Riders vs. Stamps: Get Your Game Face On

Saturday the 1-3 Riders take on the 2-2 Stampeders with second place on the line. Yes thanks to the wonders of the CFL we were able to go from a winless team to having a shot at second with just one win.

Since its the Stamps we are playing I think we should get in the spirit of things and do as their ad campaign says and get our game face on. Like this kid...

Whose game appears to be pooping.

Or this lady...

 Whose game appears to be fellatio. (Odd ad campaign by the Stamps)

Anywho as for the game, if you had asked me before we beat the Als, I had this pegged as the team who has been playing like crap vs. The team that has been embarrassing themselves. Sadly that left the team that had been playing like crap with a distinct advantage. Needless to say I was pretty sure I would have to resort to the “drink until they’re pretty” approach. That of course all changed when we remembered how to play on Sunday.

The big question is of course whether Sunday was the start of better things for the Riders or just a fluke. Either way tomorrow’s match-up is one between 2 underperforming teams. The Stamps may have 2 wins but they have looked quite frankly bad in each one and could easily be 0-4 given how they played.

One of the major problems had been the fact that Henry Burris has been less accurate in his pass attempts than I am in my typing attempts. He seems to be bouncing a concerning number of passes off the turf in front of his receivers. This leads me to believe he has bad posture. A common problem among men his age. A simple solution would be a bro or manzier. I bet he could even find a black one to match his jersey... oh wait...

Other than Burris’ issues, the Stamps have also been hurt by the fact that they have the league’s least accurate kicker, an O-line that has allowed the most sacks in the league and the fact that they are by far the most penalized team in the league (you’re shocked about that last one I know). They also appear to have forgotten who Joffrey Reynolds is. But for all their issues, you still need to be concerned about an offense that boasts as many weapons as the Stamps... especially when your defense has only played one good game so far.

The Riders are a tough team to evaluate so far because they were a completely different team in game 4 then they were through the first 3. Overall though we learned that in order to win we need Durant to use his legs, our front seven to get big time pressure and lastly we need to cut Tad Kornegay. Through 4 games we actually have the best average gain per rushing attempt. In theory that should work to our advantage this week since the Stamps will be starting a new MLB with Juwan Simpson hurt. Problem is that its looking doubtful that Cates will play. Charles should still be able to chew up the yards (provided he actually holds onto the ball) and Brandon West may get a few chances to show what he can do.

Keys to victory are pretty much the same as they are every time we play the Stamps. On defense we need to keep Burris in the pocket and force him to pass with lots of pressure in his face. Without the ability to either run himself or hand off, Burris tries to be a hero and make big plays. That usually leads to turnovers, especially with JP patrolling the middle.

Offensively, we need to bring a strong running game and try and exploit the absence of Juwan Simpson. Generally Getzlaf is a Stamp killer, mainly because the interior of their secondary is crap. Just ask Ricky Ray and Fred Stamps how good their HBs are. If Getzlaf can continue actually catching the ball he should have another good game. We should also see a lot of man coverage which should mean good things for Getzlaf. As always though, it all begins with Durant using his mobility.

Expect a highly physical and tightly contested game between 2 teams trying to prove they are better than their records. It will come down to the wire. In the end...

Riders by a Durant rushing TD