Riders 34 – Bombers 31
So allow me to summarize. We entered this game boasting a receiving core featuring a Canadian rookie, someone we cut in training camp, the back-up running back, someone we just signed a week or so ago and a mildly concussed midget. The return of John Chick lasted only a few series until he broke his hand. Chunky Adams also went down meaning Mike Abou-Mechrek briefly made his debut at D-Line. Wes Cates got hit hard and did his best impression of a towering sequoia falling in the forest. We were down 17 points with 11 minutes remaining in the game. And despite all this, we still won!!!! God I love Rider football!
In true Rider fashion, Sunday’s game took fans on an emotional rollercoaster ride. From the highs of scoring on the opening drive and the miraculous come from behind victory to the lows of… well pretty much everything in between.
Now you all know my feelings on Michael Bishop but I will give him credit for coming through when it mattered most. Now if you’re looking for me to retract the negative things I’ve said about Bishop and declare my allegiance to #17 you obviously don’t know me very well. When Bishop learns to quit sucking before the 4th quarter, learns not to take stupid objectionable conduct penalties and when he manages to not almost get pulled by the head coach (which Miller almost did) then I will think about saying he’s a good QB (I’ll think about but, I make no promises even then). So kudos to Bishop for doing what it took to come away with a victory (which in the end is all that counts). He looked good on Sunday but it will take more than one good performance to convince me.
How about our receivers?! For being the smallest and least experienced group in the league they certainly made an impression. Bagg was reliable, Marshall stepped up big time, Dressler played like an all-star and Gerran Walker looks like a keeper. What these guys lack in height and experience they certainly make up for in speed. It must be tough for Bishop to find his receivers since most of their helmets wouldn’t show above our O-line. Fortunately they are all fast enough for the “throw it like hell and hope someone runs under it” passing attack.
Man it must suck to be a Bomber fan. The only that would suck more than that is being an actual Bomber player or coach. The term “monumental collapse” just doesn’t do justice to the Bombers’ performance on Sunday. They outplayed us for 3 quarters and had the relatively easy task of making sure we didn’t score 3 times in 11 minutes to hold on for a big win for their hometown crowd. Suddenly they realized that they were the Bombers and they were playing far too well, so they proceeded to turn in a 4th quarter performance that was indicative of the 2-7 record they carried into the game. To be fair though, it’s hard to blame them for not expecting Michael Bishop to put up 196 passing yds in the final quarter. I mean really, no one saw that coming.
The win keeps us atop the CFL at 8-2 (which is a better start than last year) and leaves us with a 4 point cushion in the West over both Calgary and Edmonton.
Our own Man in the Bush was in Winnipeg for the weekend festivities and he’ll have a special report for us… assuming I can track him down.
As if an exciting Banjo Bowl win and a league best record weren’t enough… my day got even better this morning with this gem of a news story…
The Charlie Taaffe experiment in Hamilton is over, the Ti-cats fired him today. Under Taaffe’s direction the Ti-cats amassed a disgraceful 5-23 record and became the laughing stock of the league. To be fair Taaffe didn’t have a lot to work with… his starting QB is easily the worst QB in the league despite being the highest paid, his RB is the best in the league… well at least for the 6 or 7 quarters that he can stay healthy for in a season, his receivers still couldn't crack the Riders' depleted lineup, and the highly touted safety that was going to help shore up his defense broke his leg in the preseason. But still, coaches are paid to win and in Taaffe’s case Hamilton spent a lot of money on those 5 victories.
Now the fact that Taaffe was fired isn’t what made my day… I have nothing in particular against Taaffe or the Ti-cats. What made my day was the announcement that followed the Taaffe firing. The interim replacement for Taaffe as Hamilton’s head coach is none other than my good friend… Marcel Bellefeuille. Now regular readers will know that Marcel has been insulted more times in this space than anyone else (mainly because he makes it so easy) so it took me a good 5 minutes to stop laughing when I first learned of this move. We’re talking about a guy who has been responsible for some of the league’s worst offenses, most notably the Riders (man those were some painful years) and last year in Montreal where he somehow managed to ruin an offense featuring Calvillo, Cahoon and Watkins (look how good the Als are doing this year without Marcel). The sad thing is, all things considered in Hamilton, Bellefeuille was the best choice by virtue of the fact that he's not Denny Creehan. When Bellefeuille is your best option for head coach, you know your franchise is in shambles.
This move really makes me question what people see in Bellefeuille. After we didn’t rehire him in ’06, he gets an offer to be the receivers coach in Montreal (who was a stronger franchise than us at the time), they then promote him to Offensive Coordinator, he sucks and they cut him loose, then Hamilton picks him up and now they too have promoted him. Not sure how someone who sucks so much keeps getting work… he must interview really well.
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Monday, September 8, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
My Kingdom For A Receiver
Sunday the Riders travel to Winnipeg to face the Bombers in the Banjo Bowl. The now famous event was of course made popular by former Bomber kicker Troy Westwood, who was cut this year in favour of Alexis Serna. How low must Westwood feel knowing that the Bombers think that Serna, the league’s worst kicker, is better than him? Probably lower than Serna’s kicking percentage... which would make him feel as low as his own kicking percentage (zing).
Michael Bishop will once again get the start for the Riders. Hopefully, with an extra week’s practice he will look more like a decent quarterback this time around and less like Michael Bishop. That said, even if Bishop does somehow manage to improve it will be offset by the continued obliteration of our receiving core. Adarius Bowman is the latest starter to succumb to injury and will be out 4-6 weeks. That means this weeks receivers will include such feared names as Bagg, Grant, Palmer, Childs, Marshall and the only moderately concussed Dressler (Never thought I’d see the day when a mild concussion was good news). Yep, our receiving corps now officially falls directly between "Danny McManus looking to run" and "the return of Patrick Thibeault" on the list of things that scare a defense.
The good news is that despite our limited offensive fire power, we are playing an offense even worse than our own. The Bombers are dead last in scoring this season so even a meager offensive showing will be more than enough to beat them. Of course the Bombers are hoping recently acquired Joe Smith will give their offense a boost but Fred Reid will likely get the bulk of the carries this week while Smith learns the offense. So to make a long story short, after a disgraceful offensive output last game the Bombers only adjustment is a severe downgrade to the run game. God bless the logic of Doug Berry. If Glenn struggles again this week, I wonder if we’ll see Ryan “I single-handedly made James Johnson a star” Dinwiddie come in. Not that it really matters, both are quite capable of throwing INTs so either one is fine by me.
While our offense continues to weather an unprecedented amount of injuries, the defense is a different story. John Chick is expected to make his return to the line up on Sunday, giving our already stellar defense a huge boost! Seriously, if Dan Goodspeed was overpowered by Kitwana Jones’ pass rush, how bad is Chick going to make him look?
I expect the Banjo Bowl to be a lot like Labour Day except both teams will likely score one more major and the crowd will be a lot more inbred.
Riders by 12.
Around the CFL…
Arland Bruce was fined an undisclosed amount of money for donning a Spiderman mask during a TD celebration in Monday’s game in Hamilton. This is the latest in the long line of football celebrations that make zero sense. Maybe I’m missing something here but exactly what does Spiderman have to do with a touchdown? Can he swing from a web? No he can’t, he’s Arland Bruce. Not sure how this either adds to the glory of the TD or adds to the insult of the opponent (unless this is the kind of Spiderman he was referring to). The Spiderman joins such distinguished touchdown celebrations as the Argos’ “They All Fall Down” and the “Overly Homoerotic Calgary Bobsled”. The good news is that despite Bruce's best efforts, Kerwin Bell's legendary touchdown celebration is still unrivaled.
It appears Dave Dickenson’s career is over. He was placed on the 9-game injured list by the Stamps after suffering yet another concussion during his limited action in the Edmonton game. This should come as no surprise to anyone. Years of bone jarring hits have left Dickenson’s head so fragile that it’s a miracle that the water pressure in the post-game shower didn’t concuss him … in fact the only thing surprising about the concussion is that it didn’t come at the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Michael Bishop will once again get the start for the Riders. Hopefully, with an extra week’s practice he will look more like a decent quarterback this time around and less like Michael Bishop. That said, even if Bishop does somehow manage to improve it will be offset by the continued obliteration of our receiving core. Adarius Bowman is the latest starter to succumb to injury and will be out 4-6 weeks. That means this weeks receivers will include such feared names as Bagg, Grant, Palmer, Childs, Marshall and the only moderately concussed Dressler (Never thought I’d see the day when a mild concussion was good news). Yep, our receiving corps now officially falls directly between "Danny McManus looking to run" and "the return of Patrick Thibeault" on the list of things that scare a defense.
The good news is that despite our limited offensive fire power, we are playing an offense even worse than our own. The Bombers are dead last in scoring this season so even a meager offensive showing will be more than enough to beat them. Of course the Bombers are hoping recently acquired Joe Smith will give their offense a boost but Fred Reid will likely get the bulk of the carries this week while Smith learns the offense. So to make a long story short, after a disgraceful offensive output last game the Bombers only adjustment is a severe downgrade to the run game. God bless the logic of Doug Berry. If Glenn struggles again this week, I wonder if we’ll see Ryan “I single-handedly made James Johnson a star” Dinwiddie come in. Not that it really matters, both are quite capable of throwing INTs so either one is fine by me.
While our offense continues to weather an unprecedented amount of injuries, the defense is a different story. John Chick is expected to make his return to the line up on Sunday, giving our already stellar defense a huge boost! Seriously, if Dan Goodspeed was overpowered by Kitwana Jones’ pass rush, how bad is Chick going to make him look?
I expect the Banjo Bowl to be a lot like Labour Day except both teams will likely score one more major and the crowd will be a lot more inbred.
Riders by 12.
Around the CFL…
Arland Bruce was fined an undisclosed amount of money for donning a Spiderman mask during a TD celebration in Monday’s game in Hamilton. This is the latest in the long line of football celebrations that make zero sense. Maybe I’m missing something here but exactly what does Spiderman have to do with a touchdown? Can he swing from a web? No he can’t, he’s Arland Bruce. Not sure how this either adds to the glory of the TD or adds to the insult of the opponent (unless this is the kind of Spiderman he was referring to). The Spiderman joins such distinguished touchdown celebrations as the Argos’ “They All Fall Down” and the “Overly Homoerotic Calgary Bobsled”. The good news is that despite Bruce's best efforts, Kerwin Bell's legendary touchdown celebration is still unrivaled.
It appears Dave Dickenson’s career is over. He was placed on the 9-game injured list by the Stamps after suffering yet another concussion during his limited action in the Edmonton game. This should come as no surprise to anyone. Years of bone jarring hits have left Dickenson’s head so fragile that it’s a miracle that the water pressure in the post-game shower didn’t concuss him … in fact the only thing surprising about the concussion is that it didn’t come at the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Monday Morning Sentimonies: Belated Labour Day Edition
Riders 19 – Bombers 6
Well I’ve sufficiently recovered from my post-Labour Day celebrations to sit down and comment on the weekend. Now the game itself was a lot like that special massage I got from that discount masseuse… it wasn’t all that pretty and it’s nothing to brag about but at least it had a happy ending.
The big story going into the game was of course the debut of Michael Bishop. In what should have come as no surprise to anyone, Bishop turned in a less than stellar performance going 10 for 24 for just over 100 yards and tossing up an interception on the first series. In fact, some of his throws led me to believe we hadn't released Crandell at all, we had just changed his number to 17. But to be fair Bishop did enough to win (which is more a reflection on how bad Winnipeg is) and for only having a week to get up to speed I guess it wasn’t that bad a game. His mobility did extend a number of drives and led to our only TD. He was good enough on Sunday but he will have to be much better next time if he wants to keep the starter’s role.
Although we managed only a few completions, I was somewhat impressed with our receivers. When I saw Bowman and Palmer both make catches in the same quarter (and not only did Palmer catch his, but he got tackled without fumbling), I knew we were going to win. After Dressler got KO’d on the first series the only players who ran deep routes were Cates and Childs. Now at first this may seem like cause for concern until you realize that they are legitimately our best chances at a long completion. Fortunately, what I consider a minimal offensive attack, Winnipeg considers an overwhelming offensive onslaught from which there is no recovery.
Once again our defense stepped up big time. Seante “Big Te” Williams came through and closelined Glenn on the second play and the D dominated from that point on. The Riders put up 4 sacks, 2 INTs, allowed only 66 rushing yards and most importantly gave up 0 TDs. Mo Lloyd had a huge day with 2 sacks and a forced fumble.
The Bombers continue to amaze me. They have a vast array of talented players but each week they find new ways to embarrass themselves. Glenn turned in a performance that wouldn’t cut it on my touch football team and when your offensive MVP is the league’s worst kicker, Alexis Serna, you know you’ve got problems. Special mention goes out to Jason Armstead - you can change the jersey and change the teammates but the same old Armstead will still shine through. With his team down only 13 points, Armstead made the ill-informed decision to run a missed FG out of the endzone rather than concede the single. He only got as far as the 5 yard line before he ran into special teams legend Jocelyn Frenette, thus costing his team valuable field position. At this rate I’m hoping that Winnipeg cuts him and someone else picks him up so he can try and screw up 3 kick returns at Mosaic for 3 different teams. Jason said when he got here in ’06 that his goal was to win us a Cup. It's good to know that he plans on seeing that goal through to the finish.
As with every win, it wasn’t all good news. Apparently the price this year for a Rider win is 2 receivers minimum. This week the sacrificial lambs were Dressler and Bowman. Dressler suffered a mild concussion on a nasty hit on that Bishop INT, and though he hasn’t yet been ruled out for the Banjo Bowl, I have my doubts as to whether he’ll be ready. Bowman suffered a torn quad and will be out for at least a month. This leaves Corey Grant as the only starter from week 1 that is still healthy, though rumours are he is being fitted for a cast in anticipation of next game.
The win leaves the Riders alone atop the CFL standings at 7-2 and leaves Winnipeg nestled next to Hamilton in the CFL’s basement at 2-7. The Bombers were quick to begin the adjustments for next week’s rematch however. This morning they traded Charles Roberts to BC for Joe Smith, in a move I don’t understand at all. I’m not sure how swapping one underperforming RB for another one helps either team but what do I know. At least BC gets a player who values running the ball ahead of yoga and gardening. After watching the game Sunday I didn’t think it was possible for the Bombers to get worse… but I think Brendan Taman has proved me wrong.
I would like to end by commenting on a couple of recent NFL cuts who are garnering a lot of speculation in Riderville… Kenton Keith and Jon Ryan. Now admittedly both guys are extremely talented at their respective positions and under different circumstances I would love to have both on our team. However, unless KK is willing to play receiver for back-up type money or Ryan has discovered the cure for the broken fibula neither will be coming here anytime soon.
I’m the Rider Prophet and those are my sentimonies.
Well I’ve sufficiently recovered from my post-Labour Day celebrations to sit down and comment on the weekend. Now the game itself was a lot like that special massage I got from that discount masseuse… it wasn’t all that pretty and it’s nothing to brag about but at least it had a happy ending.
The big story going into the game was of course the debut of Michael Bishop. In what should have come as no surprise to anyone, Bishop turned in a less than stellar performance going 10 for 24 for just over 100 yards and tossing up an interception on the first series. In fact, some of his throws led me to believe we hadn't released Crandell at all, we had just changed his number to 17. But to be fair Bishop did enough to win (which is more a reflection on how bad Winnipeg is) and for only having a week to get up to speed I guess it wasn’t that bad a game. His mobility did extend a number of drives and led to our only TD. He was good enough on Sunday but he will have to be much better next time if he wants to keep the starter’s role.
Although we managed only a few completions, I was somewhat impressed with our receivers. When I saw Bowman and Palmer both make catches in the same quarter (and not only did Palmer catch his, but he got tackled without fumbling), I knew we were going to win. After Dressler got KO’d on the first series the only players who ran deep routes were Cates and Childs. Now at first this may seem like cause for concern until you realize that they are legitimately our best chances at a long completion. Fortunately, what I consider a minimal offensive attack, Winnipeg considers an overwhelming offensive onslaught from which there is no recovery.
Once again our defense stepped up big time. Seante “Big Te” Williams came through and closelined Glenn on the second play and the D dominated from that point on. The Riders put up 4 sacks, 2 INTs, allowed only 66 rushing yards and most importantly gave up 0 TDs. Mo Lloyd had a huge day with 2 sacks and a forced fumble.
The Bombers continue to amaze me. They have a vast array of talented players but each week they find new ways to embarrass themselves. Glenn turned in a performance that wouldn’t cut it on my touch football team and when your offensive MVP is the league’s worst kicker, Alexis Serna, you know you’ve got problems. Special mention goes out to Jason Armstead - you can change the jersey and change the teammates but the same old Armstead will still shine through. With his team down only 13 points, Armstead made the ill-informed decision to run a missed FG out of the endzone rather than concede the single. He only got as far as the 5 yard line before he ran into special teams legend Jocelyn Frenette, thus costing his team valuable field position. At this rate I’m hoping that Winnipeg cuts him and someone else picks him up so he can try and screw up 3 kick returns at Mosaic for 3 different teams. Jason said when he got here in ’06 that his goal was to win us a Cup. It's good to know that he plans on seeing that goal through to the finish.
As with every win, it wasn’t all good news. Apparently the price this year for a Rider win is 2 receivers minimum. This week the sacrificial lambs were Dressler and Bowman. Dressler suffered a mild concussion on a nasty hit on that Bishop INT, and though he hasn’t yet been ruled out for the Banjo Bowl, I have my doubts as to whether he’ll be ready. Bowman suffered a torn quad and will be out for at least a month. This leaves Corey Grant as the only starter from week 1 that is still healthy, though rumours are he is being fitted for a cast in anticipation of next game.
The win leaves the Riders alone atop the CFL standings at 7-2 and leaves Winnipeg nestled next to Hamilton in the CFL’s basement at 2-7. The Bombers were quick to begin the adjustments for next week’s rematch however. This morning they traded Charles Roberts to BC for Joe Smith, in a move I don’t understand at all. I’m not sure how swapping one underperforming RB for another one helps either team but what do I know. At least BC gets a player who values running the ball ahead of yoga and gardening. After watching the game Sunday I didn’t think it was possible for the Bombers to get worse… but I think Brendan Taman has proved me wrong.
I would like to end by commenting on a couple of recent NFL cuts who are garnering a lot of speculation in Riderville… Kenton Keith and Jon Ryan. Now admittedly both guys are extremely talented at their respective positions and under different circumstances I would love to have both on our team. However, unless KK is willing to play receiver for back-up type money or Ryan has discovered the cure for the broken fibula neither will be coming here anytime soon.
I’m the Rider Prophet and those are my sentimonies.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Monday Morning... Hangover
After last night's celebration I neither have the ambition nor the ability to put together coherent thoughts so my sentimonies will have to wait until tomorrow.
For now I will leave you with a picture of the new Rider Prophet robe I debuted yesterday at the game.
For now I will leave you with a picture of the new Rider Prophet robe I debuted yesterday at the game.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Labour Day Classic ‘08
Well it’s been 5 days since the Michael Bishop trade that rocked Riderville. Now I have made my views on Bishop quite clear in my last post and do not intend to repeat them. Fact of the matter is Bishop is a Rider and will be our starting QB whether I like it or not. But whether you’re a Bishop lover or a sane person, there’s one thing that can unite us all… insulting Bomber fans.
The timing of the annual Labour Day Classic couldn’t be any better this year. This is exactly what we need to put all the negativity surrounding the team behind us and rally together against Winnipeg as a united front.
Regina is preparing for an invasion of toothless halfwits more commonly referred to as Bomber fans. Normally I would say hide the women and children but given that it’s Manitobans it’s more accurate to replace the word women with “anyone closely related to a Manitoban” and children with “attractive farm animals”. If you are approached by one of these creatures, do not fear. They are mostly harmless. Just avoid sudden movement and speak slowly using 1 syllable words and a series of grunts and you should be fine.
Why did O. J. Simpson want to move to Manitoba?
Nearly everyone has the same DNA.
Now onto the game itself…
The game features the Riders who, until lately, have been winning despite not having most of their best players against Winnipeg who has been losing despite having all their good players (well it’s probably best to say starters since "good" doesn’t really describe many of the Bombers).
Last year, Winnipeg came into this game as the top team in the East and boasted the best offense in the league. This year is a decidedly different story. They are tied with Hamilton for last in the league and boast the league’s worst offense and 2nd worst defense. In fact, the only thing Winnipeg seems to excel at is throwing interceptions and missing FGs... they lead the league in those categories. Their only wins this year have come over Hamilton and an upset win over Calgary when Ryan “If Kevin Glenn hadn’t broken his arm no one would know who I am” Dinwiddie saved the day. So all in all I’m about as worried about the Bombers as I am about the threat of a sudden volcano eruption on the prairies.
For the Riders, the game boils down to 2 things: Can our receivers catch, and can we stop the run. If we start completing some passes on offense it will open up the run game and lead to points on the board. If we can contain Charles Roberts (which we couldn’t do with Reynolds or Harris) then it will force Glenn to try and beat us through the air… which he can’t, and thus it will lead to interceptions being tossed up at a Bishop-like rate… sorry… it’ll take me some time to completely come to terms with this Bishop being a Rider thing. You’ll have to bear with me.
There’s just no way I see the Riders not stepping up big time in front of an even bigger crowd than normal. Riders by 12 in an emotional win.
After the game, the whole Rider Prophet crew will be hitting up the Mother of All Parties so if you see me be sure to come up and say hi… though if you want a quasi-coherent response I suggest you come speak with me early in the night.
The timing of the annual Labour Day Classic couldn’t be any better this year. This is exactly what we need to put all the negativity surrounding the team behind us and rally together against Winnipeg as a united front.
Regina is preparing for an invasion of toothless halfwits more commonly referred to as Bomber fans. Normally I would say hide the women and children but given that it’s Manitobans it’s more accurate to replace the word women with “anyone closely related to a Manitoban” and children with “attractive farm animals”. If you are approached by one of these creatures, do not fear. They are mostly harmless. Just avoid sudden movement and speak slowly using 1 syllable words and a series of grunts and you should be fine.
Why did O. J. Simpson want to move to Manitoba?
Nearly everyone has the same DNA.
Now onto the game itself…
The game features the Riders who, until lately, have been winning despite not having most of their best players against Winnipeg who has been losing despite having all their good players (well it’s probably best to say starters since "good" doesn’t really describe many of the Bombers).
Last year, Winnipeg came into this game as the top team in the East and boasted the best offense in the league. This year is a decidedly different story. They are tied with Hamilton for last in the league and boast the league’s worst offense and 2nd worst defense. In fact, the only thing Winnipeg seems to excel at is throwing interceptions and missing FGs... they lead the league in those categories. Their only wins this year have come over Hamilton and an upset win over Calgary when Ryan “If Kevin Glenn hadn’t broken his arm no one would know who I am” Dinwiddie saved the day. So all in all I’m about as worried about the Bombers as I am about the threat of a sudden volcano eruption on the prairies.
For the Riders, the game boils down to 2 things: Can our receivers catch, and can we stop the run. If we start completing some passes on offense it will open up the run game and lead to points on the board. If we can contain Charles Roberts (which we couldn’t do with Reynolds or Harris) then it will force Glenn to try and beat us through the air… which he can’t, and thus it will lead to interceptions being tossed up at a Bishop-like rate… sorry… it’ll take me some time to completely come to terms with this Bishop being a Rider thing. You’ll have to bear with me.
There’s just no way I see the Riders not stepping up big time in front of an even bigger crowd than normal. Riders by 12 in an emotional win.
After the game, the whole Rider Prophet crew will be hitting up the Mother of All Parties so if you see me be sure to come up and say hi… though if you want a quasi-coherent response I suggest you come speak with me early in the night.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday Morning Sentimonies: Now with 50% More Ranting
Riders 10 – Eskimos 27
Who are you and what have you done with my Roughriders?
Basically anyone not named Weston sucked. I was originally going to say anyone not named Weston or Seante but as Media Consultant pointed out, when the defense gives up 225 rushing yards to a team that hasn’t had a decent run game since the Renegades were still around, the DE doesn’t get a free ride.
I’m not sure what made me the angriest… was it the 14 penalties? Was it the continued drops by our receivers? Was it Crandell putting up his worst performance as a Rider? While those things did get my blood boiling it was the play calling then sent me over the edge… we were calling 5 yard outs to Corey Grant while down 17 in the 4th, we were needlessly running Cates at the end of the game risking injury to our top offensive weapon, we put Crandell back in after Jyles got hurt rather than giving Friehauf some garbage time experience. Honestly, did Marcel Bellefeuille sneak his way into the booth?
After 2 straight loses, each in progressively more embarrassing ways, it seems we are back to the drawing board. As Coach Austin said last year “Everything is up for review. Everything”. With that in mind here a few Rider Prophet suggestions for improvement…
This of course brings me to the biggest news from the weekend… the Michael Bishop trade. I’m sure your wondering what the official Prophet opinion on the move is, so here goes… I hate it.
Even I, a staunch Crandell supporter, have to admit that he’s been ineffective for 3 games now and deserved to be benched but at least 50% of the blame has to lie with our receivers who couldn’t catch herpes from the world’s dirtiest prostitute at this point, let alone a football. Was it Crandell’s fault his receivers suck? No. Was it Crandell’s fault we took stupid penalties? With one exception, no. So what exactly will Bishop do that Crandell or Jyles couldn’t have? Would it not make more sense to bring in a receiver?
Admittedly, my opinion of this trade is heavily biased by the fact that I think Michael Bishop is a giant sack of crap and is the most overrated QB next to Casey Printers. Now many do not share my opinion so let me address all you pro-Bishop folks out there with my latest installment of “Addressing Uninformed Opinions" aka "Everyone Is Stupid But Me".
Addressing Uninformed Opinions: Michael Bishop Edition
Uninformed opinion #1: Bishop is a talented QB.
False. Bishop’s career completion % sits under 50% and last season under his guidance the Argos offensive production was the worst in the league. Besides, if Bishop was really as good as some people make him out to be why did the Argos go out and acquire a new starting QB? You didn’t see Winnipeg rushing out to replace Glenn or Calgary relegating Burris to second string.
Uninformed opinion #2: Michael Bishop was 11-1 as a starter last year.
Utterly False. Bishop happened to play in 11 games that his defense won last year. Among starting QBs he posted the worst QB rating, completion % and almost led the league in INTs despite missing roughly 1/3 of the season. Toss in the fact that the Argos led the league in defensive and special teams scoring and you get a pretty good picture of how much Bishop contributed to those wins. Saying Bishop was 11-1 as a starter is about as relevant as saying I was 14-3-1 as a BC Lions spectator.
Uninformed opinion #3: Bishop is the answer to the Riders woes.
False again. Our receivers can’t catch, our playing calling is questionable and our defense is suddenly vulnerable to the run (partly due to being on the field so damn much, but partially due to coverage breakdowns and missed tackles). Will Bishop fix that? No. He couldn't even manage a productive offense despite being blessed with Arland Bruce. What’s he going to do with our receivers? We’re talking about a guy who’s been around for 6 years and never proven he can be a consistent starter. Toronto’s recent success in the post-season should give you a pretty good indication of his ability to lead a team to the top.
Hopefully that clears things up about Bishop. Unfortunately, Tillman and Miller don’t share my opinion and all signs point to Bishop starting on Labour Day. As a Rider fan, all I can do is trust that Tillman knows best. The good news is that since it's a Rider home game, and Labour Day no less, I was going to be drunk anyway. That should help.
Who are you and what have you done with my Roughriders?
- The Riders have one of the top run D’s in the league… the team I watched couldn’t have stopped a senior citizen with a walker from gaining 10 yards a play.
- The Riders are one of the most disciplined teams in the league… the team I watched took repeated stupid penalties that negated the few decent plays we had.
- The Riders are the best 4th quarter team in the league… not only did the team I watch not show up in the 4th, they also took the 2nd and 3rd off for good measure.
- The Riders have one of the smartest GM’s in the league… the team I watched acquired Michael Bishop (which I will get to in minute).
Basically anyone not named Weston sucked. I was originally going to say anyone not named Weston or Seante but as Media Consultant pointed out, when the defense gives up 225 rushing yards to a team that hasn’t had a decent run game since the Renegades were still around, the DE doesn’t get a free ride.
I’m not sure what made me the angriest… was it the 14 penalties? Was it the continued drops by our receivers? Was it Crandell putting up his worst performance as a Rider? While those things did get my blood boiling it was the play calling then sent me over the edge… we were calling 5 yard outs to Corey Grant while down 17 in the 4th, we were needlessly running Cates at the end of the game risking injury to our top offensive weapon, we put Crandell back in after Jyles got hurt rather than giving Friehauf some garbage time experience. Honestly, did Marcel Bellefeuille sneak his way into the booth?
After 2 straight loses, each in progressively more embarrassing ways, it seems we are back to the drawing board. As Coach Austin said last year “Everything is up for review. Everything”. With that in mind here a few Rider Prophet suggestions for improvement…
- Quit playing Kitwana at DE. He’s my favourite player but he just can’t play that position. Get him back to being a linebacker where he enjoyed his greatest success.
- Quit throwing to Palmer. He’s obviously not capable of being the reliable inside threat we need. Throw to Childs instead (who I actually like at slotback… as shocking as that may be to hear coming from me)
- A Fantuz-style benching is in order for Bowman. On those few occasions he does manage to secure the pass, his YAC yards are awesome. Problem is he can’t seem to catch most of what’s thrown his way. I know we’re short on receivers but this guy needs a wake up call. At this rate, not only will he not make the NFL next year, he may not make the CFL.
This of course brings me to the biggest news from the weekend… the Michael Bishop trade. I’m sure your wondering what the official Prophet opinion on the move is, so here goes… I hate it.
Even I, a staunch Crandell supporter, have to admit that he’s been ineffective for 3 games now and deserved to be benched but at least 50% of the blame has to lie with our receivers who couldn’t catch herpes from the world’s dirtiest prostitute at this point, let alone a football. Was it Crandell’s fault his receivers suck? No. Was it Crandell’s fault we took stupid penalties? With one exception, no. So what exactly will Bishop do that Crandell or Jyles couldn’t have? Would it not make more sense to bring in a receiver?
Admittedly, my opinion of this trade is heavily biased by the fact that I think Michael Bishop is a giant sack of crap and is the most overrated QB next to Casey Printers. Now many do not share my opinion so let me address all you pro-Bishop folks out there with my latest installment of “Addressing Uninformed Opinions" aka "Everyone Is Stupid But Me".
Addressing Uninformed Opinions: Michael Bishop Edition
Uninformed opinion #1: Bishop is a talented QB.
False. Bishop’s career completion % sits under 50% and last season under his guidance the Argos offensive production was the worst in the league. Besides, if Bishop was really as good as some people make him out to be why did the Argos go out and acquire a new starting QB? You didn’t see Winnipeg rushing out to replace Glenn or Calgary relegating Burris to second string.
Uninformed opinion #2: Michael Bishop was 11-1 as a starter last year.
Utterly False. Bishop happened to play in 11 games that his defense won last year. Among starting QBs he posted the worst QB rating, completion % and almost led the league in INTs despite missing roughly 1/3 of the season. Toss in the fact that the Argos led the league in defensive and special teams scoring and you get a pretty good picture of how much Bishop contributed to those wins. Saying Bishop was 11-1 as a starter is about as relevant as saying I was 14-3-1 as a BC Lions spectator.
Uninformed opinion #3: Bishop is the answer to the Riders woes.
False again. Our receivers can’t catch, our playing calling is questionable and our defense is suddenly vulnerable to the run (partly due to being on the field so damn much, but partially due to coverage breakdowns and missed tackles). Will Bishop fix that? No. He couldn't even manage a productive offense despite being blessed with Arland Bruce. What’s he going to do with our receivers? We’re talking about a guy who’s been around for 6 years and never proven he can be a consistent starter. Toronto’s recent success in the post-season should give you a pretty good indication of his ability to lead a team to the top.
Hopefully that clears things up about Bishop. Unfortunately, Tillman and Miller don’t share my opinion and all signs point to Bishop starting on Labour Day. As a Rider fan, all I can do is trust that Tillman knows best. The good news is that since it's a Rider home game, and Labour Day no less, I was going to be drunk anyway. That should help.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Back in Action: Riders vs. Eskimos
How did I ever manage to survive the offseason? These past 14 Rider-less days have seemed like an eternity. While I’m sure my liver appreciated the break in the otherwise rigorous schedule that is the regular season, the rest of me did not. But the long wait ends tonight when the 6-1 Riders visit the 4-3 Eskimos in front of an expected crowd of over 50,000 (take that Buffalo Bills).
The Riders have had 2 weeks to think about their first loss of the season and the big question is how will they respond?
On the injury front…The bye week did allow Glen January and James Johnson to get healthy enough to play, however this is somewhat offset by the news that Dek Bake (foot) and Tristan Clovis (personal issues) will not be playing. Normally the bye week helps teams decrease the size of their injury list. The best we can do is an even swap of healthy for non-healthy players (though the way the season has been going I guess we should be happy with an even swap).
The injury to Bake means that newcomer Seante (pronounced Shonte) Williams will start in his place. The last time we had someone by that name on the roster it was 2003 when Shonte Peoples was a Rider and about the best thing I can say about him was that he helped form Frontlyne. Hopefully Williams will do better than that. I wonder if Seante has ever thought about adopting the nickname “Big Te” and forming “New Frontlyne”. Neal Hughes could be the new “Nee Deep” and James Johnson could round out there entourage as “2J”. Just something to think about. Now where was I? Oh yes… the game…
The teams come into this game with some interesting matchups. Edmonton has yet to lose at home, while the Riders have yet to lose on the road. Their offense (led by Ricky Ray) is 2nd in the league, while the Riders have the best defense in the league. The Riders boast one the top run defenses in the league… which won’t really be a factor since Edmonton has absolutely no run game (why they’ve even bothered signing an RB the past couple years is beyond me).
Edmonton’s secondary has had its problems so far this season and that was reinforced in their game against BC. In an effort to strengthen the secondary the Esks acquired former Rider Airabin Justin. Now I was always a big fan of Justin’s and think he’s a very talented player. Normally when our opponents pick up a player of this caliber I would be worried, but given that it’s Edmonton, I’m not worried at all. We’re talking about a team that couldn’t make a descent secondary out of perennial all-stars Omarr Morgan and Jordan Younger and the talented Stanford Samuels. Maccioccia’s coaching will more than compensate for Justin’s talent.
Edmonton has a mediocre defense and no run game so there are really only 2 things we need to worry about - Ricky Ray and Tristan Jackson on returns. If we can contain those 2 we will win. Cates will have a big game as long as our receivers can do something to stretch the defense.
Riders by 5 in a very close game. The difference will be a Wes Cates TD.
The Riders have had 2 weeks to think about their first loss of the season and the big question is how will they respond?
On the injury front…The bye week did allow Glen January and James Johnson to get healthy enough to play, however this is somewhat offset by the news that Dek Bake (foot) and Tristan Clovis (personal issues) will not be playing. Normally the bye week helps teams decrease the size of their injury list. The best we can do is an even swap of healthy for non-healthy players (though the way the season has been going I guess we should be happy with an even swap).
The injury to Bake means that newcomer Seante (pronounced Shonte) Williams will start in his place. The last time we had someone by that name on the roster it was 2003 when Shonte Peoples was a Rider and about the best thing I can say about him was that he helped form Frontlyne. Hopefully Williams will do better than that. I wonder if Seante has ever thought about adopting the nickname “Big Te” and forming “New Frontlyne”. Neal Hughes could be the new “Nee Deep” and James Johnson could round out there entourage as “2J”. Just something to think about. Now where was I? Oh yes… the game…
The teams come into this game with some interesting matchups. Edmonton has yet to lose at home, while the Riders have yet to lose on the road. Their offense (led by Ricky Ray) is 2nd in the league, while the Riders have the best defense in the league. The Riders boast one the top run defenses in the league… which won’t really be a factor since Edmonton has absolutely no run game (why they’ve even bothered signing an RB the past couple years is beyond me).
Edmonton’s secondary has had its problems so far this season and that was reinforced in their game against BC. In an effort to strengthen the secondary the Esks acquired former Rider Airabin Justin. Now I was always a big fan of Justin’s and think he’s a very talented player. Normally when our opponents pick up a player of this caliber I would be worried, but given that it’s Edmonton, I’m not worried at all. We’re talking about a team that couldn’t make a descent secondary out of perennial all-stars Omarr Morgan and Jordan Younger and the talented Stanford Samuels. Maccioccia’s coaching will more than compensate for Justin’s talent.
Edmonton has a mediocre defense and no run game so there are really only 2 things we need to worry about - Ricky Ray and Tristan Jackson on returns. If we can contain those 2 we will win. Cates will have a big game as long as our receivers can do something to stretch the defense.
Riders by 5 in a very close game. The difference will be a Wes Cates TD.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)