Monday Morning Sentimonies: Closing it Out

Riders 21 – BC 28

Only in the CFL could I manage to get angry about the results of a meaningless game. Simply put the Riders beat the Lions on Saturday… but they could not beat the refs. We had a touchdown taken off the board by a whistle blow so prematurely that the call on the field qualified for admission to the neonatal care unit. The Command Centre also made their habitual Rider-hating appearance to overturn a called incompletion despite a lack of clear evidence giving BC a TD. Was it a completion? Maybe but I don’t believe there was sufficient evidence to overturn the call on the field. The refs also somehow managed to miss this:

 

I firmly believe and keep trying to say there is no ref conspiracy against the Riders but refs keep piling on evidence to the contrary.

Do I care at the end of the day that we lost? No. But its frustrating when the number 1 thing fans ask for is to fix the command centre and officiating and the League responds by reconfiguring the fields instead. 

Tainted results aside you have to feel pretty darn good about that game as a Rider fan. When our starters we’re in, we were clearly the better team… well as long as you ignore that first play on defense where Campbell made no effort to move to cover his guy and Field channeled his inner Junior Mertile in his tackling effort. Even when we started rolling with our back-ups BC was only marginally better than us. 

Offensively Harris looked sharp going 10/11. While its entertaining to see Lamar Harris outrunning defenders, we were all pleading for him to slide about 4 yards sooner. Shaefer-Baker had a hell of a half and is clearly ready to go for playoffs. He made some very difficult catches. Him taking a drink of Gatorade from the BC sidelines was pure entertainment. The O-line kept Harris clean and even the back-ups did not give up a sack until the 2^nd half. The Riders did not punt until the 3^rd quarter. This was BC’s starting D with a home playoff game on the line and despite missing our 3 top receivers, we we’re able to move the ball on them. Jack Coan is doing really well on sneaks. Tommy Stevens must have been dying on the sidelines. If he got some of the holes that Coan got Saturday he would have score 2 long TDs. Given how well Coan was doing, the decision to let Maier run a sneak which resulted in a fumble seems all the more questionable. 

Defensively other than that first play where we were clearly asleep, we held the much lauded BC offense (with all their starters) to a whole lot of nothing. The line was getting great pressure and managed 2 sacks against a BC line that has given up the least sacks all year. Hell the golden child of the CFL even managed to throw a pick to Lokombo. Do you know how bad you have to be to be one of 2 people in the history of the CFL to throw a pick to Lokombo? Ironically the only other document instance was also BC. VA threw one to him in the playoff game at Mosaic. Should BC end up here in the West Final I may need to see if I can find a Lokombo anytime INT prop bet just in case. 

Special teams was a mixed bag. It was refreshing to have a kicker come in and just do his job. Hughes not only eclipsed the non-existent bar established by Campbell Fair but nailed it every time he was called on. Nice to see Alford get the all-time Rider record… though I’m lying if I say I truly believe he has one more return TD left in him. Coverage team had some issues. Mirco had one boomer and a couple so-so kicks. 

Overall the game was a success. Our starters got some quality reps in. We emerged relatively healthy. And we sent a message to divisional opponent that we finished first for a reason. We now have 2 full weeks to get ready for the West Final. The regular season was a big success and our reward is being one home win away from the ultimate goal. 

Other random thoughts:

-        It was a predictably small crowd but kudos to those that came, the stadium was loud relative to the number of people there.

-        I would pay money to watch a video of the throwing motion of the guy who did the Toss the Rock challenge on loop. It was the football equivalent of Charles Barkley golfing.

-        Hair dye mat be able to maintain Rory Allen’s Elvis hairdo but it can’t hide the effects of time on his face.

-        When they do the Price is Right stats contest I have decided that I am more offended by the participants’ lack of knowledge of basic Price is Right betting strategy than I am of their lack of knowledge of the Riders or basic logic. We need some mandatory Bob Barker film study is school curriculum.

Riders vs. BC Lions: Regular Season Finale

Good news, I made it back from Vegas. Ate at the Golden Steer, saw a ton of great bands, rolled a lot of dice and came back with my pants on (much to the delight of pretty much everyone involved). Now I am refreshed and ready for the final push in the Riders’ season.

Saturday the 2025 regular season comes to a close with the BC Lions in town. I have no clue what to expect. In theory BC should stomp us as a win guarantees a home playoff game and while we will be playing starters we will essentially be treating this like the second preseason game. But if Calgary manages to somehow lose to Edmonton, BC might not care and be interested in resting their key players. Plus while I know BC is not as embarrassing as the Bombers, last week did show that anything can happen in the CFL. 

BC has come a long way since we last met in Week 7. We rolled into BC place and laid a whooping on them dropping them to 3-4 and 4^th in the West. Now they have become the hottest team in the CFL riding a 5 game win streak. Their last loss came against (check notes) Ottawa?!? They are powered by a strong offense. #1 in yards and points. The only team averaging 30 points per game. They have a so-so defense overall but a very strong pass rush. I am glad we get to watch this game in person as I could not stand 3 hours of Suitor verbally fellating Rourke. I know he is playing at a very high level and deserves praise but its painfully obvious that TSN is going over the top to hype him up. 

The goal for the Riders is very different than a usual game. Obviously we would love to win but the primary goal is get some quality reps for our starters to make sure they don’t get rusty with a bye week coming up and then play as many back-ups as possible in the back half of the game.    

Offensively Trevor Harris will step back in. He won’t have Myers, Johnson or Robustelli but Bane, Emilus, Baker, Ajou and Nield with spot appearances by Picton will be fine. I already mentioned that intimidating BC pass rush. They lead the league in sacks. Now is not the time to have Harris get acquainted with the turf. Establish a strong run game and make sure he is getting the ball out quick. BC has the #6 run D. In the last BC game Harris was the most aggressive downfield I think I have ever seen him. While I think BC still has vulnerabilities there, we can save that for if we see them in the playoffs. Selfishly hoping we find a way to get Bane a TD. 

Defensively it will be interesting to see how we configure the secondary. We are still letting Milligan and Sayles heal up but Lokombo and possibly Ford will be available. I am about as big a fan of Lokombo as I am of rolling untimely sevens at the craps table but getting Canadian starters back is important.  Odds are Rourke will feast on a secondary that is missing its best 2 DBs and has Lokombo playing his first ball in months. BC has the least sacks allowed (thanks in large part to Rourke’s mobility) so sacks may be hard to come by but need to see pressure from the front 4. Come playoffs winning the battle in trenches is critical. BC does turn the ball over a lot (6^th most in the league) so if we can get pressure there will be chances for that patchwork secondary or our rock solid linebackers to make plays. 

Really interested to see how the American kicker Hughes does. Gotta be a great for the confidence knowing that all you have to do is make one solitary kick (or even be close) to be way better than the last guy we auditioned. 

I don’t see Calgary losing to Edmonton so odds are BC will be going full out. I can see us playing them really close for the first half and then letting them run away with it in the second half as our priority switches from getting quality reps in to making sure everyone important is ready to go in 2 weeks. 

While I’m sure I will still find reasons to curse and be mad, I am looking forward to relatively stress free game in about the nicest weather you could hope for in late October.

BC by 2 TDs.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Riders 27 – Argos 19

If your response to the Riders clinching first place with a win on Friday is anything but elation then you come across sounding exactly like a rich teenage girl whose dad bought her a Lamborghini but she cried “I wanted the purple one!”. This is the best possible outcome of a regular season and you want to complain that we didn’t do it pretty enough? This has occurred 9 times in our 100+ year history. This is the 3^rd time in the past 50 years which encompasses the entirety of my existence. We are not exactly a franchise that has the luxury of waiting until we do things pretty. I assume people unhappy about how we got this first place finish were also unhappy when we won the Cup in 2007 because that game was pure ass. Being a Rider fan is mostly just signing up for pain… for god sake enjoy the few actual good things that happen. 

I hear lots of people bemoaning that this Rider team isn’t going to win in the postseason… you are right. But this Rider team will not be playing in the West final. Winning this game was so important because we now have 3 weeks to get healthy so that the best version of this team is ready to play in November. It gives a chance for our secondary to get healthy. It gives a chance for the guys who are playing through bumps and bruises to be at their best. I often complain that this team does things the hard way. Well this time they actually did the easy thing. 

There were lots of positives offensively. Harris was able to move the ball and avoid turnovers… well I mean he tried to turn it over but it mercifully got ruled incomplete. Sam Emilus is back! Big yards and big catches (that catch over the helmet was ridiculous). We should maybe run that slant play more. Last week Myers turned it into a TD. This week Emilus turned it into 50 yards. Should maybe try it a bit more. Minus the fumble Ouelette churned out hard yards once again as did Hudon. There were a number of miscues and we settled for FGs far too often but these last 2 weeks have made me feel a whole lot better about Harris and the O. 

Defense was a real mixed bag. They allowed just 19 points and only one TD so they did fine. The secondary was not awful. But the front 4 was completely invisible against a very weak Argo OL. That more than anything surprised me. The big positive is AJ freakin’ Allen. He is not getting near enough recognition for the level he is playing at. If he is not our nominee for top Canadian then the voters need to have their voting ability revoked. He just makes plays.

In the wake of Campbell Fair’s very brief and very tragic time as our kicker, Brett Lauther’s back magically healed up and he went out and had a perfect game. They did make it easy on him by never having him kick into the wind but he still did his job. If you want to see how much this team still loves him and believe him go watch to the end of this video where they hand out game balls. 

My final thought on the game is, how ironic is it that the thing that officially clinched first for us was the command centre intervening to help us... and getting it right?… did not see that coming.

The next two weeks are essentially a second preseason. The road game in Winnipeg is like the first preseason game where you play as many back-ups as humanly possible. The home game against BC you give your starters a solid half to make sure they don’t get rusty. Its great to have the luxury to rest guys while the rest of the West beats each other up. 

With the Riders clinching first place, I have decided to reward myself and my clear significant role in getting the team this far with a vacation in Las Vegas. Truth be told I was going regardless but much better to label it as a celebratory trip. There will be no game preview this week as I will instead be spending my time with a drink in one hand and craps dice in the other. 

One last note, as we do every week in Section 510, we played games for prizes. This week was the Pick 6 Challenge but with Argo themed pictures. Here’s the 6 pictures we were playing with. See if you get all the references

Riders vs. ArgoNots

The sentiment across the prairies this week has been decidedly “they can’t lose to these argos”… unfortunately its phrased more as a cautious question than a deeply believed statement. We should this game and I believe we will but honestly I can’t rule anything out based on how this season has gone. 

We are a win away from first place. Their season is over and 2 meaningless games stand between them and going home. We are 5-2 at home. They are 2-5 on the road. We have a team briming with talent. They have O-linemen that Ryan Dinwiddie makes snarky comments about their offseason regimen. Were it not for the fact that we are starting a preseason secondary they may have employed the mercy rule in this one. Fortunately the Argos rebalance the scales by conveniently starting a preseason QB. 

Look our secondary is a mess. No Milligan, Campbell or safety. I am still not sold that anything more than voodoo magic is holding Sayles’ lower body together. Fields is suddenly legitimately one of the best DBs we are fielding.. and that is not a compliment. Secondary is potentially an issue. But here’s the thing: Our front 7 can dominate enough to compensate. Toronto has no run game whatsoever (a miniscule 51 yards per game avg), they allow the most sacks and Jarrett Doege is how the French might say “le terriblé". There will be sacks, there will be turnovers. The main thing that worries me about Toronto is the chance that their unknown 4h string Horn might come in. Rider history is littered with unknown back-ups who made a name against us. 

While injuries may be testing the limits of our defensive depth, our offense remains relatively healthy (I don’t feel great typing this and am aggressively knocking on wood as we speak). Toronto’s D struggled when they cared and had Wynton McManis playing. They have neither of those now. We need early production like last week. Get them down early and then pound it at them with Ouelette and Hudon. You can’t manufacture “care” and Toronto doesn’t care. They are not going to stand up to 60 mins of physicality and aggression. They allow the most 30+ yard passes so take shots and get points on the board. 

This is a dream scenario. Friday night. Obsidian. Home crowd. All we need is one win against the second worst team in the CFL and we get first place and 3 weeks to rest before a West Final at home. We need to seize this opportunity. We don’t want to have to play meaningful ball next week in Winnipeg of the week after when BC is here. 

I feel very old man-ish saying this but “back in my day” we would have killed for even just a Friday night game. We would have killed loved ones for meaningful football this late in the year. And we would have pretty much crossed any moral, ethical and legal line for a chance at first place. Entire generations have not seen us finish in first. I have barely seen it. I am amped up beyond belief for this game and just paying that the football gods don’t summon an untimely gale-force wind to ruin this for us again. 

Even with a battered secondary we should stomp a team that doesn’t care. Therefore I boldly predict a victory but like a 9 point victory just because that’s how we roll. 

Get loud Saskatchewan. Lights out night with a chance a t first place. It don’t get better than that.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Big Step Forward

Riders 20 – RedBlacks 13

Look, I know many of you wanted a far more resounding win given that we were playing the worst team in the league. To you I say boo-hoo. We won. Do you remember how good we played in game 15 of 2024? 2019? 2013? No you don’t. The end result of the season is all that matters and Friday’s win helped us take a massive step forward to our end goal. Sure, I would have preferred we dominate them more but that’s like saying I would prefer an 18oz steak over a 12oz one… if you offer me a 12 ouncer I’ll still be happy.

For me there were a lot of positives in that game. Are we where we need to be to make a strong playoff run? No. But we took some positive steps forward on a lot on fronts. After 2 straight loses, finding a way to win on the road was big. After a month of mediocre to bad performances I finally saw Trevor Harris show flashes of the guy who was briefly in the MOP conversation earlier this season. We actually scored a major in the quarter… something that is about as rare as the RedBlacks eclipsing 5 wins in a season. The offense showed up for more that their usual 1 quarter (yes it was only 2 quarters they were useful in this time but we are focusing on the positive progression). Defense managed to close out a game with minimal drama (there was drama but it was due to the offense). All in all lots of positives. The biggest being that we are 1 win away from clinching first. 

Now its not all roses and sunshine. The kicker brought into solve our inconsistent kicking was consistent… unfortunately it was consistently awful. Like it looked as though Lauther paid him off top make him look good by comparison. The punter brought in to solve our mediocre punting made us long for the return of our mediocre punter. And if our secondary suffers any more injuries Micah Johnson may legitimately be lining up at corner soon. I am fairly sure that Marcus Sayles is only being held together by duct tape and horse tranquilizers at this point. So other that having no useful kickers and injuries to pretty much anyone who plays DB, things are just fine. 

Defense was fairly solid last week but they were difference makers this week. It helped that Dru Brown did his best Harris homage and forgot that linebackers existed. Each LB had a pick and Sapp damn near had a fourth. You can still see inexperience in Sapp but I actually like what he brings to the table so far. Brooks just finds ways to make plays when he gets to start. Front 4 were disruptive. Overall a solid effort. 

Offense was finally able to put yards up. They needed a lot more points for what our defense was gifting them but Harris eclipsed 300 yards and could probably have hit 400 if not for drops by guys like Baker. He hit 8 different receivers. Most importantly no picks. The fumble was not on him and 9 times out of 10 that ball just falls to the turf rather than directly into a defender’s hands. AJ Ouelette is the player of the game bar none. His stats will only show 50 rush yards and 20 receiving but each one of those yards was important and hard earned against a very good Ottawa run D. He handled short yardage with Tommy out (I don’t love his style as he tries to go high rather than low but he was effective). And he saved the game by chasing that Ottawa defender down the field. That kind of effort and refusal to give up is what champions are made of. Ouelette has been quietly killing it for a month. Good things happen when we get Dohnte Myers the ball. He took a simple slant and turned it into our best offensive play of the day. Getting him involved needs to be a priority. 3 of our 4 losses have occurred when gets under 50 yards whereas we are 5-1 when get over 75. Feed him and let the man make plays.

With Friday’s win, we now sit just one win away from clinching first. Not only would that give us a first round bye but if we manage to win next week that makes our last 2 games meaningless and gives us 3 full weeks to gets healthy (or at least as close to healthy as you can get in November) something that is desperately needed as our defensive injuries mount. The only thing standing in our way now is a home game against a team that was just eliminated from the playoffs and will be starting their 3^rd string QB who was just sacked 9 times and threw 4 picks. So I guess what I’m saying is, Friday’s obsidian game is definitely somehow coming down to the last play of the game as we find some ridiculous way to almost lose. 

Other random thoughts:

-        Not a great day for TSN. Dustin Neilson repeatedly called our punter Joe Couch (no Dustin, we only wish it was Couch… as sad as that statement is to write) and Claire Hanna spent post game congratulating our players on clinching a home playoff game (we have not). As Jay Onrait would say "Ya Blew It"

-        In addition to awful kicking our cover teams were not great. Pimpleton almost busted it a few times and we were saved by a block in the back on the one he did break.

-        Can we put some respect on AJ Allen’s name? Consistently makes impact plays on defense. GO compare his stats to Cam Judge and tell me he at least should not be in the conversation for top Canadian. He damn well better be our nominee.

Riders vs. RedBlacks: Gut Check Time

The Riders are in Ottawa tonight looking to end their first losing streak of 2025. Nothing to be worried about since things always go super normal when we travel to Ottawa.

Ottawa is circling the drain. They need to win out to have a chance. Oddly enough 3 of their 4 wins have come against Calgary and BC. For many years the issue in Ottawa was a lack of talent. That’s not the case this year… other than maybe the secondary. Bob Dyce is a phenomenal human but he couldn’t get them out of the East basement if he bribed the rest of the division. 

But if last week proved anything, its that the Riders are quite capable of losing to bottom dwelling teams. Ottawa is desperate and coming off a bye. We are starting our 4^th safety since Labour Day. All outcomes are on the table in this one.

Based purely on talent on paper, you would expect Ottawa to have a great offense (Brown, Lewis, Hardy, Pimpleton, Dedmon) and a terrible D. The stats are obviously skewed by the many games missed by Brown but they are 6^th in yards gained and 3^rd in yards allowed.

Defensively we put in 3 solid quarters last week before falling apart. Gonna take all 4 to get it done in Ottawa. Reavis should be an improvement but we are still fielding a patchwork secondary against a pretty impressive group of receivers. That puts the pressure on the front 4. Ottawa is 7^th in sacks allowed and the only person on that team whose running concerns me is Crum. Best way to defend the pass is keep Brown on the turf. Ideally we get pressure with the front 4 but I think sending a 5^th rusher on pretty much every play would be fine. We can win the game with a disruptive pass rush. We can’t win if Brown has time for Geno Lewis to get open on Benny Sapp.

Offensively go back to the only thing that worked last week… Ouelette. It will be tough running as Ottawa has the #2 run D but do it anyway. Ottawa is this close to being officially cooked. If we can get an early score (what? Just because we have failed to score more than 3 first quarter points 10 times this season doesn’t mean a man can’t hope) and then pound them physically their will to continue will be a fragile as their QB. Few may be as happy as me about the return of Hudon but he’s another guy that can play a physical style. If Trevor Harris can’t get it together in this one I will officially start to worry. Ottawa has the least sacks this season and just traded away Lorenzo Mauldin. His jersey should stay whiter than a small town Saskatchewan bar. He now has all his weapons with Baker back in the fold. Time to start making good decisions, take what the D is giving and spread it around. That is a probably the weakest secondary in the CFL (aside from when we are forced to start Exume).

Lots of talk about kickers this week. As a side note, for all of you clamouring for the Riders to trade for Ward, he is currently the second worst kicker in the CFL and somehow Leone is the worst punter. Given that Dyce is a special teams guy by trade that can’t help his case to remain employed. I am glad we are giving Fair a chance due to Lauther’s “injury” (wink). The bar is set pretty low, make 3 of 4 kicks and you are officially better than the other guy. I'd rather find out now whether we have a better option than wait until playoffs. 

Look I know Ottawa has talented players and is coming off of bye but for god’s sake they just lost to a team that completed 3 passes. Our offense may be struggling but I think even declining Harris is good for a better offensive performance. We still have a very easy path to 1^st place. This is the east chance to take a big step forward in that quest… don’t blow it. 

Riders by a Tommy time TD… Tommy being Thomas Bertrand-Hudon this time.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Embarrassing Effort

Riders 25 – Elks 27

With a chance to take a massive step forward in their quest for first place and facing the worst team in the division, the Riders went out and blew it like $2 hooker in a back alley. It was ugly, it was sloppy, it was shameful. 

The blame for the loss can be placed on three people in this order: 1) Trevor Harris, 2) The Coaches, 3) Brett Lauther. I’ll give an honourable mention to the refs, though their continued awfulness was not the reason we lost.

Trevor Harris was bad. He managed a rare feat throwing not 1 but 2 interceptions on the first drive. Both were the exact same play… he seemed to forget that linebackers existed. He made bad reads. When he made the right read he threw inaccurate passes. When he actually got it there his receivers could not hold onto the ball. It continued a concerning trend. He has not been good in a solid month now. Tough to win when your most important player can only manage one good quarter per game. 

The coaches did none of the players any favours. I don’t have time to detail all their terrible decision making but I’ll summarize one from each phase to highlight my point. Special teams: The decision to even attempt a 55 yarder was stupid. Yes Lauther holds some blame (I’ll get to him) but at no point did that attempt seem like a good idea to anyone who watched the Riders this season. Defensively the all out blitz on Edmonton’s last drive that lead to a long pass completion was dumb. Send one blitzer, fine. Maybe even 2. But all out blitz leaving your patchwork secondary out to dry was a terrible call in that situation. Offensively, I could point to our questionable decision to immediately have Emilus run the same stupid screen that landed him on the injury list he just came off of. But I will instead point to the 2 point convert with the game on the line. You needed 3 yards… a low percentage deep pass was asinine. Ouelette, Tommy, short hook or slant… that are dozens of plays that had a better chance of success. As we did routinely throughout the game, the coaches chose poorly and it cost us. 

Brett Lauther’s issues finally cost us. His inability to kick even remotely consistently has been but a frustrating footnote on an otherwise successfully season so far. But Saturday it caught up with us and burned us. We lost by 1 point. Even if you forgive him the 55 yarder the coaches should not have had him try, if he makes the other kick we win. He failed… again. Any other position (except QB) that failed that often would be replaced. Mace stubbornness in treating the kicker the same is not doing us favours. 

As for the refs. Despite the fact that refs are taught to let potential turnover plays that are close playout and sort it out on review, the refs blew the whistle so quick on that fumble that Julien Grant hadn’t even hit the ground yet. We got the turnover but it cost us an obvious TD. Also, the “Command Centre has not rhyme or reason to their actions” saga continued this weekend. Friday they inserted themselves in the Montreal game to call a BS roughing the passer. Saturday when Harris clearly got hit in the head while sliding they were nowhere to be seen. Its an absolute crapshoot. The ability for the booth to review anything but challenges, turnovers and scoring plays needs to be immediately removed. I would much rather live with the on-field refs making a few mistakes. At least they have the excuse of trying to watching things in real time. If Stewart Johnston really wants to improve the on-field product there are more obvious places to start than changing the configuration of the field. 

Is it time to panic? No. We remain in first place. But the level of concern is rising steadily each week. Here’s essentially what the Riders are now: The defense will give you 3 solid quarters and cave in the 4^th. The offense will randomly decide to show up for either the 2^nd or 3^rd quarter (not both). That’s it. We can count on 4 good quarters between our 2 most important phases. Hard to win when putting in only a half game of quality effort. People keep point to the 2013 team struggling down the stretch and its true. We have the talent to turn this around. But we are doing a great Blue Jays impersonation and squandering a massive lead to make the end of the season unnecessarily stressful. Hopefully we clumsily stumble to the same result they did. 

Other random thoughts:

-        The only person I’m not mad at is AJ Ouelette. Hell of a game by him.

-        The new punter has a strong leg but the directional kicking ability of Jon Ryan. Hopefully that improves with experience.

-        Also I have a mental block and can only refer to him a Micro despite knowing full-well that’s not his name.