Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Isaac Harker came in after Fajardo apparently took a hit in the third quarter and looked impressive moving the team even though he threw two later interceptions, and those were the Hail Mary types that could have paid off. As opposed to other quarterbacks who seem overwhelmed by the pace of the Canadian game, Harker appeared to be the type of rookie that didn’t know he was supposed to be overwhelmed.

Harker got off to a hot start and then Hamilton’s defense adjusted to try to contain him. To his credit, he recognized that and began to adjust, but it was a little too late to pull out the win. Besides the hit knocking Collaros out, the Riders were also hurt by a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown by Frankie Williams which was ironic considering Jon Ryan, the punter, was brought in because Josh Bartel, the previous punter, had not tackled someone for a punt return touchdown last year.

The Rider defense managed to keep Hamilton mostly in check, showed some good pursuit and tackling, but the team made some rookie mistakes, both from a coaching and playing perspective. Those are to be expected and perhaps people pushing the panic button and calling for Kevin Glenn to be signed are perhaps rushing a bit.

With Collaros on a six game injury list, the Riders are trying to determine who will step up from Fajardo and Harker. The Riders also signed former Bomber and Rider back up Bryan Bennett. You may remember Bennett from his first stint with the Riders in 2017 when he showed up under Chris Jones and well, didn’t show up in the pre-season.

The move to Bennett came after the Riders tried Glenn but couldn’t agree on money. While Glenn, who ironically enough announced his retirement the day before the Hamilton game, would have been an excellent mentor, the situation surrounding Collaros underlines the biggest question the Riders have to address.

The Riders swung and missed in getting a big name quarterback to try to pull the trigger on their offense. They went after Bo Levi Mitchell, Mike Reilly and Trevor Harris and went back to Collaros for a one-year contract when everyone else went elsewhere. With the Riders hosting the Grey Cup in 2020, the Riders needed a credible option at quarterback to help with sales and to reinforce the perception from 2013 the Riders would go all in if they were hosting the Grey Cup.

A veteran quarterback would give the Rider public confidence that they could buy season tickets and the Riders would do their part by having the best possible team to make a run for the Grey Cup. However now the Riders have to face the possibility that Collaros has never gone more than 14 games in a season and may not do better than 12 unless he gets hurt again.

Zach Collaros joins probably Buck Pierce as a quarterback who might have had a great career if it wasn’t for consistent injuries and especially head injuries. I remember seeing Matt Dunigan blank out while talking at a University of Regina Rams Dinner and it was a vivid moment that concussions do take a toll on athletes long after their careers are over.

So what happened last week was not unexpected as the Riders knew durability was a problem with Collaros, but with an improved running game, the Riders thought the pressure would be reduced on Collaros. Now the Riders have to decide on what growing pains they are willing to endure while figuring out which quarterback will emerge to lead the Riders in the future.

One game or a half is really no basis from which to extrapolate the likely outcome of a season. While Fajardo looked amazingly ineffective in throwing the ball more than five yards, his legs did provide the Riders with a bit of a change of pace.

Harker looked sharp when he came in and went six for six, but then Hamilton adjusted to what Harker was doing, but perhaps more importantly, he recognized it and responded accordingly. Harker has the football IQ to be an effective professional, but a lot will depend on how he progresses and what support he can get from his quarterback coach and offensive coordinator.

Some have drawn parallels to 2008 when Darian Durant emerged from third string to play well enough to become the starter. That is certainly a possibility, but instead of getting ahead of oneself, the next best step would be to ensure the quarterbacks and offense are making consistent progress and more importantly, learning from their mistakes.

So here are some things to keep in mind when watching the Rider quarterbacks. First is when you are looking at quarterback play, see how they perform when they are in a clean pocket, not under pressure. Approximately 70 per cent of quarterback drop-backs are free from pressure and it is when a quarterback is free from pressure you can determine if they are accurate passers or if they make the right reads.

How quarterbacks perform under pressure is important too, but there are more factors to take into consideration such as the offensive line play, the play-calling given to the quarterback and if receivers can make the receptions when it is a clean pass.

The Rider defense played a relatively good game with the exception of a coverage breakdown that led to a Hamilton touchdown. Some might think the Riders defense is not as impressive as last year, but here are a few things to keep in mind.

While sacks and interceptions are great and a hallmark of the Rider 2018 defense, pressure, especially consistent pressure on quarterbacks helps reduce the quarterback’s rating and can reduce the amount of yardage opposing offenses get. So while Hamilton’s Jeremiah Masoli had a string of 300 yards passing last year, he only threw for 167 yards against the Riders. The Riders dominated the time of possession and yardage.

In other words, the Riders have the ability to compete and win, but they are not so talented that they can overcome consistent mistakes. While the Riders pass rush got the accolades last year, it will be the play of their defensive secondary that will determine the amount of success the team will enjoy this year.

Take a look at the defensive line and grade them not accordingly to their sack totals, but look at the pressure they get and that would include a sack, a hit or a hurry on a quarterback. The best players can get pressure on 20 per cent of their snaps which if you use 500 passing plays as a benchmark, then that amounts to about 75 plays or so.

So to mark the Riders defense properly, the amount of sacks is not as important as the amount of pressure the defensive line can generate. A drop in sacks from 10 to say eight, is not as important as a decline in pressures because sacks are a combination of luck and hard work, while pressures are hard work.

While Dickenson came in for some criticism for some decisions like going on third down and failing to make it, the decision was not a wrong one. Sloppy execution doesn’t mean the decision was the wrong one, it means the Riders need to learn to work together better.

For the Riders, this week they go to Ottawa to play the Redblacks who went into Calgary and despite quarterback Dominique Davis throwing four interceptions, the Redblacks used their defense and the relative inexperience of the Calgary offense to pull off their first win in Calgary since rejoining the league.

Ottawa let running back William Powell go in free agency and have Moses Madu taking his spot. Madu ran for over 100 yards as Ottawa used a ball control offense to keep Calgary’s offense on the sideline. The Ottawa defense also kept Calgary from scoring in the second half to clinch the win.

So for the Riders heading into Ottawa, the scene is not a promising one as the Riders will announce who is starting later on this week. Fajardo should get the nod again as the staff get an idea of whether or not he can actually cut it as a starting quarterback.

The Riders are now forced to go ahead with the process they had probably hoped to hold off for a season or two – find a starting quarterback capable of lasting more than just a game. Both quarterbacks are expected to play, with whoever is moving the team probably getting the majority of reps.

The problem for the Riders they are going up against Noel Thorpe’s defense, something they failed to solve twice last year and someone who will take advantage of inexperienced quarterbacks. For the Riders to have a decent shot at winning, their defence needs to throw off Davis, and be able to stop Ottawa from running the ball behind their all Canadian line.

The offense for its part needs to do more than just go two downs and punt. They will also need to get on the same page with their passing game. It’s not an impossible job, I just don’t see it this week – Ottawa 28-22.

Then we have what is being called the game of the week – the return of Mike Reilly to Edmonton. Reilly started his second BC stint by losing to Winnipeg, while Edmonton racked up the yardage and yet still let Montreal back into the game before finally being beaten by a late touchdown.

So BC comes out on the road with a whole lot of issues to work on and what is likely to be an emotional day for Reilly. The problem here is that Reilly came with such a high price tag that BC has been forced to surround him with relatively low cost talent to stay beneath the salary cap.

So BC now has to learn to come together and play as a team and that isn’t done overnight. Edmonton for its part is relying on a quarterback who when he has his rhythm is pretty good, but if you can get him off it, he is not that effective.

I’m not sure what sacrifices to their dark gods will suffice the Eskimos for this game, but they have better continuity than BC does. BC was a lousy road team last year and until they demonstrate otherwise, bet against them on the road. Edmonton wins this one 32-24 and immediately starts planning their Grey Cup trip to Calgary.

Who knows, maybe they might play there one day….

The final game has the debut of the Toronto Argonauts under former Rider coach Cory Chamblin. Two years ago Chamblin was the defensive coordinator of the Grey Cup champ Argos but then decided to walk away and try to break into the coaching business in the United States.

The Argos went from champs to chumps as then head coach Marc Trestman was unable to build anything on the defensive side and offensively were dealing with the career ending injury to Ricky Ray. Now the Argos are going ahead with James Franklin and McLeod Bethel Thompson and it will be interesting to see who emerges there.

Toronto’s defense is going to be interesting with the return of Chamblin. The Argos have dropped a few of their bigger names like Bear Woods and if Chamblin has a scheme that works, this would be time to try it out.

Hamilton for its part looks like a team without a scheme. Last season Jeremiah Masoli looked born to run a run and shoot offense but last week against the Riders, he had a few, but not many moments. If Hamilton is moving away from the run and shoot brought in by former coach June Jones, then this will be a transition that might be trickier than Hamilton first thought.

Hamilton has no running game while Toronto has one and the loss of Simoni Lawrence for two games may hurt Hamilton, as Toronto has one less Hamilton goon to worry about. With the feel good story of the Raptors, the Argos may be feeling a bit of pressure to win to stay noticed in the sports marketplace. Toronto wins this one 23-17.

by Greg Urbanoski

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

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