Dodgy Draft Decisions for Rider Fans???

Well, it was great laying on the couch, Coke Zero on ice beside me, draft card in front of me, following the CFL draft on Sunday morning.

It was a draft that went against everything that the armchair general managers and television panel people thought the Riders should do. But when the smoke cleared, it is obvious the Saskatchewan Roughriders are setting their own course irregardless of what the media or even the million plus Rider fans may think would be in the best interest of the team.

I followed the first two rounds of the draft on TSN and the rest on the TSN.CA website and appreciated the speed the CFL showed on the website. When the smoke cleared, it became apparent the Riders are moving to strengthen a specific part of their team – special teams.

The Riders opened with Craig Butler of Western Ontario who is a defensive back and will likely be our starting safety in a year or so. Butler impressed during one on one drills during the draft evaluation camp and more importantly, he is apparently a special teams demon.

The addition of Butler and his likely being pencilled in at safety means James Patrick will probably go defensive halfback, probably strong side, to shut down the opposing teams number one receiver. The Riders a couple of years ago looked at developing a couple of Canadians at defensive back to see if they could use them as a ratio buster. Well, Donovan Alexander is in Edmonton and Tamon George had better demonstrate some aggressiveness in training camp or he will be among the first round of cuts.

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The Riders missed out on kicker Hugh O'Neill of the University of Alberta Golden Bears who was snapped up by BC who then traded kicker Sean Whyte to Montreal for Montreal's first round draft pick next year. The Riders went for Chris Milo of Laval who kicks off, punts and makes field goals. I hate to say this, but the writing is on the wall perhaps for punter Eddie Johnson, depending on how well Luca Congi comes back from his injury last season.

The Riders did pick up Matt O'Donnell, an offensive lineman who depending on who you were reading, is either seven feet tall or 6'10″ 324 pounds. O'Donnell is a monster, but there was concern about his poor footwork and lack of leverage in using his huge arms. Presumably this is what coaching is for and I think O'Donnell will be looked at as a project who will start in likely two years for us.

While O'Donnell may be a project, one guy who might have something to offer, sooner, is Alex Krausnick-Groh, a centre from the University of Calgary who is also a long snapper. This means perhaps the writing is on the wall for Jocelyn Frenette who has been the Rider snapper for awhile, but has never really taken the big step of moving into a starting position. Krausnick-Groh will be a very interesting choice to watch in camp as a potential successor for Jeremy O'Day.

The Riders traded a draft pick to Edmonton for fullback Graeme Bell, formerly of the University of Saskatchewan. Which brings up an interesting question. The Riders already have two Canadian fullbacks in their early 30s in Chris Szarka and Neal Hughes. Mind you, Hughes was coming off an injury last year and Czarka is getting older. Bell is a good special teams player and I suspect that one of the three will not make it to game one. The trade itself didn't bother me because this was a draft where not everything was clear in terms of where teams were headed. After the first round, it was basically a crapshoot, and what will be even more interesitng are the players that didn't get drafted and how soon they get signed. Remember, Robb Bagg got staarted the same way, on the sideline with a team deep in Canadian recieving talent.

Rider Head Coach Greg Marshall said improving special teams was a priority and the final pick of Kyle Exume of Bishops demonstrated that. Exume is a kick return specialist and is a pretty good one. Marshall wants better blocking, kicking and returning and ensuring that everyone works hard to make this happen. I am really curious to see how Craig Dickenson handles special teams this year.

The other bit of news out of Riderville this week was the Riders signing former Montreal back up quarterback Chris Leak. Leak was formerly with the Florida Seminoles before coming up here.

The message seems to be after Darian Durant, all quarterback jobs are up in the air. I don't know whether Leak can take that step, but kudos to the Riders for trying this out and pushing people. Nothing is being taken for granted, and when you loose the last two Grey Cups, you want to win and you have to ruthless like that.