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Sunday the 8-3 Riders will try to get back
on track after a dismal outing last week. Luckily the schedule offers them an
absolute gift of a match-up with the 1-8 RedBlacks coming to town. This is by
far the easiest match-up left on our schedule and so it is the perfect
opportunity to work out all the crap we need to in order to get back to playing
football at a level that at least gives us a chance to be a contender come
November.
There’s really no way of putting this nicely…
Ottawa is terrible.
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They have just 1 win, and are winless on the road
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They are averaging 14 pts per
game and haven’t scored more than 10 points in a game in their last 4 attempts
(a span that has produced just one solitary offensive TD... one!)
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They have the worst run game
(averaging a lowly 66 yds/game)
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They have the least passing TDs
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They have the least sacks and takeaways
on defense
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They have the worst run defense
(allow 129 yds/game and most rushing TDs)
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They have the worst pass
defense (most yards allowed, highest completion % allowed)
Yet currently their odds of hosting a
playoff game are as good or better than ours. (I think we are all prepared to
die a little inside when we see how few wins the 2 East teams that make the
playoffs will have.)
Sunseri needs to bounce back and Ottawa
provides him the perfect opportunity to do so. Now I’m not saying he needs to
come out throwing like the 2nd coming of Doug Flutie but we do need
to see improvement in his game. His reads and decisions need to be quicker and
more decisive. Let me remind you that running our offense does not mean needing
to throw for 300+ yards. We don’t need him to suddenly try and morph into a
gunslinger, we just need him to trust his instincts more and get the ball out
when he is called on to throw. To put in bluntly, if he can’t get it done
against this defense, he better start working on his resume. He will have
strong run support this game. We ran for 100 on a very good run D in Hamilton
when they had zero reason to respect the pass. Ottawa is far worse against the
run so whether or not Sunseri gets it together we will be logging yards on the
ground. Ottawa probably got their best performance of the season from their
defense last game against BC so don’t expect to lie there and just take it but
there is no reason we can’t have success against them. Based on their current offensive
struggles we need just 2 measly TDs to all but guarantee victory... hell 1 and a FG probably amounts to an insurmountable lead.
Defensively I fully expect a dominating
performance. We are a very good defense facing a team that has 1 offensive TD
over the past month +. Burris is prone to struggles when he has talent around
him. What chance does he have now that he is surrounded by receivers not good
enough to stick as #4 receivers anywhere else? And now that they are without
Chevon Walker, their run game has descended to almost comical depth (not that it
was consistent even with Walker in). Our D-line will have Burris running for his
life and our DBs have better hands than their receivers so expect turnovers (historically
Burris serves them up in groups of 3). Unless it comes in garbage time, I just
don’t Ottawa scoring a major (I’ve seen chess teams, with better chances of scoring).
2-3 FGs max with strong chances of a shutout.
Ottawa’s best chance of scoring (like most
teams that face us) will come on special teams. We have allowed a kick return
TD in 4 of our last 5. That is embarrassing. I’ve been saying all along that it
is a product of all the injuries we have along the Canadian core of our special
teams but that’s just our reality. It doesn’t look like we will be getting guys
back soon so we better learn to be better with the guys we have. Better punting
from Milo would help.
I don’t like being this cocky about our
chances (especially given what we most recently witnessed at QB) but there’s a
good chance we could win this game if our offensive and defensive players
switched sides for the day. If for some reason we find a way to lose this game then you
have my permission to hit the panic button. But let’s have some faith in our
team and be confident they will win like they are supposed to. Sunseri will
still look shaky at times but will be show enough improvement to re-instill faith…
Riders by 14 (one of which is likely a defensive TD)
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