Roughriders face short week after thumping Argos

If the Saskatchewan Roughriders 52-0 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Labour Day was perfection, then the Riders 36-10 win over the Toronto Argonauts is getting pretty close.

The Riders totally dominated the Argonauts in all three aspects of the game, offense, defense and special teams, and the only thing Toronto could say was the score flattered them because the Riders should have put up more points if Eddie Russ could hang onto an sure pick six interception and the Riders red zone offense was more up to snuff.

The best way to describe it was a man-handling, with the defense giving the Argonauts nowhere to move and the offense working successfully to get Kory Sheets his 1,000 yard season and Darian Durant showing a poise in the pocket that was not imagined when the Riders went 0-5 after starting the season 3-0.

The amazing thing was the work by the defensive line in stuffing the Argos running game, even though they were missing their leading rusher. The Riders have three starters out with injury, but played solid and Joe Lobehdahn is proving to be a wise mid-season investment at middle linebacker.

Brandon West did great on kick-off returns, especially starting with the opening kick-off return the Riders converted into a field goal. While West looked OK, he is no Jock Sanders and while Sanders has been placed on the nine-game injury list, he could come back if the Riders make the Grey Cup. So let’s get used to West and hope he has left his fumble problems behind him.

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Another interesting development was Taj Smith, who caught an early deep pass and did what many Rider fans thought was impossible by getting a reception and even better, getting yards after that reception. Weston Dressler with a deep touchdown that basically salted the game away was again a force to be reckoned with and is no longer as lonely as the Riders develop other weapons on offense to help him out.

Now for the reality check.

As mentioned earlier, the Riders were playing a team without their leading rusher and without their regular starting quarterback in Ricky Ray. Ray has a tendency to dissect the Riders and while Jarious Jackson has had some good games against the Riders in his past, the Riders rush got inside of his head as Toronto ended the game with their third string quarterback.

The Riders red zone production was not the greatest and should have come up with a few more touchdowns against the Argonauts. This appeared to be more the case of poor play calling than anything else. The Riders got away from their various pre-snap offensive moves from the Calgary and BC games and didn’t fool the Argonauts all that much on short yardage. But then again, the Argos defense is led by Chris Jones, who was once Calgary’s defensive coordinator and whom the Riders have beaten in the past.

Punter Chris Milo went down with an ankle injury that resulted in Sandro De Angelis punting. He did not bad in punting but De Angelis is also a physical player and if he gets injured, the Riders kicking game may be in for some scrambling.

Despite all of this, the Riders ran over the Argonauts easily and moved into a tie for second place in the west, even though Calgary holds the tie breaker because of the head to head record between the teams. Now the Riders have an extremely short week before they face Edmonton on Saturday which could be a trap game for the Riders.

The Riders have only two days of practice before heading to Edmonton and Edmonton is coming off a big win over Hamilton. The CFL schedule is extremely interesting because BC goes to Hamilton on Friday night and Hamilton has been playing pretty good at home. The Lions held on to beat Calgary, but if good Henry Burris shows up, BC may lose.

On Saturday Calgary goes to Winnipeg in the first of the double-header to the Rider-Edmonton game and before Monday most people would say an easy win for Calgary. But Winnipeg upset Montreal in Montreal, not the easiest thing to do, and may be feeling good about themselves and can do us a favor by beating Calgary.

So can the Riders beat Edmonton on a short week? I’d say it is possible. Watching the Edmonton Hamilton game, Edmonton now seems to be focused on having Kerry Joseph go deep to Fred Stamps. Edmonton’s defense will be welcoming back J.C. Sherritt back at linebacker and while you might not like Edmonton; you have to respect the impact this guy has.

If the Riders put pressure on Joseph and bring back some pre-snap offensive moves to keep Edmonton guessing, the Riders should be able to spring someone open. I kind of doubt that the Riders will repeat another 36-10 win, but a win by one point or 26 would be welcomed and put the Riders closer to clinching a playoff spot.

But make no mistake. The best team playing right now is the Saskatchewan Roughriders and if they play consistent and meet the challenge of a short week against an inspired Edmonton team, they will be well placed for the following week when they play the team they will likely face in the 100th Grey Cup – the Montreal Alouettes.

Unlike many fellow Rider fans, I am not going to proclaim the Riders Grey Cup champs just yet. This season is a work in progress and the Riders face another challenge as they strive to prove they belong at the top. Somehow I think Rider head coach Cory Chamblin prefers it this way.

By having adversity and overcoming it, this team will be constantly challenged and not fall into the trap of complacency it probably fell into when they first went to Calgary and lost in overtime. The Riders have no easy games between now and the Grey Cup. If they get there, they will deserve it.