Uh, so what does this all mean?

They upgraded at quarterback getting Trevor Harris in at quarterback in place of Cody Fajardo. While many turned on Fajardo like Bomber fans being told Happy Hour is over, I thought the blame for the Riders offensive performance could be shared between Fajardo and the offensive line.

As many of you reading will remember, I thought Fajardo was like many quarterbacks who come out of nowhere to post good numbers, but then as defensive coordinators get film on the new quarterback and figure out how to defend him, the onus is on the quarterback to learn some new tricks or learn the offense better to be as effective as they once were.

Fajardo did not learn any new tricks and seemed to throw his receiving corps under the bus. I suspect now the Riders starting Mason Fine for the last two games was due to Fajardo most likely losing the room and the Riders trying to figure out what they had at quarterback.

Harris will be great at moving the club between the 30 yard lines, but whether it was in Ottawa or Edmonton, Harris had problems moving the ball in from the 30 yard line to the end zone.

If the new offense can address that and provide Harris with enough weapons, the offense should be more consistent than it was last year. An offense that is on the field for more than two plays and a punt will help keep the defense fresh and not so fatigued that injury then plays a major role in how well the team may do.

The Rider offensive line looked better, but again, there are some question marks. Jerald Hawkins, an offensive lineman from LSU went home for a family thing and the Riders reshuffled their line which worked out in good protection for Harris but raises questions for what happens Sunday in Edmonton when the Riders face the animal loving Elk.

Sunday is being billed as guaranteed win night, and being a season ticket holder for 11 years when the Riders missed the playoffs in what former Leader-Post Bob Hughes called “The Reign of Error”, I have a certain fatalism about teams inducting their players into their own walls of honor, or retiring them, or having a guaranteed win night, because the Riders were, and sometimes still are, the perfect patsies for teams wanting to feel better about themselves.

So with the Riders about to play their former coach in Chris Jones, and a team that has not won at home in 17 straight home games, a streak of over 1,000 days, are the odds lining up for the Elk to stop rutting in the bush and prove they are for real?

We will get to that question in a bit.

The Riders went 2-0 in the exhibition season, the first time since 2007 and considering they had not won an exhibition game since 2014, I suppose that is indicative of some sort of progress.

If the quarterback is not getting killed, the receivers make a catch, the offensive line can learn how to block, and the defense can defend without being idiots about it, the Riders have a good chance to be competitive.

How competitive? Well, let’s look at the whole CFL starting in the East.

1. Montreal Alouettes – this is going against the grain with 3Down Nation pleasuring themselves like monkeys in a zoo over the sight of Bo Levi Mitchell in Hamilton colors and the way Hamilton has apparently pierced the salary cap with impunity with all of their veteran signings. Montreal by comparison has a cast off Rider quarterback, offensive coordinator, and minus their leading receiver, but I would say Montreal is younger and more flexible than Hamilton and Mitchell with his shoulder problem should not be terrifying anyone except massage therapists. I was in the Rider store with James Kennedy, a noted Bomber fan, when the idea came to me – the worst-case scenario for Rider fans is to have Cody Fajardo lead Montreal to the Grey Cup. After all, the Riders did let Zach Collaros go and he ended up leading Winnipeg to two Grey Cups before they went #LfortheGreyCup. History does tend to repeat itself.

2. Hamilton – Hamilton should be the consensus pick in the east, they have done well in loading up in proven and troubled stars for the Grey Cup they will be hosting in November. The problem will be the arm of Mitchell who is expected to deliver a championship to the team that has gone without since 1999. On the one hand a team that adds some veteran content to help keep the team stable through the ups and downs of a season is not a bad idea. On the other, help that does not require a shoulder brace, can throw more than 13 yards and does not have wide receivers who get more penalties on the sidelines when not dressed for games does not guarantee a Grey Cup berth, never mind win. Hamilton is the geeky 13-year-old kid in braces and heavy spectacles who thinks he is Brad Pitt and can score any date in the world. Uh, Brad, don’t be looking for a Grey Cup date this year.

3. I was torn between Ottawa and Toronto for third because Toronto saved me the shame of seeing a Winnipeg Blue Bomber Grey Cup win in my stadium. Toronto then manages to let the law firm of McLeod Bethel Thomson go to some spring football league and leaving the Argos in the hands of Chad Kelly, who came in relief to win the last Grey Cup. Any team relying on an aging performance enhancing drug user like Andrew Harris is really rolling the dice and if Ryan Dinwiddie manages to get this team to the playoffs, he may have a great future as a football coach. But I am picking Toronto for this because of the lack of depth behind Kelly and let’s be honest, in an 18-game schedule, you need two quarterbacks on your roster who can win and Toronto seems a bit skimpy on the depth.

4. Ottawa will finish here because as much as I would be a bit antsy on the whole Toronto quarterback situation, in Ottawa they have Jeremiah Masoli who has never won and who last year managed to establish himself as a self-entitled whiner. At his best, Masoli would be good as part of a tandem to provide a change of pace, and while one can argue that with Nick Arbuckle in Ottawa, Masoli could still pull that off, I have character issues about Masoli that go to the heart of whether Masoli is content with getting his cheque or whether he has the leadership to lead a team out of the doldrums back to the Grey Cup. Henry Burris did it, I don’t think Masoli will. Add to that guys like Shaq Evans breaking his finger and being out (a familiar story to Rider fans) and I get the impression Ottawa is basically a fantasy league construction with players who, if healthy, could help turn the team around, but then again, that is a big “If”.

Western Conference

1. Calgary Stampeders – Calgary has moved on from Bo Levi Mitchell and put their collective hopes in the arm of Jake Maier who at least can throw a 15 yard out pass. I am picking Calgary for first in the west because their running game will be solid and enough to help bail out an essentially rookie quarterback, the defense is young but well coached, and Calgary is in the midst of an organizational sea change with Dave Dickenson taking over more responsibilities from John Hufnagel while Marc Mueller is being groomed as the next head coach. Mueller will have a heavier hand in the offense and having seen Mueller with the University of Regina Rams, the grandson of Rider legend Ron Lancaster will be an excellent coach and Calgary is just better balanced to finally topple Winnipeg.

2. Stony Mountain Blue Bombers – I call them the Stony Mountain Blue Bombers as a tip of the hat to where most of the Bomber fans come from – Stony Mountain Penitentiary. The Bombers have ridden an impressive wave the last few years, winning two Grey Cups before old age and arrogance finally toppled them in their quest for Cup #3. The secret sauce for the Argos is keeping Zach Collaros, the poster child from concussions, from getting hurt, and while their offensive line is older, and one would argue more stable, I suspect the Bombers are holding on to their veteran corps perhaps a bit too long than necessary, especially since Winnipeg is going to host the Grey Cup in two years and would like a competitive team then. The Bombers have enjoyed excellent health, but you have to wonder how long that will last and I suspect this is the year that injuries catch up with the Blue Bombers and send them back to their prison yard to work on their upper body strength, footwork and how to keep that bar of soap from falling down in the shower.

3. Saskatchewan Roughriders – prior to the exhibition games I thought the Riders would do well to match their 6-12 record last year. I am still not sold on their offensive line, but in a province of over 1 million general managers, I doubt my opinion carries much weight. The Riders GM and Head Coach being in the final year of their contracts and having to prove themselves will be an interesting thing to see if it works and their quarterbacking should be better. I especially liked Harris telling a Bomber Uber-fan to go F himself when he suggested to Harris that Saskatchewan is a graveyard for QBs. In that case, Winnipeg owes the Riders Grey Cups for 1990 when the Riders loaned Tom Burgess to the Bombers and the 2019 and 2021 season when Rider medical cast off Zach Collaros won two Grey Cups. In any event, I liked Harris’ moxie and for telling the uber fan off, I am picking the Riders for third.

4. BC Lions – Vernon Adams may be feeling pretty good about life, and he has done well in a back up role or starter, but here is the thing – Adams started in Montreal, got injured, Harris took his job and Adams got traded to BC. You don’t do that with a QB you think is a championship QB unless you are trading him to save his life (see Tom Clements 1979, Collaros in 2019) and the Lions latest with hometown defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo being traded to Hamilton because he did not want to be in a defensive rotation, indicates the Lions may have a problem with guys more concerned with their personal stats than the team stats. Nathan Rourke is not coming back and I suspect the Lions have character issues that will come back to haunt them.

5. Edmonton Elk – apparently loving wildlife is a criminal offense in Edmonton judging by the number of empty seats at Commonwealth Stadium. After the season long training camp run by Chris Jones and the Elk last year, this is apparently the year the Elk defense will kick in and the offense should do just enough to not screw things up. Except – I think the Elk still have questions at their quarterback spot, memories of Brandon Bridge kick in here, and it will take the Elk about half a season before they likely win their first home game.

So, on Thursday we have BC going to Calgary and this should be a good game. BC last year was a team on the rise under Nathan Rourke, the Canadian QB, only to lose him to injury and the Lions limped into the playoffs. Adams has his moments, but he is also streaky and if he is off his groove, apparently Dane Evans, formerly of Hamilton, can offer a nice change of pace as he showed in the first exhibition game against the Riders. The deciding factor could well be if the Stamps running game takes advantage of a BC defense that may be smarting from Kongbo’s comments about teammates not willing to practice like pros. I like BC to win 31-27 in what should be an interesting and entertaining kick off to the season.

On Friday we have Hamilton going to Stony Mountain in what TSN will be billing as a potential Grey Cup preview. If anything is more boring than a Stony Mountain Hamilton Grey Cup game, please don’t tell me. Bo Levi comes to Stony Mountain looking to show his arm is as sharp as ever. Now, I would not disparage Mitchell’s accuracy, but I do question his arm strength and if I was Richie Hall, I would blitz until the prison guards turn the spot lights on. Winnipeg did not show much in their exhibition games, except maybe find a third down quarterback who can run, so the senior citizens at Stony Mountain will be well rested to dent the hopes of Hamilton looking to prove they are real Grey Cup contenders. Hamilton will be competitive, but will fall short, partly due to trying to get all their new pieces working together, partly because Stony Mountain has better continuity. But remember, this is just game one and seniors tend to get tired before 8 pm. Winnipeg 28-17.

On Saturday Ottawa goes to Montreal to decide who made the right moves – Montreal in going with Jason Maas or Ottawa in rolling with Bob Dyce. Ottawa has questions all over their lineup, but so does Montreal with a new coach, QB and system. When Maas was signed, a few Montreal coaches left, disgusted they did not get a fair shot at the top job, and how that filters through the rest of the team will be fascinating to watch. As previously mentioned, I think Masoli is over-rated while Fajardo has to prove he is more than a one or two trick pony. What will decide this is that Montreal through its lineup has more pieces in place than Ottawa does and that’s why Montreal wins this one 24-14.

Finally we come to guaranteed win night, where the Edmonton Elk say they are done rutting in the bush and ready to make Chris Jones’ dream come true. The Elk are a difficult team to get a handle on and the preseason was not a clarifying device, which suits Chris Jones just fine. All we have at this point is a rough idea based on Jones’ previous experiences in Edmonton and Saskatchewan to say the Elk should be better this year, with the defense leading the way, but it will not happen overnight. The Elk and the Riders have chips on their shoulders, the Elk to break that home winless streak and the Riders looking to prove last year was an aberration. I think the Riders have more of the pieces in place than the Elk do and so I go with the Riders by a 31-24 score

by Greg Urbanoski

Uh, so what does this all mean?

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