Riders vs. Alouettes: If Not Now Then When?

Saturday we all need to get up at the crack of noon because there is football. So bacon up that beer or whiskey up that coffee. I still think the Riders missed the boat by not doing this game as a Saturday morning cartoons theme. I am willing to forgive them on the condition that they bring back the trick roper who played the plunger with a rubber chicken for the last game (perhaps the most entertaining part of what is becoming a sad season). 

It’s been over a month since we last saw a victory. Our 4 game losing streak is second only to Ottawa. And anytime your team is mentioned in a sentence that includes “only second to Ottawa” that not a good sign. Each week our defense gives up more and more points. Each week our offense fails to do anything when it matters. If we exclude the 4^th quarter (when we famously pile on garbage stats) the Riders are averaging 12 points scored through 3 quarters. If you look at just the 2^nd and 3^rd quarter we are averaging 6 points a game during a fairly important part of the game. 

But dare we hope this week? We probably shouldn’t but we will anyway. As expected on a short week where they travel and have nothing to play for, the Als are playing it safe with the roster. Dustin Crum will start and I doubt Alexander is the only major starter to stick on the sidelines. At home, against a back-up QB, a team who does not care and getting Emilus and KeeSean back… if not now? 

To throw a bit of cold water on your hopes I will point out that last year, on Legends night, the Als came to town and started a back-up QB (Bethel-Thompson) and proceeded to kick the shit out of us (and we were a much better team last year). After watching last week I think we can all agree that there is a distinct chance the Als back-ups are better than us. And you are not a true Rider fan if you haven’t lived through the pain of some random back-up QB having a career game against you on multiple occasions. 

The big news is that we may actually get the Big 3 on the field. That has happened almost never this season. And we need all the offensive help we can get. The bad news is Ferland likely sits due to injury. But if Mueller and Harris can’t get this offense going with all their best weapons on the field then hope is officially gone. Here’s my theory… it’s a short week and the Als do not care. Some of their top guys might not play and those that do are not looking to sacrifice what’s left of their body on a meaningless road game. So you wanna win? Beat them down physically. Lots of hard running. Make them earn every single tackle. It might not lead to big gains early but over the course of a game between their bodies on a short week and their lack of caring they are not likely to match the physicality of what should be a desperate Rider team. 20 rushes minimum. When we aren’t ground and pounding them we need Harris to attack with the Big 3. One of them has to be open. 

Defensively it needs to be a similar mindset. Hit them hard, hit them often, make them hate life. We cannot give up big chunk plays or quick drives. Sound defense that makes them earn every yard the hard way. Crum is mobile but he’s not the Houdini Alexander is. Get pressure, keep him in the pocket get to him quick so our secondary doesn’t have to cover long. They aren’t that good so the less they have to cover the better. I am begging Josh Bell not to rely on the soft zone. We suck at coverage no matter how many guys drop so send some god damn consistent pressure and at least get the ball out fast. We are allowing 32 points per game since Labour Day and given that we have barely scored 32 points total since Labour Day that just won’t cut it. If we can’t keep it under 25 then we are in trouble. 

As of right now there are 32 possible combinations of outcomes of the remaining west games. 9 of those 32 result in us missing the playoffs. If we win it changes to 16 outcomes 1 of which sees us miss the playoffs. If we lose its 8 of 16 outcomes where we miss. We need to win. And quite frankly if we can’t beat a back-up QB on a team that doesn’t care traveling on a short week then I’m not sure its worth the charade of even being in the playoffs if by some miracle it still happens. 

This roster has talent, this roster has heart. We need to see it on Saturday. 

I said all along this series would be a split and I stand by it. We will make it much closer than it should be but 

Riders by a Tommy time TD.