Free Falling Riders at Least Score Points

Joseph distinguished himself by moving the ball, but what was disturbing was the way Saskatchewan’s offensive line, once touted as best in the country, was going down to injury during the game and getting pushed around by Edmonton. Ben Heenan did not distinguish himself by drawing penalties during crucial plays wiping out gains and getting schooled by Edmonton’s defense.

So now the Riders have a short week with a Friday game against Calgary, when Darian Durant is eligible to come off the six game injury list, then have a bye week and then finish the season with the last game at Mosaic Stadium against Edmonton.

So if we look at the school of reduced expectations, the Riders needed to show some sort of offensive movement which they did. The Riders now are auditioning people for the playoffs, inserting Kerrie Williams at wide receiver to try to get some speed and ability to stretch the defense.

Expect to see more guys rotated from the practice roster as Rider Coach Corey Chamblin holds an end of the season training camp to try to assemble a team most likely to win the Grey Cup. The way the Riders seemed to go flat after the kick-off return touchdown was disheartening.

That was demonstrated in the sloppy tackling against the Eskimos as the Rider defense seemed to tire, perhaps rallying a bit in the fourth quarter, only to fall short with a late touchdown, a missed two point convert and a missed recovery of a short kick.

So the Riders efforts to get some offensive movement were successful but Joseph will face a challenge against Calgary. They now have film on him and will be able to scheme on how to best thwart him.

So reviewing the game film, the Riders should be marginally better, playing well in the first half before wilting in the second. They simply don’t have the ability to sustain anything offensively, and Joseph, although more mobile, is basically a 50 per cent passing and throws into coverages.

Durant is apparently throwing in the locker room, out of the eyes of opponents and it seems the Riders only shot is to unleash Durant in the playoffs, hopefully with a good arm, and a game plan that confuses and confounds opponents.

Well, stranger things have happened. And here in the city that rhymes with fun, the pitchforks and torches are being prepared as people point fingers, demand firings and wholescale changes to meet the diminished expectations following a Grey Cup championship.

I don’t know if things should go to that extreme. Certainly the expectation the Rider rookie back-up quarterbacks are able to step in was a bit of a gamble, which might have been due to Durant’s ability to play through injury.

Certain players like Ricky Foley have demonstrated that even though they are older, they can still produce. But an inability to fill out the receiving corps when Dressler went south also cost the Riders and let’s not forget the lack of a true middle linebacker.

But these are things that can be addressed. The deeper psychological wounds of how this team folded with Durant out will take longer. While a turnover in the roster is to be expected, having the necessary people in the lineup who will not accept losing is something the Riders will have review.

I went out on a limb saying the Riders will repeat, and that possibility still exists. I was heartened by the offense moving the ball, and with more time with the playbook, Joseph may be able to tread water until Durant returns.

The bye will allow time for people to heal and the process of inserting new players every game to see how they perform in game conditions will help the Riders find a contending line-up. However, putting all the eggs into Durant’s basket is not the ideal way to repeat as Grey Cup champions.

But there is a still a shot, and if the Riders season is reduced to believing in that, anything is possible, including a first round defeat.

So on Friday we have a double header, with Montreal going to Ottawa to kick things off.

Montreal beat Toronto last week in the game that surprised me, and now that they have won on the road, some habits are easily continued. Ottawa has given up the same amount of points as we have, even though they have played one less game, and they play somewhat better at home. Montreal is now gunning for first place and that should be enough to beat Ottawa 22-18.

Saskatchewan is at Calgary and what the Riders are doing is wondering who Calgary will sit down or reduce playing time for. Calgary will have to be careful to avoid the injuries that devastated the interior of their defensive line last year and in that thinking lays the Riders slim hopes of a win. If Calgary can chase Joseph out of the game by keeping him in the pocket and forcing him to beat them with his arm, our receivers haven’t shown enough to make that a viable strategy. Jon Cornish may play a half so their offense will rely on getting the ball to as many people as possible. Still, until the Riders show they have some heart, consider this a Calgary 26, Saskatchewan 20 game going into the moral victories category.

On Saturday there is another double header with Hamilton visiting Toronto. Hamilton stepped forward last week to grab a share of first place, but Hamilton has no running game. Toronto fell short against Montreal and will be at home looking to move back into the first place conversation. The problem I see is the game is in Toronto where the crowds at the start of the season were bigger than they are now. That leaves the Hamilton fans coming in to provide some excitement and I see Hamilton keeping pace with Montreal with a narrow 24-23 win over Toronto.

Saturday concludes with the BC Lions going to Winnipeg to kick more sand into the faces of the Blue Bombers. The Lions have managed to survive losing their starting quarterback and inconsistent play to stay in the hunt in the west and with the Riders slide; they have the opportunity to move into third place. The Bombers will be game, but the Lions win this one 24-20.

by Riderville

Free Falling Riders at Least Score Points

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