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.