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Riders continue the pressure

Sep 10, 2012 | 7:28 AM

By Greg Urbanoski

Thank God for the stupidity of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

After the 52-0 whitewashing of the Bumblers on Labour Day, the Riders had to know the Bombers would come out eager to prove they were better than they showed. And to the Bombers credit, they did show they were better than the clown outfit that showed up at Taylor Field.

While everything last week went the Riders way, the Banjo Bowl did not unfold the same way for the Riders. Darian Durant faced some early pressure, and then went out with a hip flexor injury that may keep him out against Montreal next week.

In the meantime, Drew Willy stepped up for his first serious reps at quarterback. Last week Willy came with the game comfortably in hand and managed the game well. On Sunday Willy came onto the field with the outcome in question and did what he had to do to win.

There were some mistakes that were understandable from Willy. On a number of occasions, Willy took a sack that could have been avoided if he had gotten the ball away quicker. I’m willing to concede his interception to Getzlaf might have been avoided if Getzlaf had fought for the reception, but that is a matter of opinion.

What Willy did show was good mobility, even when trying to avoid getting sacked, and his draws helped him lead the Riders in rushing this game. Willy looks off his receivers well and he throws a very good ball. Where breakdowns did occur came when he was responding to defensive pressure and perhaps some questionable play calling by offensive co-ordinator Bob Dyce. Add to that the crowd noise that helped contribute to a number of offside penalties because of an inability to hear the snap count, and Willy got quite the initiation into the CFL.

Winnipeg played better run defense and the Rider running game, outside of Willy on draws was somewhat ineffective. However, the Riders game plan included more of Jock Sanders who is rapidly becoming the latest incarnation of former Rider offensive genius Corey Holmes. Sanders caught the ball effectively, did some great special teams returns and even ran well when he touched the ball.
The Rider receiving corps will continue to be a work in progress especially as it became clear Dressler was out because of a concussion. It’s unclear whether Dressler will be back against Montreal, which meant it was up to the rest of the receivers to step up.

The pressure of the Winnipeg defense meant tweaking the offense and Kory Sheets was the main beneficiary by opening the Rider touchdowns with a 33 yard pass reception for a touchdown on a screen pass. While Sheets was stymied somewhat in his running, the screen passes showed he still has a way to hurt other teams.

Brooks Foster stepped up in the receiving corps with a crucial catch in the final drive for a touchdown, and Taj Smith contributed three catches. But with just Neal Hughes chipping in and Getzlaf held to a catch, the Riders definitely need someone to step up. Scott McHenry had a touchdown called back after Getzlaf was called for a pick and then McHenry went out with an injury, leaving the Riders to throw in Aaron Hargreaves in a depleted Rider Canadian receiving corps.

On the defensive side, the Riders held the Bombers to no touchdowns and Mick Williams was a force, getting a quarterback sack and deflecting a field goal attempt. That play may have been the most important in the game because it obviously influenced Bomber Head Coach Tim Burke in the fourth quarter when he decided to punt with the wind rather than attempt another field goal that would have given Winnipeg a four point lead.

When it comes to linebackers, Joe Lobendhan showed again he was a very good pick up with a highlight reel hit on Bomber running back Chris Simpson. The Riders defensive secondary again did a good job, not allowing a touchdown pass despite blowing a few tackles now and then.

When it comes to special teams, I have to concede although I am not a fan of Sandro DeAngelis, mainly because I think he is a flake, he did come through when it mattered the most. By making a clutch field goal 40 yards into the wind with no time remaining, I will admit DeAngelis may have been a good pick up for the Riders.

This leads us to the fourth quarter and the amazing brain fart produced by the Bomber coaching staff.

When a team has the wind, and is on the opponent’s 36 yard line and is up by a single point, kicking a field goal would seem to be the most obvious ploy. However, the Bombers were psyched out by the deflection of an earlier field goal by Williams and decided to punt to try the pin the Riders in deep.
Winnipeg has a punter who leads in coffin corner kicks, but kicking with the wind is a tricky thing, and instead of hemming the Riders in or burying them with a four point deficit, the Riders give up the single and get the ball on their 35 yard line.

From there Willy managed to shake off the nerves and distractions of the Winnipeg crowd noise, pick up his receivers and then scramble to get the Riders into field goal position. If the Bombers had gone for a field goal, getting a touchdown would have been more difficult but the Bombers showed what is possible when you play not to lose rather than playing to win.

So now the Riders are in third place in the East, two games up on Hamilton in the crossover battle and tied for third in the west with the Eskimos. However their next game is next Sunday in Montreal.
Montreal is coming off a 43-10 loss to BC and will not be in a good mood. The Riders may go into this game without Durant and Dressler and if so, the playbook may be reduced for Willy. While that will mean more work for Sheets and Sanders, both running and short passes, what the Riders need is getting receivers open to take pressure off of Willy.

Off the top of my head I’d have to make Montreal the favorite in this game, but the Riders managed to win despite losing their starting quarterback and then later on their most dangerous receiver. The team managed to pull together and win a close one after enjoying a romp the week before and demonstrating they can pull together to win despite battling adversity. The Riders were expected to win on Sunday, they are not expected next week, but this team is developing a tendency to surprise and if they can beat a leader like Montreal, then their playoff dreams will come one step closer to reality.