Riderville Report August 9: Riders continue their reign as CFL’s most watchable team

While for Bomber fans it was more fun than free smokes in the Stony Mountain Penitentiary exercise yard, it was a yawn fest for anyone looking for an entertaining game.

The Argos went to Calgary to extend their undefeated streak, but the Argos instead lost quarterback Chad Kelly as the Argos dropped a 20-7 loss to the Stampeders, who showed they are not quite as dead as many in Saskatchewan might have been hoping.

Not sure if the game summary should be more about the Stampeders rising to the occasion or the Argos running out of steam. The Argos should remember the 1989 Edmonton Eskimos who went 16-2 and lost in the western final to the Riders.

Then again, since southern Ontario seems to think the NFL is the end all and be all, they should consider the New England Patriots who went 18-0 only to lose their last game in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. The playoffs are a different game and Toronto could use this as a measuring stick for areas they are trying to improve later on in the season.

Montreal and Hamilton engaged in a bit of a slug fest with Hamilton hanging onto a 14-9 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but Montreal came through with an 18-point fourth quarter and a 27-14 win to move into sole possession of second place in the east.

Ottawa came into Riderville with Dustin Crum, the Crumback kid who sparked two overtime wins in his first two starts with the Redblacks. Crum killed the Bombers with his legs and the Riders decided to not have someone spy Crum but to play rather tight defense.

The Rider offense was expected to be better after playing two of the better defenses in the league in BC and Toronto. The Riders have been playing either up or down to the levels of the teams they have been facing and so the Riders were again consistent in not running Ottawa out of the stadium.

The Rider offense under Mason Fine looked better as the Rider offense now featured Fine rolling out and throwing on the run. The Rider pass offense has become more consistent despite the numerous injuries in the receiving corps which makes establishing continuity and chemistry between Fine and his receiving corps a work in progress.

While the Rider passing game looks to be in better shape, helped by the addition of receiver Jerreth Sterns (#83). Sterns was the receiving leader in the NCAA and while he is not big in stature at 5’9” and 175 pounds, he compensates by knowing the tricks of running routes and all he does is get open.

Sterns knowledge of routes helped him beat out Kendall Watson for a roster spot and as Sterns plays more, expect him to make the Rider receiving corps an interesting proposition for opposing defenses.

What made the game closer than it should have been was the inability of the Riders to get a consistent running game over, especially when it came to third down and short yardage. The Riders gambled and lost twice on short yardage with the Riders using Jake Dolegala at quarterback on the assumption that his 6’7” 242 pound frame would be ideal in stretching over and picking up the first down.

The problem is, as anyone who has seen Dolegala can attest to, being tall does not make you strong, so when you try to move the ball a defensive player can hit you and stop you in your tracks – more than once.

For fans looking to have Dolegala start, his ability to handle the ball, as evidenced by the short yardage play where Dolegala was stripped of the ball and had it returned for a touchdown by the Ottawa defense, does not inspire confidence.

How much of that is due to Dolegala not having a Darian Durant type of build for third downs or the offensive line being truly offensive in not being physical enough is something that will have to play out for the rest of the season.

You can’t blame the Rider offense for trying the short yardage gambles, but the Rider coaches have to be wondering if their offensive line will be capable of handling something like a third down gamble. Perhaps by the end of the season if the offensive line stays pretty consistent, but the Riders offensive line is not inspiring confidence with their on-field performance.

The inability of either team to convert short yardage led Ottawa to open the door for the Riders by kicking a field goal when they were on the Riders one-yard line, but leaving enough time for the Riders to move down the field and get into position for a 54 yard Brent Lauther game winning field goal.

The Riders are still in third place, but with BC, Winnipeg and Toronto operating at a different level than the Riders, the Riders best case scenario would be to finish third in the west and hopefully catch one or two teams in a state of complacency. In the meantime, the Riders can work on getting consistency and while there are fans who are complaining about Mason Fine being too short, Fine brings a passion to the Riders that is sorely needed and a confidence that Dolegala does not inspire at this time.

So this week Winnipeg goes from battling in the penthouse to battling in the outhouse of Commonwealth Stadium as they play the Elk, in search still of their first win and the proud owners of a record home losing streak.

Edmonton shifted some deck chairs on the Titanic with Jarious Jackson taking over the play-calling from Stephen McAdoo. Whether that does anything is debatable, but Edmonton is looking at starting Tre Ford at quarterback to see if their high draft pick can actually play consistently in the league.

Whether Ford will make as big an impact as Nathan Rourke, the Canadian quarterback for BC last year, is debatable, but for Edmonton, they have come to the state where they have to do something. Edmonton under the football administration cap cannot afford to fire Chris Jones and pay him out for the remaining two years of his contract, while being able to hire and afford and new head coach.

Which is ironic when you consider the football operations cap was brought in after the Riders poached Jones and all but one member of his staff from Edmonton after they won the 2015 Grey Cup. The idea was to prevent teams from getting into bidding wars over coaching staffs, but the result is that fans are being punished by teams making wrong decisions on coaches and then being unable to get rid of them.

Edmonton will be interesting to watch in a morbid way as they try to work their way out of the hole they have dug for themselves. Jones may be coming to the realization that his perfect level is a defensive coordinator because he has been unable to build a team in Edmonton his second time around and no team will be willing to invest all those titles on one person in case that gamble doesn’t pay off and teams have to bring other people in to fill the positions.

Edmonton will continue to add to their North American record home losing streak. Winnipeg may well bring members of the Winnipeg Rifles junior football team to give them some playing experience.

The end result is something like a 28-17 win for Edmonton as the revenge factor they had against BC is totally lacking here. Teams don’t want to embarrass Edmonton any more than they have to, they just don’t want to lose to them.

The Riders go to Montreal and with just one practice under their belts and another cross country trip and this time they face their former starting quarterback in Cody Fajardo.

Montreal has not beaten a team with a winning record, and neither has the Riders. The Riders next three games are against BC and two against Winnipeg, so if you accept the Riders lose those games, they desperately need a win against Montreal to give them some room against Calgary.

The Rider defense will have an idea of how to pressure Fajardo and his spin move to try avoid getting sacked. Montreal though has a better offensive line and even though these two teams are at the bottom of the stats page when it comes to protecting the quarterback, Montreal seems to be better placed.

It’s a short week and a cross country trek for the Riders, so at least at this stage, it is a 24-20 Montreal win based on the Riders needing to travel, just one practice, and Montreal having a quarterback and head coach who felt unfairly blamed by the Rider fan base for the team performance last year.

Calgary goes to BC and while there are rumblings in Calgary about the Stamps knocking off the Argos, this week they are playing a Lions team who coughed up a furball in the 50-14 loss to Winnipeg. Maybe Vernon Adams Jr. comes back for Calgary, and Calgary’s discipline in sticking with their running game against a great defense in Toronto may also pay dividends against BC.

If Calgary can stay disciplined and not get away from running the ball, they can keep it close. I think they will keep it close, but BC will have to play better to stay even with Winnipeg, especially when Winnipeg has to go to BC for what will likely be the game that decides first place in the west.

BC wins this one 27-21.

Finally, we have Ottawa goes to Toronto and Toronto will have to find out how much the rest of the team can compensate for a Chad Kelly who may not play in this game while he recovers from some injury.

Ottawa is a feisty team, but the brain farts by Ottawa Head Coach Bob Dyce that allowed the Riders to win last week and Dustin Crum is finding out as teams get video on him, they are defending him better.

Toronto may be short-handed, so this game should be a good test of their depth. Ottawa makes it interesting but the Argos win this 26-20.

by Greg Urbanoskk

Riderville Report August 9: Riders continue their reign as CFL’s most watchable team

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