At Least the Riders Won’t Lose This Week

Like a cat watching a ball of string it has batted unravel, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have watched their season hit a 36 year low with a 30-26 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

In an epically undisciplined yet entertaining contest, the Riders fell just short of notching their first win of the year against an injury riddled team playing a short week. Unless Drew Willy of Winnipeg is out for the Labour Day and Banjo Bowl contests, there may not be a team the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be able to beat in 2015.

 I’m not sure of all the stages of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ grief process, but I am firmly in the area of acceptance. Part of it is my experience in an 11 year non-playoff stretch for the Riders which taught me patience and how to drink.

So when I go on social media and see people whose experience has never really included a Rider team sucking this bad, I sympathize, but now part of the fun is seeing the Riders dig themselves out of this. The timing of a meltdown like this is unfortunate, but it could be worse. It could be next season and people would be saying, why pay to see a product like this.

Mind you, if Winnipeg has the capacity to teach us anything, other than Chernobyl has more glamour; it is that the first year of a new stadium will see people come for the novelty factor. A lousy team won’t keep them coming, and the Riders and the City of Regina are going to need some bums in the seats to help pay this off.

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The whole spectacle of the TSN report about Chamblin being replaced being the subject of a meeting between Rider GM Brendan Taman and Rider CEO Jeff Reynolds at first denied and then confirmed by the former voice of the Raiders Rod Pedersen has had some impact.

The Riders reliance on shaky veterans like Jamal Richardson, who at least caught balls, being put on the injury list and younger players coming on the roster is the beginning of what will be an 11 game audition process for the 2016 Riders. Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader Post says the Riders should keep Darian Durant, Weston Dressler and John Chick and open the rest of the team up to trade offers.

The reliance on veterans that has been a Rider Head Coach Cory Chamblin trademark over the last few years is being dropped probably on the basis of necessity. Let’s not also kid ourselves, there are at least two jobs hanging in the balance of this rebuild and if the Riders can’t demonstrate progress by the season end, Brendan Taman and Cory Chamblin will be getting paid out for the next two years.

The reason why the Riders haven’t fired anyone is a result of contract extensions provided by former CEO Jim Hopson to Chamblin and Taman through to the 2017 season. The two contracts combined add up to at least a million and if you figure similar costs for a new GM and Coach, that is an expenditure a former accountant like Reynolds has problem swallowing while the team is also looking to make a payment on its new stadium.

However, the more the team sucks, the more casual fans will start to tune the team out. Back in the 80s, I took so much crap cheering for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 11 years that it was difficult to defend but a sense of humor helped. However, this is a different era and fans are caught between believing in the legend and the two Grey Cups in six years and being forced to grasp that the former CFL Coach of the Year has driven this team into the ground. To point that out does not make one a bad fan, because all of us want to see the Riders do well.

For fans who haven’t developed that ability, or haven’t drank enough to make the games fun, the next 11 games will not be fun, especially when the Riders officially get eliminated. But enjoy the mobility of quarterback Brent Smith, who may be the quarterback of the future. Enjoy Jerome Messam plowing through opposing defenses. Enjoy Ryan Smith and Weston Dressler making magic with their receptions. Just don’t take anything seriously until after the Grey Cup when the Riders make their announcement on who will manage and coach the team in 2016.

So this week, the Riders will not lose. Count on it.

Edmonton goes to Montreal and this one will be interesting. Edmonton lost in BC when Chris Jones, otherwise known as Corky from the Trailer Park Boys, started to believe his own legend and let the BC Lions pull off a 26-23 win. Edmonton may be world beaters at home, but I am wondering about their ability to win on the road, especially in the distraction capital of Canada – Montreal. Montreal is a similar team, dropping a game it should have won in Ottawa, but playing well at home. The stats say Edmonton, but I will go with Montreal in a 23-17 win.

Toronto at Winnipeg begs the question of wither Drew Willy? He has been helped off the field before and given up for lost, but has managed to return like something out of the Perils of Pauline. Toronto is coming off a short week win over Riders with injuries, but funnily enough, probably the best young receiving corps in Canada. Winnipeg plays well, but thinking that Willy is out, I will go with Toronto 30-25.

BC is at Hamilton and my cat is conflicted. Who to cheer for she meows while sharpening her claws on my leg. Well BC came off a bit win over Edmonton while Hamilton crushed Winnipeg but again took some major injuries. But Hamilton is undefeated in its new stadium so let’s guess Hamilton 28 BC 22.

Ottawa at Calgary has two division frontrunners doing battle. Calgary is coming off a bye week and a chance to get their offensive timing down better while Ottawa is coming up a big win over Montreal. While Ottawa has gotten better, they got spanked their last visit into Alberta and when you give Calgary a bye week, they usually respond well. A close game but let’s call it 24-22 Calgary.