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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.
3 comments:
A good sign for the Riders. Something for Riderville to cheer for at last. Stating the obvious, the next 3 games are probably going to let us know if we're a playoff contender - two on the road. Edmonton is really banged up but won't be easy. Losing Sewell & Howard REALLY hurts. Can't really say much bad about the Riders this time around but my thoughts are the same as yours - dress another DB. How bad are we if Carter is our backup? Don't know if you heard Wally's comments shown on TSN prior to game time but he was NOT impressed with his team's focus. Weren't ready to play - go figure. Take Riders lightly you're 5-3 & maybe 5-4 next week when Stamps come to town. It can turn quickly. In a nutshell this is how I see it with the 3 game set coming up. We sit while the other 4 play each other. Two will go another game up on Riders. The best case scenario is Edm & Calgary win. I don't see Riders catching Calgary & with 7-0 record, Esks almost have a crossover locked up - 8 wins would have done it last year. They don't need much to go 10-8 or better, injuries or not. As long as Reilly's healthy they're a tough out. So should the Alberta teams win, that brings BC 5-4 & Wpg @ 5-3 closer with 2 big games with Bombers coming up. It looks to me like Riders need to win both & get the tiebreaker. Lose all 3 & go 3-7 & Wpg @ 7 wins & likely all the teams with 7 or more, it's pretty much over. They only have 3 games left with Cal & Edm in West after that so it would be tough to climb out of the cellar.
Was a very good win for the team, lots of positives however lets hope they have learned from there 1st bye week, as this is playoffs next three games.
Going into Edmonton were they dont play well and back to back with the Bombers. Needing some help this week and hope Eskimos keep there streak going.
Looking ahead I would like to see the quick passing game continue(helped a lot against BC) and still need to pound the ball bit more.
Thought overall coverage was a lot better(not because of Gaineys game) but like Prohpet mentioned, the defense actually made some plays.
We are better than last year and now this is biggest step on August 25 to show Riderville and Cfl that gap is closing.
As a side note I would like to see Bagg get more looks
D in YEG
I saw the Wally thing after the game. Guess the winningest coach in CFL history knows what he's talking about.
I've said from the beginning that if we don't go 3-2 minimum over this 5 game west team schedule we are done. That means we need 2 of our next 3. Every injury Edmonton sustains improves our odds but that will be a tough one.
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