Monday Morning Sentimonies: Dickenson vs. Jones Part 2

Last bye week I did a feature comparing where the 2019 Riders were at as compared to the 2108 ones under Chris Jones. Given that we are just coming off our last bye week and about the start the final third of the regular season I thought it would be good to check back in on that comparison. This idea for a Monday post narrowly beat our one where I was going to do an ode to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and just have like 25 gifs of people choking.

After 12 Games	2018	2019	Difference	% Change
Wins	7	8	+1
Offense
Points	303	320	+17	+6%
Offensive TDs	15	30	+15	+100%
Passing Yards	2509	3116	+607	+24%
Rushing Yards	1314	1343	+29	+2%
Sacks allowed	14	23	+9	+64%
Turnovers	23	18	-5	-22%
Defense
Points allowed	303	278	-25	-8%
Passing Yds allowed	3146	2701	-445	-14%
Rushing Yds allowed	1118	1140	+22	+2%
Sacks	29	36	+7	+24%
Turnovers	31	15	-16	-52%
Special Teams
Punt Return Avg	13.8	8.5	-5.3	-38%
Opponent Punt Ret Avg	8.7	17.3	+8.6	+99%
Kickoff return avg	23.8	27.7	+3.9	+16%
Opponent Kickoff Ret Avg	20.3	18.9	-1.4	-7%
Net punt avg	34.6	35.5	+0.9	+3%
Penalties	94	130	+36	+38%
Players Dressed	63	64	+1	+2%

The first thing of note is that we currently have one more win than this time last season. The little extra cushion is good because last year we went 5-1 down the stretch and I think our schedule is tougher than last year. Last year the big key was that we were 7-3 against western opponents. We currently sit at 3-2 with 5 division games left. Our odds of a second consecutive home playoff game ride on winning at least 3 of those… that and hoping the Bombers continue to blow big leads.

Offensively the numbers are obviously way up. Though take that with a grain of salt because saying we are way better on offense this year is like saying someone is way taller than Weston Dressler. I think a big key has been limiting the turnovers. Sacks allowed are up but that’s because we are actually running plays this year that may result in a sack instead of exclusively running inside runs and hitch screens. We’ve seen how hot and cold this offensive can be so consistency will be the key going forward. We can’t afford to regress back to those 1 offensive TD games.

I continue to be impressed by how our defense is grading out. Its weird to me because to the eyes it would seem last year’s D was better. But if you exclude turnovers and defensive TDs, this year’s D is actually performing better. Less points allowed, less passing yards and more sacks. Jason Shivers is not as creative or unorthodox as his mentor but he’s shown the ability to call a solid D, even with rotating parts along the D-line.

I’ve already spoken at great length about our special teams. Kickoff stuff is great. Punting stuff is a stress inducing rollercoaster ride. The pace of improvement has been disappointingly slow (especially when our head coach’s specialty is special teams) but it is improving. I think Chad Geter is a big boost to our coverage unit. I still struggle with how we suck so much at punt returns when we are so good at kickoff returns. I just hope that a certain punter doesn’t take issue with my “made up stats” that don’t attest to his greatness.

The one thing that is super concerning to me is the massive increase in penalties. Its not even subtle anymore. I would have lost money if you would have bet me that Chris Jones would run a more disciplined operation (though I guess most of his “creativeness” came off the field). This is one area that needs to be cleaned up in a hurry. I notice it the most in the secondary but it is happening across the whole team. In 2018 we took 137 penalties total, we already have 130 through just 12 games. Dickenson needs to reign the guys in a bit.

I honestly did not expect us to be where we are now coming into the season. I definitely didn’t think we’d be where we are after Collaros got Lawrenced (yes he’s now done it so many times that it qualifies to use as a verb…).