When A Loss is Not A Loss

With news that Mason Fine was taking first team snaps, most fans wrote this game off and hoped the Riders would show more than what they did last year in rolling over and being the favorite shower partner of the Bombers.

When Harris took to the field to lead the Riders, the differences between this year’s edition of the Riders and last years became apparent. Harris threw for three touchdowns to Samuel Emilius and over 400 yards and if not for 10 whiffed tackles on a Winnipeg punt return, the Riders might have had a shot at this.

The Riders took one of their defensive linemen out of the mix before the game and inserted a linebacker for special teams, but the move didn’t work because the Bombers were more physical on their offensive line to open holes for even Zach Collaros to run through.

The Riders used their defensive line rotation to keep their linemen fresh which helped on a goal line stand against the Elk. The Bombers though wore down some of the Riders, including Micah Johnson, and the Riders were unable to sustain pressure against the Bombers.

Harris addressed some of the concerns I had about him, especially being unable to move the ball past the opponents 30-yard line. The Riders were able to move the ball through the air with Harris being able to make quick reads and more importantly deliver the ball in ways that eluded Cody Fajardo last season.

The Riders did suffer from an inability to run the ball effectively which became apparent on a third down gamble in the first quarter that did not work and in the fourth quarter with getting the ball in scoring position but being unable to run it in and settling for field goals.

This may change this week if the Riders start two new offensive tackles in Jerald Hawkins, 6’5” and 305 lbs who had left the team to attend to personal matters in training camp and Colin Kelly, 6’5” 298 lbs who had been suspended by the league for taking performance enhancing drugs for the first two games of the season.

The absence of two big linemen like these might have helped to move the ball in critical situations against Winnipeg, but the pleasant surprise over how competitive the Riders were against the Bombers have raised hopes that this season may unfold differently than the season in hell that 2022 was.

The other surprise was with Derel Walker on the six-game injured list, Samuel Emilius has emerged as a go-to receiver for Harris, who is spreading the ball around to whoever is open. The three touchdowns were perhaps a new Rider team record, but who really knows since the CFL stats page, never mind the Rider stats page, is a joke, not updating during the game and apparently only on the Tuesday after a weekend of games.

The Riders play the Bombers at least two more times this season, so this game provided the Riders with an opportunity to see how far they have come over last season with the Bombers and where they have to improve.

For the Riders between now and Labor Day and the rematch with the Bombers, the priority is to get more physical on the offensive line to open up the running game, and being able to game manage their defense better to avoid players being gassed when the fourth quarter rolls around.

The Riders kicking game was also a subject of some discussion, especially with a missed field goal or two, but while watching the Riders practice on Wednesday it became obvious the Riders have a new holder for field goal kicker Brent Lauther in punter Adam Korsak who was booming punts not just in the game, but also practice. Give the new battery of snapper Jorgen Hus, Korsak and Lauther the first third of the season to work out their timing, and Lauther should be more consistent for the last two thirds of the season.

The Riders performed better than expected and if they can manage to stay healthy, with 9 players on the injured list, they might be able to weather this storm and field a competitive team.

The Riders play Calgary in Calgary and Calgary picked up their first win with a 26-15 win over the Ottawa Redblacks that pretty well wrote fini to the idea that Nick Arbuckle will be anything other than perhaps a serviceable back up quarterback.

Jake Maier was bailed out by his receivers getting a good number of yards after the catch, which sends a message to the Riders secondary they need to tackle better to avoid making the same mistakes Ottawa did.

Calgary was expected to be impacted by the loss of Ka’Deem Carey but Dedrick Mills came up with a 19 carry 102-yard performance which shows Calgary was willing to take what the Ottawa defense was giving them, while not really worrying about what Ottawa’s mythical offense would do.

Calgary has benefited from the play of Micah Awe in the middle of the defense taking over from Jameer Thurman, and Awe has show that Brent Monson has a defensive scheme that could probably make me a defensive star.

Calgary did not allow an offensive touchdown to Ottawa and would like to continue that trend against the Riders. Calgary though demonstrated a somewhat shaky special teams play that perhaps can be put down to lack of playing together and like the Riders with Lauther, will need some time together.

Ottawa may or not have Jeremiah Masoli back when they return after their bye week, but Ottawa is clearly suffering from an inability to move the ball and an idea about how to do it.

A team that has no idea of what it is doing on offense are the Edmonton Elk who went to BC Place and provided BC with their first defensive shut out since 1977 with a 23-0 loss.

BC did not light the stadium up despite the opening concert from LL Cool J but the score flattered the Elk with a few calls going against BC that would have run the score up further.

Taylor Cornelius, the Edmonton quarterback named after not just one, but two main characters in Planet of the Apes, demonstrated yet again that while Chris Jones may be a defensive guru, he has no clue about how to run an offense.

BC managed to unleash their defense on the Edmonton offense with a solid rush that showed the Lions did not need Shawn Lemon whom they cut in the pre-season. BC’s offense though had problems with Edmonton’s defense, managing to break through when Edmonton’s offense inability to move the ball kept their defense on the field too long and they got gassed.

While Dominic Rhymes scored a touchdown, he will not be in the lineup against the Bombers but the Lions get Lucky Whitehead back which probably also helps the Lions’ return game.

The Toronto Argonauts celebrated their rescue of the CFL from the clutches of the Stony Mountain Mob at last year’s Grey Cup with not just a banner raising, but also a replica ring provided to the dozens of fans who attended the home opener against Hamilton.

The game was the debut of Chad Kelly as the new starting quarterback for Toronto and he was OK, managing to hit receivers deep but also falling into the occasional lull in the third quarter which was ideal for a nap for viewers.

Hamilton pulled Bo Levi Mitchell after a performance which cannot avoid the issue of whether his shoulder has gone to Peyton Manning country to die. Mitchell is not expected against Montreal this week with Matthew Shiltz taking over, but the impression of Hamilton has to be a team that has spent a lot on free agents who are no producing, an offensive line that is truly offensive, and a lack of discipline that has you wondering how many ex-Riders are suiting up for Hamilton.

So tonight, the Lions go to Stony Mountain and Incestuous Field to play the Bombers and it is a battle of two undefeated teams with the Lions appearing to rely on their defense while having a streaky offense, and the Bombers who have to feel good about their offense, but perhaps wondering about their defense giving up 400 passing yards to the Riders.

Bomber fans are already booking their spots for the Grey Cup parade, and this game features an interesting match-up between the Lions receivers and the Bombers defensive secondary. If the Riders can get 400 yards passing with a no name receiving corps, the Lions could easily get that if Vernon Adams Jr. is patient and takes what the Bombers give him.

The question is whether the Lions will be able to run on the Bombers and if the Lions can get consistent pressure on Zach Collaros. There were a few times the Rider defenders may have been hesitant about lowering the boom on Collaros for fear of drawing a roughing penalty.

The result was Collaros looked like a two-time defending MOP winner but this is something that will not last. It is just a matter of time before either Collaros begins to believe he is truly untouchable and gets knocked out.

The Riders had a chance but passed on it. For the Lions, with a younger more athletic defensive line, it is an opportunity to make a statement.

The Lions make one with a 26-25 win.

Montreal goes to Hamilton with Hamilton reeling after an 0-2 start and Montreal is coming off a bye week and an opening week win.

Both teams have major questions with Cody Fajardo hopefully dealing with the PTSD from being sacked five or six times in what must have seemed like a bad acid trip from his time with the Riders.

The Riders seemingly being able to move the ball behind an offensive line of questionable quality shifts the responsibility for the Riders lousy season back onto Fajardo’s shoulders and how he probably lost the Rider locker room last season.

Montreal will likely try to counter the expected Hamilton rush on Fajardo with a heavy workload for running back William Stanback. Montreal will attempt to run Hamilton out of the low rent district they currently call home while Hamilton will be wondering if they can save some money by putting Mitchell on an extended stay on the injured list if he has truly passed his best before date.

Rider fans are probably breathing a sigh of relief that Mitchell did not sign with the Riders since Harris seems to be providing better quarterbacking with less supporting help than what Hamilton has around Mitchell.

Shiltz is not a bad quarterback and at least he can both run and hit the deep pass, but whether he can read defenses effectively may be put to the test against Montreal who still have Noel Thorpe at defensive coordinator.

The question here is whether Montreal head coach Jason Maas has corrected the problems that led to Fajardo getting sacked so many times. I would say after seeing a number of games of the Riders without Fajardo that Fajardo is responsible for a good many of his sacks and whether he can listen to Maas will determine how far Montreal will go this season.

This week I suspect Montreal will go far against Hamilton and a chance to bury their eastern opponents in an early season hole. Montreal wins 31-19.

Toronto goes to Edmonton as Edmonton tries to rebound from their 23-0 shut out in Vancouver and Toronto attempts to separate themselves from their eastern rivals with another win.

The big question in Toronto is whether Chad Kelly will be able to be consistently led the Argos through this season or whether he will be consistently inconsistent while going through growing pains.

Kelly got Toronto past Hamilton, but let’s be honest, Hamilton would be hard pressed by a competent high school team right now.

The Elk have a competent defense, which is a bit shaken by injuries to Ed Gainey and will likely rely on rookies and that leads to more growing pains. I am not sure what the cure is for Edmonton’s offense, but I would expect they would try to go to the ground game to try to buy some time for Cornelius Taylor, who has apparently come to the Elk from some parallel universe where Ape rule and humans drool.

I wondered how Edmonton would respond after the shut out and the albatross otherwise known as their home losing streak. Edmonton has tested the goodwill of their long-term fans with their record home losing streak and going over 1300 days without a home win.

Chris Jones has said the Elk need to shorten their receiving routes, indicating the passing plays are taking too much time to develop, which leads to a greater potential for Taylor to get sacked. Edmonton needs to keep this on the ground, but Eugene Lewis, the big free agent acquisition at wide receiver is already doing this version of Keyshawn Johnson and is calling for the damn ball.

This has a certain déjà vu quality to it with the Rider receiving corps and Duke Williams last year. Whether the Elk can address Lewis’ demands without putting their offense at the mercy of a high maintenance receiver may help determine whether their season becomes a redemption tale or a tale from the dark side.

I suspect the Elk will score points, but their offense production will again let them down and allow the Argos to come out of Edmonton with a 23-9 win. Chris Jones is in the second year of a four-year contract and if the Elk let him go this year, they will still owe him two years salary which will count against the football operations cap and limit who they can pay to come in and try to rebuild the team.

Edmonton invested a lot in bringing Chris Jones back, but his inability to get an offense going without a star quarterback will come back to haunt him. I don’t see him going this year, but if the Elk are unable to get some traction towards to a home win, never mind a playoff spot, Jones could be let go next season and maybe the Elk ask for an exemption so they can hire a competent coach, not a one trick pony.

Finally, we have the Saturday night massacre of the Riders in Calgary. Calgary is determined to put their fans to sleep with their offense predicated on breaking tackles since Jake Maier is forbidden to throw for more than 12 yards at a time.

As previously mentioned, Micah Awe anchors the Calgary defense and Calgary will continue to try to rely on their running game to move the team. Calgary is coming off an underwhelming win over a winless Ottawa team while the Riders are coming off a deceiving loss to the Bombers.

The Riders should be feeling better about themselves and the practice I saw Wednesday provided signs the Riders will be more physical and even more competitive than people might think.

The Riders offense has some concerns with their lack of a running game against the Bombers, and they will probably have some more problems with the Stampeders, but their passing game seems to be coming into its own. The Riders with no one receiver to key on, are in a position to surprise opposing defenses.

The key to beating Harris is to throw his rhythm off early so he can’t pick you apart. The Stampeders will try to blitz Harris, but the Riders will continue their tendency to play to the level of their opponents.

The Riders find themselves in the position of actually making an impact on the west division race. Beating Calgary puts the Riders in a good spot in working on finishing third or potentially better.

The Riders take this one 24-21.