This Day in History

The leader of the pack so far seems to be Paul LaPolice, who has done a great job on TSN and is paid well enough that he can wait for a job to open up to his liking. Whether that is BC is another question because the Lions may be looking for a new quarterback and LaPolice can remember what Winnipeg was like when he was trying to find someone who could last longer than Buck Pierce’s bag of chips.

Another name in the mix is George Cortez, the offensive coordinator of the Riders, whom rumor last week had him leaving the Riders. Whether that was wishful thinking or something firm I have no clue about, and the source is someone who has come up with tidbits before but nothing along these lines. She also says Weston Dressler is looking to leave the Riders, either for another NFL bid or another CFL team.

First the Cortez rumors. He is on a yearly contract and is likely better paid than Rider Head Coach Cory Chamblin. The Riders can afford to have their assistant coaches the best paid in the CFL and the last time anyone heard Cortez say anything, he liked it in Saskatchewan.

The problem this year was when Darian Durant went down and the team swirled down the drain with him. The back-up quarterbacks were not up to the challenge, except in a coming off the bench scenario. The seemingly inability of the quarterbacks to execute the Cortez game plan and fear of consequences if they deviated stunted their development and makes it highly improbable they will be back. It also opened Cortez to criticism that he hadn’t heard since he was head man in Hamilton about not being open to change.

To his defense, maybe the quarterbacks weren’t very good. Both Tino Sunseri and Seth Doege had question marks besides their resumes and their inability to cope with the speed of the game left a lot to be desired. The receiving corps was non-existent and the running game was fairly one-dimensional. Sometimes you cannot make chicken salad out of chicken crap, no matter how hard you try.

Cortez may get an interview for the head job in BC, but may get signed as the offensive coordinator of the Lions under LaPolice. That means Khari Jones gets released and might he return to Saskatchewan? That is possible although as a quarterback coach instead of an offensive coordinator. If Cortez returns to Saskatchewan, having reviewed the past season, it would take a big step to realize that his approach needs to have a mediator between him and some mentally fragile quarterbacks. Personally, I think if the organization realizes they gambled and lost with the approach they had last year, Cortez deserves another year provided the talent and the work ethic arrives in the off-season.

The Dressler situation is interesting in that he said he is not interested in negotiating in the media. I think Dressler is waiting to see how the off-season evolves for the Riders. If the Riders upgrade their talent and get the offense figured out as soon as possible, Dressler will stay – unless he gets another tryout south of the border. Dressler’s stats did not build a case for him this year, but Dressler has a Regina girlfriend, an interest in the insurance business, and potential endorsements that will help pay the bills. He would be a fool not to listen to other offers, but the Riders will be under the gun to sort out the offensive side of the team as quickly as possible to entice Dressler to stay.

The free agent the Riders will look to land first if Brent Jones of the Calgary Stampeders. A Weyburn kid who played with the University of Regina Rams, Jones could be reunited with Brendon LaBatte in bringing back a Saskatchewan flavor to our offensive line. Not to mention he plays centre and guard so if the Riders want to trade Dominic Picard, we would lose nothing by having the rookie of the year and current western nominee for best offensive lineman join the ranks. Another name to look out for is Tyler Holmes of the Toronto Argonauts who is he joined would allow us to play another American elsewhere on the team.

Bear Woods of Montreal may be an intriguing piece to add to line backing. If you have watched the eastern playoffs, Woods has a nose for the football and would definitely solidify the run defense, probably the poorest part of the defensive unit play last year. There are some other players available, but these would be 1 and 1 A in terms of signings if I was the GM.

So expect a quiet Grey Cup week. And if you get a chance, take a look back at last year’s Grey Cup game and remember what it felt like a year ago pulling off the win of the century. There was a picture of an old woman at the game flashed on the scoreboard as the game was winding down and she was in tears. This woman represented all the fans that went through the tough years when a game like this would have been a pipe dream and was seeing the dream come true.

After seeing Edmonton collapse against Calgary, I feel good about our chances for next year. The trick for the Riders is getting buy in from the players on the team aspect and the need for constant improvement. The back-ups should be challenging for starting spots, and players just collecting a cheque should be sent to the West Jet booth.

Since it is Grey Cup week, let me say, Hamilton over Calgary. Seeing Jon Cornish at the end of the game yell out, “Edmonton said they were a team of destiny! We’re a team of destiny!” was like – dude, you are trying too hard. If you are more concerned with what they say rather than what you do, you will lose in BC.

The other thing that makes me pick Hamilton is last year the Riders refused to touch the western championship trophy because they wanted the cup while Hamilton hoisted their eastern trophy. When Hamilton won the eastern trophy last year, they hoisted it. So the Riders won and Hamilton lost.

Hamilton took notes because when they won the eastern trophy, they refused to touch it while Calgary hoisted their trophy. If Hamilton has been taking notes on being a champ, they should be hoisting the cup on Sunday while Calgary becomes the CFL version of the Atlanta Braves – a team that wins the regular season but fails to consistently win the big one. That would be the ultimate salute to the Riders, who showed Hamilton how

by Riderville

This Day in History

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