Riders Free Agency strategy geared towards bringing back past hits.

In the rebuilding or reloading of the Riders, V. 2023, the Riders seems to be relying on what the former Washington Redskins did in the 1970s under former Coach George Allen calling it the “Over the Hill Gang.”

The Riders faced up to their laughable offensive line and production by releasing quarterback Cody Fajardo and offensive center Dan Clark and signing former BC Lion Peter Godber and Toronto Argonaut offensive lineman Peter Blake in addition to quarterback Trevor Harris.

The Harris move makes sense on a number of fronts starting with his quick release. Harris can compensate for an offensive line in progress by getting rid of the ball quickly, which means the offensive line doesn’t need to block badly for as long as they did in the past.

This being said, while Harris can move a team between the 30-yard lines, he does have problems scoring touchdowns unless they are long balls to his wide receivers. So, say hello to Derrell Walker, former Edmonton Elk wide receiver who broke the wide receiver free agent mark a few years ago for contracts and since then has uh, taken the money and ran.

Walker did play with Harris in Edmonton so if you are looking for chemistry, Harris should have that with Walker and Chris Weineke, who came over from Montreal with Harris. The Rider signings on the offensive line will help keep Harris somewhat upright, and probably will help more on the running game.

The Riders said goodbye to Darnell Sankey at middle linebacker, which means Larry Dean will move back to his natural position and hopefully Micah Teitz is recovered from his groin injury to move back to the outside.

The Riders also welcomed back Micah Johnson to the middle of the defensive line which is a move that may pay off for the other members of the defensive line who will benefit from the double teaming that Johnson will attract.

So, the Riders seems to be moving past hoping their young offensive linemen may learn the hard way by playing together and instead are putting in older veterans who may not have many years yet, but hopefully enough to earn contract extensions for Jeremy O’Day at general manager and Craig Dickenson at head coach.

Adding Jones would make me think the Riders may actually make a credible move toward a playoff spot, but if the Riders don’t add Jones, they still have the draft and maybe some sensible scouting to come up with some depth.

The Riders running game seems to be in place with Jamal Morrow and Frankie Hickson at running back, Kian Schafer-Baker Weineke, Walker (?) and Brayden Lenius likely receivers, Harris at quarterback and the rest is uh, a work in progress.

There are many ways to characterize the Riders 2022 season, and perhaps lack of depth is one way to describe it. When the Riders had a rash of injuries, the available bodies to step in were either not quite ready for prime time or just were over their heads.

If there is any one move that may tip whether the Riders improve or not, it might not be the new offensive coordinator, or offensive line coach. The Riders new athletic therapist is Greg Mayer, formerly of the Regina Pats with whom he had been with since 2004.

For various reasons, players from the States not used to the bigger Canadian field and the cardio requirements, seems to run out of steam during the season. The Riders lack of physical aggression, especially along the offensive line, cold be said to be due to a lack of coaching or a lack of physical ability.

If the Riders can reduce their games lost to injury, much like what Winnipeg has done the last three years, it is not inconceivable the Riders can tread water to a playoff spot.

There are a number of factors that will go into this year’s edition of the Riders and while the Riders did about as well as they could with their quarterback selection and coaching, how far they go will depend on how healthy they can keep their over the hill gang going this year.

If the Rider starters get injured, there is no guarantee the back ups will be able to live up to their responsibilities. This would make one think the Riders are a carefully constructed house of cards, or Jenga pile, and pulling out the right rod or card will result in the whole structure collapsing.

This team is being built on a series of assumptions that may not be readily apparent to fans. The mismanagement of the offense last year and the collapse of the defense following the release of Garret Marino makes one wonder if the Riders are just a collection of somewhat talented athletes but are lacking in taking the next step to being a championship team.

Winning free agency is nice, but it doesn’t get your name on the Grey Cup at this time of year. The Riders did the best they could with what was available. If I was the GM, I would not have gone with Bo Levi Mitchell based on his should injuries and memories of Peyton Manning’s last year with the Denver Broncos when his passes looked more like injured seagulls.

Dane Evans going to BC is a good move for BC because depth at quarterback is going to be important. Vernon Adams Jr. maybe has a bad rap for a reputation for improvising, but he seems to be doing better than Brandon Bridge.

BC now has a battery at quarterback that a team needs in an 18-game schedule. BC seems to be gunning for a Grey Cup berth. Whether they can get some magic like they did under Nathan Rourke is open to question, but here is the thing on Rourke – teams have video on him so if and when he appears back in the CFL, he may not have the same level of success that he did last year before he got injured.

Edmonton is looking for a deep throat offense that forces the ball down opposing defenses with a receiving corps that will stretch the limits of opposing defensive backs. Whether the refugee from Planet of the Apes, Cornelius Taylor, is the guy who can work this is another question.

I am reminded of how Chris Jones moved on from Darian Durant by bringing in Kevin Glenn, who worked in tandem with Brandon Bridge and Vernon Adams Jr. to spark the Riders to an eastern conference title game appearance. Edmonton has not won at home in over 1,000 days and the first game of the Elks season is against the Riders, billed as guaranteed win night, which makes me think the Riders will either rise to meet the challenge or start to unravel quickly.

Calgary has done OK in keeping their free agents, while making moves off the field to move on to a post John Hufnagel era with Dave Dickenson taking on more general manager duties. The question in Calgary is whether Jake Maier is the real deal or if he is just another Nick Arbuckle.

Winnipeg got Kenny Lawler back for what may be their last real credible Grey Cup run. The Bombers have had an exceptional run but one wonders if the combination of age and relatively good health will finally run the Bombers onto the off ramp.

Hamilton has shed their starting quarterbacks in Jeremiah Masoli and Dane Evans in favor of whatever mystic powers Bo Levi Mitchell possesses. No one will argue he does not have the attitude, but whether his shoulder will hold up is another question and again, I think back to Peyton Manning’s last season with the Broncos where the defense carried the team when Manning’s arm finally died.

Hamilton may or may not be in better position than Toronto where McLeod Bethel Thompson has decided to try the USFL in an effort for one last NFL shot. Depending where he might go, it might not be a bad shot for Bethel Thompson, who leaves the Argos in the hands of Chad Kelly, who managed to step in and win a Grey Cup last year when Bethel Thompson went down with injury.

While Kelly had a great Grey Cup moment, it is unclear whether he has enough to move into a full-time starter position and demonstrate the ability to improvise and lead from that position.

Toronto though has enough to make another run at a Grey Cup a realistic proposition, but they will have to earn it because no one in the east seems about to concede anything.

Ottawa has gone with Bob Dyce at head coach with Khari Jones at offensive coordinator and Baron Miles at defensive coordinator. They will continue with Jeremiah Masoli at quarterback, but Masoli is like Trevor Harris, great between the 30-yard lines but not much of a touchdown producer.

Ottawa showed some life when Dyce took over and it will be interesting to see how he does with a whole season instead of operating a team on an interim basis. However, I don’t see the Redblacks going anywhere with Masoli.

In Montreal it appears the Alouettes are likely going to Pierre Karl Peladeau, head of Quebecor. Peladeau owns TV stations, newspapers and who knows, may move Montreal to Quebec City with Cody Fajardo.

I wouldn’t know what to make out of Montreal this year with the uncertainty over their ownership and the coaches leaves when Jason Maas got the head job.

In the meantime, we have the CFL combine and while the CFL has swung and missed on making the Combine and CFL week a yearly thing through the various teams, they seem to be taking a page out the NFL playbook.

The NFL has regularly scheduled games in Europe to build up fan interest there and while that may be a stretch for the CFL, the Touchdown Atlantic game is again a go, again between Toronto and Saskatchewan. News that St. Mary’s University in Halifax is looking for a “Tempire” stadium solution may provide the bridge to link the Atlantic Schooners from potential to real CFL team.

In nothing comes out of it, the CFL may have stumbled onto the Touchdown series to have games in different parts of the country to at least bring some CFL awareness in. I would expect a Touchdown Pacific in either Victoria or say the interior of BC, maybe another Fort Mac or even a Whitehorse or Yellowknife game, a game in Quebec City, western Ontario, or even Red Deer or Saskatoon.

Imagine how bringing the combine around to different areas would help build awareness and get stories out about CFL players. While I may still contend the most important job hiring was the new athletic therapist, the hiring of Rob Vanstone as Rider correspondent and historian may be the most consequential.

Vanstone tells good stories and the Riders do not have a good appreciation of the history in their own building. For instance, the Riders equipment sale is still ongoing at the Rider store. Their helmets, priced at $500, did sell, but the game worn jerseys, most of whom belonged to back-ups, did not sell at $300, the initial selling price, and don’t seem to be selling at $200, the price they have been reduced to.

I have a pretty good Rider jersey collection which I am slowly divesting myself of, and I would say a reasonable price for a game worn is $100, maybe $150 for a notable player. The problem is you are not likely to get notable players, although I have gotten a Bobby Jurasin game worn jersey out of the Riders, but I would not count on that happening a lot.

If Vanstone can promote the Riders, their earning opportunities may grow inside the province and the possibility to keeping them in the fold increases. If the Riders can hold their own and make it back into the playoffs, then the stories get easier to tell.

Then again, if the Riders can’t block or hit their receivers, then none of this really matters.

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders Free Agency strategy geared towards bringing back past hits.

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