Friday
night the 9-3 Riders take on the 8-4 Eskimos in a second place showdown. Thanks
to the genius of the CFL schedule makers, despite the season being 2/3 over
this will be our first meeting of the year… and first of 3 meetings in 6 weeks.
Ticket sales are already over 39,000 so all signs point to a raucous atmosphere
for a big Friday night game.
PS
– To anyone offended by the “Horrible Human Beings” ad campaign, that marketing
department got a level of publicity and airplay out of that ad that most
marketers can only dream of. So lighten up… and if you happen to be going to
the game go ahead and poop on your seat on the way out just to prove them right about us being
horrible.
This
will be a big test for the Riders on both sides of the ball. Their offense
poses a threat in multiple ways. They have a good QB who can hurt you with his
legs, they have 2 big time receivers and now that Jon White is healthy I think
they have a credible running attack (something that the Esks in recent history
seemed to have avoided like the plague). Bowman is inconsistent at the best of
times but given that he struggled last game I’m expecting him to be back to
good for this one. It’s an adventure getting him the ball but once he has it,
he is as good as anyone at gaining more yards. So our tackling needs to be
sound. No shoulder tackles (I’m looking at you Rod Williams). As much talent as
this offense has it hasn’t been very impressive this season. I still think
their O-line is not very good (better than last year but short of starting 5
actual pylons, I’m not sure how they could get worse). The key will be
attacking that line and keeping Reilly from escaping. If he’s forced to throw
and do so under duress then the offense will struggle. If he breaks contain and
is allowed to buy time for Stamps and Bowman we will struggle. In their wins,
Edmonton is averaging over 60 yards rushing by the QB… in the losses, 20. If the
Esks watched game film from last week they will be trying to find ways to get
an RB (like Lawrence) lined up on Kilgore in a passing situation. Hopefully we
can avoid that. I expect the Esks to score but overall our D-line should be
able to attack that O-line and that will power our defense to be a difference maker… as
opposed to early last game when they just lied their and took it like Ottawa
had paid for their services.
Offensively,
Tino will go from facing a poor defense in the RedBlacks to a damn good defense
in the Esks. Outside of us, I think the Esks have the best front 4 in the
league. Jones even managed to get a solid season out of Odell Willis. Our
O-line will be tested. The Esks also have playmakers in the secondary. They
have amassed the second most takeaways and sacks. They have taken on the
persona of the coach and are very aggressive… and likely a-holes too. We will
need a strong run game to help take the pressure off our O-line. When the Esks
win they average 74 rush yards allowed… when they lose it balloons to 134. Teams are not respect Tino when he rolls out after the handoff. If he hangs on the odd time it will go for decent yards. We did it once last week and got 15 easy yards. Given how Dressler carried our team last week I expect Jones to lock either
Grymes or Watkins on him all game in an attempt to eliminate him. That likely
means our effectiveness in the pass game will depend on Getzlaf’s ability to be
a consistent catcher and Taj Smith’s ability to regain relevance. I also think
using Ford’s speed by getting him involved with short passes to slow down the
rush would be good. Our last 2 attempts to run screens have been comically inept but that could
be effective too. Hard running (and lots of it), short quick hitting passes and limiting turnovers
will be the keys.
One
note on special teams, the addition of Chad Rempel is massive. Not only does it
add a veteran (and very good) long snapper (need I rehash the issues that
caused us last week). It also adds a veteran Canadian presence to a unit that
is short on that due to injuries. I have a feeling that in a defensive battle,
we will need to call on Milo’s leg a few times. Hopefully we get the good Milo
and not the “F%^$^!! Milo”
Despite
the fact that the Esks are stronger at QB, I still think this should be a
fairly even match-up. I suspect the Esks D will get a couple turnovers off
Sunseri so our defense will need to respond with turnovers of their own. While
there’s no reason that we can’t win this game, my gut says that on the road on
a short week we lose. I still think we take the season series but for this game
I see us getting edged out. Riders keep it close until late but in the end…
Esks
by a TD
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