The Best Time of Year

Increased pressure on Fajardo increases the chances he gets injured, and considering Winnipeg’s defence, you can count on that being part of the game plan. The Riders will also have to contend, if not this week, then the next, of the reappearance of Naaman Roosevelt, the former Rider receiver who signed with Montreal in the off season, got cut, and now was picked up by Winnipeg to either pick his brain on the Rider offense or to bolster a less than overwhelming receiving corp.

It’s interesting how Winnipeg quarterback Zack Collaros has looked relaxed in his four games this season as Winnipeg QB with a basic ball control offense and not much of a running game. That may reflect the influence of offensive coordinator Buck Pierce, the former quarterback who took over from Paul LaPolice.

While the Winnipeg Calgary game was one of the more entertaining this year, it did show that Winnipeg can be beat at home if you have an offense that can run effectively on Winnipeg. Which is the question facing the Riders on Sunday when the Bombers come to town.

The Riders have yet to demonstrate a consistent running game, other than Fajardo running wide, and while some of that is on the offensive line, which is a work in progress and has managed to keep Fajardo upright, some of that may be due to offensive coordinator Jason Maas’ offense which features a lot of pre-snap motion but to date has not unveiled a 100 yard rushing game.

In the meantime, Sunday’s game will be the last game featuring the unvaccinated and the vaccinated mingling together, although fans will be asked to wear masks in washrooms, the Rider store likely, and maybe the concourse. The move to restrict access to vaccinated fans was something you could see from miles away as other teams brought in similar measures and concerts are insisting on vaccinations before entry.

The intent of all of this is to tamper down the spread of the Delta variant of the Covid virus and considering Edmonton and Toronto had to reschedule a game, which means moving the Rider Edmonton game to November 13^th from November 5^th, it shows how the virus is affecting the league. The upside is the November 13^th game is at 3 pm and the Riders will be playing in Edmonton on November 5 instead of playing them here.

The league is bringing in other changes, like all team personnel will have to be vaccinated prior to boarding charter flights. This means those players who have been vaccinated will likely stay at home and the Riders juggling the injury lists will be extremely interesting.

So the Labor Day weekend starts off tonight with Montreal going to Ottawa. After starting off looking like solid Grey Cup contenders, Montreal has shown a tendency to take stupid penalties that do nothing but sabotage their chances. For a team with undeniable talent, they seem to lack the discipline to apply that talent.

So the talented, but feckless Montreal team goes to Ottawa which has a great defense, great special teams and an offense that quite frankly looks anemic compared to say, the Regina Thunder, or Regina Riot. While Ottawa Matt Nicholls looks like he has problems getting the ball downfield, although that could be due to the sheer lack of talent in the receiving corps.

As I have stated in earlier columns, Ottawa will win by playing lights out defense and special teams and relying on an opportunistic offense that might be able to get into position for field goals. LaPolice did say after the last Ottawa game against BC that he had considered lifting McNicholls, but it is unclear how Dominique Davis would do any better after self destructing against the Riders last year.

Ottawa doesn’t have the talent to beat Montreal, but they do have the coaching and the discipline, mostly. If Montreal looks past Ottawa, they will get beat and I suspect the cocky nature of Montreal will likely lead to a closer than expected game with Montreal getting out of Ottawa with a 20-18 win.

On Monday we have Toronto going to Hamilton for their annual Labor Day clash and while Toronto hates going to Hamilton, it is definitely going to be interesting this year. The Argos have rebuilt their team and with Nick Arbuckle showing poise under centre, the are coming off a bye and a win over Winnipeg.

More importantly for this game is Toronto has the defensive line that can put pressure on a young and inexperienced Hamilton offensive line who have not managed to give much time to Jeremiah Masoli and Dane Evans. Hamilton is coming off a 27-10 win over Montreal, helped by Montreal’s undisciplined play, but Toronto seems better coached and disciplined compared to Montreal.

Hamilton was a pre-season consensus pick for at least a Grey Cup appearance, never mind a win, but dropping their first two games out west in lacklustre performances has not reassured fans and the problems with Hamilton’s offensive line should raise alarm bells in Steeltown.

Consider the Riders who have just a young and inexperienced offensive line, but to compensate have gone to a quick release game to reduce the amount of pressure he could expect to face. Why Hamilton didn’t try something similar has one thinking the Cats’ brain trust believed their press clippings and didn’t think they needed to make changes.

Well, while the Cats are living like its 2019, the Argos are partying like its 2021 and expect them to continue to establish themselves as eastern contenders with a 20-17 win that will drive them crazy in Hamilton.

Labor Day Monday winds up with the Covid infected Edmonton Elks heading into Calgary to play the Stampeders. While the Elk are coming off a bye and a win the last time they played, the Elk with the Covid outbreak cut offensive lineman Jacob Ruby for making them think he got vaccinated.

All of this makes you wonder about the winning culture Elk coach Jamie Elizondo was talking about when he cut Kenny Stafford in training camp. The question of vaccinations is a personal one, but considering what the league is operating under, the narrow window for rescheduling games and the potential to lose a game cheque for forfeiting due to Covid infections, and if you want your team to do well then you do what needs to be done.

Edmonton so far this season has an excellent statistical offense, but they have problems punching the ball into the end zone. Calgary may be 1-3 but they don’t have the whining culture you are seeing in Edmonton and Calgary QB Jake Meier is playing with confidence and verve.

Calgary is weathering the injury to Bo Levi Mitchell, who came off the injury list this week, and even with a bunch of young and untried players on the roster, they are playing as much more of a team than what Edmonton is and I suspect Calgary will be competitive enough to break Elk hearts yet again with a 20-17 win.

Which leaves us with the Riders and Winnipeg on Sunday, obviously the marquee game of the week.

This is the first time the two teams have played since the 2019 western final and the infamous goal post hit that knocked the Riders out of the Grey Cup. The Riders came into this season with some major question marks, especially after they suffered four Achilles Tendon injuries the first day of training camp.

The Riders by adjusting their offense have gotten the most out of it and the emergence of their young Canadian receivers has been quite striking. The Rider defensive line is more than capable of getting pressure on opposing QBs although they will earn their money this week against Winnipeg.

If the Riders can get a running game going, that may pay dividends against the Bombers, but even with the addition of Roosevelt, Winnipeg’s receiving corps is very underwhelming. If the Riders can corral Andrew Harris, the performance enhanced running back of the Bombers, then the Riders will be in goo shape to come out with a win.

The Riders usually win Labor Day, not always, but usually so while a win will be nice and open up some space between them and the Bombers, it will be just one game. The Banjo Bowl is next week, and if the football gods are keeping watching, then there will be a third game between the two teams in the playoffs.

So the Riders should win 22-18, but keep this in mind. Nobody won a Grey Cup on Labor Day – just bragging rights for one week.

by Greg Urbanoski

The Best Time of Year

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