Monday Morning Sentimonies: I Froze My Ass Off For That?

Riders 26 – Argos 31

Instead of the exciting season finale at Mosaic that fans were expecting (and deserving of), Saturday we were forced to endure 3 hours of a team mailing it in in every facet of the game. Players weren’t making plays, coaches had a brutal game plan and the admin staff didn’t even bother making an attempt at a half time show (I guess all the fabulous shows we had all season must have eaten away at the budget). But hey what have the fans ever done for this team?

The team didn’t even bother starting to try until the second quarter by which point Ricky Ray had already carved us up for 2 TDs. I’d say we were just going through the motions but unfortunately what I saw was the team I have seen for the last 3 weeks. Our O-line was obviously too cold to block as we allowed the worst pass rush in the CFL to get constant pressure and 4 sacks. So much for all that money we spend in the offseason upgrading our OL (Though a serviceable right tackle would go a long ways to shoring that up). The ever reliable Dressler obviously started his Halloween celebrations early and came to the game as Chris Getzlaf (a much better looking Chris Getzlaf mind you) as he was dropping passes all day. Our offense looked terrible for most of the game but yet again (HEY Bob Dyce this is a recording) when you don’t attempt passes over 10 yards against an aggressive secondary it allows them to move up and wreak havoc on your short game.

As for the defense well someone should go inform Richie Hall that this is not touch football so fielding a team that can actually tackle might help a bit. I have been a massive Patrick fan since the day he arrived in town but he needs to get off the field as he is utterly useless on corner. It’s gotten so bad that I’d even be willing to give James Johnson a call myself to see if he is available.  I think we need to designate someone to sit down with Hall before each game and remind him about who the oppositions weapons are. While I’m pleased at how he was able to limit Spencer Watt, it would have been a tad bit more helpful if we’d bothered covering Durie or possibly Owens. It’s not all on the secondary since our D-line was completely neutralized by the likes of Parenteau and Wayne Smith. No pressure on Ray = you are screwed. Seriously If I can figure this crap out why can’t a guy whose job it has been for over a decade do it?

The discussion on team failures would of course not be complete without talking about Sandro DeAngelis. 16 yards?!?!?! 16? Are you f’ing kidding me? We ran McCallum out of town for that and we actually used to like him... imagine what we will do to someone we don’t like.

In the end, one team showed up to play and one didn’t. One team showed a sense of urgency, one didn’t. One team made plays, one didn’t. Hell even when we did make plays (Lobendahn INT, Jackson huge punt return) we couldn’t capitalize. We appear to be coasting into the playoffs and I sincerely hope the coaches and players don’t think they can flip the switch come 2 weeks because that just won’t happen. We need better game plans, better execution and better effort and we need it now.

Lastly I feel the need to comment on the last drive headshot. I will preface this by saying the refs didn’t lose us the game. We played like ass and should not have to rely on a last second drive. That said, the no-call there was pure and utter BS! How the guy whose job it is to watch the QB doesn’t see a helmet smash into his when the ball was still in his hands is inexcusable. Sadly it’s a recurring pattern with Durant. He never gets calls. I really wonder what he did to piss off the refs that bad (did he sleep with all their wives?... well I hope for Durant's sake he opted for daughters as some of those refs are getting up there).  If that was Calvillo the flag would have been thrown just for the defender being within 5 yards of his head. Ray gets that call, Lulay gets that call, Pierce gets concussed. As I tweeted after the game I’m not sure if it’s the Riders the refs hate or just black people but it’s clearly a double standard and the refs and the league are failing to protect a QB even though they proclaim it’s their top priority.  

Other random thoughts:

-       To the old guy in the balaclava who wanted to fight me for commenting that the stands would be pretty empty after halftime: stay classy.

-       I’ve said a lot of smart ass things over the years in the stands but that is by far one of the tamer ones yet apparently it was the most offensive.  Who knew?

-       According to the stat sheet our MLB did not have a single tackle... that stat is indicative of a complete defensive failure.

-       I’m not sure what Willis was drunk on but he should have shared with the fans who endured the cold.