It is a start, but nobody won a Grey Cup in May

I watched the game afterwards on YouTube and there were some technical gaps at times, but considering each team will have a chance to focus on their radio crew on their home games, the Bomber fans will get their chance to hear their unbiased broadcasts when the Elk wander in from the bush. As far as fans celebrating, uh, pray tell Bomber parolees, what should they be doing at a game?

The Bombers seem to be in denial about losing the last two Grey Cups and feel they are a dynasty with five straight Grey Cups and should be awarded the 2020 Grey Cup because they were the best team in a season that was never played. After the tail end of the last two seasons, Rider fans have earned the opportunity to have some fun As far as the lack of all veterans in the game, Bomber fans again fail to understand that teams usually play vets at home to get fan turnout, while on the road play rookies and fringe players playing for spots get priority. The Bombers were more interested in establishing who was ahead in the battle for back up spots and they do have a number of holes to fill. Many in the Stoney Mountain exercise yard cheered the return of Chris Streveler from the NFL, his first game back showed while he had some legs to run, his arm is about as strong as a string of boiled spaghetti.

The Bomber running game should be intact, even with the absence of Hardrick, and the Bombers with the tandem of Olivera and Johnny Augustine should be solid. The Bombers were also auditioning return guys and their receiver corps should hold them in stead. The offensive line will not be as physical and if they go with Eric Lofton in Hardrick’s spots, it will be a bit of a step down, but it should hold them with some luck.

Again, there is nothing to be drawn as firm predictions from the first exhibition game, but the Bombers have some interesting holes to fill in on defense. But who really cares about the Bombers? Rider fans were looking to see some indication of what kind of team Cory Mace will be fielding this season. One contributor to the Riderfans website called last year’s team, the Walking Dead go to Breakfast, referring to the Riders lack of passion on the field and the team building exercises of former Rider head coach Craig Dickenson, and it seems the best way to describe how fans felt the players did not care after Labor Day.

The Riders had more holes than the Bombers so there was more of interest. I guess you could start to see how Harris was looking coming off of injury and how the back up quarterbacks might look in case Harris went down with injury.

Next would be what would a Rider offense under direction by new offensive coordinator Marc Mueller look like. Mueller was the offensive coordinator in Calgary last season before Head Coach Dave Dickenson took them back as the Stamps backed into the playoffs. Then there were the running backs.

Ouellette was the big grab by the Riders who were looking for a pounding game from their backs, but the Riders let running back Jamal Morrow go (although he seems to have been injured last season) and brought in some big bruising running backs. The Riders seem be building towards a punishing ground game to take pressure off of Harris. The offensive line was expected to look better with the addition of Hardrick but the left tackle spot was still unsettled and even more importantly, would the offensive line be capable of either effectively moving the ball along the ground or keeping the quarterback free from pressure?

The interesting question was who would line up where on the offensive line. The Riders defensive line seems pretty set but it was going to be interesting to see how the Riders would handle teams running down the middle of the defense.

The Riders were looking to revamp their linebacking core with Jameer Thurman anchoring the linebackers and the Riders really brought in some very good candidates for playing time. Finally, the Riders lack of passion became really obvious at a game honouring former Rider legend George Reed and the 2013 Grey Cup team where the team came out flat and got run over and even passed on by a crippled Bo Levi Mitchell. Fans wanted to see a team that looked it cared on the field. The Riders wanted to send a message to the Bombers that they would not be pushed around this season that led to a lot of pushing after the whistle and even some unsportsman-like conduct penalties. The team showed some passion, and maybe the pushing will help later on in the season when they face again, but at times the penalties tended to offset major plays and were not entirely justified. So given the Riders desire to send the Bombers mostly back ups a message, the passion was good to see but the Riders need to work on their discipline because otherwise they become the ghost of Craig Dickenson’s past. Harris moved well as he started the game again the majority of the Bomber starters.

The Riders may need to work on chemistry with the plethora of receivers they now have, but the signs are promising. Mason |Fine was apparently injured and never threw a pass during the brief time he was in. Fine may have come in as the number 2 quarterback, but he is definitely feeling heat from the play of Shea Patterson and even recruit Jack Coan. Patterson threw for a touchdown and a number of deep passes, rolled out well and called a good game during his time in.

Patterson even ran a few second and short yardage plays as he was looking to exorcise the memory of how he bungled short yardage plays last year. Patterson made a great initial statement to be a back up. Antonio Pipkin was the third down quarterback last year and just seemed blah in not hitting on a pass and not really doing much along the ground. The big surprise was Jack Coan, the quarterback from Notre Dame who seemed to be just another arm, but did pretty good in making the jump from college ball to professional ball. If the Riders are going to cut a quarterback, then Pipkin seems more likely and Coan will move to the practice roster to learn his trade

Depending on what kind of injury Fine has, then that leaves Patterson as the back up and maybe Fine if he is able, but the move to pull Fine was interesting. The Riders offensive line is almost ready, and has a nasty attitude, but the big question is left tackle and can anyone get in there and play whose knee doesn’t blow up or who is so inexperienced that they are more a pylon than a football player. Hardrick is a great addition in terms of nastiness at creating holes, but he is also a vocal leader who celebrates with team mates who make big plays.

The problems, and these may just the issue of the players learning to play together, is a lack of physical push on short yardage. There was one sack of Patterson from the blind or left side but continuity on the offensive line may help to develop recognition of blitzes and how the offensive linemen should respond. The line is better, but not there yet. The Rider defensive line seems set, although the edge rushers did not really stand up and I have watched the replay the game twice.

The defense did get a good rush and even knocked down some balls, but against more experienced quarterbacks the Riders may run into some problems. The Bombers left their star running back at home, so it was difficult to get a handle on the Riders run defence, but with who they had to deal with, they did well. Chris Streveler may be a god in Stony Mountain Penitentiary but his arm is not why he has a job. Streveler tried a few passes, hit mostly short pass patterns and got sacked a time or two.

Thurman and Fagot, who got an interception, anchored the defence well and the Riders run defence looks to be much improved. The interesting thing as this season develops is seeing the evolution in defence and offence that comes out and how they learn to play together. This was the first look we had at the Riders and so far, so good. They will have a good test on Saturday as they go to Edmonton who they will meet again in two weeks for the season opener. How the Riders respond to an Elk team desperate to bring fans back will be interesting.

Trevor Harris first time in huddle since breaking his kneecap

#45 AJ Ouellette first run, first play as a Rider

by Greg Urbanoski

It is a start, but nobody won a Grey Cup in May

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