Riders Depth being tested in stretch run for playoffs

While the weather was excellent, the game itself was plodding, marked by heavy hits from Ottawa that took out receivers Shawn Bane Jr., and Kian Schafer-Naker. Bane’s injury was particularly gruesome especially watching Bane getting helped off the field while his injured leg flopped like, an old catfish being landed.

The physicality of the game, and the nature of the injuries hitting Rider receivers and some members of the offensive line, played a major role in another brain cramp by a Rider defensive back as Deontai Williams, a defensive back, resembled a Stampede wrestling star pile driving a shorter receiver in a play that looked worse than what it was.

Of course, the play sparked another round of self-righteous media and fan page blustering about how the Riders were just a dirty team. While Miles Brown has been the victim, especially from Winnipeg, of slanderous name calling and accusations of dirty play, when you look at the film and especially against Winnipeg seeing Brown getting thrown by his offensive lineman into the quarterback you must wonder if anyone in the CFL Command Centre has ever played football or if they are just getting paid in Princess Auto coupons to look the other way.

By allowing the Bombers and the media to set the narrative overlooks the spearing of Adam Bighill, the slurs of Bomber GM Wide Miller or the incitement to violence put forward by Bomber retread Lucky Whitehead, the Riders are not standing up for their players and it is up to the fans to put together GoFundMe pages to pay the over-wrought fines being put out by the CFL head office.

The Riders were feeling good about themselves following their win over the Calgary Stampeders with a 204-yard rushing performance by Ryquel Armstead, especially since he was going to face the team that cut him for being a disruptive influence in the locker room.

The Ottawa Redblacks defense was up to the challenge of Armstead and even knocked him out with a shoulder injury that the Riders have not gone into further detail about. Thomas Betrand-Hudon, a Canadian running back, took over and even got the only offensive touchdown for the Riders with a run in the fourth quarter.

The game marked the returned of quarterback Jeremiah Masoli who went out with a knee injury courtesy of Garret Marino of the Riders who celebrated like it was a WWF wrestling bout and, in his way, started the whole dirty player controversy. Masoli on his return was well confused by the Rider defense, throwing three interceptions, and totally blowing the redemptive return story being peddled by TSN.

The Riders trying to fill their injury spots with depth players are pretty much scrapping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to their Canadian depth. While the status of Armstead is still unknown the Wednesday after the game, fans who attended practice saw AJ Ouellette practice in the running spot, although it is more likely Ouellette returns to the roster next week against the BC Lions in what should be a battle for second place in the west.

While the quality of the Rider coaching has been excellent in getting the most out of their offensive line and other units, if you look at the Rider six game injury list and see six offensive linemen, including starters, the Riders being in second with a 7-7-1 record is a minor miracle.

The chill in the air is serving as a reminder the playoffs are upcoming and with that is a renewed emphasis on a sturdy running game. The Riders ideally will have Ouellette back and if Armstead is back as well, the Riders will have a twin battering ram battery of running backs to wear down defenses.

So the Riders go to Edmonton on Saturday afternoon and the Elk following twin losses to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are on the verge of sliding out of the playoff picture. The Elk running game, which looked like it was finally on the rails, went nowhere and Edmonton now looks like it has gone through the honeymoon period with Jarious Jackson as head coach and is not looking to play out the string for this season.

The Riders defense will likely be asked to carry the heavy load in beating the Elk, with the offense still in a state of flux as it looks like Jerreth Sterns who started the season at receiver until quarterback Trevor Harris went out with an injury and Sterns was replaced by other receivers.

The chemistry between Harris and Sterns may help spread the ball around the various receivers to help the Rider offense be more consistent. The running game may see the return of Frankie Hickson and with Bertrand-Hudon running hard, the Riders may have the inside running game they have been looking all season for.

Edmonton needs the game to still stay within reach of a playoff spot, but after going through a seven-game winless streak, the Riders have a look of a team getting people back and perhaps trying to find the chemistry they need to go far in the playoffs.

The Riders will be trying to duplicate their formula against Calgary with a balanced offense of running and passing against Edmonton. The Riders should be on the watch for Edmonton to try to restart their rushing game against the Riders as they did in their first win of the season.

It should be playoff caliber competition, but I am going to pick the Riders to win 30-27 because 1 – the Riders have not lost in Alberta this season, 2 – the Riders seem to be on the verge of getting key people back and finally playing to their potential and 3 – the Riders have not blown anyone out this season and Edmonton is playing for their playoff lives.

The team that swept the Elk the last two weeks, the Stony Mountain Blue Bombers, are in first place and already the chorus is building about the dynasty being back. As much as I enjoy watching Stony Mountain fans making themselves look dumber than possible, I would tap the brakes on the dynasty returning for a few weeks.

The Bombers swept the Elk, whose wins over unsuspecting teams before the Bomber series made the Elk look like the team nobody wants to face in the playoffs. Are the Elk as bad as the Bombers made them look?

Maybe they are, and maybe the Elk are a season away from making serious noises in the CFL The Bombers, like the Riders these last few games, are benefiting from a schedule that will allow them to pick up easy points from teams either eliminated or on the verge of being eliminated from the playoffs.

The Bombers this week go to Hamilton who in the words of Bill Murray in Caddyshack, are trying to write their own Cinderella story of a team that was down at the start of the season but with a few key additions, including former Elk Head Coach and defensive coordinator Chris Jones, has clawed their way back into contention, either for third in the CFL east or as the first eastern team to cross over into the western conference playoffs.

The catalyst for this has been the play of Bo Levi Mitchell who looked like one of those performing seals you see in the backbenches of the Legislature or Parliament trying to throw the ball. Mitchell has developed some continuity in his offense and believe it or not, is probably the leading candidate for most outstanding player even though he plays for a sub 500 team.

It’s a must win game for Hamilton but here you must wonder if this is where the carriage turns into a pumpkin for the Cats. The Cat defense should be able to slow down the Bomber offense, which will likely be content with just running all the time since that seems to be the secret to beating a Chris Jones defense.

The Bomber defense is better with out noted spearer Adam Bighill and his selfish insistence on playing hurt even though it hurts his team’s ability to win. While the Cats have gotten their passing game going and Tim White appears to have had good sessions with a sports psychologist to help him catch the ball, unlike earlier in the season, if Winnipeg can force Bo Levi to stay in the pocket instead of rolling out, they will be able to limit his effectiveness.

This is going to be another playoff style game and probably the game of the week considering the situation in the standings and the somewhat return to form of Mitchell and Collaros.

This game is in Hamilton and in east west games, I usually pick the home team because it is somewhat difficult to travel several time zones and end up in a Chernobyl style community like Hamilton. I was leaning towards Stony Mountain but throw in the travel aspect Winnipeg must do, combined with the playoff intensity of the game, and I think Hamilton wins this one 22-16 in overtime.

Finally, we have Calgary go to BC in what seems to be winding down of Dave Dickenson as both GM and Coach of the Stampeders. Last year Calgary made the playoffs thanks to the ineptitude of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but they are likely to be the first team eliminated in the CFL this weekend.

Calgary is coming off their defeat at the hands of the Riders and there are stories of the locker room in Calgary divided between veterans who came up under the John Hufnagel system of paying your dues and rookies who see a team going nowhere fast. There will have to be changes made after this season and one of them could see Dave Dickenson move into just the GM position and perhaps Mark Kiliam, the Calgary special teams coach, finally getting his chance at being the head coach.

Calgary is still alive in the hunt for a playoff spot, and they must go to BC to try to extend their season in a meaningful way. The first problem Calgary will have, besides the divided locker room, is they have not won a road game this season.

BC has tumbled to third and they too appear to have a divided locker room with one side backing Nathan Rourke at quarterback and the other half Vernon Adams Jr. The Lions brought Rourke back from the NFL hoping he could repeat his magic of three years ago and the amount of rust he has accumulated while standing on the sidelines with a clipboard in an NFL game, makes me think BC may be better suited next year going for a Grey Cup win if they can somehow get something of value for Adams in a post season trade and use the savings to patch of the many holes in their offense and defense.

A win for BC sets up their game with the Riders next week nicely to see who will finish in second place. Calgary seems like it is just playing out the string and so I see BC winning this 22-17.

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders Depth being tested in stretch run for playoffs

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