One small step for respectability, one giant step for a crossover

The 2019 Riders are not the 2018 Riders with a dominating defense and an offense that suffered from performance anxiety. With Zach Collaros on the six game injury list, the Riders turned to Cody Fajardo who was signed after a number of years of specializing as a third down quarterback.

It would be fair to say Fajardo’s performance has exceeded expectations of Riders fans and raised the interesting question of whether the Riders release Collaros following his stint on the six game injury list and move into the future with Fajardo, Issac Harker and Bryan Bennett. What the Riders are lacking now more than anything else is consistency as this teams looks to find its own identity after three years of Chris Jones.

There were some other encouraging signs such as linebacker Solomon Elimimian playing better, even with being rotated in and out depending on situations – much like Kwahi Leonard was undergoing “load management” by the Toronto Raptors. The Riders tackling against the run was spotty again, but if fans were wondering about Micah Johnson, the double and triple teaming he is taking has allowed Hughes and A.C. Leonard to pounce like lions on unwary gazelles at some watering hole.

BC scored on the last play to make the final score more respectable and run up some nice yardage figures, but the sight of Mike Reilly being kept in while being folded, spindled and messed up by the Rider defence raises some serious questions about the financial, not to say football acumen of Ed Hervey, the GM who paid a kings ransom for Reilly and then went to Giant Tiger to fill out the rest of his roster.

What is separating the Riders from the Lions, besides the win, is the Lions look like a group of individuals while the Riders appear to have their moments playing together as a team. The Rides may not know what they have exactly, but they seem better positioned to at least make the race for a cross-over interesting.

The last week was full of surprises, well, kind of. Montreal won their third in a row and in beating Edmonton served notice that the absence of Kavis Reed may just be another building block to building a team that can easily compete for a playoff birth.

Vernon Adams Jr. was once upon a time the third down quarterback in Riderville, but now free from the shadow of Johnny Manziel, Adams is showing that while he may not be pretty in how he throws or runs an offense, what he does effectively is lead and win. Much like the Riders, the Als seem to have stumbled upon a quarterback who can win and perhaps lead the team to bigger and better things.

Ottawa went down without a fight to Winnipeg as Jon Jennings couldn’t do anything and John Crockett, the Ottawa running back, made the highlight reel for throwing up not once, but apparently twice on the field. No doubt many Ottawa fans felt the same way after watching their team play.

Toronto is again winless, but they seem able to make their games seem competitive. Toronto needed to show something, anything, to justify their scattered fans interest as Cory Chamblin continues to rack up one of the more inpressive losing streaks since say, Ron Lancaster took over coaching the Riders in the late 1970s.

Winnipeg is standing on top the league, prepared to hoised the July Grey Cup and parade around Winnipeg, although those plans may be on hold following receiver Chris Matthews being stabbed outside of a Winnipeg restaurant this weekend. What makes Winnipeg’s rise impressive is it has been without linebacker Adam Bighill, but then again, beating Jon Jennings is not hard, the Riders did it twice last year.

The Bombers had their first round draft pick, Jonathan Kongbo, practice for the first time since tearing his ACL last October, and the Bombers signed receivers Malcolm Williams and Alex Morrison, both of whom are Canadians, mainly to provide Canadian depth.

So we are basically at the 1/3 mark of the season and while there have been some interesting trends and stories, there is still enough room to move, or crash, depending on how teams respond in the next few months. Toronto is waiting for something to happen – either a quarterback to step forward as in Montreal and Saskatchewan – or perhaps with NFL camps opening today, Jim Popp is off to do some major scouting.

BC seems to be a team trying to fit square pegs into round holes. BC had a decent running attack in the first half against the Riders, but abandoned it in the second as the Riders pulled away. Add to that some questionable personnel decisions and you could say that maybe when BC gets some offensive linemen off the injury list, they can be competitive, but maybe by the time that happens, BC is looking like it is building for next year.

No one can doubt Mike Reilly’s courage, but sometimes you have to wonder about his stubborness. It is the job of DeVone Claybrooks to think of the good of the team and having Reilly in for a last minute drive, never mind a two point convert attempt that essentially meant nothing, is stupid when it is subjecting your starting quarterback to an injury that could take him out for the rest of the season. Look at the expression on Reilly’s face at the end of the game – pain and frustration were mixed with perhaps a dawning realization that maybe Tom Brady was right. If you take less and have that money go for decent protection, you could play longer and better than if you were paid so well, your team cannot afford a decent offensive lineman.

So what can we expect for this week?

Calgary goes to Ottawa and perhaps Ottawa are setting their hopes for a return by Dominique (the singing nun) Davis but let’s be honest – when you score only only point, you are closer to classic Rider dysfunction than Russ Jackson perfection. Calgary is weathering the Bo Levi absence well, and I would not be surprised to see Calgary keep Bo Levi out for the full six games.

The reason for that is not only is Nick Arbuckle playing well, but the money saved by not having Bo Levi’s salary count against the cap will come in handy for NFL cuts expected to start coming at the end of the month considering NFL training camps have begun. There is some talk, although I think it is Tequila based, on Calgary maybe trading Bo Levi to say, Toronto, if Arbuckle continues to show well and Calgary might see an opportunity to free up cap space and throw the league a bone by giving Toronto fans a reason to come out.

Ottawa for their part think their team is not as bad as the score against Winnipeg indicated, but perhaps Ottawa after confounding expectations by beating Calgary and Saskatchewan in their first two games have lost the element of surprise and teams have film on what to expect from Ottawa. Calgary would like to correct what they feel was a steal of a win by Ottawa in that first game and all things considered, Calgary is playing more inspired than Ottawa, especially defensively.

I would expect a well-rounded game by Calgary and a win by a 35-23 score.

Toronto goes to Edmonton and I have to wonder what kind of pagan ordinance the Argos have violated this season? The Argos have been blown out by Hamilton, and have a pattern of keeping it close, or giving up a big lead and then making it for it with garbage time yards and points.

For Toronto, winning might help in sending a lifeline to the Argo fans not housed in provincial correction facilities or long-term care facilities. I kind of wonder after hearing what Edmonton has done this week with free tickets for people under 17 and free on field passes to go on the field after games and throw a ball around. In addition – hot dogs are $2.25, maybe something that larcenous stadium operators across the country might want to ponder. Oh, an general admission tickets are $22.

This promotion goes until Labour Day, but to give Edmonton credit, and I kind of throw up a bit when I type that sentence, they have a stadium with room and with current costs limiting the ability of families to take in games, this is brilliant. Maybe Toronto or BC wants to ponder something like this because as when I told Roy Shivers over 15 years ago when I interviewed for the director of communications job for the Riders, when you have a team going nowhere, why not enhance the fan experience until the team hopefully sorts out their problems.

Edmonton is coming off an eye-opening trip to Montreal where good defense and a running game helped Montreal win its third in a row. Trevor Harris when he is on is scary, but he is a rhythm passer and if you can disrupt his timing, Harris looks as good as Tino Sunseri. So, is the goal for Toronto to keep it respectable, or can Chamblin actually get his defense to throw off Harris’ timing and give Toronto a fighting chance for its first win?

I’m going to say Toronto settles for the respectable loss and Edmonton wins this one 32-17 in front of hopefully a bunch of hot dog loving teenagers.

The game of the week on paper is Winnipeg at Hamilton and after Matt Nichols set a Winnipeg record for completions and their defense beat Ottawa into the ground, can anyone doubt Winnipeg is the winner of the July Grey Cup?

At first blush this may appear to be a Grey Cup preview, but that might be premature as Hamilton is coming off a bye and Winnipeg has had to bolster their Canadian receiving corps and apparently Matthews injury from his stabbing should not keep him out of the lineup, although it may influence his future eating habits in the city where dreams go to die.

This should be a tight affair, unless Winnipeg gets a real good handle on the Hamilton offense, or conversely, Hamilton’s defense turns out to be nothing more than players lying on their backs waiting for belly rubs since Simoni Lawrence is finally seeing justice for his hit to the head to Zach Collaros.

I suspect Winnipeg’s run for the roses ends here as Hamilton attempts to prove they are better than real thing and should be considered amongst the favorites for the Grey Cup – at least until their traditional injury streak starts and they end up broken and battered in Burlington. But for now, Hamilton sends a message with a 28-26 win, but if it means anything is a discussion left for another week.

Finally we have for the Riders perhaps the biggest test of the season. Having beaten BC last week in a game that was close heading into the fourth is a notable achievement for a team that veers between incontinent and bursting at the seams with promise. BC has brought some offensive linemen in because for some reason, they are playing guys at positions they have no business being in because their offensive line is racked with injuries.

The Riders offensive line is no better, but with three starters out, the Riders have brought in their young Canadians and will likely activate their Canadian supplemental draft pick, Jake Bennett, to provide some depth. The playing time the young players get will help, and the Riders have unveiled an attack that pushes downfield when teams doubt they can do that.

If last week was a must win for Saskatchewan and BC, then the stakes are raised for this contest. If the Riders win, they get the season series with BC, which may come in handly for a tie-breaker. If BC wins, they can sell their fans on the promise of hope that things will turn out like 2011 when BC went 1-5 and somehow made it to winning the Grey Cup.

BC will have to change some blocking schemes to try to keep Mike Reilly alive but whether the players they have available are up to the challenge is another matter. Another problem for BC is their coaching is uh, well, dumb. I’m not sure what point was made by keeping Reilly in last game when the Riders were up by three scores, but any team stupid enough to risk losing their $700,000 quarterback to an injury in a game long since lost is stupid enough to lose this one.

This game is the last stand of DeVone Claybrooks and his current crew because if they lose this one, Ed Hervey could very well signal the start of an airlift that would make the Berlin airlift of 1946 or whenever seem like a picnic. I would not be surprised if BC won, but the way Mike Reilly was roughed up, if the Riders can make the kill shot and win this game and put BC in a deeper hole, then the Riders may finally be showing some finishing instinct that good teams have. Riders win this one 28-24.

by Greg Urbanoski

One small step for respectability, one giant step for a crossover

What's Trending