Lack of Discipline may Become Riders Achilles Heel in 2022

The Riders also had Derreck Moncrief ejected for two misconduct penalties and Dan Clark broke his ankle in the last minute of the game. The Riders also did not help their cause by racking up major penalties through the game.

The Riders in their second game proved again to be a talented group of individuals who may not for each other, but perhaps more for themselves. Offside penalties on defense can be cured by players lining up a yard from the ball and ensuring teammates do the same.

The penalties that are pretty inexcusable are the reaction penalties that draw either misconduct or unnecessary roughness and are usually done in reaction to a real or perceived slight. The Riders may need to perform those penalties to establish respect, but those penalties either extend other teams drives or stop our short.

The trick to the Riders eliminating those penalties will like in the hands of people like Larry Dean to provide the leadership showing eliminating those penalties are the difference between winning and championship teams. Against say, Winnipeg, the Riders may get beat physically on some plays, but they cannot give plays to the Bombers as a result of an untimely penalty.

The Riders were without the presence of Duke Williams but the passing attack was not appreciably affected. Shaq Evans seems to be bouncing back from last season and even though Sam Emilius fumbled a ball, he does show an ability to get separation to avoid taking a hit.

Clark had surgery on his ankle and there was talk of an MRI being taken and if there is no appreciable soft tissue damage, Clark could be back in the lineup toward the end of the season. Logan Bandy, a draft pick from the University of Calgary, steps in and while he only has one start, he is not without his size, 6’5”, 285 pounds.

This may be a good move in terms of giving Bandy playing time to determine if he can play. Bandy will have to up his game to demonstrate he is worthy of the challenge, but I expect Bandy’s size will allow the Riders some interesting options in pass and run offense.

The CFL named new additions to the Hall of Fame including former Rider kicker Paul McCallum and Rider GM Roy Shivers and in the media wing, two people with Saskatchewan connections in Glen Suitor and Ed Willes.

So this week the Riders have a short week as they head into Montreal. Usually Montreal is a graveyard for Rider teams but the Riders have won their last three trips so maybe they save their trips to the clubs until after the game.

Injuries and discipline are going to be storylines for both teams in this game as the Riders as mentioned have to deal with the loss of their centre Dan Clark while Montreal have to deal with the loss of Vernon Adams Jr. to Covid and receiver Jake Wienike to the injury list along with receiver Mario Alford and linebacker Chris Ackie.

Trevor Harris will be started for Montreal with Dominique Davis backing up. Harris is a rhythm passer so if the Riders can confuse him, they buy time for the defense to run him down. The trick will be can the Riders bend but not break against a quarterback who will get his yards but can be stopped before he gets a touchdown.

If the Riders can keep a lid on the penalties, they can force Montreal to commit more penalties so they, and not the Riders, are the ones to shoot themselves in the foot.

If Montreal cannot get much of a pass rush and the Riders surprisingly try their running game out again for another week, the Riders should win this one 26-18.

Hamilton had an epic meltdown in Calgary losing 33-30 while Winnipeg swept two games from Ottawa, demonstrating how the gap between knowing the path and walking it are two different things. This week we have a reunion of the past two Grey Cup matches with Hamilton going to Winnipeg to try to justify a third possible consecutive appearance in the Grey Cup.

Hamilton kept it close against the Riders before just not paying attention against Calgary. The worst loss I call a team psychologically getting was Atlanta choking against New England in the Super Bowl. The Falcons did not recover after that and one wonders if Hamilton is going to use this year to audition some new additions to the club and prep for not just hosting, but playing in the 2023 Grey Cup.

Hamilton has a weak offensive line and against Winnipeg’s line, I suspect the Bombers will be able to establish an edge against Hamilton. I am going to hesitate to say dominate because when a team suffers a collapse like Hamilton did against BC, they either get up and get back to business or they just crumble. I suspect Winnipeg will get a close game from Hamilton, but it will not be enough for the Tiger-Cats as Winnipeg wins 20-18.

Speaking of interesting rebounds, Edmonton got blown out of the water by BC 59-15 but managed to make it respectable against the Riders 26-16. The Eskimos suffered from a lack of run defense in allowing Jamal Morrow to run crazily through the Elk, but also from offensive play calling that was tantamount to neglect.

Jones got away from his yo-yoing the quarterbacks and let Nick Arbuckle handle things with the occasional mistake. Kenny Lawler earned his money as the focal receiver for the Elkaholics and one wonders how much more effective they would have been with Derrell Walker who was out with injury.

Edmonton is now at the bottom of the west with an 0-2 start and this is a divisional and a rival game against Calgary. The problem is it looks like Calgary has got its rhythm back and if things bog down, Calgary can always run against the Elk. Calgary wins this round of the Battle of Alberta 35-21.

Finally, Toronto goes to BC in a battle of undefeated teams. Toronto barely escaped the visit by Montreal in a 20-19 win made possible by Montreal missing a game winning field goal. Toronto did not quite inspire confidence offensively or defensively.

Meanwhile, BC is seeing its first action since they hunted down and ate the Edmonton Elk in the season opener. One game is not a really good gauge of how a team will go and this will provide a better feel for what BC quarterback Nathan Rourke may do.

I suspect he might not do all that badly with another week of practice and Toronto having to fly several time zones and playing much later than they would like. It’s a road trip that never goes well for Toronto and BC should win this one 36-17

by Greg Urbanoski

Lack of Discipline may Become Riders Achilles Heel in 2022

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