Monday Morning Sentimonies: 75% Happy

Riders 33 – Ti-Cats 23

As I sit down to write this I have to admit that I’m very conflicted. I mean the Riders won at home based on 3 fantastic quarters of football… but that other quarter was so abysmal that it almost overshadows the win.

While I have been highly critical of our coaching staff this season, I have to give them credit for their game planning. We always start very strong. Last night the coaches looked like they were finally starting to earn their pay. Offensively, Paul LaPolice actually got creative in his play calling. He finally decided that Jason Clermont was worthy of some touches and even went so far as to call a goal line pass to the defensive tackle… no one saw that coming (Shologan’s smile was wider than Darrell Hackney’s waistline following his big TD). Etcheverry learned how to stop the run and effectively take Cobb out of the picture all game and the returning John Chick helped the D-line turn in a dominant performance in the trenches. The defense as a whole did not allow a single 1^st down in the first half and kept Hamilton to negative net yards. For the record, I guess it should come as no surprise that a Bellefeuille-run offense was that futile. Combined with a strong offensive output, the Riders were up 23 at the half.

Now to the casual fan that kind of lead and defensive performance going into the half would be cause for great rejoicing. But anyone who’s followed the team closely this year was probably more worried than confident. The Riders are bar none the worst second half team in the league and they gave the hometown fans a firsthand demonstration of that. I’m not sure what it is exactly that the coaches do in the locker room at half time… read romance novels, take naps, play Parcheesi, hookers and blow, their taxes… all I know is that it obviously has nothing to do with football. If you include last night’s 3^rd quarter implosion the Riders have now only scored once in the 3^rd quarter this season (that’s equals out to an average of 1 point per 3^rd quarter). That is clearly a coaching issue. I mean once you can forgive but putting up 0 points in 6 out of 7 3^rd quarters?! Even Mike Kelly’s sorry excuse for an offense has done better than that.

Fortunately the team came to their senses in the 4^th and came away with the win and a share of first place. Outside of that 3^rd quarter there are many positives to build on. Durant played well despite the wind and controlled the ball, we actually established a ground game with Cates, we are spreading the ball around really well making it hard for defenses to key on one player, the entire D-line looked really good and got consistent pressure, Jyles managed not to screw up on 2 separate occasions on the goal line (alleluia!), and McCullough and Freeman did a decent job in place of the injured Rey Williams.

Other random observations:

• What’s the deal with Gainer’s new gay cousin?
• According to Man In The Bush, Mo Lloyd and Kitwana Jones attended the game.
• I guess it’s a good thing that Etch’s defense involves converted DB’s playing LB because with Kye Stewart going down we are quickly running out of actual LBs. At this rate he's going to have to start converting kickers by mid-September.
• I was amazed at how well Durant was able to run on the wet turf while missing one shoe.
• How bad was that missed no yards call? I wasn’t aware it was legal for defenders to gently spoon with the kick returner prior to him catching the ball.
• How funny was that guy who casually walked out onto the field to talk to the refs after that call though? I think all he wanted was clarification from the refs on why there was penalty on the previous play. We were all thinking it, he was just brave enough to actually do it.
• I never thought I’d say this but the futility that our special teams has shown under the direction of Kavis Reed has made me long for the days when Alex Smith was in charge (for the record that is not a compliment to Smith but rather a harsh insult to Reed).

While the game may have been way closer than it should have, it was a win nonetheless and a good showing overall.

Riders vs. Hamilton: How Did It Come To This?

I never thought I’d see the day where we came into a game against Hamilton with a worse record than the Ti-cats. For years now, the two Hamilton games that appeared on our schedule each year were widely considered gimme wins. We even started Rocky Butler a couple times to give them a fighting chance but we still won.

This year is a completely different story. We’re only a 1/3 of the way through the season and Hamilton has already won more games than in each of their last 2 seasons and currently are only a game behind Montreal for best in the league. And their success is coming from the most unlikely of sources. They have developed the 2^nd best rushing attack in the league with their 4^th string RB, but even more concerning, they’ve developed into a legitimate team under the direction of Marcel Bellefeuille. Never thought I’d have to use the term legitimate team in the same sentence as Marcel Bellefeuille… unless I was saying that Marcel Bellefeuille was fired thus making this a legitimate team again.

Hamilton’s long overdue resurgence is due to three very good offseason moves. They strengthened their O-line by bringing in Goodspeed and Gauthier, they dramatically improved their defense by bringing in Greg Marshall to run the show, and they made 2 key early season acquisitions in Jamall Johnson (who solidified their LBs) and Arland Bruce (who has turned a mediocre receiving group into a dangerous group overnight).

Offensively the Ti-cats are, and always have been, a run based team. Cobb has come from relative obscurity to become a feared RB in the league. Their passing game has been mediocre (I know, shocking that Bellefeuille’s team is good at running and bad at passing) but like I said with Bruce in the mix now I expect that area to improve. The most surprising thing about the Ti-cats this year is that they have committed the least turnovers in the league including just one solitary fumble. (I’m convinced there’s a holding on to balls joke here but can’t think of one). The Riders counter with a league high 24 takeaways but manage to completely offset that with 24 giveaways.

Defensively they are the definition of a bend but don’t break defense. They have given up more yards than any defense, yet are 2^nd in the league in points allowed. Their D is at their best in the 2^nd half where they have allowed only 13 points in the past 4 games (none of which came in the 4^th quarter). The way to beat them is defiantly through the air where they have allowed more yards than anyone. They are kinda like a celibate girl… you can make a pass on them but it probably won’t lead to you scoring.

The Riders, by contrast, can be scored on as easily as a Maple Leaf goalie. Our defense is allowing a league worst 33 points per game. Many of which are a direct result of the 136 rushing yards per game we’ve been allowing… and with Rey Williams out for the foreseeable future the Riders will turn to Mike McCullough to try and stop the bleeding. No offense to Mike but I just don’t consider him to be knight in shining armour material. Our defense is an all or nothing mentality... either they create a turnover or they let their opponents score. There seems to be very little middle ground. The return of John Chick should help out a bit up front but until we start adjusting our philosophies and formations, we will just have to settle for the turnover or TD rollercoaster we’ve had all season… which is not easy on ones heart, blood pressure or (if you're anything like me) liver.

As for the rest of the team you just never really know what to expect. Our O-line looked great in Calgary but got steam rolled in BC. Cates was productive in Calgary too but has done absolutely nothing in his others games. Our play calling looked somewhat imaginative in Calgary but in most other games its stupidity has made Marcel Bellefeuille look like an offensive genius by comparison. Durant has thrown more TDs than anyone but when he’s not doing that he’s either throwing picks or going 2 and out. There is just no middle ground anywhere on this team. So I have no clue which version of the Riders will show up on Sunday.

There’s some favourable match-ups on both sides here. Hamilton’s outstanding ground game gets to face our porous run D but the Riders’ TD throwing QB gets to face an equally porous Hamilton secondary. Offensively the key will be for our O-line to step up and help Cates establish some semblance of a run game (I’m not asking for much but something more than his 40 yards last week). A legitimate running attack should open up some big plays of play-action given that the secondary is Hamilton’s weakness. Durant needs to play consistently. He’s made good plays all season… he just needs to stop following them up with bad ones.

Defensively it should be no surprise that stopping Cobb is the key. Porter doesn’t really scare me as a QB, he’s alright, just nothing special as far as I’m concerned. And Bruce is the only receiver that worries me. So if by some miracle we can contain Cobb and force Porter to beat us through the air, that’s a battle we can win.

While I have to admit that this game worries me somewhat, I hold out hope that a home crowd will give the team the boost they need to rise to the challenge and win.

Riders by a Luca Congi field goal.

So Good You Just Wanna Watch It Again

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Rider Loss + Rye = Rage

Riders 20 – BC 35

Well I didn’t think it was possible to screw up the 1 yard plunge any worse than Steven Jyles. I evidently didn’t count on the infinite idiocy of Jarious Jackson who somehow managed to throw an interception on first and goal at the 1 thus supplanting Jyles atop the list of worst 1 yard plunge gaffs on the season. It also was a great start to the game for the Riders. The offense wasn’t able to capitalize mind you but no worries because Luc Mullinder forced a fumble on BC’s next offensive series… of course yet again the offense failed to capitalize. Slightly more concerning but along comes Sean Lucas with a beauty of an INT on the next offensive series. Mercifully Durant connected with Rob Bagg on the next play for a long TD (which must have felt pretty sweet for Bagg after being stopped on the 1 yard line twice last year). So there it was, BC had committed turnovers on their first 3 offensive series but instead of dominating the scoreboard like we should have, we were only up a measly 7-0.

And that’s how the rest of the game went for the Riders… one display of futility after another. After an inspiring performance last week, our O-line evidently decided to take this week off, because they couldn’t have blocked an amorphous blob let alone the BC defense. We were unable to run the ball at all despite being matched up against the worst run D in the league. Outside of Rob Bagg’s breakout performance our offense was essentially non-existent. And Durant, well he was responsible for the 3rd dumbest play of the game, with his insanely ill-advised pick 6 to Banks. While I realize that it was a tremendous catch by Banks and in most cases that would only be a knockdown, the fact remains that a QB should probably not throw a ball directly at an oncoming defender. Just another example of how Durant can go from looking like an all-star QB to looking like he spent too much time with Michael Bishop in an instant. This is further supported by the fact that he now leads the league in TDs yet is also 2nd only to the rapidly regressing Kerry Joseph in INTs. For me the INTs aren’t as concerning as the utter failure of our offense to move the ball in key situations… like say the 3rd quarter or even 2nd half for that matter. I have made my thoughts quite clear on what I think of Paul LaPolice’s play calling so I won’t bother rehashing that… mainly because my doctor has indicated my body can only take so much rage filled ranting in one week.

Our O of course received no support from our special teams. Not only is our return game better suited to moving the ball backwards than forwards, they are also making some very costly mistakes. Such as Gerran Walker who was responsible for the 2nd dumbest play of the night (I wanted to make him #1 but BC’s INT on 1st and goal from the 1 just can’t be topped). Now I’ve heard the stuff about the refs botching the call on that one and as infuriating as that is, the fact remains that Walker made a really dumb play. Returners must secure the ball above all else (especially since they are not advancing the ball in our case) but he tried to make some sort of failed diving catch instead of just letting it bounce and then securing it. Bad reffing or not, Walker should have been smarter than that. Eric Morris can’t get healthy soon enough because the parade of failures we’ve been auditioning in his absence is getting ridiculous (though I doubt Morris will do much better if we don’t learn how to block but that’s a rant for another day). The icing on the cake was how our special teams managed to screw up the most automatic play in football… the convert. It was at that point that I was thankful I didn’t have any fragile valuables in my living room because they would surely have been thrown in a fit of rage otherwise.

After that fantastic start our defense regressed into their old ways of getting eaten up along the ground and failing to get much pressure on the QB. And that won’t get any easier now with news that Rey Williams injured his MCL in the first quarter and will likely be out 8-10 weeks. Knowing Etcheverry he’ll probably just use this as an opportunity to insert another DB in the starting D… you can never have enough coverage you know.

While I was mad enough to punch small animals following that infuriatingly futile loss (don‘t worry animal activists… I punched some kid instead), my weekend took a turn for the better thanks to an old friend… Michael Bishop. I didn’t anything was going to be able to cheer me up... until I saw Michael Bishop knock himself out cold on his own blocker and fumble the ball. Physical comedians couldn’t come up with anything that funny if they tried. Fortunately Bishop seemed to be okay and even finished off the game in true Bishop form… by throwing a pick to the safety. Seriously, how bad must Stephan Lefors feel? It must be pretty depressing to realize that you’re not as good as a guy who knocks himself unconscious on his own player.

Rider vs. BC: Friday Night Football

Friday the Riders and Lions square off at BC place in their second meeting of the season. The teams are coming off very different results last week. The Riders are coming off a last minute come from behind upset over the Stampeders, while the Lions are coming off losing the season series to Hamilton (which is the CFL equivalent of hitting absolute rock bottom considering the Ti-Cats have only amassed 6 wins over the past 2 seasons and only 2 of those wins have been against western opponents).

Its strange to see the Lions struggling so much since up until last year it was pretty much a given that Wally Buono would lead them to first place. While it’s strange, it’s certainly not surprising. They lost a game breaking RB, a 2 time lineman of the year, 2/3 of their starting LBs and the most dominant defensive player in the league all it once… and they were only a 3^rd place team even with those players.

Their offense is a chain reaction of incompetence. Their O-line has given up a league high 18 sacks and when your QB is the not so mobile and even less durable Buck Pierce, that’s a big problem. Those rare times where Pierce does get enough time to get the ball away he tends to direct it to the hands of the defenders. He and Jackson have combined for a league high 9 INTs. Those rarer times where Pierce actually manages to get the ball to the correct coloured jersey, they usually drop it (e.g. Grice-Mullen in Game 1). And finally those rarest times when the receivers manage to squeeze the ball, they usually end up fumbling it away. BC has committed a league high 21 turnovers. About the only bright spot on this offense is the play of RB Martel Mallett (just our luck that their only strength plays into our main weakness).

The thing that I’m still shocked about is BC’s debacle at QB. Buono has consistently fielded elite QBs such as Dickenson, Garcia and Flutie but for some reason he now thinks that the combination of Buck “I’m always hurt and not that great to begin with” Pierce and Jarious “Almost as good as Bishop” Jackson is good enough to win games consistently. That’s about as misguided as making Eli Manning the highest paid player in the NFL.

I can sum up the performance of the Lions defense with one stat. They are the only team in the league who are more futile than the Riders when it comes to stopping the run (and by a wide margin too). That’s like losing to a blind man in a game of I Spy. Their front 4 look very mediocre without Wake and their linebackers are so futile that Buono was forced go out and sign Jojuan Armour and anoint him the starter over Javy Glatt before Armour even got his orange jersey on. Maybe Wally is hoping Armour can knock some sense into his receivers like he did to Copeland.

For the Riders, they need to continue to build on the success of last week. We played better in Calgary but are far from playing great football consistently.

In week 1 we would have destroyed the Lions if not for the turnover-fest our offense produced. So this time around we need to hang on to the ball above all else. Our running game seems to be back on track with the addition of Geno back in the O-line and Cates now running with authority. The key to this game will be running the ball down BC’s throat. It’s not often you play a team that has worse run D than us so we need to take full advantage. Durant also needs to continue controlling the ball as he did in Calgary (minus 2 very ill advised throws). A strong run game should also open some long passes as it did last week. BC still has a bunch of ball hawks in the secondary so we need Durant’s throws to be right on the mark.

Defensively it is still all about tackling. In our 2 loses we were abysmal in that area. Last week we were okay tacklers and it led to holding a very potent offense to only 2 TDs (imagine what would happen if we ever get really good at tackling). In game 1 our D beat up on the Lions like they were Tina Turner and we were Ike (God rest his soul… well okay maybe not God… but you know what I meant). I don’t expect that kind of slaughtering this time around, but I still think that our front 4 should be able to get consistent pressure against a struggling BC O-line. Provided we can control Mallett, the BC offensive attack should be minimal. Simon and Jackson are good receivers but I’m not overly concerned about Pierce’s ability to get them the ball. And I’m not overly concerned about the other receivers since it appears none of them can catch.

Same as last game, if we can win the battle in the trenches and establish a stronger running game than them we will win. This should be an easy win for the Riders but you can never really count out a team coached by Wally Buono, especially when they are playing at home.

Riders by 6.

Rider Prophet Remembers Scott Schultz

Tuesday, the career of one of the most entertaining Riders came to an end. Over the past 9 years, Scott Schultz’s on field intensity and off-field hilarity endeared him to both his teammates and the fans and etched his place among the franchise’s best.

In honour of Schultz’s illustrious career in Green and White, I present to you a look at #96’s most memorable moments on and off the field.

Top 10 Scott Schultz Memories

10 – 1^st Round Success
The Riders aren’t exactly known for their success in the 1^st round of the Canadian Draft. This franchise has used their precious 1^st round selections on such future all-stars as Curtis Galick, Ducarmel Augustin and Nathan Hoffart. Schultzy will go down in history as one of the few 1^st round picks we actually got right.

9 – Tough SOB

As funny and entertaining as Schultz could be off the field, when he stepped on the field he was the polar opposite. He was intense, mean, angry and above all else he was tough as nails. This famous photo says it all…

8 – Firing Up The Team
Before every game the Riders circle up at midfield to get jacked up for the upcoming battle. Right in the middle, jumping around and firing up the team was #96. As Media Consultant pointed out to me “The team will miss having a 300 lb white guy getting crunk in the huddle before every game, that's for sure. If that doesn't fire you up, what will??”

7 – Banjo Picker

During the 2003 West semi-final, the Riders were eager to make the Bombers pay for Troy Westwood calling us a bunch of banjo picking inbreds. Early in the game Schultz and Nate Davis sacked Khari Jones and proceeded to pick their air banjos in celebration.

6 – Punting In The Rain
Just before the refs stopped the Thunder Bowl game due to lightning, another classic Schultz moment took place. Sean Fleming was attempting to punt the ball but he mishandled it, and Schultz ended up scooping up the ball. In the ensuing celebration he ran a few steps and hoofed the ball himself.
5 – Champion
It read like a story book. Kid from Moose Jaw, grows up cheering for the Riders, gets drafted by them and goes on to win only the 3^rd Grey Cup in franchise history. And as always, Shultzy celebrated in style…

4 – Television Star
When Rick Mercer came to town to do a segment on the Riders, Schultz, as always, took full advantage of the camera time and stole the show with such memorable lines as “Richard get out of my A Gap” and “You had me at Piffles”

3 – Sassy Pigs
Schultz was always one to speak his mind, which made him a favourite among the both the media and the fans. One of his most famous quotes came in 2003 when he referred to the BC O-line as “Fat Sassy Pigs”. The line is so infamous that Schultzy referenced it at his retirement press conference.

2 – Moose Jaw Stomp
You knew it was coming anytime Schultz got a sack. It was Shultz’s trademark and quickly became one of the most famous dances in the CFL. It’s like John Madden said in the replacements: “I love seeing a fat guy score. Because first you get a fat guy spike, then you get the fat guy dance.”

1 – Spergeon Wynn
In 2006, the Argos came to town and were in the unfortunate position of putting Spergeon Wynn in at QB. In a play I will never forget, Schultz got loose in the backfield and had an open shot at Wynn. Not one to squander an opportunity, Schultz delivered a vicious hit that nearly decapitated Wynn and sent his helmet flying farther than most of Wynn’s passes went.

Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

As devastating as that hit was, the quote that followed will go down in history as the greatest Scott Schultz quote ever...

“I would have made that hit on Jesus himself”

So long #96, you will be missed.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Unbelievable!

Riders 24 - Stampeders 23

I have to admit that even though I drove to Calgary to see the game first hand, I never really expected the Riders to win. The Stampeders are a solid football team and going into this game we were not. Add in the fact that we were missing Andy Fantuz and our offensive strategy involved a game of musical QBs. And with just over a minute left in the game everything had gone as expected. Of course being a Rider fan I should know that nothing ever goes as expected. In a grand total of 3 plays we went from seeing a thus-far perfect kicker lining up a FG that would have sealed our fate to seeing Dressler and Getzlaf move the ball the entire length of the field for a game winning major. Unbelievable!

Huge props go out to the O-line. Led by the returning Gene Makowsky, they turned in a great performance. They opened some huge holes for the run game and actually offered protection to our QB. I said before the game that the game would be won and lost in the trenches and our hoggies did not disappoint. Their performance led to something we haven’t seen in a while... a strong rushing performance by Wes Cates.

While I had my doubts about the QB shuffle, I guess it worked out in the end. Durant… well he was about we you can expect all season… some great plays and some plays that make you wonder if we dressed a retarded zoo animal in a Rider jersey and put him under centre (like we did for the last half of last season). The good news was that this week the good outnumbered the retarded zoo animal. What I liked the most was seeing passes over 15 yards… more than once. They play calling was somewhat imaginative. I mean how often to you see a triple reverse check down to the RB? We also managed to score in the 3rd quarter for the first time this season (as sad as that is).

Defense, was better… not great but better. We are still vulnerable to the run but not as embarrassingly vulnerable as in previous weeks. Don’t ask me how we we’re able to somewhat control perennial all-star Joffrey Reynolds but we’re unable to with the very mediocre Calvin McCarty but that’s a topic for another time. The D limited the high powered Calgary offense to only 2 TDs and a few FGs which is no small feat. Most importantly, when the game was on the line, they didn’t let Henry Burris move at all.

While it far from a perfect performance, all that matters is that we came away with a win. More importantly my hours of driving to support the team we’re rewarded with an exciting come from behind victory (normally I’m not in favour of things coming from behind… especially when they are excited but I digress) and the ability to rub it in the face of snooty Stamp fans. Not to mention I was also treated to the best mascot soccer half time show I’ve ever seen!

One last note about the game. Stampeder fans are incredibly stupid. They need the announcer/jumbo-tron to tell them when to cheer. If that happened at Mosaic I would be utterly embarrassed to call myself a fan. Its not hard... cheer loud on defense… pretty simple. Though in retrospect maybe the announcer telling them when to cheer is a good idea for Calgary because the people sitting around me kept starting a “Go Stamps Go” chant when the Stamps were on offense… so in the spirit of things I joined right in with them. Why discourage them?

As with every Rider win, there was a price to be paid. This time since we miraculously emerged from the game injury free (knock on wood), the football gods had to take a different route. As you’ve probably heard by now Scott Shultz will announce his retirement tomorrow to pursue other business opportunities.

To those of you keeping track at home we have now lost our best O-linemen to a freak accident while training in the offseason, a versatile RB/ special teams demon to an injury suffered 7 years ago and now our starting DT to a midseason business opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Seriously what’s next? Rey Williams joins a secret underground cult who are morally opposed to organized sports?*

*The Rider Prophet takes no responsibility if by some strange coincidence this comes to pass.