First of all, sorry to everyone for the delayed update this week. I had a bit of an issue come up last night and as a result I didn’t get the chance to put this post together until tonight.
Speaking of issues though, how about those injuries? Obviously the win is once again the bottom line – the last time the Riders went the big 5-0 was when the guy on the $50 bill was in office – but I think Man In The Bush hit the nail on the head when he said to me after the game “I’ve never felt this bad after a win!” Once again the injury bug reared it’s ugly head on Sunday. Darian Durant suffered cracked ribs in the first quarter, Andy Fantuz broke his leg in the 4th, and somewhere along the line James Johnson suffered what is thought to be a concussion (what I want to know is why Johnson waited until now to get hurt rather than doing it last year when I still hated him!) Even Glenn January was down on the turf at one point – for the second week in a row. I mean, I know he wants to fit in on his new team, but somebody needs to tell the guy that there are better ways to do it than getting injured!
While Johnson’s status for Saturday in Calgary is still unknown, Durant and Fantuz will join an injury list that still features the likes of DJ Flick, John Chick, Leron Mitchell and possibly Weston Dressler. There is a decent chance that Marcus Crandell will return to action this week against his former team, but the extensive injury list means that he’ll be out there with a fairly depleted group of receivers. I mean really, two months ago did any of you ever think I would be able to refer to Matt Dominguez as “the healthy one”?
Despite the injuries though, Gang Green once again found a way to come together as a team and pull out a fourth quarter victory. At this point, they are unquestionably taking years out of my life with these comeback wins. They haven’t always been pretty, but at the end of the day they don’t ask how, they just ask how many.
I give full credit to Steven Jyles for bouncing back from some ugly appearances earlier this year with a very solid game, as well as the coaching staff for reining him in a little bit better than they did against BC. Aside from a telegraphed pass that was picked off by Kenny Wheaton, one pass that was almost caught by Arland Bruce on the Argos bench, and one ball that seemed to be intended for the guy selling beer in the 5th row of the west stands, Jyles was almost perfect. He got the ball to his playmakers so that they could do the work, and when all else failed was able to pick up some key first downs with his legs.
Wes Cates continues to pile up the stats, recording another 135 yards on the ground. He now leads the league in rushing yards and majors, with more touchdowns than tornados in a trailer park. He continues to be the one constant in our offence despite his supporting cast changing from week to week. It’s early, but it’s not a stretch to think that MOP honours could be on the horizon for Cates if his play continues at this level.
Another player that I was impressed with this week was newcomer Dek Bake. Leading up to the game I got the impression that he had been threatened within an inch of his life not to let Kerry Joseph break contain, and I thought that for the most part he did an admirable job of that as he had great angles all night. Try as he might, the normally elusive Joseph found that on this day there would be no Shakin’ Bake.
Full credit to the rest of the defence as well, they definitely stepped up when it mattered most. After somewhat shaky games against Hamilton and Montreal, the D stepped up against the Argos and only allowed 4 points in the second half. Once again we saw some unorthodox formations, some of which worked and some of which didn’t. We had some success with one look that I hadn’t noticed before, that the double safety formation, which featured both Scott Gordon and Tristan Clovis on the field at the same time. My working theory right now is that Richie Hall and Gary Etchevery run races at the start of the week, and then develop a defensive formation featuring the first twelve guys across the line. Either that or Etch is borderline crazy. But I’m okay with either of those.
Well Rider fans, enjoy the rest of the week as we prepare to head into Mosaic Stadium West, or “McMahon Stadium” as the locals call it. I’ll be back to set that game up on Friday!
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Toronto vs. Saskatchewan: A Hero's Welcome?
This Sunday the Riders will take the field against the visiting Toronto Argonauts, who will be led into Mosaic Stadium by Kerry Joseph, who as we all know was named the 2007 Most Outstanding Player on his way to leading Saskatchewan to a Grey Cup victory. It seems as though the Rider Nation has mixed feelings over what kind of reception Joseph should receive upon his return. Let’s face it, Kerry did some pretty great things for our team and our community last season. But that doesn’t change the fact that I will treat him as if he tried to steal my grandma’s life savings when he takes the field. Kerry Joseph loved Regina and loved the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He just would have loved them a lot more for an extra $100,000 or so.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t fault Kerry at all for getting himself the best financial deal that he could. It’s a brutal game, and no player plays forever, so I fully realize the importance of making money while it’s there to be made. But let’s be honest about it and see things for what they are – Kerry thought he’s worth more than we were willing to pay him so he found a situation where he could get it. That makes this whole “I loved Regina and I felt betrayed when they traded me” about as believable as “Of course the Lions are under the salary cap.”
For me, the bottom line is that Kerry’s not with us, he’s against us. To borrow a line from Dave Chappelle, come this Sunday, “I hope all the bad things in life happen to you, and no one else but you!”
As for our own quarterbacking situation, we found out on Wednesday that Marcus Crandell is not yet ready to play, and as such Darian Durant will get his third consecutive start. The best part of that is that now all of the Rider fans as well as the Rider “fans” can support our offense – because I really get the feeling that there would have been some in attendance on Sunday that would have liked to see Joseph outperform Crandell this week. Sick.
But Saskatchewan isn’t the only place where quarterbacks are a big deal this week. In Winnipeg, Ryan “My Eyes Will Steal Your Soul” Dinwiddie took over for a struggling Kevin Glenn for week 5 against the Calgary Stampeders, and he managed the improbable by guiding the Bombers to their first win of the season. Not only did he win, but he looked extremely impressive doing it! Earlier this week the Calgary media was building up our game against the Stamps on August 2nd as a Battle of the Undefeated. That was a head scratcher when Calgary was 3-1, but it’s really going to be a tough sell for them now that the Stamps are hovering just over .500. “Well to be accurate, we meant undefeated… today.”
Elsewhere in the CFL, the Montreal Alouettes spent the first part of the week in Regina before flying off to Vancouver for their game against the Lions. Head coach Mark Trestman expressed a desire to have an extended road trip like this with his team in hopes that it would serve as some type of team building exercise. That’s actually a really good idea… in theory. In reality, their team building week consisted of a night of bowling (attended by roughly half the team), a barbeque at Scott Flory’s parents’ house (by invitation only – attended by 8), and the release of Jason Armstead and Rayshaun Kizer as a direct result of stupid mistakes in the last game. If that doesn’t bring the Als together, I don’t know what will.
That’s all for today, enjoy the game Sunday! I’ll have a complete summary next week of the showdown between the Durant-led Riders taking on What’s-his-Name’s Argos.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t fault Kerry at all for getting himself the best financial deal that he could. It’s a brutal game, and no player plays forever, so I fully realize the importance of making money while it’s there to be made. But let’s be honest about it and see things for what they are – Kerry thought he’s worth more than we were willing to pay him so he found a situation where he could get it. That makes this whole “I loved Regina and I felt betrayed when they traded me” about as believable as “Of course the Lions are under the salary cap.”
For me, the bottom line is that Kerry’s not with us, he’s against us. To borrow a line from Dave Chappelle, come this Sunday, “I hope all the bad things in life happen to you, and no one else but you!”
As for our own quarterbacking situation, we found out on Wednesday that Marcus Crandell is not yet ready to play, and as such Darian Durant will get his third consecutive start. The best part of that is that now all of the Rider fans as well as the Rider “fans” can support our offense – because I really get the feeling that there would have been some in attendance on Sunday that would have liked to see Joseph outperform Crandell this week. Sick.
But Saskatchewan isn’t the only place where quarterbacks are a big deal this week. In Winnipeg, Ryan “My Eyes Will Steal Your Soul” Dinwiddie took over for a struggling Kevin Glenn for week 5 against the Calgary Stampeders, and he managed the improbable by guiding the Bombers to their first win of the season. Not only did he win, but he looked extremely impressive doing it! Earlier this week the Calgary media was building up our game against the Stamps on August 2nd as a Battle of the Undefeated. That was a head scratcher when Calgary was 3-1, but it’s really going to be a tough sell for them now that the Stamps are hovering just over .500. “Well to be accurate, we meant undefeated… today.”
Elsewhere in the CFL, the Montreal Alouettes spent the first part of the week in Regina before flying off to Vancouver for their game against the Lions. Head coach Mark Trestman expressed a desire to have an extended road trip like this with his team in hopes that it would serve as some type of team building exercise. That’s actually a really good idea… in theory. In reality, their team building week consisted of a night of bowling (attended by roughly half the team), a barbeque at Scott Flory’s parents’ house (by invitation only – attended by 8), and the release of Jason Armstead and Rayshaun Kizer as a direct result of stupid mistakes in the last game. If that doesn’t bring the Als together, I don’t know what will.
That’s all for today, enjoy the game Sunday! I’ll have a complete summary next week of the showdown between the Durant-led Riders taking on What’s-his-Name’s Argos.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Substitute Blogging
So The Rider Prophet finally took a vacation, and in his absence he left his blog under the watch of the Media Consultant. Yeah… there’s a real good idea. I liken that to George Bush taking a few weeks off and asking Castro to handle the national addresses until he gets back.
For anyone that’s curious, Prophet has gone off to the Cypress Hills for a few days, following which he’ll be going on some sort of canoe trip. For anyone wondering why I’m not also on this canoe trip… not really my thing. I’m not really sure what goes on out there, but this is apparently a photo from Prophet’s last canoe trip.
Eww. Gross.
Anyway, very few of you (but possibly some) came to see lewd photos of the Rider Prophet, so let’s move on to some actual Rider discussion. Specifically, the tale of two quarterbacks.
The big issue on everyone’s mind in Riderville right now is who should be starting at quarterback this weekend. On one hand, you have Darian Durant – a young quarterback who has looked solid (but not without mistakes) in two and a half games so far this year. On the other hand, there’s Marcus Crandell, the opening day starter who is on the verge of returning from a hamstring injury.
The loudest arguments seem to be from the Durant supporters, who point out that he has carried us to the 4-0 record we are now enjoying, so how can you go away from the guy with the hot hand? What they fail to mention is that if Wes Cates doesn’t play an incredible half of football, Weston Dressler doesn’t make a miracle run, and Jason Armstead makes a smart football decision (okay, I realize that last one is a bit of a stretch), we could just as easily be 1-3. Good teams find ways to win, but it’s not like Durant is single-handedly carrying us to levels of success not seen around here since 1970. At times, Durant has been great. At times he has made poor decisions and mistakes. In fact, I think that these poor decisions and mistakes may have been weighing on his mind as he left the field on Saturday evening, and were possibly to blame for his inability to heal a leper while turning water into wine.
The fact is, Coach Miller has said from the very beginning that Crandell will start again when he’s healthy, and that is all the reason in the world to sit Durant back on the bench. It’s not like we were losing games with Crandell behind center, so what does that tell the rest of the players if Durant continues to play? To compare this to another situation, John Chick has played reasonably well so far this season, but what happens if Dek Bake goes in this weekend and shows signs of potential? Do we want Chick rushing himself back from injury, shuffling around on the field just to try to preserve his spot on the team? Doesn’t sound like a good plan to me. What it comes down to is that if Crandell doesn’t start the first game after he gets healthy, Ken Miller will have about as much credibility with his players as Keith Richards starring in an after school special. The more you know…
Well, I think that’s about enough for today. To be honest, I’ve been writing the jokes for these pieces for a little over a year now (the funny ones, at least), but I’m not used to having to come up with all of the filler to span the gaps between hilarity. But don’t worry though, by the end of next week I will be so good at this that no one will care about the alleged quarterback controversy, we’ll have ourselves a full-scale blogger controversy. Check back Friday when I set up this weekend’s game against the dastardly Kerry Joseph and the Toronto Argonauts.
For anyone that’s curious, Prophet has gone off to the Cypress Hills for a few days, following which he’ll be going on some sort of canoe trip. For anyone wondering why I’m not also on this canoe trip… not really my thing. I’m not really sure what goes on out there, but this is apparently a photo from Prophet’s last canoe trip.
Eww. Gross.
Anyway, very few of you (but possibly some) came to see lewd photos of the Rider Prophet, so let’s move on to some actual Rider discussion. Specifically, the tale of two quarterbacks.
The big issue on everyone’s mind in Riderville right now is who should be starting at quarterback this weekend. On one hand, you have Darian Durant – a young quarterback who has looked solid (but not without mistakes) in two and a half games so far this year. On the other hand, there’s Marcus Crandell, the opening day starter who is on the verge of returning from a hamstring injury.
The loudest arguments seem to be from the Durant supporters, who point out that he has carried us to the 4-0 record we are now enjoying, so how can you go away from the guy with the hot hand? What they fail to mention is that if Wes Cates doesn’t play an incredible half of football, Weston Dressler doesn’t make a miracle run, and Jason Armstead makes a smart football decision (okay, I realize that last one is a bit of a stretch), we could just as easily be 1-3. Good teams find ways to win, but it’s not like Durant is single-handedly carrying us to levels of success not seen around here since 1970. At times, Durant has been great. At times he has made poor decisions and mistakes. In fact, I think that these poor decisions and mistakes may have been weighing on his mind as he left the field on Saturday evening, and were possibly to blame for his inability to heal a leper while turning water into wine.
The fact is, Coach Miller has said from the very beginning that Crandell will start again when he’s healthy, and that is all the reason in the world to sit Durant back on the bench. It’s not like we were losing games with Crandell behind center, so what does that tell the rest of the players if Durant continues to play? To compare this to another situation, John Chick has played reasonably well so far this season, but what happens if Dek Bake goes in this weekend and shows signs of potential? Do we want Chick rushing himself back from injury, shuffling around on the field just to try to preserve his spot on the team? Doesn’t sound like a good plan to me. What it comes down to is that if Crandell doesn’t start the first game after he gets healthy, Ken Miller will have about as much credibility with his players as Keith Richards starring in an after school special. The more you know…
Well, I think that’s about enough for today. To be honest, I’ve been writing the jokes for these pieces for a little over a year now (the funny ones, at least), but I’m not used to having to come up with all of the filler to span the gaps between hilarity. But don’t worry though, by the end of next week I will be so good at this that no one will care about the alleged quarterback controversy, we’ll have ourselves a full-scale blogger controversy. Check back Friday when I set up this weekend’s game against the dastardly Kerry Joseph and the Toronto Argonauts.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Vacation Time
Starting tomorrow, I will be off on a well deserved vacation. Okay the “well deserved” part may be a bit of a stretch but I will be taking 2 weeks vacation regardless.
It’s really unfortunate that my vacation happens to coincide with one of the craziest news weeks so far in the CFL. Major injuries to Perry, Simpson and Eiben; Armstead and Kizer cut; Stanford Samuels re-signed; Dinwiddie to start; all that and I haven’t even gotten to the big Rider game. It’s like an all you can eat buffet of awesome stories and I have to pass.
But fear not, I will not leave you high and dry while I’m away. It would be a shame to let stories as good as these go without some biting commentary and politically incorrect humour.
In my absence, Media Consultant will be running the show… a move I already regret. I can only imagine the mess I have to deal with upon my return. With that in mind I have prepared the following disclaimer:
The Rider Prophet assumes no responsibility for anything written or done by Media Consultant in his absence. The views expressed by said Media Consultant do not necessarily represent those of the Rider Prophet and are likely nothing more than the senseless ranting of an employee who is disgruntled because he works for free.
There, now that that is handled I leave you in the hands of Media Consultant… May God have mercy on your souls.
--
PS - As part of my vacation, I will be heading to Calgary for the Rider game on August 2nd along with Media Consultant. If you are making the trip as well be sure to come up and say hi.
It’s really unfortunate that my vacation happens to coincide with one of the craziest news weeks so far in the CFL. Major injuries to Perry, Simpson and Eiben; Armstead and Kizer cut; Stanford Samuels re-signed; Dinwiddie to start; all that and I haven’t even gotten to the big Rider game. It’s like an all you can eat buffet of awesome stories and I have to pass.
But fear not, I will not leave you high and dry while I’m away. It would be a shame to let stories as good as these go without some biting commentary and politically incorrect humour.
In my absence, Media Consultant will be running the show… a move I already regret. I can only imagine the mess I have to deal with upon my return. With that in mind I have prepared the following disclaimer:
The Rider Prophet assumes no responsibility for anything written or done by Media Consultant in his absence. The views expressed by said Media Consultant do not necessarily represent those of the Rider Prophet and are likely nothing more than the senseless ranting of an employee who is disgruntled because he works for free.
There, now that that is handled I leave you in the hands of Media Consultant… May God have mercy on your souls.
--
PS - As part of my vacation, I will be heading to Calgary for the Rider game on August 2nd along with Media Consultant. If you are making the trip as well be sure to come up and say hi.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday Morning Sentimonies: Still Undefeated
Riders 41 - Montreal 33
Wow! Another week, another exciting victory for the Riders. I'll admit things looked bleak for a minute there. We were down 33-25 with just over 3 minutes left and though I hadn't counted us out yet, I was beginning to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. But just when it seemed hope was fading, the Riders rattled off 16 unanswered points, in the most exciting 3 minutes of football I've seen in a long time.
While there were so many great individual efforts that led to the victory, there was one individual who deserves special mention. With time winding down and the Als leading, someone was going to have to step up if the Riders were going to win... and that man was Jason Armstead. More than any other player, his efforts fueled the Rider comeback. He started by kneeling on a kickoff despite being pinned deep in his own end. I haven't seen such a misguided decision since that time I glove slapped Colonel Sanders (granted Armstead had no coverage because Marc Trestman mysteriously sent out the onside kick recovery team but still Armstead could have gained 5 yards by simply falling forward). Upon returning to the bench, Trestman had some stern words for his mediocre return man. But Armstead wasn't finished, he proceeded to fumble the next kickoff, all but sealing Montreal's fate. After scraping himself off the turf and finding his way to the bench he was heard telling his coach "Taking the knee doesn't look so bad now, does it??" I find it ironic that Armstead managed to give the Riders better field position as an Aloutette then he did while he was still a Rider.
Darian Durant continued his strong play, passing for 3 TDs and rushing for another. Thank God, because after watching Hamilton embarrass themselves this week I was worried that he wasn't as good as Hamilton made him look. Fortunately, Durant looks to be the real deal and provides us with solid depth at QB. Special mention also goes out to Wes Cates and Neal Hughes who accounted for over half of our 475 offensive yards, the bulk of which was through the air. You know things are going good on offense when a receiving corp featuring Fantuz, Dominguez and Bowman has to compete with a RB and FB for receptions.
It wasn't all positives for the Riders though. We had some offensive struggles including 2 INTs to Reggie Hunt, a Wes Cates fumble that was overturned (though I think it was a fumble) and the worst offensive series I've ever seen. We managed to start on our own 5 and go penalty, penalty, incompletion, penalty, short pass, safety (or the Hamilton '03 special, as it's more widely known). Also, our 3rd quarter defense was about the worst I've seen in some time. I can forgive leaving receivers open because you are blitzing to get big pressure on the QB and I can also forgive getting minimal pressure because you are dropping into blanket coverage. It seemed for awhile though that Richie Hall subscribed to neither of those philosophies and instead opted for the lesser known "get no pressure and cover no one" defensive scheme. While the scheme managed to confuse me and those sitting around me, Anthony Calvillo and the Als offense seemed un-phased. Fortunately for the Riders, our D once again stepped up when it mattered most, forcing a couple big turnovers to swing momentum back in our direction.
Then end result was an exciting win and a CFL best 4-0 record. It's the first time we've started 4-0 since 1970. The victory came at a big cost though as defensive end John Chick went down early and it was later revealed that he sprained his MCL and will be out 4-6 weeks minimum. If you have any kind of memory, the phrase "out 4-6 with an MCL sprain" should concern you. The last time we heard it was regarding Dominguez. What they forgot to add to the end of that diagnosis was "Replace 4-6 with 8-10 and the word weeks with months". We wish Chick a speedy recovery. He is now the 5th Rider player to suffer a significant lower body injury this year, joining Marcus Crandell, Weston Dressler, DJ Flick and Leron Mitchell. If we keep up this pace, pretty soon the only place you'll find more people with bad legs than the Riders injured reserve will be on Brendan Taman's list of punting prospects.
I'm the Rider Prophet and those are my sentimonies.
Wow! Another week, another exciting victory for the Riders. I'll admit things looked bleak for a minute there. We were down 33-25 with just over 3 minutes left and though I hadn't counted us out yet, I was beginning to get a sinking feeling in my stomach. But just when it seemed hope was fading, the Riders rattled off 16 unanswered points, in the most exciting 3 minutes of football I've seen in a long time.
While there were so many great individual efforts that led to the victory, there was one individual who deserves special mention. With time winding down and the Als leading, someone was going to have to step up if the Riders were going to win... and that man was Jason Armstead. More than any other player, his efforts fueled the Rider comeback. He started by kneeling on a kickoff despite being pinned deep in his own end. I haven't seen such a misguided decision since that time I glove slapped Colonel Sanders (granted Armstead had no coverage because Marc Trestman mysteriously sent out the onside kick recovery team but still Armstead could have gained 5 yards by simply falling forward). Upon returning to the bench, Trestman had some stern words for his mediocre return man. But Armstead wasn't finished, he proceeded to fumble the next kickoff, all but sealing Montreal's fate. After scraping himself off the turf and finding his way to the bench he was heard telling his coach "Taking the knee doesn't look so bad now, does it??" I find it ironic that Armstead managed to give the Riders better field position as an Aloutette then he did while he was still a Rider.
Darian Durant continued his strong play, passing for 3 TDs and rushing for another. Thank God, because after watching Hamilton embarrass themselves this week I was worried that he wasn't as good as Hamilton made him look. Fortunately, Durant looks to be the real deal and provides us with solid depth at QB. Special mention also goes out to Wes Cates and Neal Hughes who accounted for over half of our 475 offensive yards, the bulk of which was through the air. You know things are going good on offense when a receiving corp featuring Fantuz, Dominguez and Bowman has to compete with a RB and FB for receptions.
It wasn't all positives for the Riders though. We had some offensive struggles including 2 INTs to Reggie Hunt, a Wes Cates fumble that was overturned (though I think it was a fumble) and the worst offensive series I've ever seen. We managed to start on our own 5 and go penalty, penalty, incompletion, penalty, short pass, safety (or the Hamilton '03 special, as it's more widely known). Also, our 3rd quarter defense was about the worst I've seen in some time. I can forgive leaving receivers open because you are blitzing to get big pressure on the QB and I can also forgive getting minimal pressure because you are dropping into blanket coverage. It seemed for awhile though that Richie Hall subscribed to neither of those philosophies and instead opted for the lesser known "get no pressure and cover no one" defensive scheme. While the scheme managed to confuse me and those sitting around me, Anthony Calvillo and the Als offense seemed un-phased. Fortunately for the Riders, our D once again stepped up when it mattered most, forcing a couple big turnovers to swing momentum back in our direction.
Then end result was an exciting win and a CFL best 4-0 record. It's the first time we've started 4-0 since 1970. The victory came at a big cost though as defensive end John Chick went down early and it was later revealed that he sprained his MCL and will be out 4-6 weeks minimum. If you have any kind of memory, the phrase "out 4-6 with an MCL sprain" should concern you. The last time we heard it was regarding Dominguez. What they forgot to add to the end of that diagnosis was "Replace 4-6 with 8-10 and the word weeks with months". We wish Chick a speedy recovery. He is now the 5th Rider player to suffer a significant lower body injury this year, joining Marcus Crandell, Weston Dressler, DJ Flick and Leron Mitchell. If we keep up this pace, pretty soon the only place you'll find more people with bad legs than the Riders injured reserve will be on Brendan Taman's list of punting prospects.
I'm the Rider Prophet and those are my sentimonies.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Week 4: Riders vs. Alouettes
Before I get to this week’s game, I would like to start off today with the best news so far this year. No, they have not made liquor purchases tax deductible (that would be a close second to this news). Eric Tillman has signed an extension with the Roughriders!!!
Now I have heard a lot of misguided talk about the deal we signed Tillman to. With that in mind I would like to introduce a new feature to the blog called Addressing Uninformed Opinions where I set the record straight on some common misconceptions (I wanted to call this feature “Everyone Is Stupid But Me” but Media Consultant convinced me to go with something a bit less condescending). So without further adieu…
Addressing Uninformed Opinions: Eric Tillman’s Extension
Uninformed Opinion #1 – This provides the Riders with no long-term security
This is not just a 1 year extension, if ET keeps winning the contract keeps extending automatically. So this contract ensures that we have a GM who has to perform at a high level in order to stick around… sounds like security to me (as well as everything that all the fans were screaming for when our last GM was on the way out).
Uninformed Opinion #2 – We should have signed a long term deal as opposed to a 1 year extension.
So you’d rather that we guarantee Tillman boatloads of money for the next decade regardless of how the team performs as opposed to basing contract extensions on team performance?? I am a huge Tillman fan and have a ton of faith in him but I see nothing wrong with making him earn his paycheck. Personally, I blame the unions for the mass confusion regarding this subject - employment based on performance, what a concept! Besides, if Tillman is indeed as good as we all think he is, reaching his performance objectives will be easier than the time I beat Stevie Wonder at I Spy.
Uninformed Opinion #3 – This contract allows Tillman to weasel out whenever he wants.
There is a 6 figure penalty clause in this contract should Tillman decide to leave of his own accord. That can hardly be considered weaseling. In fact, such talk is insulting to weasels (those noble little creatures).
Hopefully that clears things up.
Now onto the game…
Tomorrow the 2-1 Alouettes roll into town to take on the 3-0 Roughriders in a battle of division leaders and the CFL’s two most potent offenses. For the 10th straight time at Mosaic Stadium, the game will be played in front of a sold-out crowd.
Darian Durant will once again get the start for the Riders as Marcus Crandell is still not 100%. This will be a big test for Durant. We will find out if he is indeed the bright young QB prospect we’ve been hoping for or if he’s just another Rocky Butler-type who only manages to look good when playing Hamilton. I’m thinking it’s the former but after watching Hamilton play last night, I’m taking a wait and see approach.
Injuries continue to be a big story. The Riders list of walking wounded seems to grow each week. We are currently without Crandell, Szarka, Flick, Dressler and Mitchell. I’m glad that we have so much depth on this team but I would be a lot happier if we weren’t testing the limits of that depth so early in the season. Can you imagine if we start 4-0 despite missing our starting QB, FB, kick returner and last year’s top receiver?
The Alouettes come into this game with some injuries of their own. OL Dave Mudge is sidelined with a knee injury. Despite a gruesome looking pinky dislocation last week, Anthony Calvillo will be playing. Calvillo must really be embracing life in Montreal because his pinky did its best impersonation of Quebec and tried unsuccessfully to separate from the rest of the hand.
What do Damien Anderson, Joe Smith and Jesse Lumsden have in common? All 3 are starting RBs who have played us and are no longer playing: Smith and Lumsden due to injury and Anderson due to being replaced. Warning to Avon Cobourne! I would not play on Saturday if I were you. We seem to be like the kiss of death for starting RBs.
Our defense has yet to allow a passing TD, though that is mainly because Hamilton has no passing game and Jarious Jackson sucks. They will be put to the test this week though. Calvillo has been paying well so far and has a dangerous group of receivers led by Kerry Watkins. They key to this game will be taking away the deep passes and forcing the Als to grind it out with us. The Als are such an old team that if we force them to fight for every inch and go toe to toe with them, by the start of the 4th quarter they will likely throw in the towel and head back to the locker room to apply bengay and watch Matlock.
Honestly the Riders have already outlasted the league’s best QB in Ricky Ray, the league’s best defense in BC and the league’s best RB in Jesse Lumsden, what more can you really throw at us?
Riders by 10.
That’s it for now. We'll see you in the stands. Don’t forget to bring a food donation to the game for Tackle Hunger Day and remember half eaten hot dogs from the practice field do not constitute a donation.
Now I have heard a lot of misguided talk about the deal we signed Tillman to. With that in mind I would like to introduce a new feature to the blog called Addressing Uninformed Opinions where I set the record straight on some common misconceptions (I wanted to call this feature “Everyone Is Stupid But Me” but Media Consultant convinced me to go with something a bit less condescending). So without further adieu…
Addressing Uninformed Opinions: Eric Tillman’s Extension
Uninformed Opinion #1 – This provides the Riders with no long-term security
This is not just a 1 year extension, if ET keeps winning the contract keeps extending automatically. So this contract ensures that we have a GM who has to perform at a high level in order to stick around… sounds like security to me (as well as everything that all the fans were screaming for when our last GM was on the way out).
Uninformed Opinion #2 – We should have signed a long term deal as opposed to a 1 year extension.
So you’d rather that we guarantee Tillman boatloads of money for the next decade regardless of how the team performs as opposed to basing contract extensions on team performance?? I am a huge Tillman fan and have a ton of faith in him but I see nothing wrong with making him earn his paycheck. Personally, I blame the unions for the mass confusion regarding this subject - employment based on performance, what a concept! Besides, if Tillman is indeed as good as we all think he is, reaching his performance objectives will be easier than the time I beat Stevie Wonder at I Spy.
Uninformed Opinion #3 – This contract allows Tillman to weasel out whenever he wants.
There is a 6 figure penalty clause in this contract should Tillman decide to leave of his own accord. That can hardly be considered weaseling. In fact, such talk is insulting to weasels (those noble little creatures).
Hopefully that clears things up.
Now onto the game…
Tomorrow the 2-1 Alouettes roll into town to take on the 3-0 Roughriders in a battle of division leaders and the CFL’s two most potent offenses. For the 10th straight time at Mosaic Stadium, the game will be played in front of a sold-out crowd.
Darian Durant will once again get the start for the Riders as Marcus Crandell is still not 100%. This will be a big test for Durant. We will find out if he is indeed the bright young QB prospect we’ve been hoping for or if he’s just another Rocky Butler-type who only manages to look good when playing Hamilton. I’m thinking it’s the former but after watching Hamilton play last night, I’m taking a wait and see approach.
Injuries continue to be a big story. The Riders list of walking wounded seems to grow each week. We are currently without Crandell, Szarka, Flick, Dressler and Mitchell. I’m glad that we have so much depth on this team but I would be a lot happier if we weren’t testing the limits of that depth so early in the season. Can you imagine if we start 4-0 despite missing our starting QB, FB, kick returner and last year’s top receiver?
The Alouettes come into this game with some injuries of their own. OL Dave Mudge is sidelined with a knee injury. Despite a gruesome looking pinky dislocation last week, Anthony Calvillo will be playing. Calvillo must really be embracing life in Montreal because his pinky did its best impersonation of Quebec and tried unsuccessfully to separate from the rest of the hand.
What do Damien Anderson, Joe Smith and Jesse Lumsden have in common? All 3 are starting RBs who have played us and are no longer playing: Smith and Lumsden due to injury and Anderson due to being replaced. Warning to Avon Cobourne! I would not play on Saturday if I were you. We seem to be like the kiss of death for starting RBs.
Our defense has yet to allow a passing TD, though that is mainly because Hamilton has no passing game and Jarious Jackson sucks. They will be put to the test this week though. Calvillo has been paying well so far and has a dangerous group of receivers led by Kerry Watkins. They key to this game will be taking away the deep passes and forcing the Als to grind it out with us. The Als are such an old team that if we force them to fight for every inch and go toe to toe with them, by the start of the 4th quarter they will likely throw in the towel and head back to the locker room to apply bengay and watch Matlock.
Honestly the Riders have already outlasted the league’s best QB in Ricky Ray, the league’s best defense in BC and the league’s best RB in Jesse Lumsden, what more can you really throw at us?
Riders by 10.
That’s it for now. We'll see you in the stands. Don’t forget to bring a food donation to the game for Tackle Hunger Day and remember half eaten hot dogs from the practice field do not constitute a donation.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
On This Day In Roughrider History: What Happens In Vegas
Welcome back to our continuing series of notable moments in Roughrider history.
For today's installment we take you back to 1994. The CFL was in the midst of its US expansion. Four American teams competed that season including Sacramento, Shreveport, Baltimore and Las Vegas.
With the exception of Baltimore, successful was not a term often used to describe the American franchises. But the Las Vegas Posse were in a league all to their own when it came to failure. Losing record, poor attendance, poor facilities, you name it. To their credit, they do hold one CFL record to this day... the lowest recorded attendance in CFL history (to be fair, they were hosting the Blue Bombers that game so that may have been more to blame than anything the Posse did).
It was on this day back in 1994 though that one of the most infamous moments in the brief Posse history occurred. The Riders traveled to Las Vegas to play the Posse in their home opener. While the game itself was quite forgettable (mainly because we lost), what happened before the game was quite memorable. Given that it was the Posse's home opener, nerves ran high. Especially for a local lounge singer by the name of Dennis KC Parks, who was to sing the national anthems to open the game. Though he had never heard the Canadian anthem before, Parks remained confident, after all he was a seasoned lounge singer. What's the worst that could happen?
Honestly, I think the only way Parks could have embarrassed himself anymore is if he would have intermittently tossed in "Try the veal" and "I'll be here all week".
Being associated with embarrassing moments in football... a proud part of our Roughrider heritage.
For today's installment we take you back to 1994. The CFL was in the midst of its US expansion. Four American teams competed that season including Sacramento, Shreveport, Baltimore and Las Vegas.
With the exception of Baltimore, successful was not a term often used to describe the American franchises. But the Las Vegas Posse were in a league all to their own when it came to failure. Losing record, poor attendance, poor facilities, you name it. To their credit, they do hold one CFL record to this day... the lowest recorded attendance in CFL history (to be fair, they were hosting the Blue Bombers that game so that may have been more to blame than anything the Posse did).
It was on this day back in 1994 though that one of the most infamous moments in the brief Posse history occurred. The Riders traveled to Las Vegas to play the Posse in their home opener. While the game itself was quite forgettable (mainly because we lost), what happened before the game was quite memorable. Given that it was the Posse's home opener, nerves ran high. Especially for a local lounge singer by the name of Dennis KC Parks, who was to sing the national anthems to open the game. Though he had never heard the Canadian anthem before, Parks remained confident, after all he was a seasoned lounge singer. What's the worst that could happen?
Honestly, I think the only way Parks could have embarrassed himself anymore is if he would have intermittently tossed in "Try the veal" and "I'll be here all week".
Being associated with embarrassing moments in football... a proud part of our Roughrider heritage.
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