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Short week for first place Riders

Jul 17, 2012 | 9:04 AM

It’s a short but happy week in Saskatchewan as the Riders sit alone in first place in the West and prepare to meet the Calgary Stampeders on Thursday.
The Riders 23-20 win over the BC Lions was billed as the “Big Ticket” as the two then undefeated teams squared off for top spot. What put the Riders over the top was consistency on their offensive and defensive lines against a powerful BC team and the first return in five years for a special team touchdown by Tristan Jackson.
As we get deeper into the season the more we fans are seeing how the Rider players are buying into the team concept given to them by Rider Head Coach Cory Chamblin. For example after the game Jackson apologized to for questioning the decision to have Jackson just run back kicks instead of also playing on the corner. Jackson wanted to do both, but Chamblin told him it was for the good of the team to have him concentrating on the return duties.
That decision was borne out by the play of the defensive backfield. Other than a long touchdown pass by the Lions, the defensive backfield shut down the Lions attack, including a critical pass knockdown and interception by defensive back Eddie Russ at the end of the game.
The Riders got consistent pressure on BC quarterback Travis Lulay and the Rider fans, perhaps stoked by the announcement by Premier Brad Wall prior to the game that Riders will have a new stadium in time for the 2017 season contributed by making enough noise to seriously throw off the BC passing game.
It has taken the Rider fans a few games to overcome their wait and see attitude to this team and see how the approach by Chamblin has been accepted by the team. As in the game last week against Edmonton, the Riders were facing a very good defense and used ball control to get consistent drives against the Lions to keep their offense off the field.
The Riders have not turned the ball over in their first three games, a testament to the team focusing on ball security preached by the Rider coaches in training camp. The Riders are also making use of their full roster with John Asiata coming in to replace Patrick Neufeld at one offensive guard spot. Asiata is bigger than Neufeld and the move was made to bolster the Rider offensive line against the very talented BC defensive line.
Jordan Sisco even contributed at wide receiver, making a couple of big catches showing that Sisco may be finally living up to his potential as a Rider draft choice. Louis Rankin saw some time at running back and while not making a big contribution, he got a taste of game action which will help down the road.
The changes being made the Riders on a weekly basis show the team reacting to not just their own play, but to the challenges being presented by their opponents. In a situation like that, it may be easy for some player discontent to emerge, but the players are buying into their roles on the team and understanding it is the team goals that are important and players have to do what is in the best overall interest of the team.
The aggressiveness of the offensive and defensive lines is playing a major part in the Riders getting off to a good start. That aggressiveness is paying off with greater confidence on both sides of the ball. If you are confident and nasty enough to shut down the other team’s lines, the payoff will come in the fourth quarter, especially in close games.
So while the challenge last week was rising to meet the defending Grey Cup Champions, this week Calgary presents some different challenges for the Riders.
To start with, the game is on Thursday so the Riders have a shortened week for practice before flying out to Calgary on Wednesday. The Riders game plans were no doubt adjusted a bit by Calgary QB Drew Tate now out for the season because of shoulder surgery.
Calgary dropped a close game to Montreal after back-up QB Kevin Glenn went on a hot streak on the second half and nearly pulled the game out. Calgary’s running game with Rob Cornish is solid and their defense has a lot of quickness.
The danger with Kevin Glenn is if he gets on a hot streak, he is almost impossible to stop, so the Riders have to present Glenn with a number of different looks and blitz packages to get him uncomfortable in the pocket. And keeping Glenn in the pocket is important because he can hurt the Riders if he decides to make the odd scramble. If the Riders can give Glenn no time to think, then his completion average goes down in a hurry.
The Rider offense will continue to emphasize getting their running game going, which makes it easier for Durant to pass because Calgary can’t pin their ears back and blitz. I would expect Calgary to come out with a variety of blitzes because most teams will look at the Riders rebuilt offensive line and believe if they can create enough confusion to get them off their game; the lack of experience in playing together will hurt the Riders.
The Rider passing game is still a work in progress with no deep receiving threats yet emerging. This is the final piece in the puzzle because a deep passing game to a consistent receiver will take double teams off of Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf and free them up.
A short week for a road game would normally be a handicap for a team, but Calgary is Taylor Field west with our fans being loud enough to drown out the Stamp fans, which ticks then off to no end. Other than the pain of traveling and losing the practice day, the Riders don’t lose much in going to Calgary this week.
If the Riders corral Cornish and Glenn, the Riders should win this in a close on and remain undefeated. Beating a western opponent and putting a cushion between then and us is also good incentive.
But what I think Chamblin will play up this week is that there is still some skepticism around the league about the Riders and how they will face the challenge of a short week. There is a chip on the Riders shoulder, but based on how they have faced challenges so far this season, there is no reason to think they cannot extend their undefeated streak to four games and prove this is no smoke and mirrors team.