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Today the Saskatchewan Roughriders Moved Closer to Repeating as Grey Cup Champions

Aug 28, 2014 | 1:17 PM

At times this week there have been moments of high drama and tension and welcome moments of hilarity for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Whatever the result on Sunday, Thursday will go down as the day the Riders moved a substantial step forward towards repeating as Grey Cup Champions.

Last Sunday the Riders not only used their defense, but they came together as a team to overcome the BC Lions who had their guaranteed win day spoiled by the Riders 20-16.

A physical game which saw both starting quarterbacks knocked out, the appearance of Tino Sunseri had former Rider offensive lineman Belton Johnson gulping loudly on social media. When Johnson posted Sunseri was rising to the occasion, I decided to contradict him and say “no, the team was rising to the occasion”.

On that particularly Sunday, the Riders were clearly a running team, not inclined to take many chances with the ball downfield. The Riders, to make up for their loss of playmakers, have placed an emphasis on holding on to the ball and if you don’t, get ready to get benched. The current five game winning streak is a testament to how well that has sunk into the young club.

What has lifted the Riders has been the play of their defense, in particular, John Chick who is a one-man combine cutting down offensive linemen, running backs, and whoever else is foolish to get in his way. Remember all the Chuck Norris jokes about how tough and unbeatable he is? Simply replace Chuck Norris with John Chick, and you have just become the star of your coffee row or beer booth discussion.

The hand injury to Darian Durant, which forced him out of the second half, would have been taken as a sign of impending doom by the Riders but Sunseri, who has looked shaky when taking over the reins now and then, promptly went deep to Robb Bagg and even though he dropped it, it sent a message to BC that the Riders were not a one dimension team. Then the Riders ran it down their throats.

The good news from the game was that it has boosted the Riders to a 6-2 record, above BC at 5-4 and a half game ahead of Winnipeg at 6-3. A BC win meant the Riders would have to finish clear above them to qualify for the playoffs and let’s be realistic; a very good western team will not make the playoffs due to the zoo that makes up the Eastern Conference.

Now the Riders did not win the season series, which means if the teams have the same record, BC will finish ahead, but the Riders are a game and a half ahead of BC right now, and that is good enough heading into the next four weeks.

But the news that Weston Dressler was being let go by Kansas City was one of those good news, bad news situations for the Riders.

A lot of them like Dressler and wished him all the best in his NFL bid. The more Riders make the NFL, the more inclined that team is to look at other players to see who else is available.

The Riders felt bad about Dressler, but the good news is that the Riders have been planning for this day and while the one year contract may seem a bit short sighted, my take on this is that it speaks volumes about what we have at Taylor Field, and why our team will win the 2014 Grey Cup and should be entered as an early favourite for the 2015 Grey Cup.

The reason for the one year contract is that the Riders are looking at contracts coming due for Ben Heenan and Tyrone Brackenridge at the end of this season. They are also looking at bringing in Brent Jones, the outstanding rookie offensive lineman of the Calgary Stampeders last year who won the rookie title, but more importantly, comes from Weyburn and the University of Regina Rams football program – like Brendan LaBatte.

We saw Darian Durant take less than expected at the salary table and leaving money to ensure the Riders can sign other key members of the team. Dressler, getting 200K for this season is reasonable and I am sure the Co-op will be punching out a new round of Dressler All Dressed Chips.

Dressler also has an off season career selling insurance and is dating a Regina girl. He is also getting free sandwiches for two years, with a three year extension if the Riders win the Grey Cup.

Dressler will not screw over the team in taking too much and not allowing key members like Heenan and Brackenridge to re-sign at decent amounts. With the defense we have now, we have to be considered a contender for Grey Cup Champion. With Dressler coming in the stretch run, we should win again and be well set up for a three-peat.

Now there are other former Riders hanging around Regina, waiting for a spot to open up, but in the meantime patient to wait their turn. This team was a joke 15 years ago, and now is a place where guys will take less to play here, because they know in the long run, they will not only be champions, they will be set for whatever they want to do after their football career.

I don’t expect Dressler to add a whole bunch right away, although if his first reception goes for a touchdown, I definitely will be going nuts. But for this game on Sunday, the Labour Day game which quite frankly requires no hype, the first goose-bump moment will come when fans start chanting Dressler’s name prior to kick-off.

Dressler is one of us – all heart, hard work and dedication. I thought even without him we had a chance to repeat this season as Grey Cup Champions. Now we are not just one step closer to that, but also to a three-peat and also to realizing the dream of seeing a team reflect this province, totally unselfish where everyone has a role to play and nobody wins unless we all win. I am so looking forward to seeing this season unfold.

So how will the rest of this weekend unfold?

Friday Ottawa at Montreal – You would think Montreal is starting to show some signs of recovery and move closer to the four win mark which should result in a second place or even first place spot in the east. But I think Henry Burris getting out of town is the best thing for thing, and even with Ottawa missing out on their back-up quarterback, I am taking Ottawa and Henry to do a pleasant surprise and win in Montreal.

Winnipeg at Saskatchewan – the emotion level for this one should reach 2007 levels and having seen first-hand what happened in Winnipeg, expect a physical game, expect Winnipeg to blitz a lot, and if Sunseri starts, then things get interesting, but either way, the Riders just got a major boost this week, and we are riding a nine game winning streak. No reason to stop now.

Toronto versus Hamilton – Zach Collaros may be off the six game list, but the Cats are in trouble. The Argos are beat up, but they are more solid than the cats. Take Toronto in this one.

Edmonton at Calgary – Calgary is solid at everywhere except quarterback because Bo Levi Mitchell has not faced a true western defense yet. Edmonton is solid at quarterback, but their offensive line is still a work in progress, although they have their running game coming together. I will bet that Calgary’s defense is better than Edmonton’s offensive line, and the Stampeders take this one.