Riders Face Internal and External Tests this Week

Some people were upset the media spotlight was on Dalke and not also on the driver killed and the constant flow of information and rumors were flying fast and furious. One on-line poster asked why people were upset with Dalke’s death, calling him a criminal for not paying for gas and for having alcohol and cannabis in the car, implying it was a factor in the collision.

I act in finals for RCMP cadets where they have two hours to respond to call, investigate and if an offense has occurred, determine charges. As a result, I have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a criminal offense and what doesn’t.

Dalke was returning to Regina from his home in Leduc where he went during his bye week. For those of us who live in the west, it is not unusual to go to Alberta for a trip or vacation to pick up cheaper beer and bring it back to Saskatchewan. If they are not opened, it is not illegal.

The cannabis thing is interesting because I would wager cannabis is the recreation drug of choice and perhaps even the medicinal choice in the CFL. You can get gummies without THC, the active psychotropic in cannabis which is CBD or Cannabis Based Drugs which is better as a pain killer or relief than over the counter drugs.

With the beating football players take, if legal cannabis is cheaper in Alberta, I would not be shocked if someone brought some back. If the toxicology reports come back positive, Dalke made a mistake that cost him not just his life, but the life of an innocent man driving to his home in Regina.

The Dalke family was prominent at Rider games both home and away as they came out in force to support Jayden. The introduction of tailgating at Mosaic Stadium brought the Dalke’s out and with a Thursday night game, it makes sense Dalke may have brought out supplies in advance of the family arriving for the game.

The relatively sporadic flow of information added to the speculation as thousands of people decided to play detective. The news Dalke did not pay for gas and the driving in the wrong lane was not good news and contributed to a feeling that this was not as clear cut as first thought.

The Riders will be paying tribute to both Dalke and Bhishma at the game Thursday night which is right. People are wondering why the Riders are honoring someone who killed another person with alcohol and cannabis in their vehicle and presumably imbibing and driving in the wrong lane.

You can’t avoid the fact Dalke was with the team for five years, and the fact the Riders are also honoring Bhishma shows the team threading the needle in a sensitive situation. I have acted in enough training situations to know sometimes things are not quite what they seem, and people jump to judgment, but the bottom line is two people are dead for no good reason.

For myself, the news Sunday came before the anniversary Monday of the death of my daughter Chelsea, and I thought first of the parents of both men. The worst thing in the world is burying your child and no parent should ever have to do that and my heart goes out to the parents of both men because I know how lost they feel.

It will be interesting Thursday night at Mosaic Stadium when the Edmonton Elk come to town in a battle for first place.

In the meantime, it was an utterly fascinating week of Canadian football starting with Edmonton beating BC 19-17 marked by the non-football shoulder injury to Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke. The move put Edmonton alone in first place with a 5-1 record and dropped BC to a 1-4 record and maybe putting them out of the playoffs.

The latest news from BC is Rourke will be gone for weeks and not months, but BC has Chase Brice quarterbacking, and the odds are not good for a playoff push. However, BC’s defense shut down MOP candidate Justin Rankin and the Riders have seen Edmonton’s opponents for the last two games shut Rankin down and Edmonton’s receiving corps strikes fear only in the heart of their offensive coordinator.

After seeing Brice throw, that may be the one thing BC can hang onto before Rourke returns.

The other positive sign for a fan of the CFL is seeing people in the seats at Commonwealth Stadium. The news the government is interesting in investing in sporting facilities following the World Cup is an opportunity to upgrade Commonwealth Stadium, hopefully making the fan experience even better.

Montreal beat Calgary 38-32 to wrap up the home and home series with Montreal sweeping. Montreal looked in control for three quarters, but Vernon Adams Jr. came alive to make the game closer than Montreal would have liked.

Montreal improved their record to 5-1 and at the 1/3 mark of the season is likely eastern representative to the Grey Cup. Davis Alexander set a new CFL record for passes completed without an interception, raising him up the Most Outstanding Player sweepstakes.

Calgary should have a better record than their current 2-4 record with Adams having an MOP season with 17 TD passes and no interceptions. Calgary falls on their defensive backfield and perhaps their running game. Montreal has a way of letting teams back into games which is something to keep in mind and may indicate a team whose defense will cost them perhaps a second Grey Cup in a row.

Hamilton beat Toronto 24-23 in Hamilton in a game billed as a Toronto home game. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment who own the Argos, sold three home games to the Riders, Winnipeg, and Hamilton due to the World Cup kicking the Argos out of BMO Field. Of course, those three teams are the toughest for visiting teams.

Hamilton lost Bo Levi Mitchell at quarterback last week and while Mitchell pledged to be back before the end of the season, Hamilton with Jake Dolegala starting the week prior against the Riders showed he was not the answer.

Hamilton turned to Tre Ford, the king of sandlot football, to see if he can make a difference. Hamilton’s coach Scott Milanovich is renowned as a quarterback whisperer and I think it is more than marketing because Ford curbed his scrambling and used a combination of passing and running to stretch the Argo defense, which explains why they brought in Dewayne Hendrix and Sean Lemon on the defensive line.

Toronto’s kicking game had a chance to win this game but didn’t on a wide field goal who did not get a point because it went through the end zone. The Argos are moving into 2000 Saskatchewan Roughrider territory as an entertaining team who score a lot, but also give up a lot of points.

If Hamilton continues to win with Tre Ford, who is impossible to game plan for, expect to see him take over from Mitchell.

The implosion of the Ottawa Redblacks in a 36-34 loss to the Bombers also featured the latest CFL gimmick in overtime, moving the ball to the two point convert line and trying to score from there if the two mini games resulted in a tie.

With the all the World Cup interest, I would suggest the CFL should have two field goal kickers kick in a variation of the penalty kicks. I’m not sure why ties have become like leprosy to the CFL board of governors, but the two point convert line to decide plays could result in endless games although Ottawa managed to blow their chance to tie.

There was a bit of an edge with Dru Brown facing the team that traded him away a couple of weeks ago with Ottawa GM and Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie saying he was concerned about Brown’s arm strength. Ottawa blew a 17-point lead and Brown looked bad but not bad enough for a Bomber loss which brings their record to 4-2.

Ottawa falls to 0-6 and while Dinwiddie holds the posts of GM, Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, he has obviously bitten off more than he can chew because his decision making is so flawed, it is a matter of time before his team loses confidence in his ability to lead. If you go on You Tube and watch the repeat of the game, the offensive play calling by Dinwiddie shows a guy who is thinking too much and as Crash Davis said about the subject in the movie Bull Durham – Don’t think too much, you will only hurt the team.

This week starts Thursday with Edmonton in town to face the Riders. The Riders have a history of folding in games following major events like what happened Sunday, but what I saw Monday at the Rider practice is a team dealing with things on the field.

The Riders will be looking to deal with running back Justin Rankin who has been held in check the last two games. I suspect they will use a spy at linebacker to keep a focus on Rankin who can beat you running and catching the ball. The rest of the Elk offense I would not be too sure of.

The Riders will be looking to fill the Canadian roster spot left open by Dalke and their choices seem to be defensive lineman Benoit Marion and Thomas Bertrand-Hudon and I believe both can play special teams. Bertrand-Hudon may be needed for blocking help because Edmonton has a good defensive line and secondary, their linebackers may be vulnerable and to make up for that, look for the Elk to blitz.

Expect to see the Rider offense exploit that with their receiving corps and how the Riders handle their emotions will determine if they win this game or not. The Riders win this game 28-26.

Calgary goes to Winnipeg in the annual debate over which is worse – Ebola or the Black Plague?

The Bombers surprised with a win over Ottawa, somewhat, and Brown is 2-0 coming in for Zach Collaros who is on the six-game list. The Bombers at 4-2 have a chance to put distance between them and the Stampeders and keep pace with Edmonton and Saskatchewan as contenders in the west.

I don’t think Dr. Phil could figure out why Calgary this year can look so good and bad at the same time. Injuries is one factor, an offense unable to find traction in consistently moving the ball is another, although as noted, Adams has a touchdown to interception ratio of 17-0.

The Bombers are at home and could continue to win ugly and put their fans over the top with a push to finish first. I have confidence in Calgary’s defensive line to provide a better test to Brown than Ottawa’s defense did. Remember Brown did not look so great for most of the game against Ottawa.

Calgary is at 2-4 and with BC sliding down the standings, needs to stay in touch with the Bombers, Riders, and Elk. Calgary desperately needs a win to stay relevant in the east and the CFL this year is a beacon of tight games, so Calgary wins 31-29,

Toronto goes to the official home opener of the BC Lions trying to keep pace with Hamilton and/or Montreal. BC gave Edmonton all they could handle, and this week face a team with a kicker who needs a team psychologist and Pete Hegseth recommended testosterone boosters to the defense.

BC kept it close last week with their defense putting a clamp on Rankin and playing with Brison after the Rourke injury. I am not quite sold on Brison, but this could be his breakout game considering the defense he is facing.

However, Toronto still has Chad Kelly who when he is not trying to go deep, can move the ball and make the Argo offense hum. I am not sure of the Toronto defense and the special teams are their own unique hell to watch.

The difference is BC hasn’t gotten all their receivers back and Toronto has theirs. The nature of both these defenses dictates at some point there will have to be a team who can exploit the situation. The team with the tools to exploit the other teams defense and win are the Toronto Argonauts with a 32-31 win.

Finally we have Hamilton at Montreal with two teams thinking they should be Grey Cup contenders. After Ford’s performance last week, Hamilton may feel they have a player who can make the most of the situation and even better, run over other teams and wear them out.

Montreal seems more rounded with Davis Alexander at quarterback, but Noel Thorpe’s defense is as exposed as the north face of Mt. Everest. Hamilton may plan to have Ford run around and wear Montreal out, which is what I would do. But Montreal has a better offense. Montreal wins 30-27.

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders Face Internal and External Tests this Week

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