Sunday
two bitter rivals face off in what will surely be an epic showdown to determine
who moves on to the Grey Cup (as the favourite realistically). Just thinking of
the Riders travelling to Calgary for the West Final evokes strong memories of
the 2010 WF. Two things I remember clear as day from that game. On a positive
there was the Cary Koch catch in the back of the endzone. At the polar opposite
end of the spectrum was a moment that evoked more curse words from me in a qo
second period than ever before (and that bar was set high). It was when Ryan
Grease-Mullen fumbled catching a kick and it ended up bouncing in the endzone
until Jerrell “Jesus on Wheels” Freeman saved the day (and likely Grice-Mullen’s
life) by sliding in and saving the day. Hopefully this edition has a similar ending
but a less curse-filled middle.
Plain
and simple the Stamps are the best team in the CFL and beating them in their
own park (where they lost only once this season) will be very difficult. They
are strong at every position and have endured a huge string of injuries along
the way. Even the fact that they lost 3 starters in the final game of the year
does not strike me as a huge boost for us since the Stamps have excelled
despite injuries all year. By now you are probably saying “way to instill
confidence Prophet, this sounds pretty depressing in terms of outlook”. Well no
need to go into a Rob Ford-style Drunken Stupor because I believe we can win
and will explain how… though if you want to don an Argo jersey and utter profanity in
a public forum be my guest.
Our
defense will need to rebound from a poor showing in all but the 4th
quarter of the WSF. We have just been taking for granted that our D will excel
and BC shot a big hole in that theory. BC ran all over us for over 200 yards so
you can bet Cornish is liking his lips (and likely lowering his pants). Its no
secret that any attempt to beat the Stamps requires containing Cornish. We don’t
have to stop him completely, just ensure he doesn’t run all over us at will.
D-line will need to be aggressive and keep the OL off our LBs so they can move
around freely. When Calgary gets blockers on LBs that’s when their run game
starts going crazy. So the first 3 items on the top 5 list of things to do are
all stop the run. Unfortunately that won’t be enough. Maurice Price can score from
anywhere. Joe West is a very underrated receiver. We have already made a star
out of that Fuller. There is even an outside chance that Nik Lewis might play
(though that depends on their ability to keep his knee braces free of KFC
grease so they don’t slip off… good luck). Success on D needs to start with
dominance up front. Calgary has an excellent OL but we have assembled a
ridiculous DL and they need to earn their money this week. If they can win the
battle at the line of scrimmage it will affect the run game and we already proved
how well Kevin Glenn does when our line attacks him. Tate was the saviour last
time but we will be ready this time for him if needed. If our D plays like they can then the
score will stay low. But with a team like Calgary there is no room for mistakes
or penalties or sloppy play. Take away Cornish, take away the deep strikes and
force them to dink and dunk down the field. We can force mistakes and turnovers
in that scenario.
Offensively,
we need Durant to be the leader he was against BC yet again. If he is that
tuned in again this week then our O will be humming. Unlike BC I don’t expect
the Stamps to be too stupid to stop the QB draw 9 times in a row. But the fact
that they now have to account for that should help open things up for Sheets or
in the passing game. Like last time Calgary will want to shut down Sheets (mostly
out of pride). So expect a slow start from Sheets but the early focus on Sheets
will open up those medium passes for Durant and also leave room for him to run.
I would test the middle of that Stamp DL early with their 2 D-tackles both out,
no guarantee of success but worth testing with Sheets behind Best or Labatte. With Raymond and Smith locked in on
Dressler, Taj Smith could be in for another big day (lord knows he’s earned the
trust of Durant). Getzlaf will likely play but will be less than 100%... the
good news is that his game is to run around until people forget about him and
then burn them. So he will see fewer passes but they will be key ones. Let’s
not forget his legacy of being a Stamp killer (and I’m not talking about a
postage murderer… just to clarify things). We need to bring back that screen to
Sheets and be prepared to use him actively in the pass game (just keep the
passes easy because his hands are worse than Getzlaf’s used to be). Primary key
is keeping Hughes and the rest of the sack happy Stamps off of Durant. Last
time we played, we idiotically left Hughes unblocked or one on one with Clark
or the RB alot. Don’t overthink this. Get your best blockers on their biggest
threats and neutralize them. If Durant has time he will find the receivers and
move the ball… if he has no time then we better hope he has another 100 rushing
in him because that’s what we would need. The odd run to keep them honest is
good but I would prefer if we could get Durant the time to get the ball to our
other play makers.Greater chance of success the quieter Hughes is.
My
nerves are already starting to get shaky just typing this. I’m pumped for the
game and can only fathom the pandemonium that will engulf this town if we win.
But we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We are correctly cast as the underdog in
this game. It will take our best effort to end their season, nothing less. I
fully expect this game to be curse-filled (ear muffs Prophet Jr.) and so full
of stress that it will shorten my already low life expectancy… but this is a
very talented team and is playing with a ton of heart. On Sunday we will be the
better team (though both the O and D will go through their struggles).
In
the end…. Riders by a Chris Milo FG (that comes so close to hitting the upright
that a collective gasp can be heard across the prairies).
Gentlemen
(and ladies) start your drinking!
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