnovers (looking at you Mimbs)… though I fully expect at least 1 INT from Harris. I doubt Winnipeg lets Busby get another 150 yard game… though if I’m them I stay keyed on KeeSean and take your chances with another Busby career game. Maybe it’s a Joey JoJo game. 

My normal default position for a Banjo Bowl is that we will lose. History supports my bias. That said if you want some stats that can sway you towards optimism, the Bombers have a losing record at home and are 1-5 vs West division opponents.  

I think we can win and we will make it close. But a road banjo bowl with a bye week looming just screams dud performance to me. I expect a game as ugly and low scoring as last year. I expect it to come down to the wire again. Hell I’ll even go as far as to say OT two weeks in a row. But I see the Bombers edging us by a FG. Either one they make or one we miss.

Tuesday Morning Sentimonies: Labour Day Magic

Riders 32 – Bombers 26 (OT)

We just win a Labour Day and I’m glad this team is back to remembering that. In my time watching football I have come to expect the Riders to win on Labour Day. Doesn’t matter our record, Winnipeg’s record, which QB is playing. We win. I just expect it. But my kids do not share my confidence as their generation has seen us lose 3 of 4 from 2021 to 2024. But we are back baby!  

I could have done without all the late game drama. Call me old fashioned but I could do with a boring win every now and then. But we certainly did not get boring. For then 5th year in a row the game was decided by 6 points or less.  

Credit goes to the defense in this one. They made Olivera a complete non-factor. They had 3 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, held the Bombers to 16 points through 3 quarters and added 2 points of their own. The front 7 was disruptive. I think its borderline criminal how much Tommy Condell ignores his best offensive weapon but the few times he remembered he existed its not like we allowed Olivera much. Needed to close out better in the fourth but they were not exactly getting much help for a lot of the game from the O or a certain kicker I will be swearing about shortly (#foreshadowing) so I give them a bit of a pass. Thurman and Roberson had big games. Since becoming a starter you sure don’t hear Oladipo’s name much (which tells me he not doing anything to hurt us). He had a great knockdown in the endzone.  

Offensively we were anything but consistent but were able to get majors when we needed it. Harris had an up and down game but he didn’t turn the ball over (only Mimbs managed to do that) and with Winnipeg clearly keying on KeeSean he was able to adjust and find other receivers. His top target was Duncan-Busby who had a massive game. Conley had a solid game and had multiple big plays just getting open as an outlet valve for Harris. Credit needs to go to the O-line. Zero sacks allowed. Ceresna and Jefferson were non-factors for most of the game. Full team effort as you even saw guys like Keesean get big blocks on that one Tommy Time TD. 

I unfortunately now need to swear about the return of Alex Fale. Had he made either of his misses there could have been a far less dramatic finish. For the record on that single he got, I have no clue what Vaval was thinking. He had no reason to touch that ball. I’m sure Winnipeg fans are wondering how different the end of that game could have been had he not stupidly given us that point. But back to our failures. Yes Fale can make kicks, even some long ones. But he simply cannot be trusted to deliver any level of consistency. Do we think we will suddenly improve when the temperature drops come playoff time?  That’s like assuming Winnipeg fans will suddenly overcome generations of inbreeding and poor dental hygiene.

Credit to the crowd. It was loud. An electric atmosphere fitting for the Labour Day Classic. A huge win, against a division rival. Mostly important everyone went home happy… well except  the Bomber fans but at least they could pretend that it was the rain and now their tears than soaked their faces. 

Other random thoughts:

-        Despite my outrage in the moment, upon rewatching (and sobering up) I am less outraged about the horse collar and roughing the passer calls. They were soft (particularly the roughing the passer) but technically correct.

-        There was at least one major offside by Winnipeg that the refs somehow missed.

-        That drop by Wiebe could have been huge. That was an easy TD if he held on. Good on him for making up for it with that long catch and run.

Labour Day Classic 2026

It’s the most anticipated regular season game on the calendar. It’s tradition. It’s iconic. It’s a day where we celebrate labour by not labouring. It’s the Labour Day Classic!!

Regular readers will know that I generally open my Labour Day post with some jokes or smart assed comments about Winnipeg fans. I will go a different direction this year. It seems the new hot trend when you don’t like someone is to arbitrarily rename important geographic locations. With that in mind I would like to make the following announcement:

-       Winnipeg will be henceforth known as Loserpeg (that one’s pretty obvious)

-       Lake Winnipeg will be renamed Lake Poor Dental Hygiene (also fairly obvious)

-       And in recognition of their preferred romantic partners, Manitoba will be renamed Attractive Barnyard Animal-itoba.

Thank you for your cooperation on this.

Onto the game…

Labour Day aside this is a massive game in terms of the standings in the west. One game separates these teams and second place is up for grabs. Add in an electric (and likely intoxicated) sold out crowd and Mosaic will be rocking.

The Bombers for me can be described by a Toby Keith lyric “I ain’t as good as a I once was but I’m as good once as I ever was”. If the comical streak of Grey Cup choke jobs, followed by appearing in the crossover last year were not sign enough, watching the Bombers this year has made it painfully obvious that they are a team on the decline. But, like last week’s game against Montreal showed, they still have the talent to play at a high level in small doses, so they cannot be taken lightly. 

After spending most of the start of the season seemingly not remembering that Brady Olivera is on the roster, the Bombers have finally gone back to feeding him the ball. Low and behold good things happen. I don’t know how you look at that offense and make any other determination than Olivera is your best chance but it would seem Tommy Condell disagrees. In what could be a rain game the #1 key is slowing down Olivera. The Riders have the #2 run D in the CFL so they are certainly up to the challenge. I am very excited to see what Aubrey Miller can do as a starter. He is a demon on teams and that mentality is going to be needed to stop Olivera. Without Olivera Winnipeg is a subpar passing attack, an o-line that gives up a ton of sacks and a QB who amazingly keeps hurting his “neck” when his head is bounced off the turf. I know Demski is a Rider killer and will probably have 2 TDs but if our D-line can disrupt Collaros and get pressure on him good things will happen… for us. 

Offensively I am begging… begging… for 4 quarters of effort. We can’t sleep through the first half or disappear for two quarter to build drama. We need consistent production. Winnipeg is #1 in pass defense but 2^nd worst in run D. Again on a day that might feature rain we need to see a lot of Conley. Jefferson and Ceresna are beasts along that line. Running helps negate their pass rush. When Harris does throw he needs patience and good decisions. Take what they are giving and don’t turn the damn ball over. Passing game will clearly need to run through KeeSean but I see Wiebe playing a big roll underneath. Also, would not shock me to see Mueller try and get Letcher some offense touches to show a new wrinkle. We need to get TDs and not settle for FGs (because we all know O’Shea loves to settle for FGs).

The one thing I can say with a fair degree of certainty is that this game will be close. In the last 4 Labour Day Classics the largest margin of victory was 4 points. Great for excitement, bad for my heart.

Two things have me believing in a win. 1 – It’s Labour Day. I have seen Brett Smith, Jake Dolgeala, Rocky Butler, Michael Bishop all win on Labour Day and it was not because they were particularly excellent QBs. There is something magical about this game that always favours the Riders. 2 – Winnipeg is 5-1 vs. the East but 1-4 vs. the West. Despite what the Manitoba education system might teach you, Saskatchewan is in the West.

So rest up your livers, vocal chords and hearts and get ready to let loose on Sunday.

Riders by a Tommy Time TD (who else?)

Monday Evening Sentimonies: I’m Back

Made it back from the East coast (despite the best efforts of a certain airline to derail my efforts). Trip was wonderful. Yes I kissed a cod. Yes I got drunk on George St. Yes I went to Dildo. So other than use a whale as a surfboard and get a puffin to puff on a cigarette I pretty much hit my checklist. 

I have pretty abbreviated sentimonies today as I only managed to watch most of game on my phone during the reception of a newfie wedding.

-       Our Punter can hit! And apparently do game changing hard counts

-       Must be nice for Hale to not be the worst kicker on the field.

-       Nelson Lokombo made an actual safety play! (probably should have had 2)

-       D-line had a solid game with a lot of pressure.

-       Toronto rushed 4 times in that game. One of those times when for 13 yards. I know we like to talk about the offensive genius of Dinwiddie but his religious opposition to even attempting to run is somewhat baffling.

-       Be nice if Harris could go back o just being good. Not sucking so long he needs to set up a dramatic comeback.

-       Wiebe is a first down machine

-       That was gritty, ugly win that we desperately needed.

Bring on Labour Day!

Riders vs. Argos: East Coast Prognostications

By the time you read this I will on the east coast enjoying all that Newfoundland has to offer (aka pubs, seafood and possibly a jig). Mrs. Prophet and I are off on vacation returning Monday. So I will not be attending the game. I have sent my children to hold down the fort, if we lose blame them for not cheering loud enough. If we win I anticipate a petition to keep me away from further games will be coming (I understand). 

So I wrote a brief pre-game analysis before jetting off to Dildo… it’s a real place that I plan on visiting. Google it. On second thought do not google it, just take my word for it. This was written early in the week without the benefit of any practice reports are anything like that. So if this is all irrelevant come Friday when you read this feel free call the Ombudsman. 

Toronto is a weird team to me. They are simultaneously both better and worse than they should be.  Their offense is very good. #1 in passing, high scoring. They are carrying on their former head coaches deep seeded hatred of rushing (the only team with less rush yards is Dinwiddie’s RedBlacks). And Chad Kelly may throw a lot of TDs but he hands out INTs like they are unwanted passes at female coworkers. This is a team that hung 40 on us last time we played. Their defense is not so great (7^th in points allowed, 7^th in yards allowed, most big plays allowed). They do lead the league in sacks. On special teams the Riders would all be happier if Janarion Grant never touched the football again. He’s just a Rider killer. 

For the Riders it all boils down to health. As of writing this Emilus was just returned to the 6 game IR and there is a legit chance we are forced to play newly acquired WR Shemar Bridges for lack of any other options (other than Daniel Johnson, who we all know will be leaned on to fill the Emilus void). Toronto is going to put up points. Simply put, I don’t think we have the horses to compete in an arms race. Harris will break out of his funk at some point… but I don’t see it happening until we start getting healthier offensively. 

I think the Riders keep it close. Defense will keep Kelly suppressed early. But offense won’t be able to capitalize as much as needed. Eventually D will run out of gas and offense will produce one drive to few. You may be happy that me and my negative energy have been banished many time zones away. 

Better days are coming but we gotta wait one more week. As they say in Newfoundland “Long may your big jib draw”. I don’t know what that means b’y but it sounds nice. 

See you next week

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Sucking It Up On Sunday

Riders 16 – Lions 30

I longingly remember a time where football wasn’t painful to watch. When touchdowns came more that once every 6 quarters. When positive plays weren’t a rarity. And when mistakes didn’t negate the positive plays we had. Well Sunday left no doubt that those days are dead and gone. 

There were exactly 2 good plays in that game:

#1 – Daniel Johnson motioning out to wideout and proceeding to not only make a reception but take it for 17 yards.

#2 – For the first time this season, Jaxon actually played safety like you are supposed to and made an impact play.

That was it. Everything else was either a terrible play, or a good play negated by terrible play.

Our offense has gone MIA. We have 2 total TDs in the last 2 games and failed to get 20 points in either. You simply can’t win with that kind of offensive production. The garbage yards he amassed padded his stats and hide how bad Harris played. He was off for the second game in a row. Making bad reads, forcing balls he didn’t need to, missing passes that were there, throwing INTs that sucked what little momentum we had. Its not like he was getting help from his fellow players. We had a Conley TD called back on a needless penalty. Joey Jojo had an awful game and was responsible for a turnover on one of the rare times Harris made a play. Obviously injuries play a factor but this was an offense that was near the top of the league in scoring and now I don’t think they could find the endzone unless you gave us 13 tries and from the 5 yard line and we only let Tommy touch the ball. Harris and Mueller need to get this sorted. 

Defense actually did not play awful. They shut down a great run attack. They kept it close despite no support from the O for the second week in a row. They were far from perfect but they are not what is holding the team back at this point. More pressue up front and more turnovers would help but they are holding up their end of the bargain for the most part. I don’t like Jaxon Ford. I do think we use our safety weird and some of it is just him doing what he’s told but aside from the INT you just don’t see him make many positive plays (except maybe in run stopping). I do think the roughing penalty he took was way too ticky tacky. If the ball isn’t tipped it would have been a textbook play. Many things can be blamed on him, that wasn’t one. 

As we evaluate where we are at after 10 games, I see us as a good team that is not playing great football and making too many mistakes to overcome our mediocre play. We didn’t play well and probably should have won last week. We didn’t play well and stayed in this game far longer than we should have. We are a good team but until we start limiting the mistakes and doing something… anything, on offense it will all be for naught. 

Other random thoughts:

-       There was clearly a missed holding call on one BC TD.

-       I have no clue why BC was still letting Rourke throw with 3 mins left in the game up 2 scores. Just run the damn ball.

-       There is probably a simple explanation that one of you can provide but I don’t understand something about the clock. In the 4^th quarter BC threw an incomplete pass prior to the clock hitting 3 mins. Despite the incomplete pass the clock kept going until the 3 minute warning. Should it not have stopped on the incomplete?

Riders vs. Lions: Reinforcements

Sunday the 6-3 Riders travel to BC for a match-up with the 4-5 Lions who are riding a 3 game win streak. These teams last met in the season opener where the Riders emerged victorious in a tight game. After that game the Lions had an extended stay in the West basement due to a combination of a flurry of offensive injuries and a defense so bad they couldn’t stop a team that was all on crutches. It was to the point where it was more a question of when, not if, Benevides got fired as DC. But Pierce stayed his course and suddenly with a win BC is just one game back of the Riders. 

Thankfully we finally get some good news on the injury front. We get Canadians back and good ones at that. We could have Saad, Fry, Emilus and Letcher back. For a team that was not far off asking Coach Mace and Mueller to dress so we had enough Canadians, it’s a welcome turn of fortune. 

Offensively I cannot understate how important getting Emilus back is. I think we are in tough for this one but Emilus’ presence upgrades our chances from “Ottawa’s chance of winning” to “my chances winning at the craps table in Vegas” (odds aren't in our favour but its certainly possible). As previously mentioned, BC’s defense started the season looking like they were auditioning for a job on Ryan Dinwiddie’s team. But in the last few weeks they have improved by leaps and bounds. They have allowed the least yards overall and 4^th in points allowed. They have the #1 run D. So our chances hinge on Harris not have back to back crap weeks. Last week he played QB about as well as Trevor Harrison (this is a very clever reference, google it). Thus Emilus is a massive add. With only 1 of the big 3 it was going to be a struggle. But with 2 top end receivers the offense should be firing again. With a guy like Betts out there we need to keep some balance with the run to keep him from just attacking Harris. I don’t expect another 400-yard game from Harris (like we saw in game 1) but I think 300 and 3 TDs is very possible. 

In game 1 we were the beneficiary of anything resembling a receiver for BC being injured. We won’t have that advantage again. But we generally seem to play Rourke well. Ironically I feel more confident facing him than any back-up QB in this league. We also won’t have the advantage of predating the moment in the season where it became glaringly obvious that Zander Horvath is the Lions’ best RB by a wide margin. Butler is not suddenly useless but any game where Horvath doesn’t get double the touches Butler does is a failure on the part of Buck Pierce. So we need to limit the run and put pressure on Rourke. BC is 7^th in sacks allowed so our D-line should have favourable match-ups. BC also has the 3^rd most giveaways so while they will probably put up points, they will take risks in the process. Biggest help defensively would be long extended drives from the O. Keep our D off the field. 

Had Emilus not been healthy this would have been an easy loss to predict. I still don’t feel great about our chances but at least we have the horses to go toe to toe with them now. I see a very close back and forth battle (like our last couple clashes with the Lions). I expect us to play much better than last week a) because we are healthier and b) because although the Lions D is no longer the utter embarrassment they started out as, they are not near the calibre of Hamiton. That said I think we have one more week of misery before we get things back on track. 

BC by a last minute FG.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Opportunity Blown

Riders 19 – Ti-Cats 26

The best summary I can give for that game was that Alex Hale was legitimately our best player on Saturday. Kudos to him but that tells you all you need to know about the rest of the team. After all the praise our depth got for not missing a beat last week, we got to see how effective that depth is when not playing an absolute joke of a franchise. We did not get blown out, but we looked a lot more human than we have in a while. Offense had to play a rock solid D and looked like a team missing a third of their starters.

As pissed off as I was about that game, the difference was 2 plays given up on D. Harris throws an errant pass that gets tipped up into an INT giving the Ti-Cats the ball deep in our territory. Two plays later they toss a deep pass over top of Lokombo (shocking). Then there was the miracle Ford to Wheatfall throw. Take one of those passes away it’s a tie game. Take both away and Hamilton did sweet FA all game. So I won’t hang this on the defense. Yes they failed to get a sack. Yes they couldn’t make a big play when needed. But through 3 quarters the only play they gave up was because offense put them in a bad spot. And most of what happened in the fourth can be blamed on them being tired from receiving zero help from the O. Defense wasn’t great but I feel they played well enough to give us a solid chance.

Offense was a completely different story. They just sucked. The first quartered featured an offensive game plan based entirely on nothing but swing passes. Curious choice and by curious I mean stupid. The 2^nd and 3^rd we actually managed to grind out a few drives and look respectable. But then to reward themselves for the effort the O just didn’t bother showing up for the 4^th . They literally could have been more effective by not taking the field at all. In the 4^th we had 4 drives: 3 of them were 2 and out and 1 was an INT. We ran 7 offensive plays and one of the gained positive yards. When you factor in the sack given up and the yards lost on the INT we netted a total of -2 yards in that quarter. Like I said, would have been better to just not take the field. Harris had a terrible day. Receivers weren’t exactly helping him out, nor was Mueller’s playcalling. It’s clear you can’t just expect to roll over an actual defense like Hamilton with your practice roster starting. (Seriously though, after watching the Hamilton game how much worse does it make Ottawa look?) 

I’ll try and end on the only positive… Alex Hale. After months of not even being willing to let him try a kick over 40 yards (for good reason) we suddenly were like, screw it, and let him kick from anywhere. Maybe Mace just finally decided either I’m right about you or you’re going down in flames but we need to figure that out now. I don’t suddenly believe Hale has turned the corner and will still hold my breath anytime he lines up but its reassuring that he can actually hit long distance FGs. 

The loss was costly because it should have been a winnable game but instead we let Edmonton reclaim first and BC and Winnipeg gain ground in standings. We tried to win a road game by only putting in 2 quarters of effort. That won’t cut it. Only gets harder from here unless we start feeding our injured list some steroids. 

Other random thoughts:

-       For his first game I liked Star Thomas.

-       Dylan Djete is also growing on me.

-       I am anything but a Lokombo lover but I truly believe our secondary would be better if he went back to safety and Bell played corner.

Riders vs. Ti-Cats: On The Road Again

As a Rider fan I feel qualified to say this do to lived experience, the football gods seem to hate the Ti-Cats. We all mocked Winnipeg for not winning a Grey Cup since 1990. But the Ti-Cats are the new Bombers and creeping up on 30 years without a Cup. The Renegades came and went in the time since they last won. Their fans have long suffered. They suffered through Burris embarrassing himself here in 2013. They suffered through the called back kick return the next year. They suffered. But this year should have been different. They should be competing with the Als for 1^st. They have a Grey Cup caliber roster. But instead Bo got hurt and they are once again suffering. 

You might look at this game and think that due to them starting their 4^th QB of the year this should go the same way as last week. But there is one massive difference between Ottawa and Hamilton (other than Ottawa managing to win a Cup this century). While Ottawa’s defense was dog shit, Hamilton’s is legit. They have a top 3 defense despite having nothing resembling an offense. 

So let’s look at how our offense is going to overcome that formidable D, given that that’s the key matchup in this game. The Ti-Cats allow the 3^rd least points and the 3^rd least yards. They are stingy particularly in the pass game. I would say we should lean on the run but with our backup RB questionable we may be relying on Star Thomas the 3rd stringer. I don’t see us ignoring the run, it will not be a focus and it will be a split between Hudon and Star. This will be on Harris and it will require him to be patient. Unlike Edmonton and Ottawa he won’t have an easy air show. This will be a far more traditional Harris dink and dunk game. Obviously KeeSean is a focus but Hamilton will key on him and unlike Ottawa they are talented enough to be effective. Joey Jojo and Busby will need to play a big role. Need to avoid turnovers and take what we get. Settling for FGs may be required… which regardless of kicker makes me ill at the thought of it. 

Offensively Harrison Frost is an upgrade over Dolegala, who we saw in the first game. But that is a bit like saying a hotdog is an upgrade over manure in terms of food quality. Frost is completing only 54% of his passes so its not like he’s super intimidating. But with a D as good as Hamilton’s he just needs to be okay to give them a chance. Hamilton is 7^th in rushing so keeping them one dimensional should be doable. Lawler and Smith are dangerous receivers if Frost can get them the ball. So D-line needs to make life difficult. Secondary just needs to play solid and limit big plays. The more Frost has to throw the better for us. 

Let’s not forget that we are still a very depleted roster. We are a couple injuries away from me being a viable option as a token Canadian. We are on the road. We are playing a good defense. This is no gimme and this is a losable game. But kinda like I did last game I go back to the QB match-up. Harris is playing some of the best football of his storied career. Frost is playing because he’s the last remaining option after an injured guy and 2 more who were flat out terrible. 

This will be hard and far closer than I’d like (that’s what she said). We will need to grind it out and probably come from behind. 

It will take a late FG (Hale or Hodge), make it we win. Miss we lose. 

I say we win.

Monday Morning Sentimoines: Ya Who?!

Riders 42 – RedBlacks 20

On a night that fittingly started with a fan getting injured in the pre-game relay contest (which by the way, running a gauntlet of ropers in an inflatable suit is diabolically hilarious) I think the first half of Friday’s game delivered exactly what we were expecting… terrible football. On one side you had a team that is literally down to one Canadian remaining because they are so riddled with injury. On the other side a team that hasn’t won in almost a calendar year. But then after halftime one remembered it was good and the other remembered they were still not and the end result was lopsided beatdown despite Ottawa being in the lead early in the 3^rd quarter.

We had to empty the practice roster for this one. Anyone with a pulse and Canadian passport was dressed. Half our roster was rookies including 4 starting players on offense. We tested the limits of our depth and guys stepped up. Mimbs, Djete and Joey Jojo made impacts offensively despite a combined playing experience of 15 games prior to Friday. I feel bad for the long-suffering Ottawa fan because if you can’t even come within 20 points when playing essentially a preseason roster, I don’t know what there is to hope in. Not even Stewart Johnston’s incoming “everyone makes it” playoff format could save them at this point. 

Offense had 3 big things going in their favour. First was the O-line. The only sack they gave up was by rookie Darius Bell when he lined up at TE. Otherwise the starters (including rookie Erik Andersen) gave Harris time to operate. The second thing was Trevor Harris. Other than that one ill-advised pass to the RedBlack LB he was rock solid and kept the offense rolling despite most of his normal starters being on the 6-game. Offense could have easily gone to hell but he trusted in the new guys and kept rolling. The final thing is of course Tommy Stevens. Here's the telling stat of the day: Tommy had more rushing attempts, rushing yards and points than all off Ottawa combined. KeeSean Johnson should only be targeted on hooks or outbreaking routes going forward. He’s solid on those. But give that man an easy slant and he displays all the receiving prowess of a box of Cheerios. 

Defense played solid, almost boringly uneventful, but solid. Thurman has really stepped up his game these last couple weeks. Not that he is even “bad” but I felt he had a slow start to the season by his standards. But these last 2 weeks he has been back to his elite form. Jonathan Edouard might be the steal of the season. For a guy we picked up partway through the year he has been a solid starter. Why on earth was a Canadian with his abilities unemployed? (Thank you Argos). He became the first DB to get a pick for us this season. Liam Hoskins is a guy who keeps making plays when he gets a chance. That game for me encapsulates Jake Maier. He didn’t play bad. He had one turnover and threw for over 300. But despite that he produced very little points. Now his coach could help him out by even occasionally trying to run the ball. Dinwiddie seems to hate running almost as much as he hates punters who wuss out on making tackles. But what we saw Friday was Maier’s ceiling… mediocrity. I did have to chuckle about Bethel-Thompson (at age 63) being sent in for mop-up duty only to get killed. 

Two final things I need to address. 

First, that BS roughing the long snapper call. The intent of the rule is good, to protect the snapper when he is in a vulnerable position. So you can’t line up over top of him (we did not) and you can’t engage him when his head is down (we did not). Adams went after the gap between the guard and snapper and it was both guard and snapper who initiated blocking with him. I feel bad that their snapper got injured but that was a legal play. We were robbed of a TD and yet again I am left wondering what the purpose of the Command Centre is. They seem to be willing to randomly intervene and impact the game at will except for when something egregious has happened to us. 

Second and most importantly, if you did not attend the game in person you missed the greatest halftime show possibly ever. By greatest I mean it was so lame/bad that I was almost in tears laughing at it. If you missed out, they had a trick roper who also told jokes. The best way I can describe it is that I think this guy was legitimately a top end act in 1970 and based on that has changed nothing about his act since. Highlights included making a “yellow rope of Texas joke” that 4 people understood, making an Amway joke (how could that possibly not get laughs?), playing a plunger with a rubber chicken (that is not a typo, that’s what actually happened), all building to the big finally where he had to end the show because he got a call on his iphone (a fake toy phone with two giant eyes on either end). I think we need to make his signature joke a fixture going forward:

Knock-knock

Who’s there?

Ya

Ya Who?

Yahoo!!!!!!!

Is beating Ottawa anything to brag about? No. But a beat up roster managed to not let a winnable game slip through their grasp. A massive win in light of Edmonton and Calgary both losing. We are now back in first place. Hopefully we spend the coming week either airlifting in a bunch more back-up Canadians, or injecting all our current injured Canadians with the best steroids you can find (they can’t randomly test all of them). 

Other random thoughts:

-       My current conspiracy theory is that we have rigged the coin toss at home. Hear me out. The Rider logo is always tails, pretty much guaranteeing an opposing team will never pick it. The coin lands on tails a very disproportionate amount of the time leading me to believe it’s a weighted coin.

-       The anthem singers are extremely talented and have great voices but they took way too many creative liberties with the anthem and I thought it was bordering on O Christmas tree-levels for how much they wandered from the actual song.

-       Kudos to Hale for not sucking this week (maybe its his new tinted lenses). It’s sad that we have so little confidence in him that we punt from the 42. But as much as I hate that we have to it was the right call to punt and I loved the play call with the onside guys.

Riders vs. RedBlacks: Wounded

Under normal circumstances, a home game against a winless team (particularly when you just took down a first place team) should be as close to guaranteed win night as it gets. But these are far from normal circumstances. To say our depth is depleted is an understatement. We are running out of back-ups. Particularly Canadian ones. We are dressing Darius Bell, not because we have a pressing need for a 7^th OL but because he was one of 2 remaining Canadians to choose from… the other was also an OL. So next injury means either we dress 8 OL or that new kicker we finally brought in is lining up at receiver. We have no fullbacks. Our “big 3 receivers” now include Busby and Djete. I am actually happy Lokombo is back. Things are dire. We are probably currently inquiring into just how retired Mitch Picton is. If this trend continues, we may start testing how retired Getzlaf and Elgaard are. 

So suddenly a very winnable game is a big question mark. My level of doubt is not quite at “the strait of Hormuz will open soon” levels but it is well past “a semi won’t hit a Saskatoon overpass today” levels. But I keep coming back to the fact that Ottawa just isn’t very good. 

Let’s start on defense because that’s where we are the closest to normal. Ottawa has the least offensive points… yes less then all the teams who have been reduced to playing their 3^rd string QBs. They are 8^th in yards. Maier has been playing better of late… but by better I mean better than crappy Jake Maier, not good. He is completing a very respectable 70% of his passes but has the lowest yards per attempt and an abysmal 8 TDs to 9 INT ratio. Is Maier the only reason Ottawa sucks? No. But his ceiling is mediocre. Defense need to keep him below that ceiling. They will be without one of the best OL in Desjarlais so that could open things up for the front 4. Disrupt Maier and he will default to harmless checkdowns or reckless long bomb INTs. Oddly enough our defense has been getting it done without the benefit of turnovers. They have just been generally solid (most days). This could be a chance to boost our turnover numbers as Ottawa leads the league with 23 giveaways. Ottawa could help Maier if they had any desire to attempt to run but they average a negligible 59 yards per game. 

Offense will need to deal with a new D-Coordinator in Jeff Reinbold. He inherits a defense that allows the most points and most yards… nowhere to go but up I guess. Expect him to simplify the D to hopefully get them playing looser and faster. RedBlacks have the 8^th best run D so I would lean on Conley early and often. As much as I don’t love our depleted WR-core I still like Trevor Harris and believe that he will adapt just fine to whatever Reinbold throws his way. It will take him one quarter of offensive futility to figure it out but as long as the D doesn’t dig us an early hole we will be fine from there. Logic says this should be a big KeeSean game (two sweetest words in the English language: De Fault). But Ottawa likely keys on him so look for Joey Jojo to play a bigger role and possibly another Busby game. They key is not turning the ball over. I trust our D to keep Ottawa under 25 (given that they have score 25 or more just twice this season, I like those odds). So we don’t need Harris to be a world beater, just steady. 

One thing to watch as our Canadian depth hits records depths, is special teams. We are losing special teams guys and special teams guys are being called on to play more starting reps. Ottawa has a dangerous returner in Pimpleton and leads the CFL in kick return average. I see them scoring on a kick Friday, as I curse profusely.

We barely eked out a win in Ottawa when we were much healthier, so winless record aside this is a losable game. In fact, I think we will try hard to do so. But I think we barely grind out another ugly win and stave off the wheels falling off the bus for one more week. 

Riders by a Conley TD.

Enjoy the "whatever the thesaurus told us was an altenrative for Country night so we could make it seem like we were being creative" night.