Riders 54 - Esks 31
Did not see that coming!
Heading into Friday's match-up in Edmonton, a lot people (myself included) were in "prove it" mode with the Riders. Prove you can play on the road. Prove you can compete in the West. Prove the win over BC wasn't a one off. Well the Riders came out and emphatically proved all of the above with a dismantling of the Eskimos. The final score greatly flatters the Esks as they were down 40-7 heading into a 4th quarter that amounted to extended garbage time. I don't know where these Riders came from or where we have been hiding them all season but I love it!
The team did so many of the fundamental things right that had been missing in previous road games. Three things in particular really caught my eye.
1 - We dominated the trenches - Offensively we gave Glenn time in the pocket and allowed him to run the offense instead of running for his life... well ok to be fair Glenn wouldn't actually run for his life, more like slowly jog. Defensively we made life hell for Reilly. We got consistent pressure and really disrupted the pass game. While I would never wish injury on anyone, Dan Clark getting injured may be the best thing to happen to us. Labatte has solidified the middle of that line immensely. Its an odd combo along the O-line but I would roll with it as long as they play like this. Defensively "I'm Nick James Bitch!" is looking like a great add. Steele played one of his best games as a Rider. Antigha continues to be solid. Low and behold when we get even the slightest bump in play from the rest of the line it really frees up Jefferson.
2 - We played aggressive - Previous road games saw us essentially nap through the first half and let the other team dictate the pace of play. Friday we were the aggressors. Defense was hitting and hitting like they meant it.
3 - We seized every opportunity - In the first 6 games, we had many opportunities we let slip away. Friday we seized every one of them. Botched snap on a Reilly plunge? - recover the fumble and put it in the end zone 5 plays later. Edmonton stupidly decides to not block literally the only guy they should probably should? Blocked kick, defensive score. Missed PAT? Duron does Duron things and steals back any momentum Edmonton may have gained by returning it for 2. Think Marshall will be stopped at the 5? He takes flights and helicopters in for an amazing score. Every time we had a chance to make a play, we did. Hell we had 2 picks sixes in a 3 minute span (old man Jovon's looked like slow mo compared to Rodgers but at the important thing is that we made the plays).
As hard as it was to put much stock in one home win over BC, its equally as tough to ignore 2 dominant wins over west teams. The offense has learned to produce on the road. The defense has made more plays in the past 2 weeks than the previous year and half combined under Chris Jones. I said a few weeks back that we needed to go a minimum of 3-2 in our 5 game west set and we have put ourselves in a position were all we need is a split with Winnipeg to accomplish that and be a very relevant part of the playoff race down the back half of the season.
We now carry the momentum from 2 dominant wins into Labour Day. Man oh man will Mosaic be rockin'! Start warming up your vocal chords.
Other random thoughts:
- I still have no clue how Vernon Adams fell through that crack and converted that 3rd down plunge. You'll also be shocked to know that I hated everything about the 2 plays he randomly ran early in the game. McAdoo gonna McAdoo.
- I really liked how the offense worked the middle of the field with the passes to Bagg. They clearly found a weakness in that D (an obvious place to attack with Edmonton's 8th string LBs out there). I also like that we gave Marshall double digit touches.
- I wonder what was going through Hugh O'Neil's head has he was being pursued by all 300 pounds of Nick James on that blocked punt? "Just take the damn ball! Please don't fall on me!"
- I was super mad at Demski for that awful attempt at fielding the kick return but I feel that the hit he took on that is punishment enough.
Monday, August 28, 2017
Friday, August 25, 2017
Riders vs Edmonton: Please Don’t Suck
Tonight the Riders are in
Edmonton to face the 7-1 Eskimos. The Esks are looking to rebound from their
first loss of the season. The Riders are looking to prove that the BC game was
not an aberration and they can actually contend with the big boys in the West.
Doing that will require overcoming a bad habit they have developed this season…
playing like embarrassing piles of garbage on the road.
At home we average a whopping
39 points per game. On the road we average a miniscule 13.7 including failing
to score any points whatsoever in the first quarter and scoring a total of 10
first half points in 3 road games. We seem to particularly go to hell in the
trenches on the road. In our last 2 road games we have given up a total of 343
rushing yards defensively and 7 sacks offensively. Whatever the pregame rituals have been on the
road (likely taking in the local nightlife) have been, they need to change.
Edmonton reminds me a lot
of the 2008 Roughriders with their hot start despite an insane amount of
injuries. The big difference is that they still have a franchise QB while we
were reduced to relying on Michael Bishop. The Esks have shown tremendous depth
to thrive despite an injury to pretty much every player not named Reilly. The
bad news for us is that they seem to be getting healthy now as the likes of Zylstra
and Sewell will return.
Defensively this game is
all about containing Reilly… good luck with that. He leads the league’s top
passing attack and is a leading candidate thus far for MOP. He is as talented
on the field as his choice in hats is poor off the field. Any chance of
disrupting him starts up front. If we can’t get pressure on him then we might
as well just piggy back their receivers into the endzone. Our secondary needs
to step up even more so this week as they won’t have the benefit of the QB
launching errant throws all over the field like Jennings did. Get pressure,
avoid giving up the big pass plays (which Edmonton thrives on) and try and
force more FGs than TDs. Even if we play solid defense (which is no guarantee)
I don’t see us keeping the Esks under 25 points.
Defensively the Esks are
anchored by the best front 4 in the CFL. Not only do they look to be getting
Sewell back for this game (one of the top DTs in the game). They also are the
beneficiaries of the Ti-Cats sucktitude and add John Chick. Given how well we
play on the road, the prospect of facing a Chick-Sewell-Cummings-Willis front 4
is downright scary (***edit*** seems Cummings is out but it’s still an
intimidating front 4). Our O-line has to step up. Our OC also needs to step and
bring a game play designed to slow down that rush. Glenn needs to be rolling,
using swing passes and most importantly handing the damn ball off! The Esks can
be rushed on. They have the 3rd worst run defense and allow a League
worst 5.6 yds/carry. We also can’t be afraid to test that secondary early.
Let’s make Roosevelt and Carter earn their salary and take shots. Most
importantly we need to actually start playing at kickoff. Another slow road
start will kill us in this game. We need points and we need them early. I think
30 points minimum is what we are going to need to win.
A couple other random
notes, our cover teams (which have been really good thus far) will have a big
test trying to contain Chris Edwards. He has quietly established himself as one
of the top returners so far. Discipline could also play a role in the game. We
are relatively well disciplined; the Esks are about as disciplined as their
head coach.
My thoughts on our chances
of this game have been all over the map. A few weeks into the season I would
have put our odds of victory in this one on par with Hamilton’s win total. Last
week, the prospect of playing them without a lot of their big name players gave
me a fair bit of hope. Then John Chick showed up and dashed that (stupid
Ti-Cats!). Where I have settled is that I am in “prove it” mode. For all the
excitement following the BC win I feel the need to remind you that we are an
atrocious road team playing the hottest QB in the league. Sometimes it’s better
not to over-complicate things.
I do expect us to actually
play some competent road football and make this a competitive game. I also
promise that if we do somehow win, it will allay much of the skepticism I have
about our chances this season. But until they prove otherwise…
Esks by 10
Monday, August 21, 2017
Monday Morning Sentimonies: How Far Have We Come?
Despite the fact that our
position at the basement of the west division has not changed, most people will
agree that the Riders are a better team than last. I wouldn’t have thought it
would be possible to worse than the 2016 Riders but the Hamilton Ti-Cats have
proved otherwise. Anyway, I thought I would take the opportunity over the
Riders’ bye week to dig into exactly how much better the 2017 Riders are after 7
games than the 2016 Riders were.
Below is a comparison of
the stats after 7 games between 2016 and 2017.
2016 | 2017 | Difference | % Change | |
Wins | 1 | 3 | +2 | |
Offense | ||||
Points | 138 | 197 | +59 | +43% |
Offensive TDs | 10 | 20 | +10 | +100% |
Passing Yards | 2057 | 2228 | +171 | +8% |
Rushing Yards | 463 | 514 | +51 | +11% |
Sacks allowed | 17 | 16 | -1 | -6% |
Turnovers | 15 | 9 | -6 | -40% |
Defense | ||||
Points allowed | 233 | 172 | -61 | -26% |
Passing Yds allowed | 2213 | 2041 | -172 | -8% |
Rushing Yds allowed | 643 | 678 | +35 | +5% |
Sacks | 10 | 15 | +5 | +50% |
Turnovers | 10 | 12 | +2 | +20% |
Special Teams | ||||
Punt Return Avg | 7.9 | 11.1 | +3 | +41% |
Opponent Punt Ret Avg | 12.8 | 9.4 | -3 | -27% |
Kickoff return avg | 19.5 | 25.5 | +6 | +31% |
Opponent Kickoff Ret Avg | 24.7 | 20.6 | -4 | -17% |
Net punt avg | 32.8 | 35.7 | +3 | +9% |
Penalties | 61 | 50 | -11 | -18% |
Players Dressed | 65 | 60 | -5 | -8% |
The first thing that jumps
out is that there is improvement in every category but 1. Some of the increases
are dramatic and some are incremental but its improvement pretty much across
the board. Let’s take a closer look at each category.
Offense
What stands out
here is that we are actually scoring points (almost exclusively at home but
that’s another topic for another day). Scoring is up 43% and we have doubled… I
repeat doubled… the number of times our offense has crossed the goal line. We
have also drastically decreased turnovers. The offseason focus on upgrading our
O-line and receivers seems to be working.
Defense
Again, scoring is what
jumps off the page here. We are allowing 26% less points that last season.
Don’t get me wrong are defense still has its deficiencies (particularly in pass
defense) but they are a far cry from the utter garbage we fielded last year.
This may be in part to a decrease in a statistical category I didn’t track
above “players converted to defensive starter from god knows what they were
before”. Seems playing actual defenders has its advantages.
Special Teams
This is the one that
really caught my eye. I had a general sense just from watching the games that
we are playing pretty solid on special teams but I didn’t realize how much
better. Our kick and punt returns are significantly better and our coverage
teams are allowing smaller returns… particularly on punts.
Overall we are seeing a
more disciplined team as penalties are down… as are fines (at least since the
actual season started).
I think some of this improvement
is a product of the last category in my table there. Unlike last year where our
game roster was a constant carousel of players on and off, on route to dressing
a record 100 players, this year there is a lot more stability overall. Key is
the stability we are getting along the O-line and in the secondary.
Ultimately the only
statistical category that matters is winning and we are still clearly the 5th
best team in the West division in that regard until we prove otherwise. So
while I’m hopeful, I’m not yet on the “the Riders have turned the corner”
bandwagon yet. That said, I do think it’s important we take a step back and
appreciate that we seem to be headed in the right direction following one of the
biggest tear downs and rebuilds in recent memory. But also keep in mind that
when your starting point is rock bottom, a few big steps forwards doesn’t
immediately put you back on the top.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Vernon Adams and the Rider QB Situation
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The Riders ensured it
would not be a quiet bye when they acquired Vernon Adams and a 5th
round pick in exchange for Tevaughn Campbell and two 3rd round
Picks. With the possible exception of daylight savings time, there is no topic
that results in as much heated debate in Saskatchewan as quarterbacks. I’m sure
there were calls for Adams to be appointed starter before most people were
halfway through reading the headline in the press release.
In terms of quarterback
recruitment this is the biggest move Chris Jones has made to date. Up until now
his QB recruiting efforts can be categorized into 3 categories: Other teams’
discards (Bryant Moniz, GJ Kinne, Mitchell Gale, Jake Waters, Brandon Bridge,
Bryan Bennett), Recruits who weren’t that good (Vad Lee, Jacob Huesman, Philip
Sims, BJ Coleman, Maty Mauk) and misguided attempts to revive NFL careers
(Vince Young and Johnny… errr I mean totally just Vince Young). We considered a
ton of options this offeason. There were discussions about Lulay, Drew Tate,
Michael Vick, Vernon Adams himself and of course James Franklin. Ultimately
we settled on Kevin Glenn though he is clearly just a placeholder for this season.
So now that Adams is here
in the flesh what does it mean for the Rider QB situation?
Effect on the backups – Regular readers will know that I am not the
biggest Bridge fan. I maintain that if he wasn’t Canadian nobody we care about
him. I will admit he has shown more this season that I expected but to put this
bluntly, if the Riders actually thought Bridge was the QB of the future then
they don’t make this deal. I fully
expect that the arrival of Adams will mean that one of Bridge or Williams has
to go (despite what the coaches have said). Personally I would like to see us keep developing Williams as we don’t
yet know his ceiling but there may be logic in keeping Bridge until Adams is up
to speed without offense (though knowing McAdoo had we played yesterday Adams
would have been randomly inserted to run a play so that point may be moot). We
didn’t give up a Canadian player and 2 picks for Adams to hold the clipboard,
I’ll tell you that much. He’s now the #2.
Effect on the starter – My position has always been that Kevin Glenn is our
best shot at the playoffs. So barring injury, he starts as long as we are in
contention… and I mean serious contention, none of this “not mathematically
eliminated” garbage. If we are not 5-5 following the Banjo Bowl, then
personally I think all bets are off. When it becomes apparent that playoffs are
a longshot then I say Adams becomes the starter and Glenn makes his annual
appearance on the trading block as a rental player.
Effect on next year – Never say never, but this move makes it less likely that James Franklin is coming here (sorry to put a damper 2+ years of
anticipation). I don’t see a scenario where we have both Adams and Franklin on
the roster. I guess its possible, but like I said, unlikely. We have been trying for 2 year to strike a deal for Franklin and we
may have finally decided that the asking price will never be in our acceptable
range. Plus, Edmonton would way rather trade Franklin to an East team than help
prop up a division opponent (unless they get a ransom for him). So in Adams we
may be choosing the certainty of getting someone with a ton of potential on the
roster now over taking a chance that we land Franklin in free agency where
nothing is ever guaranteed. We still likely try for Franklin but at a minimum we have something to fall back on if
your attempts at Franklin don’t pan out.
I’m not ready to appoint
Adams the saviour of the prairies just yet but I do think he’s by far the best
attempt Chris Jones has made thus far to find the next franchise QB.
Monday, August 14, 2017
Monday Evening Sentimonies: Who was that team?
Riders 41 – Lions 8
There are a couple major
concepts (that were previous damn near unfathomable) to wrap my head around in
the fallout of the Riders’ blowout win on Sunday. For one, we actually beat a
West team. That is a game changer as far as our chances this season goes.
Equally as mind blowing, we actually played defense. And not just “good enough
to win defense”. Solid, dominant defense. We also started very strong,
something we tend not to do. I don’t know who it was that took the field on
Sunday night but it certainly wasn’t the Riders I have been watching all
season.
The offense went according
to script: they play like utter garbage on the road but at home are electric.
But for me this game was all about the defense. They made more plays on Sunday
than I swear they made in the previous 6 games combined. Coming into this game
we had forced 5 turnovers and sacked the QB just 11 times (less than 2 per
game). Sunday they exploded for 7 turnovers and 4 sacks. Now I will put a
caveat on all of this prior people start thinking we have finally turned the
corner defensively. This was against a team with a terrible O-line, missing
their most productive WR (and losing another one mid-game) and a QB who tuned
in one of the worst performances of his career. Don’t get me wrong, I love that
we took advantage of that and turned in a dominant performance but we have to
prove that level of play can be repeated vs. just being a one off. Maybe we finally
found a combination of players that work. I like Butler at HB a hell of a lot
more than Lyles. Also, Moncrief turned in a great performance (minus the part
where he ran out of gas 5 yards into what should have been a pick 6). He was
really good in coverage all night. Have to give props to Gainey. He has been
not very good this year and was drifting his way back onto my hate list but man
did he make some plays. None of those picks were easy catches. As much I loved
his performance, I wish he would have let Duron get that last INT. Not sure we
ever would have heard then end of that. That man can do anything… Just ask him.
My only negative comment about the D was that we should probably structure our
roster a bit better so Carter isn’t our only back-up DB.
Offense turned in another
great performance on home turf. At some point maybe we should look into why
they can’t do that on the road, but I’ll focus on the positives for now. It
started upfront with a solid performance from the O-line. Unlike Clark, Labatte
actually has the ability to read a stunt and the middle was noticeably more
sealed up. Having your top 2 OL playing out of position is not ideal but if
that combo keeps working I’d be inclined to ride with it. While the defense was
the biggest shock of the day, a close second for me was our commitment to the
run and Marshall getting double digit carries. It’s such a key part to our O.
Overall it was a good offensive game plan we had. The ball was spread around
(even to Spencer Moore). Guys were getting open. Glenn was throwing well (minus
that pick that was all kinds of terrible decision making). My only real knock
on the O was when we went shot-gun formation twice in a row from the 1 yard
line. Not going to lie, was losing my marbles in stands. Even though it worked
out in the end, I still hate it.
We even played really good
on teams. Christion Jones is quickly making an impact as a returner. Short of
injury, I don’t see how Chad Owens makes it onto the roster. Our coverage was
also pretty solid (minus a couple times).
It was surprising result
but a win against the West huge, if for no other reason than to prove we can. We
still have a long road ahead of us to claw us back into the playoff mix but
Sunday showed that we can hang with at least one West team. The prospect of
playing the road after a bye scares me still (it went so well last time) but
this is by far the most optimistic I’ve been about our chance this season.
Other random thoughts:
- I still can’t believe that
no Rider did anything about Ty Long being at mid-field when they came out of
the tunnel. I was hoping someone would plow him but I get not wanting to do
that. But at least get in his face and chirp him until he leaves. Back in the
day no way guys like Kitwana or Kornegay would have let that happen. Show some
pride, defend our turf.
- Riders sure mailed it in
for the halftime show. They must take the same approach to being forced to work
on Sunday as the rest of folks.
Friday, August 11, 2017
Riders vs. BC Lions: Let’s Try This Again
After getting embarrassed
out west, the Riders will get another crack at the Lions, this time on home
turf. If you were a big enough sucker for punishment to watch all of the last
game, you have little reason to be hopeful for the encore. I mean even the schedule
makers are against us as the Sunday night start time precludes most of us from
even drinking this one pretty. There is only one thing that is prevent me from
limiting today’s analysis to “We’re screwed” and ending it right there. That
thing that provides me a shred of hope (that in true Rider fashion is likely to
be smashed to smithereens come Sunday) is that the Riders are a completely
different team at home.
Well I guess I should
qualify that last statement… the Riders’ Offense
is completely different at home. The defense is what it is regardless of
location and what it is, isn’t all that great… but more on that later. It’s
pretty obvious that all hopes in this game rest on our offense. I put the odds
of our defense grinding out a close, low scoring victory right up there with
the odds of the Cleveland Browns winning the Super Bowl, I mean sure I suppose
it could technically happen but... On the road our offense couldn’t find the endzone
if they were placed right beside it and pushed in its general direction.
They are averaging 13.7 points on the road (a figure that drops to 8.7 if you
exclude the 2 garbage time TDs from Bridge). But at home, they seem to be drawn
to the endzone like an O-lineman to an all you can eat buffet. 38.3 points per
game at home and never less than 37 points over our 3 home games. BC’s Defense is
certainly better than the previous 3 we faced at Mosaic but as I said, there is
hope in this fact.
So how do we move from
theory to reality in terms of a potent offense? Three pretty basic steps. #1
Keep Glenn upright. With Dan Clark out it seems that we are moving to 3
imports with Dennis moving to guard and Campbell taking over at tackle (We can
debate the status of Canadian OL depth another time). We need them to step up and
actually give Glenn some time. Also, if they aren’t giving them time, our OC
needs try a foreign concept called adjusting and roll Glenn out to move his
launch point. Or try some screens/swing passes. #2 Run the ball. I have
probably written this phrase more than anything else over the past year and
half. By now you would think I would have resigned myself to the fact that it
is futile but I guess I’m stubborn. Our offense works best when Marshall is
chewing up the yards. When he gets the minuscule 5 carries he got last week,
our offense becomes 1 dimensional and predictable. #3 Stretch the field I
am admittedly not the biggest Brandon Bridge cheerleader but I’ll give him
credit for being smart enough to realize that throwing it deep to your
playmakers once in a while is a good idea. If all you are going to do is 8 yard
passes (especially on 2nd and 10) then we might as well save
Roosevelt and Carter’s salary because they aren’t needed here. The famous Kevin
Glenn dink and dunk only works if you occasionally stretch the field to back
the defense off. I think we need 28 points minimum from our offense to have a
fighting chance in this.
As for the defense… well
just try not to embarrass yourselves too much. As painful as it was to watch
them last week, at least they managed to force a lot of FGs. I hate being this
negative but I realistically think that's the best we can hope for. Jennings will
be back and I guarantee they will want to showcase what the combo of his arm
and Chris Williams’ speed can do. I think we need to do 2 things to give us a
chance given that my assumption is we will be giving up a lot of passing yards.
First we need to not be such wussy babies in the trenches. BC’s O-line is not
that good. It’s one of their few weaknesses. Rather than making them look like
all-stars by sending 3 or 4 to go hug them gently for a bit, let’s attack them and expose the weakness. Minter
is out which means we likely go with an all Canadian interior, not that it
matters much as our interior overall is mediocre at best (certainly an issue).
We need pressure on Jennings and we need him to have to throw quick. If he has
time, his receivers will obliterate us. The second thing we need to do is not
get bullied on the ground. This certainly starts up front but as a unit the 200
rush yards we gave up last week is an embarrassment even by our low standards.
We need to plug that up.
I am maintaining my
conviction that until the Riders prove otherwise, unless they are playing an
East team at Mosaic then bet against them. I would love if they defied
expectations. If our offense is as potent as it has been at
home then I think we have a legitimate chance. But I won’t go as far as to
predict victory. Possible is not probable.
BC by 10…. But the good
news is I expect a first half TD from the Riders so that’s progress.
Monday, August 7, 2017
Monday Morning Sentimonies: Road Kill
Riders 15 - Lions 30
About the time Crezdon Butler bounced off the goal posts we should have realized it was not going to be our night. Actually about the time we saw we had to play on the road (against a western team to boot) we should have realized it was not going to be our night. Yet again this team's complete and utter inability to play like anything but crap on the road was on full display. The result was a predicable and painful to watch loss. At this point it seems that our best odds of making the playoffs are by relocating to the East division.
There's probably not enough words or time for me to fully describe how brutal our offense was. In 3 road games (excluding garbage time), our offense has produced a total of 2 TDs. I'm not going to bother wading into the whole QB controversy thing but based on the our season so far I would leave Glenn at home next road trip. He plays great at home, but on the road evidently the travel schedules messes with his Matlock time and he shows up to the game useless. His eyes apparently could not see more than 6 yards down field as that's as far as he attempted passes... even on 2nd and 10. Now by no means am I putting our offensive issues all on Glenn. It would help if our receivers could catch the ball and maintain possession. It would help if we had better protection. It would also help if our offensive game plan wasn't devised by a 4 year old on a etch a sketch. Glenn was getting killed in the pocket. Everyone could see that. Should we run the ball to ease the pressure? Nope. Should we stretch the defense by throwing it up to our playmakers? Nope. Should we move Glenn's launch point by rolling him out away from pressure? Nope. The best offensive plan is keeping him stationary and attempting the same passes that didn't work all night. Genius.
Since the QB controversy is already raging in this province. Allow me to address Bridge... he threw up a couple hail mary's in garbage time that panned out. Had BC's defense not been nursing a 30 point lead he doesn't score that easy. Though to his credit, Bridge seemed to be the only guy to think that maybe toss it up to Duron was a good play. Glenn is the guy until Banjo Bowl... if the playoffs are a pipe dream by then, then play Bridge and return Glenn to his annual place on the trading block.
The defense was weird to me. They were softer than 3 ply toilet paper (allowing 500 yards and an embarrassing 200+ rushing yards). I mean they couldn't stop anything. But as if in homage to Richie Hall to mostly kept the Lions out of endzone (when they weren't bouncing off goal posts). Did they play good? No but with all the field goals they forced they would have given us a chance if we had a competent offense. I don't like the fact that we made a porous BC O-line look like an impenetrable wall. Instead of attacking one of their few weak points we were content to rush 3 maybe 4 if we were lucky. Those rare times we dialed up the pressure I swear our players were doing a Scott Gordon homage and running directly at opposing blockers rather than towards a gap.
The end result is something that probably hurts us to admit but at this point we are unquestionably the 5th best team in the West. Playoffs require us to be at least the 4th best team and we have a long way to go before that is a possibility.
Other random thoughts:
- Christion Jones showed a little bit of spark on his few returns.
- Butler (an NFL vet) had much to adjust to in coming to the CFL, count "goal post in different place" among those lessons
- Part of me did enjoy Kevin Glenn calling out TSN for talking about a QB controversy. The other part of me wanted him to shut up and quit smiling until he did something productive.
- Rob Bagg looked like Getzlaf out there. Dropping the routine passes and snagging one he probably should not have.
- At first the illegal kickoff call confused me but then I read up on it (you should try that as an alternative to outrage). To get possession the player who knocks the ball out must have his feet in bounds. Roosevelt was in the air and did not land in bounds, therefore no possession.
- Van Gylswyk will probably be looking to Tonya Harding Crapigna after getting next to no actual kicking attempts in that game after waiting all this time for a chance.
About the time Crezdon Butler bounced off the goal posts we should have realized it was not going to be our night. Actually about the time we saw we had to play on the road (against a western team to boot) we should have realized it was not going to be our night. Yet again this team's complete and utter inability to play like anything but crap on the road was on full display. The result was a predicable and painful to watch loss. At this point it seems that our best odds of making the playoffs are by relocating to the East division.
There's probably not enough words or time for me to fully describe how brutal our offense was. In 3 road games (excluding garbage time), our offense has produced a total of 2 TDs. I'm not going to bother wading into the whole QB controversy thing but based on the our season so far I would leave Glenn at home next road trip. He plays great at home, but on the road evidently the travel schedules messes with his Matlock time and he shows up to the game useless. His eyes apparently could not see more than 6 yards down field as that's as far as he attempted passes... even on 2nd and 10. Now by no means am I putting our offensive issues all on Glenn. It would help if our receivers could catch the ball and maintain possession. It would help if we had better protection. It would also help if our offensive game plan wasn't devised by a 4 year old on a etch a sketch. Glenn was getting killed in the pocket. Everyone could see that. Should we run the ball to ease the pressure? Nope. Should we stretch the defense by throwing it up to our playmakers? Nope. Should we move Glenn's launch point by rolling him out away from pressure? Nope. The best offensive plan is keeping him stationary and attempting the same passes that didn't work all night. Genius.
Since the QB controversy is already raging in this province. Allow me to address Bridge... he threw up a couple hail mary's in garbage time that panned out. Had BC's defense not been nursing a 30 point lead he doesn't score that easy. Though to his credit, Bridge seemed to be the only guy to think that maybe toss it up to Duron was a good play. Glenn is the guy until Banjo Bowl... if the playoffs are a pipe dream by then, then play Bridge and return Glenn to his annual place on the trading block.
The defense was weird to me. They were softer than 3 ply toilet paper (allowing 500 yards and an embarrassing 200+ rushing yards). I mean they couldn't stop anything. But as if in homage to Richie Hall to mostly kept the Lions out of endzone (when they weren't bouncing off goal posts). Did they play good? No but with all the field goals they forced they would have given us a chance if we had a competent offense. I don't like the fact that we made a porous BC O-line look like an impenetrable wall. Instead of attacking one of their few weak points we were content to rush 3 maybe 4 if we were lucky. Those rare times we dialed up the pressure I swear our players were doing a Scott Gordon homage and running directly at opposing blockers rather than towards a gap.
The end result is something that probably hurts us to admit but at this point we are unquestionably the 5th best team in the West. Playoffs require us to be at least the 4th best team and we have a long way to go before that is a possibility.
Other random thoughts:
- Christion Jones showed a little bit of spark on his few returns.
- Butler (an NFL vet) had much to adjust to in coming to the CFL, count "goal post in different place" among those lessons
- Part of me did enjoy Kevin Glenn calling out TSN for talking about a QB controversy. The other part of me wanted him to shut up and quit smiling until he did something productive.
- Rob Bagg looked like Getzlaf out there. Dropping the routine passes and snagging one he probably should not have.
- At first the illegal kickoff call confused me but then I read up on it (you should try that as an alternative to outrage). To get possession the player who knocks the ball out must have his feet in bounds. Roosevelt was in the air and did not land in bounds, therefore no possession.
- Van Gylswyk will probably be looking to Tonya Harding Crapigna after getting next to no actual kicking attempts in that game after waiting all this time for a chance.
Friday, August 4, 2017
Riders vs. Lions: Road Test
As much as I
have enjoyed basking in the warm fuzzy feelings of last week’s win, here’s a
hard dose of reality. After a relatively soft opening schedule, we now enter 5
straight games against Western rivals. To legitimately have a shot at the
playoffs we need to go at least 3-2 over these 5 games. To accomplish that we
will need to do 2 things we haven’t done this season. 1) Beat a west team. 2)
Win on the road. First chance to accomplish that comes Saturday as we travel to
BC for an evening game against the 4-2 Lions.
At first
blush this game is concerning. BC is 4 and 2 and their only loses have come
against Edmonton. They have a full arsenal of offensive weapons that has scored
more offensive TDs than anyone. On defense they boast a number of big name playmakers.
And they are coached by the all-time winningest coach in CFL history (who is
already standing halfway on the field in anticipation of the game). We also
haven’t won in BC since 2014 (though I guess you could say that about a lot of
places). But while I’m not going into
this game with a ton of confidence, based on what I’ve seen from BC this year I
do think we have a chance (and not just if the Lions forget the game is on
Saturday and have to forfeit).
A big key is
this game will be the Riders’ offense not playing like crap on the road (that’s
some top notch analysis I know). At home we are lighting up the score sheet
averaging 38 points per game… on the road we are averaging just 13. We have
just 2 totals TDs on the road this season… 2. We also have been starting super
slow on the road with just 10 first half points over 2 games. That kind of
output simply will not cut it (unless we convince the league to let us play
Hamilton every week). BC is beat up in
the secondary (with TJ Lee out long-term) so there will be favourable match-ups
to be had with our receivers. The tendency would be to want to keep Carter’s
monstrous momentum going and I agree with keeping him involved but if BC is
keying on Carter we need to be prepared to attack with Roosevelt, Carter,
Holley or even one of the Canadians. Glenn needs to be effective early and not
create turnovers. We need another strong week from Marshall. Elimimian always
makes running tough but the Lions are allowing 5.3 yards per carry (top in the
CFL) so a strong runner like Marshall should be able to chew up the yards and
take pressure off Glenn. Much like last week I don’t see our defense winning us
this game so the offense will likely need 25 points minimum to give us a
chance.
Defensively
I think this will be our toughest challenge to date. There are just so many
legit weapons to have to contain. Jeremiah Johnson has a TD in every game this
season. Arceneaux is one of the top WRs in the league (though he has been
slowed by a knee injury of late). If you manage to keep both of those in check
then they can hit you with Moore, Rainey and Burnham. And as if that isn’t
enough, all signs point to Chris Williams making his BC debut. I recommend
starting to pray to the deity of your choosing as divine intervention may be
needed. But BC has 2 weaknesses that we can hopefully exploit. The first and
most glaring is that their O-line couldn’t block an inanimate bowl of fruit,
let alone a living breathing defender. It seems the Lions have finally clued
into the fact that David Foucault is a train wreck at guard and they will be
sitting him. Even so, the BC O-line is not very good. All the great receivers
in the world won’t help you if you’re on your ass. If there was ever a game not
to bother with 3 man rush, this is it. Attack that line and make life miserable
for Lulay. Last week the BC offense sputtered until finally gave into the fact
that they could not block and started calling plays where blocking wasn’t
required (i.e. screens) so we need to watch for that adjustment. The other
weakness is Lulay himself. While he has admittedly been playing great, he’s
throwing a ton of picks. He has 6 in just 3 games. Now the issue here is that
we have the least takeaways in the league. We have just 2 INTs this season and
one was essentially by accident. That needs to change. I see us struggling to
defend so a turnover or 2 will be needed if we want to give our offense a
chance. Odd stat for you: the Riders have allowed the 2nd least
passing yards this year (I would have bet money against this being true).
Though we have allowed the most passing TDs. I guess it means we play
reasonably well but when we screw up it’s a big screw up.
The last thing worth mentioning is kicking. Tyler Crapigna is
out so Quinn van Gylswyk draws in for his second career game. He went 1 for 3
in his lone appearance last year so let’s hope he fares better this time
around.
If you had asked me 2 weeks ago I would have placed our odds of
victory at “laughable” but between BC’s injuries and crap O-line, I now upgrade
our odds of victory to “in the realm of possibilities”. I expect a close game
but honestly until I see evidence that we can play well on the road and contend
with a West top end West team, I’m not about to expect us to win.
BC by a long passing TD to Burnham late in the fourth.
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Explaining How Chris Jones Uses the 6 Game IR
You’ve probably noticed that Chris Jones is quick to put
players on the 6 game injury list. It’s always concerning to see people placed
on the 6 game, particularly when the fans aren’t clear on what the injury was
(i.e. Crapigna and Love today). But… Jones also pulls many of them of the 6 game IR
early (i.e. Muamba, Holley, Rodgers and now Mrabure). While many of the things Jones has done
in his tenure are sketchy/questionable at best, this is something that I
actually think makes a ton of sense. Here’s why:
Quick rules summary: Players on the 1 game IR have their
salary count against the cap but are allowed to practice. Players on the 6 game
IR do not have their salary count against the cap but are not allowed to
practice until 2 weeks before there are eligible to return. Players can be
pulled from the 6 game early but then their salary counts towards the cap
retroactively. Teams get 2 exceptions that allow them to pull people from the 6
game early and not have the salary count. Such players must have been on the 6
game for more than 6 games (i.e. players spends 6 games on the IR, and then is
placed on the IR for 6 more games, they can be pulled after game 8 for example,
penalty free).
So salary-wise, there is no difference between having a
player on the 1 Game IR for 3 games or placing them on the 6 game IR and
pulling them early. The only difference is that on the 6 game a player can’t
practice (which is a non-issue if the player is legitimately hurt). So by placing
a legitimately hurt player on the 6 game Jones is actually preparing for a
worst case scenario. If all goes well and the player recovers quickly, they get
pulled early. Salary-wise it’s as if they spent the time on the 1 game. No harm
no foul. So you might ask why bother if there’s no difference?
Well, what if the injury is expected to take 2 weeks to heal
but actually takes 6 or the player suffers a setback? If the player were on the
1 game, you would have to eat the salary. Under Jones’ set up, if the injury
takes longer, he’s covered and the salary does not count to the cap. Salary-wise, it’s better to put them on the 6
game and pull early than it is to put them on the 1 game and find out later
it’s a longer term injury. It makes a ton of sense and I think all coaches
should do the same.
So our 1 game IR isn’t actually for injured people (I’m sure
you’re all shocked). It’s for people we want to pay full salary and be able to
practice but we can’t fit them on the roster (i.e. Zver, van Gylswyk). The 6
game (previously 9 game) used to be where you’d stash players but now with the
rule tweak that they can’t practice (at least not when league officials are
looking wink wink) it’s tough to develop players stashed there. That is why
Zver, a player we want to develop, is not on the 6 game even though I doubt he
plays this season. We need him to practice to develop.
So what may seem like roster shenanigans by Jones is
actually just him maximizing the teams benefit from the existing rules (though
I’m sure some shenanigans are mixed in there too).