Riderville Report June 25

By Greg Urbanoski

In Saskatchewan there are just over a million armchair general managers and coaches. Outside of Saskatchewan, you could probably tack on another million and not be far off.

After the first Rider exhibition game, a 44-10 loss to the BC Lions, it would be fair to say most were disappointed at the score, but not surprised, and certainly wanted to see more a competitive effort from the Riders.

On Friday, a 33-31 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, they got it.

In a new look Mosaic Stadium, uh, Taylor Field, end zone seats have been added to create a bowl effect, although approximately 18 seats broke off their moorings and depending on where you sit, the site lines are not the best. The new jumbo tron is so bright, that after you look at it to the field, the field looks darker as if the Riders have exchanged their regular night lights for the new energy efficient lights which do not give off as much light.

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I mention this for those of you who may want to come down to a game. The atmosphere though was intense for the Calgary game, almost of playoff intensity, which makes sense when you consider the guys were playing for their jobs this year.

It makes a difference when you see a game live. You get to see everything and are able to appreciate the work the players do better. On Sunday the Riders announced their cuts with the most prominent being defensive back Lance Frazier. Most people at the game were expecting running back Brandon West being another cut, but he has been kept on because Sinorce Moss (who is playing with an injury) may not be fully recovered to return kicks.

The other cuts include WR Taj Smith; LB Dan Sheffield; LB DaVonte Shannon: WR Jock Sanders; LB and draft pick Kevin Regimbald-Gagne; DL Jay Alford: OL Johan Asiata: WR and draft pick Ismael Bomba; P Chris Bodnar; DL Matheiu Boulay; WR Patrick Brown; OL Dan Clark; LB Chris Francis; RB DeShawn Wynn; DL David Veikune; DL Kenny Rowe; DB Macho Harris; DB Talmadge Jackson; DB Jalil Johnson; LB Karl Paymah; OL Nick Hutchins.

On the injury list were placed RB Graeme Bell and Chris Best and on the nine game injury list were Dallas Baker; OL Dan Goodspeed and QB Levi Brown. Goodspeed is expected to become an offensive line coach helping out Kris Sweet after he comes off the nine game injury list.
Who makes it onto the practice roster hasn’t been announced yet, but I think we will see Harris, Regimbald-Gagne, Bomba, Clark, Rowe, and Paymah. OL Belton Johnson, a former Rider, was cut by Hamilton and may find his way back to Regina.

So how do the 2012 Riders stack up heading out of training camp?

Darian Durant is starting at quarterback, but Drew Willy worked his way from fifth on the depth chart to number two. JT O’Sullivan is number three, but both Willy and O’Sullivan had impressive plays against Calgary so if Durant falters or goes down with an injury, the Riders have quarterbacks who can make plays. However you slice it, the Rider QB’s are better now than they were a year ago.
At running back Kory Sheets is an amazing talent and has become the number one back. He is a combination of Kenton Keith and if you remember Bobby Johnson, you will be happy with him. The guy can cut on a dime and he can accelerate when needed. West knows the offense and can run back kicks, but just appears too slight to do the tough running inside. Louis Rankin is a bull in the china shop and the man to do the Rider inside running. I saw Wes Cates in the beer line and he is certainly available, but the Rider running game will be much improved.

The receiving corps sees a few changes with former Baltimore Raven Justin Harper having the size that Andy Fantuz provided last year. I think he will go on the outside to provide a big target for jump balls along the sideline. Chris Getzlaf had a 1000 yard season receiving last year and will have another this year. Robb Bagg is back and he drew double coverage from the Calgary defenders, which freed up Getzlaf. Efrem Hill is the other starter, which people don’t necessarily like, but because Moss is coming off an injury and not 100 per cent, will be kept around for awhile. Weston Dressler will be used all over the place and while last year opposing teams shut down Dressler and the Rider offense would go into a four game no touchdown funk, this year the Riders have more weapons.
Goodspeed was a surprise but not if you saw how his leg bent under him during one play against Calgary. The Riders will still be looking for a right tackle, and while Chris Patrick may have a bit of a leg up expect the Riders to look to upgrade the line. Hutchins and Clark being cut were disappointing because they provided depth, but I expect Clark to be back and the Riders offensive line with Brendon Labatte reminds me of the old Rider line under Roger Aldag – nasty and capable of opening holes for a running game.

On the defensive line, Odell Willis was off side a couple of times doing a defensive lineman version of a waggle when he was coming on a blitz against the Calgary quarterbacks. Most posters on fan sites after the game said they are nervous about our defensive backfield, but the reason for that is the defensive line did not mount much of a pass rush. Calgary’s starting quarterback simply had too much time without pressure when passing and you cannot cover a receiver for eight seconds without expecting someone to come open.

The Rider linebackers were vanilla in terms of their play. You could see they were there, but they weren’t really doing anything to stand out. The Riders will start Shomari Williams in the middle and hope he grows into the role with Mike McCullough providing leadership and spelling him off now and then. I think the Riders will keep Paymah around for insurance reasons and will also bring up some linebackers from the NFL if needed.

The loss of Frazier was a surprise, but Frazier found himself out on the corner and had a few missed tackles and trouble covering speedier wide receivers. Eddie Russ has an unbelievable interception and is young and fast, but will suffer growing pains because the Rider defensive backs will be playing more aggressive in trying to jam opposing receivers off the line of scrimmage. James Patrick will anchor the secondary and the question remains of where last year draft sensation Chris Butler will play. Right now it looks like he will be brought into different packages and the defensive backfield will definitely be a work in progress.

Chris Milo keeps the kicking job and Chris Bodnar might have had a shot at it, but a kick off he made at the end of the game which went out of bounds and set Calgary up on their own 45 and a shorter field to attempt a field goal was the reason why the Riders lost. Bodnar will be heading back to the University of Regina and when he works on his kicking will be back.

West being retained indicates he may be returning kicks, but most people were impressed by the spark Moss provided on returns and how he runs disciplined pass routes and has soft hands.
The 2012 Riders are a work in progress with an offense that can move the ball and score points and a defense that seems a hybrid of Richie Hall and Cory Chamblin. If the Riders get a consistent pass rush, it will reduce the pressure on the defensive backfield which will feature players playing different positions and they will need time to come together.

The Riders open their schedule against Hamilton on Friday at 5 p.m. and if I were betting, I would bet on Hamilton. The Riders have had trouble winning consistently in Hamilton and both Hamilton QB Henry Burris and former Rider Andy Fantuz will have lots to prove. So while a loss will not be surprising, if the Riders are competitive, they will gain a lot of confidence and come back to Regina to win their first game against a Western conference team in two years against the Edmonton Eskimos.