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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 3rd 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 (3rd most sacks allowed) and turnovers (4th 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 3rd 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)
1 comment:
Getting back some key players is reason for optimism. I'd call the game a toss up at this point but, hate to be negative, IMO the Lions @ full strength are a better club than us at this point. BC is #1 in Net Offence/Offence allowed, #1 in Rushing & Passing yds/Rush yds allowed.
The Lions are 5-1 in the last 6 & look in late season form. I think the Riders are not there yet & it may take a game or 2 to get there. A win would be big. A loss, not so great, but still in the mix.
Bottom line. If we are a championship team then we should not be intimidated by the schedule ahead. We are going to find out what kind of a club we have in the next month. I agree with you that we are probably looking at 2nd or 3rd.
My concern going into the season is we lost 22 of the players who were on the GC depth chart. What I am seeing is that we have found some good players during this injury period but the loss of depth has really hurt.
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