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.