Official 2012 Prophecies

Twas the day before the season and questions abounded

Would the Riders be good or once again get pounded?

Coach Chamblain was preparing the players with care

Not that we could see, since we’re not allowed in there

Tons of fireworks were nestled in the uprights with care

Since last year a reason to fire them off was rare

When who comes this way with thoughts on 2012?

Tis I the Rider Prophet… into my prediction will I delve

The anger and disappointment from last year’s gong show

Still hangs in the air and fills Riderville with woe

We’re all anxious to move on, and get back to winning

And replace cursing with rejoicing and grinning

A massive house cleaning took place within Mosaic’s walls

Young whiper snappers have replaced our old balls.

We cut some dead weight and got younger on both sides of the ball

Though Taman’s still here… guess I can’t win them all

Gone Fantuz, Gone Geno, it seems such a pity

But there have been good departures like Lucas and Dinwiddie

There’s optimism and renewed energy in the air

Though it remains to be seen how this new team will fare

On O it will be up to Durant to bounce back

Unlike last year, offensive weapons we don’t lack

We get Getz and Dress who are dangerous indeed

We’ve got Harper to add size and Moss to add speed

Rob Bagg is back and that’s the biggest news of all

He’ll be in contention for top Canuck if we just get him the ball

1000 yds for Dressler, 1000 more for Bagg

Less yards for Getzlaf but the most TDs will he snag.

The new fangled offense has stuff we’ve forgotten about my friends

What’s this? An O-line that doesn’t need Depends?

An RB running off tackle? A centre who can snap?!?

Did I doze off in a dream?!? Am I having a nap?!?

This is all real you haven’t been dozing

With Coach Sweet in the mix out run game will be imposing

Unfortunately the D has me a lot more concerned

For some reason I see us getting repeatedly burned.

Odell should help provide us something we lack

A tangible hope of getting a sack

That’s assuming he stays healthy and decides to stay sober

And assuming he doesn’t get homesick come October

A front four will be better, they won’t make me curse

We tried Mullinder and Murphy last year, not like we can get worse

At LB on the edges, Kromah and Brackenridge we will be fine with

They will continue the proud tradition of great LBs by Coach Smith

In the middle, however is where things start to get scary

Shomari in that spot makes me very wary

He’s lacking the experience though he’s got the physique

For the first little while the middle will be weak

But he will get better and be steadily improved

Though fans will be calling for him to be removed

The secondary is the weakest link of them all

A tough road lies ahead for Coach Richie Hall

Chamblain will want aggression, he will want mean

But it will take the DBs a while to adjust to the new schemes.

Patrick will surely return to all-star form

Eddie Russ getting burned may become the norm

Some DBs will be benched and new guys get a shot

And that is when things will improve a lot

We will struggle out of the gates and end up 2 and 4

Please don’t suck again! the fans will implore

It won’t always be pretty but the team will keep fighting

Chamblain will be making adjustments and ship will be righting

Come the highly anticipated Labour Day clash,

We will have an even record and no longer be trash

We’ll knock out Buck Pierce and win the big game

Next week at Banjo Bowl we come up lame

An up and down season, win one then lose

Our biggest winning streaks will come in no more than twos

We won’t always be gracious in our defeats

Didn’t like beer cans BC? Wait until we throw seats

A 9-9 season is what I see in store

Which will be just good enough to sneak in the playoff door

A third place finish so it’s off to face the Stamps

Donning our white jerseys with logos fit for tramps.

Tate may not be Burris but he’ll choke like he was

A big day for the defense will seal the win and create a buzz

Then the bandwagon will keep heading west

For a date with BC, the CFL’s best

The game will be closer than most expect 

We’ll go up early but the lead won’t protect

The Lions will move on but will not repeat

We will hold our heads high but suffer defeat

After a disastrous 2011, we will come a long way

But it will take this team time to go all the way

Though a 9-9 finish may be disappointing to some

The foundation will be laid but the best is yet to come

So as I end this prophecy, thus shall be proclaimed

“Riders make us proud… or at least less ashamed!”

Are You Smarter Than a Baby - Week 1 Picks

Here are the Week 1 picks from the Prophet household. There is still time for you to get your picks in to me to enter the Are You Smarter Than a Baby CFL Pickem Contest. Free to enter, $100 cash prize if you can pick more correct winners than Prophet Jr. over the course of the regular season. Email me with your picks and you are in.

Week 1 Picks:
Prophet Jr.: Hamilton, BC, Toronto, Calgary
Connor (5 yrs old): Saskatchewan, BC, Edmonton, Montreal
Rider Prophet: Saskatchewan, BC, Toronto, Montreal
Mrs. Prophet: Hamilton, BC, Toronto, Montreal

Reminder: Are You Smarter Than A Baby? – CFL Pickem Contest

Its almost time for the inaugural Rider Prophet Are You Smarter Than A Baby? CFL Pick Em’ Contest! to get underway.

Each week Prophet Jr. will predict the winning teams. His week 1 picks will be unveiled tomorrow. Correctly predict more winners and you could win big prizes. But if you do worse than him you will be subjected to an endless barrage of ridicule and insults.

If you are already entered be sure to get your Week 1 picks in by Friday. If you are not entered here's a reminder of the rules which should be enough to convince you to enter. Bottom Line: Free to Enter, Cash Prize!

Rules are as followed:

- Contest is free to enter. Simply send an email to RiderProphet at hotmail.com

- Each week I will post Prophet Jr.’s picks

- Each week you submit your picks by email

- You get 1 point for each correct pick

- At the end of the regular season, every person who has more points than Prophet Jr. will be entered into a draw for the Grand Prize.

- My 5 year old step son will also be picking weekly winners. Everyone with more points than him at the end of the regular season will be entered into a draw for the Second Prize.

Grand Prize: $100 Cash

Second Prize: $25 Gas Card

For the chronic gambler among you (of which I know there are many) we are also offering the Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Bonus

- $5 to enter.

- The person with the most points at the end of the regular season wins the pot

- If interested contact me by email to make payment arrangements

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Home Game and Cuts

Riders 31 – Stamps 33

It was an exciting few days across Riderville this weekend. Friday we were treated to a preseason game which for a change was actually exciting to watch. Then over the weekend we eagerly awaited the easiest part of any coach’s job… the cuts. Some cuts were so obvious that Helen Keller would have seen them coming, some were a surprise (mostly pleasant surprises though).

We’ll start with the game. Here are my random thoughts on the game (though I’ll admit we were playing the Official Rider Prophet Preseason Drinking Game on Friday, so my recollection might not be gospel truth):

-       The excitement of being back in our seats and checking out all the new screens was somewhat diminished when we found a random pile of nuts and bolts under our bench.  That can’t be good.

-       It must have preseason for security as well because later in the game I actually saw one of them escort a guy who was creating a disturbance (and most likely homeless) from the exit back up to his seat. Don’t worry though, I’m sure he got a polite and diplomatic talking to… that will show him

-       Other random sight in the stands… a girl with a white skirt on that had a large brown stain on the back that damn sure wasn’t chocolate pudding. We determined she must be Kory Sheets’ #2 fan. I wish I was making this up.

-       I guess the general consensus is that Rob Bagg will take over from Clermont as the guy who gets a standing ovation every time he touches the ball even if it’s only for a short gain.

-       Holy Sheets!!

-       How ugly was Dan Badslow being folded over back on his knee? I hate the guy but I definitely do not hate him enough to wish that upon. Still not sure how he walked off the field.

-       I noticed they sent Shomari on a blitz a lot. I hope that is just part of the scheme for the MLB and not just a way to hide the a lack of ability in run stopping/pass coverage.

-       You can change the player but apparently the only play we have for anyone wearing #20 is a run up the middle. Go Wes Wynn!

-       Love Abraham Kromah!

-       Secondary is still a massive concern for me. Coverage was still weak at best. We seemed to completely forget about Nik Lewis on every play. Given that the man is the size of a refrigerator, that’s a problem. Maybe they just assumed he was an O-lineman blocking downfield.

-       Drew Wily looks good. I hope he never has to see him in game action but if we do I feel better after watching him this preseason. 

-       Chris Milo’s got leg. Chris Bodnar don’t… though partial credit for trying to pull a vintage Jamie Boreham on that short punt. Though in the future if you are going to sacrifice your body like that you should at least come up with the ball.

                                                                                                           

Now let’s move onto the cuts. For me they basically fall into 3 categories:

The Obvious: DL Jay Alford, K Chris Bodnar, LB Kevin Regimbald-Gagne, LB Daniel Sheffield, DL Matthieu Boulay, OL Nick Hutchins, OL Dan Clark, DB Talmadge Jackson, RB DeShawn Wynn, OL Johan Asiata, WR Jock Sanders, DB Karl Paymah, LB Chris Francis, DL David Veikune

The Surprising: DL Kenny Rowe, DB Macho Harris (though he is already back on the practice roster), WR Patrick Brown, LB Devonte Shannon, DB Jalil Johnson, DB Lance Frazier

And the Pleasantly Surprising:

 WR Taj Smith - I never understood why the coaches thought the guy was starting material. Thankfully he successfully shoulder blocked a potential go ahead TD and opened the coaches eyes to what I was seeing.

I will throw in Dan Badslow in this category as well. I know he wasn’t technically cut but effectively his playing time is over here which is good enough for me. Honestly I did a celebratory jig upon learning the news. I never thought the coaches had the balls to make this move. I’m not sure if Chris Patrick will be in contention for an all-star designation anytime soon but even if he is mediocre at best he will be an upgrade over Badslow because he is younger and cheaper.

Lastly I’ll comment on the Frazier release. Surprising as the move was you had to know something was up when they moved him to wide-side corner. Simply put, you don’t pay someone Lance Frazier salary to man that spot. Compounding matters was how bad Frazier looked on corner. I’m not sure what happened to him because he has been damn good at HB (a very tough spot to play) ever since he showed up here. I won’t lie I have concerns about Eddie Russ playing HB but it’s hard to argue with the coaches logic on Frazier’s release. He simply needed to be better for what we were paying him.

Still sad to see a stand-up guy like Frazier go. He gave this team many good years and I wish him all the best in his future.

I will say this though… if there was any lingering doubt on whether its Chamblain or Halls’ defense, this seals it. No way Richie either moves Lance to CB or lets him go. Top to bottom this is Chamblain’s team. Now its time for him to prove he knows what he’s doing.

Bring on the regular season!

Riders vs. Stamps: Preseason Game 2

The wait is finally over! It’s time to head back to the stands… Its game day!!!!

I don’t care if it’s only preseason and if the results are about as useful as a Columbus Blue Jackets playoff ticket. I’m pumped!! Not only is this our first chance to see the team and renovated stadium in person, thanks to infinite genius of the schedule makers its our only Friday night home game of the year (and one of only 2 evening home games all freakin’ season).

I won’t bother with my usual full analysis since this is only a preseason game. Instead here are some things I will be watching for tonight.

- Like everyone I will be watching Durant to see if he can get in a rhythm with the starting offense. I don’t need to see a full out offensive onslaught but I do need to see some sustained drives and some TDs so I can start feeling better about our O.

- I’ll be keeping a keen eye on how our offensive tackles perform. They still scare me so hopefully Badslow and Fulton can do something to allay my fears… even better would be if Chris Patrick plays lights out and supplants Badslow as a starter but that’s probably asking too much.

- RBs will be interesting to watch. West still appears to be the projected starter but I really think Sheets will bump him to #2 come the season opener.

- On defense I will be watching out front 4 to see if we have finally uncovered the elusive pass rush after 2 years of going without. I’ll also be watching the play of Shomari in the middle. I think he has all of the physical tools to excel there but want to see if he’s stepped up the mental side.

- I will be watching our secondary as a whole. I know last preseason game means nothing but they looked worse than … last game.  Hope they look better. In particular I will be watching Lance Frazier (who will be starting at CB) and Eddie Russ (who will take Frazier’s spot at HB). I certainly don’t think Frazier is untouchable but I have next to no faith is Russ being a capable replacement. Maybe Chamblain sees something I don’t or maybe this will just be a short lived experiment. We shall see.

­ - The new guys I’m excited to watch because I think they will play themselves onto the team include Abraham Kromah, Terrell Maze, Kory Sheets, and Sinorice Moss

- Guys who I will be watching closely because I think they should be destined for the cut list include DeShawn Wynn, Eddie Russ, JT O’Sullivan, Daniel Sheffield, Taj Smith (I know he is pretty much enshrined as a starting wideout but I am far from convinced he is deserving of the spot) and Tristan Jackson (I have nothing against Tristan I just don’t think he’ll find a spot on this team. Square peg, round hole)

Are You Smarter Than A Baby? – CFL Pickem Contest

Think you know CFL football? Well here is your chance to prove it by going head to head with this football expert…

He’s only 3 months old and can’t even hold his own head up, eat solid food, or crawl but he can pick winners better than you!

I’m proud to introduce the first annual Rider Prophet Are You Smarter Than A Baby? CFL Pick Em’ Contest!

Each week Prophet Jr. will predict the winning teams. Correctly predict more winners and you could win big prizes. But if you do worse than him you will be subjected to an endless barrage of ridicule and insults.

Rules are as followed:

- Contest is free to enter. Simply send an email to RiderProphet at hotmail.com

- Each week I will post Prophet Jr.’s picks

- Each week you submit your picks by email

- You get 1 point for each correct pick

- At the end of the regular season, every person who has more points than Prophet Jr. will be entered into a draw for the Grand Prize.

- My 5 year old step son will also be picking weekly winners. Everyone with more points than him at the end of the regular season will be entered into a draw for the Second Prize.

Grand Prize: $100 Cash

Second Prize: $25 Gas Card

For the chronic gambler among you (of which I know there are many) we are also offering the Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Bonus

- $5 to enter.

- The person with the most points at the end of the regular season wins the pot

- If interested contact me by email to make payment arrangements (I can accept a wide variety of payment forms… but be aware that farm animals and sexual favours, or some combination thereof are expressly not accept… I’m looking at you Man in the Bush)