Choke or fold?

It’s been a few days following the Riders 41-38 loss to the Calgary Stampeders and after rewatching the game, I’m leaning more to the fold.
To play so well for 52 minutes and have the Stampeders reeling, only to let them back into the game and allow them to win in overtime, well, this game brought back memories of previous Riders uh dubious losses.
The Riders 3-0 start was certainly impressive, and this game came four days after the Riders beat the BC Lions in what was described as a big-ticket game. But initial concerns about the short week and the intensity with which Rider Coach Cory Chamblin runs his practices are not borne out after watching the game.
The Riders were their own worst enemies and mental goofs, like dropped touchdown passes, are the bottom line for why the team lost. So how can a team look so good and yet so bad in the same game?
Maturity.
People forget this team is the result of blowing up last year’s 5-13 team and features a number of players making their CFL debut in their respective positions. While the Riders seem to have recovered their tenacity and playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, one thing that separates good teams from championship teams is killer instinct.
It’s not enough to be leading by 17 points with eight minutes to go. In the CFL, how many times have we seen teams come from behind in even the last minute to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? The championship teams will always put you away, the pretenders will keep you in the game and make it more entertaining and heart attack inducing that what it deserves.
The drops by Dressler and Getzlaf do point out a problem with the receiving corps, which is no one has the speed needed to spread defenses deep. The Riders offensive game plan will depend on consistent running, which they have got, plus formations designed to spring either Getzlaf or Dressler open.
The news before the game of Rob Bagg going on the nine game injury list because of an ACL injury just points out the fragility of the Riders receiving game. If I were coaching against the Riders, I would double team Getzlaf and Dressler and dare the Riders to beat me with Efrem Hill, Justin Harper or Jordan Sisco.
To his credit, Sisco has done more and seems to be overcoming the perception that his football career peaked when he tried out for the Indianapolis Colts prior to joining the Riders. Here is my question on Sisco – he played slotback in university and made a lot of touch catches over the middle. He’s now a wide receiver on the wide side of the field, which is one of the loneliest spots around, where his speed doesn’t scare anyone and other than running an out, his options for making an impact are limited.
The Rider defense also suffered a lull from its emotional high in the win over BC. The pass rush was not as consistent, the coverage was also not as consistent, and when rising star Eddie Russ went out of the game, it was like another domino lining up for the Riders to fall, especially with Calgary’s kicker banking the field goal off the goal post.
All that being said, it wasn’t a bad weekend for the Riders. They are still in first place after Edmonton shocked BC on Friday night. Chamblin acknowledged pacing will be important in practices and the Riders next game is against Hamilton on Saturday afternoon.
Hamilton for its part beat Montreal and has an impressive big play capability. No doubt they are smarting after the Riders kicked their collective rears in the season opener and this game will be fun as Henry Burris returns to Taylor Field along with Andy Fantuz. I fully expect chants of Hen-reee will make life miserable for Burris, who has a mental block against us.
Edmonton is tied for first with us but ranked second because of our win over them. They will play Winnipeg in Winnipeg and that game will be interesting because Winnipeg has gotten off to an 0-4 start and Edmonton would like to put another nail into that coffin.
BC plays Calgary on Saturday night with the loser ending up the in the Western Conference basement. I’m hoping for a tie.
The Rider game against Hamilton will be interesting because of how the team reacts after blowing a game like they did against Calgary. If they rise to the occasion and beat Hamilton down, then the Riders may be as smart and mentally tough as they are talented. If not, well things might just get interesting around here – as if they haven’t been already.