Riders and Durant’s Achilles Blow up Against Winnipeg

So here is what we know after week one of the CFL: Rider Head Coach Corey Chamblin’s defense is 0-2 in exhibition games and 0-1 in regular season games and Darian Durant has a full season to think about what might have been.

The Riders 30-26 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers was not due really to Durant rupturing his Achilles tendon in the first half following an incompletion. That injury was, after repeated viewing, nothing more than a fluke, an accident of the football gods and it was Durant’s bad luck to be there when the injury thunderbolt hit once again.

The loss was due to the Riders defense forgetting how to tackle and making Winnipeg look like the reincarnation of the Green Bay Packers of the 1960 by giving up 452 yards of total offense. Mind you, Winnipeg gave up 497 yards of total offense to us, but we had to work for it.

The Riders lost a bunch of Canadians in this one, starting with safety Keenan McDougall, linebacker Shea Emry and receiver Nic Demski. McDougall is said to be out for the season, Emry has a neck injury, not a concussion but will likely be gone for six games, and Demski should be back in a week or so, fingers crossed.

So on Monday the Riders held a press conference to announce two quarterbacks would be coming in with Tino Sunseri likely being one. The other one may be a quarterback that played offensive coordinator Jacques Chapedelaine’s offense in BC or perhaps the one year he was in Toronto.

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The offense should be in good shape with Kevin Glenn and was after he took over on Saturday night. Other than a timing issue on an interception, Glenn showed why he was worth the investment as a backup, but also showed why the Riders have been inconsistent as a quarterback developing factory.

If Sunseri does come here, he would be relegated to third string just so the Riders have someone one the sidelines who they can say has CFL experience. Also consider that Sunseri has been good only when coming off the bench in short notice, unless it was in an exhibition game a couple of weeks ago in Fort Mac.

I would think that based on Glenn’s record, he should be able to lead the Riders to a playoff berth. What he does with it when he gets there is another thing, but that is a question we can defer until November.  Glenn has better tools than what he got in BC last year to work with, so there is hope and no need to burn your season ticket flex pack just because Durant went down.

But – Chamblin got schooled on defense Saturday night by the guy he thought he was better than – Richie Hall. Hall knew what he was doing and even better, had a defense that tackled even after giving up long runs.

The Emry for Ricky Foley trade that disquieted a few around here, even though it kind of made sense to get a middle linebacker, now looks more like a win for Toronto than ever. The Riders will have Tyrone Brackenridge coming back on defense which will help, but they will have to bring back some of the Canadians they cut in training camp, probably starting with Paul Woldu.

The aggressiveness that Chamblin was looking for resulted in just one sack against Winnipeg and a defense that dove at Winnipeg players instead of tackling them. They couldn’t generate any pressure against Winnipeg and when you consider their next opponent is Toronto and how their quarterback killed Edmonton with a high completion record, you do not like our chances.

After the game Chamblin was ticked at a question Murray McCormack of the Leader Post asked about the defense and whether it was the one he had envisioned. Many Rider supporters thought the question was a cheap one but considering how Chamblin had been pumping his own tires as a defensive coordinator and how his defense would be different from Richie Hall’s, then the question is a valid one – especially when Hall just beat you.

You couldn’t find much to complain about with the offense, with excellent running by Jerome Messam for 75 yards and Anthony Allen for 102. The offensive line blocked well and prevented no sacks. The receivers did their job and Glenn did his.

The defense and Chris Milo the kicker did not do their jobs. Milo missed a 48 yard field goal for a single and now the Riders are missing their spiritual leader, it becomes all hands on deck. For this team to do well, everyone must produce.

It’s something I remember saying last year after the Banjo Bowl after Durant went down for the first time with his elbow injury. The team didn’t have the quarterbacking it needed to succeed then, it does now.

For the first time since Corey Chamblin took over four years ago, the Riders started their season with a loss. Chamblin has made his case for why he wanted things his way and his people in place. Now he gets a chance to prove he was right.

With a new stadium rising up behind Taylor Field looking to be filled, let’s hope Chamblin can salvage something or maybe it’s time to find someone who can.

So this week we have Hamilton at Winnipeg – Hamilton is coming off a close loss to Calgary while Winnipeg, well, you know. Hamilton is good, but Winnipeg is high on itself and coming home. Winnipeg wins 27-24.

Calgary at Montreal – Calgary barely eked a win past Hamilton while Montreal lost their first two quarterbacks and was down to a Canadian against Ottawa in its season opener. Montreal is in trouble, but the great unknown of what they have should make this relatively close. Calgary 22 – Montreal 19.

Toronto at Saskatchewan – Toronto pleasantly surprised me in the opening game against Edmonton while the Riders broke my heart. I expect the Riders to come out game, but the holes in the defense are just too big and Toronto is too good to not exploit them. This raises the question of do the Riders trade for Ricky Ray after he comes off the six game injured list and Harris continues to lead the Argos to wins? Toronto 28- Riders 18

BC at Ottawa – This is the great unknown, with the Lions not having played yet. Ottawa did well in coming back to beat Montreal while BC is trying to bring Travis Lulay slowly and not lose him to another shoulder surgery. However BC did have problems in Ottawa last year and I think the win against Montreal will give Ottawa the gas to go for its second win – Ottawa 17 – BC 11.