By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

The Riders may be lucky to get a cross over playoff spot

Aug 3, 2022 | 4:43 PM

“The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Pattison Media and this site.”

The bye week may have come too late to save the Rider 2022 season.

The Riders 31-17 loss to the BC Lions revealed a Rider team with sketchy depth, character issues good and bad and a growing realization the Riders will not be by hook or by crook, playing in the 2022 Grey Cup.

The Riders are short effective offensive line play and perhaps some rethinking of the offense of making a meaningful run instead of self destruction in flamboyant fashion.

Cody Fajardo is discovering the hardest thing to do in football is not just making up, but sustaining success. Fajardo’s breakthrough season with the Riders had the advantage of not having much if any film on him. As teams saw his tendencies, they learned how to take them away from him and the Riders have not been able to respond.

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Add to this an offensive line that on a good day could veer into mediocre. Those who remember how Ron Lancaster took over coaching the Riders how he blew up the offensive line, going with young players would result in the team taking its lumps but resulting in a better team.

So far there has been no sign of A5 35 ointment. The easiest thing for the offensive line to do is block on running plays, but the Riders, unlike say, the Bombers, are not that physical.

There are no shortage of suggestions ranging from getting a new offensive line coach, to an offensive coordinator to even a quarterback. Until the offensive line learns to block on a regular basis, no quarterback will succeed on the Riders.

The Riders defense has suffered their own self directed shots including the Garrett Marino debacle. However, the more the offense is unable to consistently move the ball, the more the Rider defense will eventually implode from not getting a break

So put aside those dreams of the Riders playing at home this November. The Riders

will be lucky to nab a cross over since Edmonton is improving on a weekly basis even if they are plagued by stupid coaching decisions.

What is interesting is which way the Riders go now. It would be a mistake to throw the towel in on the season at this stage and the Riders have to think that with no Grey Cup here next year, is $9 beer enough to bring in fans from Tisdale?

The Riderd are now looking to create uh, hope, that things will get better. The pieces are in place but now the Riders have to figure out how to make them work.

So with no Riders this week, the CFL will open with Winnigoing to Montreal,. Gary Dnider, owner of Montrral, promised a win and we’ll, you cannot blame Montreal for showing a bit of attitude. The problem is Khari Jones got canned for what was described as discipline problems and there is no sign that attitude has changed with a new coach.

Winnipeg just beat Calgary to stand undefeated and it aeems the omly way the Bombers will lose is either through arrogance or a rash of injuries.

Trevor Harris seems to have taken the lead in Montreal and if he gets into a groove, he can be tough to beat. Montreal has the players but I still wonder about their discipline. Close but the Bombers win.

Say hello to Calgary and Ottawa. Calgary is having a massive crisis on faith as their American players on the Flames are fleeing to go back to the real U.S.

Calgary also takes as an insult any suggestion their team is not as good as say Winnipeg. Well, say hello Calgary to the Redblacks who finally posted their first win.

The question is whether Ottawa has enough consistency to give Calgary a good game and I would say yes, but not for long. Calgary has a deeper lineup and Dave Dickenson being out with Covid might cause the Stamps a hiccup or two, but give this to Calgary.

The game of the week is likely Hamilton-Toronto in which Hamilton tries to prove it has turned the corner while Toronto tries to decide what kind of team it is.

Toronto needs to use Andrew Harris as a weapon, which is feasible as long as his performance enhancing powers remain potent. Toronto though has just as much a discipline problem as the Riders and Montreal.

Hamilton has the look of a team that has taken a gble on Dane Evans and may or ay not be regretting it. The addition of Khari Jones may help make Evans a more consistent quarterback but Hamilton still doesn’t have a running game and that will give the Argos a stranglehold on first place in the east.

Finally we have Edmonton and BC and the question for Riders fans will be can the Elk catch the Riders for fourth and is BC as good as they seem.

I doubt BC will pull off their season opening win over Edmonton, but I think they should beat Edmonton Just because.