Can Riders Snap Out of Funkytown?

The Riders are being forced to resort to their backup receiving corps with the addition of former Hamilton receiver Shermar Bridges who was released and picked up by the Riders earlier this week. The team also has other issues including the defensive secondary where Jaxson Ford has tried at safety but is going through growing pains; injuries to Johnnie Johnson III who has an apparent concussion, and penalties which took two touchdowns off the board in the BC game.

Then when you have people wondering if Trevor Harris should make way for Jak Coan, you have enough coffee talk to keep Tim Horton’s rolling up their rims in excitement.

Mace said after the practice he didn’t think Emilus would be out for long, but his absence will add to the growing pains being experienced by the Riders new receivers and makes communication between Harris and his receivers as essential especially with the Toronto Argonauts coming in Saturday evening.

The Argos and their lost tribe of long-suffering fans have been wandering the country in search of a home since they were kicked out of BMO Field by the World Cup. This is Toronto’s second visit to Mosaic Stadium after their win earlier this season.

Argo quarterback Chad Kelly carved up the Riders defensive secondary who have lost Trevaughn Campbell and Rolan Milligan. The communication that existed in the group prior to Campbell and Milligan getting hurt has not carried over to the new players.

Kelly can throw for four touchdowns but he also capable of throwing four interceptions in a game just to show that he can. If the Riders want to avoid a repeat of their last encounter, they need to be more disciplined when they rush Kelly and cover his receivers.

The Riders have Desmond Evans and Derick Roberson on their defensive line, but the results have been mixed. Evans is a tall drink of water, but his reach has gotten the team in penalty problems when he rushes the quarterback, the quarterback ducks down and Evans has to grab either the facemask or a horse collar tackle.

This sort of thing can be addressed through coaching, but it will time for it to sink in. Roberson signed with the Riders about a month ago and is coming off a 10-game UFL schedule where he played every game. And is now three or four games into his CFL career. If the Riders go to the Grey Cup and Roberson plays every game, he will have played 24 games this season.

The reaction of Rider fans to the BC game has been and you can choose one of the following – the sky is falling; the Riders will miss the playoffs; Trevor Harris has lost it as a quarterback. Others are preaching patience noting the Riders lost their main receivers last year and the back ups had to step up.

They will have to step up as the Argos come strutting in after spanking the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a wet and wild BMO Field in a 39-20 win. Toronto moved into second place in the East with Hamilton seemingly not likely to make the playoffs with no credible quarterback option after Bo Levi Mitchell’s injury left the Tiger-Cats looking neutered and fixed wandering through the cat condos of southern Ontario.

Speaking of fixed Cats, the Riders signing of Bridges is notable not for his speed for his height at 6’4” and his large catch radius is helpful for Harris who has been sending a few of his passes on the high side to his receivers.

The Rider practice on Wednesday saw the team work on everything including extra work for Harris and his receivers as they look to establish some sort of chemistry and consistency.

The Riders don’t want to lose a third straight game with the Bombers, Lions and Stampeders breathing down their necks. If the Riders wander onto the turf of Mosaic looking disengaged and toss an interception on the first series or allow a deep touchdown down the middle, the Argos will gladly wander through the Riders like a cow through a field full of salt licks and make a third loss inevitable.

The Riders need their team to show some urgency and focus instead of relying on muscle memory to pull out tight games. Toronto has a potent offence, a defense which alternates between hot and cold and special teams which deserve an Olympics all on their own.

The Riders need to learn how to walk again before they start their playoff run and watch them win 30-28.

Montreal opens the week going to Stony Mountain to study how the Bombers handle delousing in their locker rooms. Last week the Bombers had a magnificent first half against the Edmonton Elk building up a big lead in the first half before they managed to magnificently choke in the second half and squander a 16-point lead to lose on a walk off field goal 19-16.

The Bombers are wrestling with the realization while they are in fourth place, they are no longer the dominant team they used to be. They held onto many of their vets past their best before dates and throw in the consecutive sell-out streak ending, the Swagger seems to be gone from Swaggerville. Let’s contrast this with Montreal.

Montreal is rolling like a well-oiled baguette following their 46-16 demolition of the Ottawa Redblacks but don’t read anything into this because Ottawa is more than halfway to becoming the worst team in CFL history and the first winless team in a regular season.

Montreal is enjoy rubbing their success in their opponents faces and will being publicly trolled by Montreal is a slap in the face of their opponents, those opponents could also try to stop Montreal. Montreal has a clear road to first place and the Bombers will get another measuring stick of how far they have fallen behind the rest of the league as Montreal wins 32-25.

After Hamilton got spanked by the Argos, they hit the road and wind up in Calgary still trying to figure out who gives them the best chance to win at quarterback – Jake Dolegala, Harrison Frost, Tre Ford or Harrison Ford.

This is an important game for Hamilton to try to catch up to Toronto but more importantly to stay tied or ahead of BC and Winnipeg who have better records than Hamilton and hold down the cross over spot. Calgary is tied in points with Hamilton and is two points behind Winnipeg and PC and are trying to get consistent to get into the playoffs.

One of the more interesting things about Calgary is as Vernon Adams Jr goes, so go the Stampeders. Adams had a concussion in his last game and even though Calgary had the advantage of a bye week, Adams does have a history of concussions and those tend to add up.

It might not matter too much because a diminished Adams is still better than anything Hamilton can muster. Calgary’s defensive line is finding a new level and being a home should be a welcome tonic for the Stampeders in a 33-27 win.

Ottawa may not have won a game this year, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying to build a new team culture with the latest addition being former Montreal and Toronto GM and Coach Jim Popp hired as special advisor. Popp will be trying to teach Ottawa how to win.

The Redblacks don’t have the depth or the coaching to overcome the 0-10 start they stormed out to while the BC Lions are coming off a three-game winning streak and have moved into contention in the western conference.

Ottawa is trying to show their fans there is a reason to still care and there is hope in what is being tried. I empathize after going through a few 2-14 and 3-15 seasons with the Riders. Ottawa wants to show their fans they are worth supporting but the Lions will run them down like an overweight gazelle and beat Ottawa 31-24

by Greg Urbanoski

Can Riders Snap Out of Funkytown?

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