Why do the Saskatchewan Roughriders Hate Their Canadians?

It’s a system that is tailor made for a 33 year old receiver who blew out a knee a couple of years ago, failed medicals last year and signed on with the Riders for one last ride into the sunset. Unfortunately, I am talking Jamal Richardson who was retained while younger, faster and probably better receivers got cut like Naaman Roosevelt and Greg Hardin and Alex Pierzchalski.

That last name was one that really sent me to the scotch bottle because the Riders, in their infinite wisdom, are lining up Chris Getzlaf and Rob Bagg at Canadian receiver positions. Here is the problem: Bagg has blown both his knees out and barely escaped with his career and a chance at a Grey Cup ring two years ago with a bad hit that looked like it ended his career for good.

Getzlaf has been playing hurt the last couple of seasons and whether he is one armed or one legged, half a Getzlaf is not going to scare anyone or catch any passes. So, considering the Riders problems in maintaining Canadian starters, one would think that a second round pick in last year’s draft, who is 6’5” and has been working out with Andy Fantuz to get getter in the off-season, would be a wise and inviting target, especially since the rationale for signing Richardson was his “size” would make him an inviting target.

But no, the Riders are casting their lot with Richardson and as far as back-ups go – well it’s Tuesday and Pierzchalski has already signed with Ottawa and the Riders haven’t come out with their practice roster yet, especially since some of their players would rather go to the Arena Football league that be on the practice squad for 750 a week.

Rider GM Brendan Taman hinted Alex Carroll, one of the Canadian receivers cut, might be on the practice squad, expected to be named on Tuesday. But nothing is written in stone and between this and the release of Paul Woldu, who has three Grey Cup rings and is a special team’s leader, makes one wonder about the ability of the Saskatchewan Roughriders to develop their Canadian players into anything resembling starters.

Now Woldu is 30 years old and hasn’t played much outside cornerback in his career in Saskatchewan. But one of the things that burned me in the game Friday night was the sight of Rob Bagg calling out to the bench looking for missing special team’s players. With the changes in the rules for this season, not having the guys who are supposed to be out there and costing your team yardage is not what you expect from a Grey Cup contender. Woldu would help in those situations.

The new centre is apparently going to be Dan Clark over Corey Watman, although Watman may be valuable as a fill-in depending on the injury history of his fellow offensive linemen, and here I am referring to Chris Best who manages to miss six games a year with upper body injuries.

Ray Early is the punter, Chris Milo is the place-kicker and I would assume Early does the kick-offs. Early has a strong leg, but let’s keep in mind the average US college season is 13 games. Let’s see how Early does at the end of the season when the winter wind blows and fatigue sets in.

The Rider fixation with Richardson, who didn’t show much of anything during the exhibition season, is one of those inexplicable things like the St. Louis Light or Loch Ness monster. Maybe they feel Richardson can provide the leadership Geroy Simon did, but I find that implausible since Weston Dressler is the lead dog on this team.

I can’t buy the size argument either because Alex P has the size advantage. Just don’t tell me they are planning to have Richardson blocking because that’s what you need: a 33 year old receiver with bad knees doing this job while a young Canadian gets snagged elsewhere.

So while I like to taunt Chamblin with his defense being 0-2, the bullets start flying this week as Winnipeg comes to visit. And here is where I boldly make my predictions and hope for the best and allow the world to chuckle a bit.

West

Calgary – They are the defending champions, they haven’t much turnover and until they get beat, you have to spot them for first. Some say this is a 16-2 team, and I say I remember what happened to the last western 16-2 team
Saskatchewan – The lack of Canadian depth is going to bite this team in the ass, but it is a question of when that might be. Injuries are impossible to predict and the return of Darian Durant has been buttressed by Kevin Glenn. Glenn’s appearance means Durant does not have to spend a moment longer than he has to in games that are blowouts. The defense does look good, but again, depth is the question and what will happen to this team if it hits an injury bug?
Edmonton – Edmonton lost their offense coach and is going to be trying to use their defense to establish themselves as a top dog in the west. But the Achilles heel for Edmonton is their offense and the loss of running back John White means Edmonton has to come up with a running game or risk being a one dimensional offense. If they become that, the magic of last season is over.
BC – I was uncertain where to place BC until I saw a bit of their game and saw Travis Lulay make his reappearance. If Lulay is good to go for a whole season, the sky is the limit for the Lions, but Jeff Tedford, a former CFL quarterback, has a knack for developing quarterbacks so I will be really interested to see who is backing Lulay up this year.
Winnipeg – Yes, I hate them, and everything they represent, but the reason for this is I am not sure if the talent level in Winnipeg is up to be sustained for a whole season. Winnipeg is rebuilding, time will tell if this year helped, and if Drew Willy still gets flustered over a blitz, they are in big trouble. Richie Hall on defense will be interesting to watch and I suspect they too are a work in progress.

East

Hamilton – Kent Austin has the best team, they just have to remember to not touch the east division trophy before the Grey Cup game.
Toronto – I’m sort of surprising myself with this, but with missing Rickie Ray for six games, the Argos get to develop a new quarterback and they have the talent to steal a few of the first six games they play on the road.
Montreal – A work in progress as they attempt to replace some good receivers and get Jonathon (Get out of) Crompton to become a steadier if less spectacular quarterback.
Ottawa – Any team with Henry Burris quarterbacking it is cursed by the football gods.

So here is how the first week should go:

Thursday – Ottawa at Montreal (5:30 p.m.) – Unless Ottawa has a team exorcism, this is all Montreal.

Friday – Hamilton at Calgary (9 p.m.) – Grey Cup rematch in Calgary’s backyard – Calgary starts its roll to a 16-2 season.

Saturday – Edmonton at Toronto at Fort Mac 5 p.m.) – If Toronto gets a break, it comes with a win in this game. The key is Chris Jones blitz against Toronto rookie QB’s, and at this time, go with the Blitz to decide an Edmonton win.

Winnipeg at Saskatchewan (8 p.m.) – Winnipeg has improved, but the Riders need to get off to another fast start with a new offense and defense and Richardson to lead them with his stroller.

by Riderville

Why do the Saskatchewan Roughriders Hate Their Canadians?

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