Riders vs. Stampeders: Preseason Game 2

The day is finally here. After seemingly endless football-less months, we get to see football in person once more. Back to Mosaic stadium, back with friends in the stands, back being unmercifully gouged at the concessions.

Not too long ago, a Friday night home preseason game would have meant trouble for me. I mean the game doesn’t matter and no work the next game. It was actually scenarios just like this that led to the development of the Official Rider Prophet Preseason Drinking Game. I played to win. Fast forward a few years and when you factor in way higher booze prices, the fact that I can’t blow all my money on booze (should probably be spent on feeding my kids or not having my mortgage foreclosed), and the fact that I can no longer sleep until noon the next day… it will be relatively tame by comparison. But I’m sure you didn’t come here to hear me lament about getting older and having responsibilities.

For many players this will be a final tune up before the regular season opener next week. For others it will be their last chance to make a big enough impression to remain employed. For still others it will be the last time they appear in Green and White and they will have to endure some jackass from the stands pointing out the exact moment in the game when the decision to cut them was made (I had actually considered making a giant pair of scissors out of bristle board to accentuate my point but given that security wouldn’t let me through with a milk jug last season, I can see it being worth my time).

I’ve already talked a lot about the key positions for us this preseason. So rather than rehash all that I’m going to talk about specific players that I will be watching for.

OL Terran Vaughn – A huge part of our season rests on him being good. No pressure buddy. He seemed to fair ok in the first preseason game. Another good showing in this game would go a long way to easing the minds of Rider Nation… and Zach Collaros.

DB Nick Marshall – The short side CB spot is his to lose. He had a pick last game and reportedly has had a strong camp. He made Chris Lyles expendable so he’s already a winner in my books. Ideally he plays so well that we barely notice him.

LB Cam Judge – My position hasn’t changed that if we are insistent on a Cdn LB starting, we are screwed if that person in not Judge. Need to see 3 things from him: nose for the football, ability to cover the pass, ability not to end up injured (hasn’t exactly proven super durable in his short tenure).

Stanford/Bailey/Picton – For better or worse one of these guys will be playing a significant role in our offense. I actually think long term that Picton has the highest ceiling of the bunch (not just saying that because he’s a local product) but Jones seems to think he needs to develop more so most likely its Bailey vs. Stanford. Given Bailey’s size, I think Stanford will need to have a strong showing to unseat him.

LB Gary Wilkins – Lots of hype on this guy last minicamp and this minicamp. We’ve moved him to LB and just so happen to have a big need for depth at import LB so he has a great opportunity tonight.

Our D-line – Not sure how much actual time the starting 4 will see but man am I pumped to see what Hughes-Evans-Cox-Jefferson can bring.

OL Emmanuel Adusei – With pretty much anything resembling a Cdn OL outside of our starters being hurt, by default Adusei is currently it for depth. He doesn’t need to be outstanding but even just seeing him hold his own (figuratively not literally) would be good.

WR Jordan Williams-Lambert – Was planning to put Shaq Evans in this space but he is not playing so Williams-Lambert because the WR I’ll be watching. Lots of hype coming out of training camp but was barely noticeable in Game 1. With Antwane Grant gone there is an opening for at least one new WR to stick around in some capacity.

RB Zac Stacy/Tre Mason – We evidently like guys with 3 letter first names and 5 letter last names who have played for the Rams. I expect a 60/40 split of reps with Messam and an import. For games 1 and 2 that import will be one of Stacy or Mason (side note, Zac Stacy always makes me think of that song Stacy’s Mom… I bet you are singing that song now. I’m sorry). Preseason games can make an RB’s career (like it did in 2012 for Kory Sheets) or break it (like when Quentin Griffin thought he was too good to expend energy on preseason game in 2008). I’m hoping for a Sheets type thing but a comical story about a player sealing his own fate is a decent consolation prize.

One last note, you’ll note I made zero mention of QBs. Clearly I will be watching them and I’m excited to see Collaros as a Rider for the first time but nothing that happens in the game will change the fact that Collaros is the starter and Bridge the #2 so I don’t think its worth discussing much.

See you in the stands.While I will be calling out from the stands when players have earned themselves a cut, I will not limit my cuts to the players. Too much foam in my beer, cut. Not giving me the winning 50/50 ticket, cut. People who decide to stop at the most inconvenient spot in the concourse, you better believe you're cut.

Monday Morning Senitmonies: Likes and Worries

Training camp continues for the Riders as they have 2 weeks between preseason games. The good news is that we only have to wait four more days for our first visit to Mosaic of the season. The downside is that there isn't a whole lot in the way of news to discuss until the Riders play again.

So today I decided to take a look at each position and discuss what I like about where we are at there as well as what still worries me. It's not quite the blogging equivalent of a clip show but its pretty close.

QB
Like: Watching Trevor Harris go down made me realize how nice it is to have 2 starting quality QBs.  Not many teams have that luxury and it gives tremendous peace of mind.
Worries: Not a lot actually. You already know I'm all in on the Collaros bandwagon. My only real worries are about our ability to block for him and our willingness to actually run the ball to take some pressure off (though Collaros does come from Kent Austin's offense, and he is the only guy more morally opposed the run than McAdoo). 

RB
Like: Once the Thigpen suspension is over we have a great 1-2 punch of Messam's power and Thigpen's explosiveness (provided we actually decide to run).
Worries: As great as our 1-2 punch is, they might as well be watching Matlock while drinking prune juice for how old they are football-wise. Thigpen has less miles on him than Messam (who I don't have a ton of confidence in this year) but still its somewhat worrisome.

WR
Like: Carter, Roosevelt, Grant, Owens, Holley. What's not to love? Top end talent and quality depth. If one of the new guys happens to crack the roster, you know they are something special.
Worries: The Jake Harty injury left a big hole behind Rob Bagg. Bailey and Stanford are alright alternatives but not what Harty would have brought. We will need a 2nd quality Cdn WR for when Messam subs out and the jury is out on whether Bailey or Stanford can do it consistently. Another worry is the fact that we think our best WR should focus on playing DB part-time. Sure it gave us the Bo Levi pick 6 (a sweet memory indeed) but I still won't get onboard with any plan that willingly reduces the offensive snaps for your most dangerous weapon.

OL
Like: Labatte and Bond will be solid at guard. Thus far Vaughn has done alright at tackle. I think our starting unit will be solid (not spectacular but solid).
Worries: Depth. In theory we are solid with Bladek and St John but St John can't get healthy enough to show whether this is actually his year. One injury could make things scary. Also depth behind Vaughn is a concern. I also have my ongoing concern with the fact that Dan Clark is adequate at best but I'll save you rehashing that rant.

DL
Like: Pretty much everything about it. Hughes-Evans-Cox-Jefferson. That's a scary group. We also can rotate in Steele and Antigha who are solid in their own right. Hughes consistently leads the league in sacks and who ever plays opposite of him has a career year. I for one can't wait to see how awesome a career year for Jefferson is. If Chris Jones can actually get legit pressure on 3 and 4 man rush then his defense becomes a whole lot more dangerous.
Worries:  Honestly, nothing. This should be a real strength for our team

LB
Like: Love Eguavoen and Moncrief. If Judge can stay healthy then I think we have a solid group of 3 starters. Hurl is a good rotation guy (just please don't let me him be an every down starter). 
Worries: Depth. I know we have guys in camp but so far there are no clear standout among the new import LBs. We need a couple of them to be good. If Eguavoen or Moncrief get hurt we could be screwed.  

DB
Like: That we have 2 rock solid HBs from day 1. Our starting secondary in the first few games of last season likely cost us a game or 2. When Butler stepped in to that HB spot it solidified everything and they started playing much better from then on.  Other than 1 CB spot we have the same unit that ended last season. That continuity should pay dividends.
Worries: Still worried that Chris Lyles will win the starting CB spot. He has size and speed but gets beat deep routinely (he was part of the problem early last season).  Worried that old man Jovon may not have another full year in him. He has given little reason to doubt so far but he's one of many old men we are counting heavily on. Also a bit concerned about depth at safety. Last season we had some combination of Edem, Brouilette, Bouka and Hecht throughout the year. This year we have just Edem and Brouilette (and Radford in an emergency). Be nice to have one more body there for depth (maybe Bouka will return mid-season)

Friday Thoughts

The Riders don’t play another preseason game for another week yet so we don’t have a ton of new stuff to discuss other than the fact that we cut everyone with the last name Williams (I’m sure Williams-Lambert only got off on a technicality). Still the football-starved masses need appeasing and I have a high need to have my opinions heard so let’s talk football.

In no particular order here is what’s been on my mind this week:

• O-line remains my number one concern for this team but my primary focus is shifting. After a decent showing on Sunday, my faith in the starting 5 is on the rise. The current injuries to Bladek and St John have me worrying now more about depth. Those 2 are our Cdn OL depth… that’s it. Them being down is highlighting how thin we are there and how quickly things could go south during the season. The drop off from Vaughn to Cofield was noticeable on Sunday as well. I’m sure Bladek and St John will be fine come the regular season but odds are our depth will be tested at some point.
• Seems our RB battle is a showcase of former Ram RBs with Stacy and now Tre Mason. I do kinda wish we focused more on finding non former NFL RBs (it should be one of the easiest positons to recruit) though at least Mason is still relatively young
• I wish we didn’t have to wait another week to get a glimpse at our real defense. It has the potential to be a dominant group.
• When Trevor Harris went down last night, I’m sure many people’s first thought was “we should trade them Bridge”. What you really should be thinking is “Thank god we have a capable back-up!”
• One thing I’ve really noticed is that none of the new recruits seem to be getting a ton of hype. Clearly preseason hype doesn’t always predict success but usually there a couple names that really stand out in camp. I can’t tell if that means we have bad recruits of if guys are just solid but flying under the radar. It may take until the roster is set to answer that question. I do think we have some good players in camp, they just don’t seem to be getting a ton of hype.

 

Monday Morning Sentimonies: At Least It Was A Football Game

Riders 12 - Esks 35

How good did the Riders' first preseason game go? Well the back-up kicker was the player of the game, our star receiver was our most physical defender, the story of the game was the announcers apologizing for profanity and at one point we had more offsides than positive yards. The cherry on top was that Rod Black was the announcer. So while this was certainly better than the past months of not having football, it was not by much.

But before we start completely overreacting (as Rider Fans have been known to do from time to time) let's remember that we did not dress pretty much any players that mattered on defense and our top 2 QBs didn't set foot on the field. This game was about evaluating our new guys and many of them will soon be unemployed. So while its never a good thing to get pummeled (even in the preseason). Its not the end of the world. The 2nd preseason game will be a lot more telling in terms of where this team stands.

Let's take a look at what we did learn at each position:

QB - Neither Collaros or Bridge are in any danger of slipping down the depth chart. My assessment of what we saw is as follows: Watford has a big arm but no idea how to use it. Williams has great poise in the pocket but no ability to do anything productive (though some allowance for him as he was with second/third stringers). Daniels is raw and needs developing but showed spark (albeit against Edmonton's future unemployed). If I was running things Watford and Daniels stay and battle, Williams goes home. But no one asks me.

RB - Thigpen is really good. He was one of the few bright spots on Sunday. Going to be tough waiting until game 3 for him but he will be electric when he does play.  I'd give Stacy a slight edge over McPhearson though neither showed a ton.

OL - Biggest question mark coming in. I thought the starting group did fine early on. Watford was kept fairly clean. Nothing outstanding but solid enough to allay some fears. We we started mixing in the back-ups though things went down hill quick. Raises definte concerns about our depth. Cofield was not great and Bladek struggled at times. I think our starting 5 will be ok (I hope they take another step forward next game as I'd like to be better than ok though I'll take it). Need to see more from our 2nd stringers though because I doubt we go a full season injury free.

WR - Our starters are good (more patented top notch Prophet analysis). No one really showed much outside of that though. After hearing Williams-Lambert talked up all week he was very quiet. I thought Josh Stanford gained a lot of ground in his battle for a spot with Devon Bailey. Bailey has size but I'll take Stanford's steady consistency from Sunday over that. Kyran Moore is fast but didn't show a ton beyond that. 

DL - No one really impressed or stood out here which in one sense is fine since all our starters were resting but it was disappointing that no one really flashed. They did display an amazing ability to jump offside prematurely.

LBs - We may have something in Cam Judge. No just because of that one hit (which was nice) be I did notice him all over the field. Sam Hurl is who we thought he was. Good on teams, ok rotational defender, liability as a starter. Again, no one really stood out. Which is too bad because we need some depth here.

CBs - Chris Lyles is still a liability when it comes to the deep ball. I hope someone can step up and unseat him for the starting spot. Nick Marshall looked good, especially on that pick. Only other thing I noticed was Brouilette wiff on at least 2 open field tackles. Maybe he should threaten to sue anyone who avoids his tackle.

Special Teams - Lauther kicked well but make no mistake, Crapigna is out guy. We may keep Lauther around in case of injury though. I consistently noticed Alexandre Gagne be among the first downfield on kick coverage. Its a good thing Christion Jones is our returner. No one else looked great (other than Moore's speed).

For the Riders it was a performance so ugly it might not even get picked up at last call at an open bar. But it was good to see football again and it will be even better when our actual good players dress.

Riders vs. Eskimos: Preseason Opener

The first game of the year certainly snuck up fast. I was sitting down to type my usual Friday post and wondering what I was going to talk about when I realized... holy hell! There's a game this weekend! Guess I better do a preview. 

It may only be preseason and by the mid-point of the game the quality of play will likely drop lower than the value of my investment portfolio (calling it an investment portfolio makes it sound way classier than a collection of shares obscure pornography sites and an unscratched lotto ticket) but its football and I am pumped.

With this game being so early in camp, we will mostly use it to evaluate the newcomers rather than fine tune the starters. Here's what I will be looking for:

O-line - For me this is the number 1 question surrounding this team. We have offensive play makers, we a qb and a solid back-up. If we can protect them and win the line of scrimmage then we will have a big year. I will be looking specifically to see how the Left tackles do. Vaughn remains the lead guy but Cofield is in the mix. It would really put my mind at ease to see at least one of them have a real solid outing. I will also be looking at our depth guys. By default Bladek and St John are our depth so we need to see if they are progressing (assuming St John is even healthy enough to play). But we also need to see if we have anything else depth-wise to fill the hole Zver left when he retired.

Linebackers - It will be interesting to see how we use the Canadian LBs (Judge, Hurl, Teitz, Grondin, Bartlett, etc..) and how they perform. One of them will be starting and this is their big chance to lock down that opportunity. Given that we currently have no depth at import LB it will also be interesting to see how the newcomers do (Jackson, Robinson, Striker). I love Eguavoen and Moncrief but if one of them were to go down it would be nice to know we have someone ready to step in.

Cornerback - Chris Lyles is apparently having a great camp (much to my chagrin) and appears to be the lead guy in the battle at short side CB. Newcomer Orlandus Harris is also one to watch as is Sam Williams (who I was not the biggest fan of last season, he was also the guy Duron allegedly got in a dust up with). 

Canadian Receiver - Jake Harty's injury (a big blow to us) opens a big door for Bailey and Stanford. My guess is Bailey makes the roster now but Stanford has a chance as well. He just needs to show his talent in a game (something he has struggled with in his limited opportunities with the Riders). Also be good to see how Picton stacks up but realistically he is likely headed for a developmental role for now.

Running back - Starting in Game 3 it will be a Thigpen/Messam combo (which by the way would have to be the oldest RB combo I have ever heard of at a combined 65 years), you can bank on that. But we need an RB who can cover games 1 and 2 and be the injury depth (though perhaps Marshall may be back when fully healed). Zac Stacy is the lead guy with Josh McPhearson the only other competition. Need to see most importantly how they block in the pass game. For as little as we ran last season, actual running ability is second to blocking and receiving in our offense.

A few other random names I'll be watching for: DL Chad Geter, DL Gary Wilkins, OL Emmauel Adusei, QB Marquise Williams, WR Jordan Williams-Lambert, WR Shaq Evans and the Rider Prophet endorsed Eric Striker (I mean an LB named Striker? Come on). I would like to apologize to Mr Striker as my endorsement has an unblemished record of ruining people's chances of making this team. 

Lastly, the road preseason game is typically where we play the  Official Rider Prophet Preseason Drinking game. It used to be fun at the home game but I can't afford it anymore at stadium prices (unless any companies want to sponsor me). I will say that this game is on a Sunday afternoon so play at your own risk. I cannot be held responsible for any consequences that result from you playing this game. The rules are as follows:

1.     Every dropped pass or fumble you drink

2.     Every time the announcer screws up, drink (better hope Rod Black doesn’t get the call)

3.     Drink 2 if a flag bearer is out of formation during pre-game

4.     Every time count, illegal formation, no yards or offside penalty you drink. Two if it’s on the Riders. Four if it’s Too Many Men

5.     Every TV timeout you drink (note: Obviously the game is actually being televised but hey, this is a drinking game after all)

6.     If someone calls for a fair catch you shot-gun a beer

7.     If a player who is not dressed gets credit for a stat or penalty, you drink

8.     If a cheerleader falls, you drink

9.     If Josh Bartel scores a TD proceed immediately to the nearest liquor dispensary and purchase and pound one of those really big Fosters beer. (Traditionally this was the Jordan Sisco rule).

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Training Camp Battles

So long work productivity and family time, football is back!

Training camp opened yesterday. Unlike previous years,our roster is mostly set but there are a few key positions up for grabs in camp this year that will go a long way to determining how successful 2018 will be for the Riders. Here are the top 5 battles I will be watching (or at least following from a distance)

1. O-line - Left Tackle
 Based on the talent across our roster I think our chances this season boil down to the one big question mark: Can we protect our new franchise QB? If we give Collaros time to do his thing, we will be successful. If we can't then we are in trouble. Thus there will be big pressure on whoever win the left tackle spot. We are taking a big chance on a newcomer being ready to step into one of the most important places on the field. Terran Vaughn is the lead guy (after spending some time here last season) but will be pushed by Takoby Cofield. 

2. O-line - Interior
We know this, Labatte and Bond will be starting. What we don't know is whether it will be Clark or Bladek joining them and where they will line up. Most likely it will be Labatte-Clark-Bond but Labatte could also play centre. Due to my overt anti-Clark agenda I obviously want to see Bladek win a starting spot (also be nice to have some youth injected to our Canadian starters). As previously mentioned, protecting Collaros is paramount so I will be keeping a close eye on the combo of guys who will be tasked with that job.

3 - Outside LB
We will be solid with Eguavoen in the middle and Moncrief at SAM. The big question is who will start at Will. Chris Jones has said it will be a Canadian. BAsed on Day 1 of Camp Cameron Judge is being given the first chance there (thank goodness!).  It would be huge if we acutally have  a first round draft pick pan out into a starter. Guys like Hurl, Bartlett and Teitz are also in the mix but if one of them end up being our starter that's not a good thing for us.

4 - Cornerback
We have the massive luxury of starting the season with 2 stud halfbacks in Butler and Gainey. The corners are a bit more of a question. The wide side appears to be a battle between old man Jovon and John Ojo. The short-side is a wide open competition. Chris Lyles will be in the mix (maybe he's improved from last season but he still scares me until proven otherwise). Harris, Cutrer and Marshall will also be in the mix. DB is actually one of those positions we have consistently recruited well at (Cox, Rogers, Butler) so I'm not overly worried about this despite the uncertainty.

5 - Canadian Receiver
Not really a key position. Given the talent at import WR, the fact is Cdn WRs will not see a ton of targets but we still need people that can make the most of the few targets they get. With Messam as our RB now, it will also be important for ratio reasons to have depth a Cdn WR to sub in when Messam checks out and we sub in an American back (which will happen a lot). Bagg is the lead guy and unlikely to be unseated. The others bring very different skill sets. Bailey is a big bodied guy who can make the big play. Harty is a bit more versatile and is a solid guy on special teams (He got hurt on Day 1 of practice, if he has to miss any significant time it hurts). Denzel Radford doesn't really receive much but he was a demon on special teams last season and will be tough to keep off the roster. Stanford has a rep of a great guy in practice and rather meh when the lights come on. Be interesting to see where Picton stacks up in this competition. We need at least 3 on the roster.


Other things to watch:

• Battle for the 3rd and 4th import receiver. Last year Grant and Holley were the guys but a healthy Owens proved he can still be productive. The other Grant made plays when called on and newcomers like Shaq Evans are worth watching. 
• LB Depth. I love Eguavoen and Moncrief but the depth behind them currently does not exist. Would not surprise me to see Jeff Knox find his way back here (which would be huge) but for now we need to find at least a couple gamers amongst our new LB recruits. 
• 3rd QB. If at any point this season our 3rd QB becomes relevant then we are screwed. Still I'm curious to see who wins out between Williams, Watford and Daniels. I give an edge to Williams but given how long we waited on Daniels I imagine he will get a solid look.

Early Thoughts On The Roster Make Up

Can you believe that training camp opens in just 4 days? If I had the budget for a choir this is where I would have them sing Alleluia. But all I have the budget for is an imagination choir, so go on... imagine it.

I wanted to address a few of the tidbits that Chris Jones mentioned in last week's Season Preview Conference Call that give insights into the likely roster make-up for 2018.

O-line
Jones confirmed that Bond will be playing guard, putting to bed months of speculation of where we planned to play him. It's certainly a move that will impact the ratio but Bond is a proven player both in pass protection and a physical run blocker. Protecting Collaros is the key to our season so we gotta play our best combo along the line. That leaves 2 likely options in terms of the make-up of our interior OL. Labatte-Clark-Bond or Bond-Labatte-Bladek. Obviously I am in favour of the non-Dan Clark option but we will see in camp if Bladek has progressed enough to earn a starting role (fingers crossed). 

As for Left Tackle it appears to be a battle between Terran Vaughn and Takoby Cofield (though don't rule out a mid-season Bruce Campbell appearance if that doesn't pan out). St John will be in the tackle mix but I expect him to be a 6th OL and only start in if injuries occur. Obviously there is risk in having new players man the most important spot along the line so I guess we will have to hope we've scouted a good one.

Linebackers
Eguavoen will play middle as previously mentioned (cue the imagination choir again).  We will be starting a Canadian at OLB (cue concerned and skeptical looks). The only way I see this working is if Judge is ready to start. Hurl, Bartlett, Grondin, Teitz, Chevrier, Francis, Gagne are all back-ups/rotational players. If one of them is a full-time starter we are in trouble. If Judge is ready to step into a starting role A) it will be a miracle because one of our first round picks will have panned out B) i think a Judge-Eguavoen-Moncrief group could work. We rotate a lot on D so I expect the others to see some playing time but all my hope is on Judge at this point. I hope he doesn't earn the nickname Judge Dread. 

Cornerback
John Ojo will be playing wide side corner like he did in Edmonton. That means that Kacy Rogers' spot is still up for grabs and that Jovon Johnson is not a shoe in as wide side was his spot last year. Johnson could still win the boundary corner but I think our preference would be for a young guy to win the spot... that or Duron (cue Prophet shaking his head in a "please no" manner). I think Jones is putting Ojo in a position he feels best suits his skill set (and a place he excelled at previously). The competition for the other CB spot should be hotly contested.

Man I can't wait for football!