Riders vs. Bombers: Labour Day Classic 2023

Going to kick off my annual epic Labour Day post by doing a bit of throwback. You may notice that the tag line for this blog is “Poems, predictions and politically incorrect humour”. Been a while since I released my inner bard. So today let’s start off with a Labour Day song…

Sung to the tune of American Pie

A long, long time ago, I can still remember

How Labour Day used to make me smile

And I knew that no matter what

We would whoop the Bombers' butt

And man we'd so be happy for a while

 

But 2021 made me bitter

That’s when things went to the shitter

Collaros suddenly not hurt

Their will they did assert

I didn’t cry but damn sure swore

When I saw the final score

But many a drink I did pour

The day the Labour Day streak was no more

 

So, why, why, Coach Dickenson. Guy!

Need a favour on the day of Labour, need a victory cry.

Want all us boys to be drinking all of the rye

Singin', "I hope Bomber fans don’t give me pink eye

I hope Bomber fans don’t give me pink eye"

Now for two years we've been on the losing side

Not getting to show our Rider pride

But that's not how it used to be

When we won games no matter who

With wins by Butler, Crandel and Bishop (who was poo)

And a roar that came from you and me

Oh and while we’re talking about Loser’Peg

They're inbred hicks with bowlegs

They have very low IQ

Because their cousins they do screw

But now Colloras beats us again and again

And it makes me yearn for way back when

The day the Labour Day streak was no more

 

So, why, why, Coach Dickenson. Guy!

Need a favour on the day of Labour, need a victory cry.

Want all us boys to be drinking all of the rye

Singin', "I hope Bomber fans don’t give me pink eye

I hope Bomber fans don’t give me pink eye"

Seriously, I miss the days when we could just count on a Rider win on Labour Day. We won when we were good. We won when we sucked. We won 14 out of 15 prior to 2021. The Bombers would come, we’d beat them, make fun of their fans and go party the night away. It was a great annual tradition. 

Last 2 years have been rough. This year is not exactly instilling confidence to break the streak and restore order in the universe. Its Collaros vs. Dolegala. They have scored a league high 36 offensive TDs, twice as many as we have. They have the best RB and I would argue the best receiving trio in Lawler, Schoen and Demski (god does Demski always seem to god off against us). Their defense has allowed the least offensive points and the second least yards. While I think their age is starting to show, they remain a very good team.

But Labour Day magic is a thing so let’s look at how we go about winning.

Gotta slow Collaros down. That O is so good you can’t expect to stop them but you need to slow them. It starts with pressure upfront. For years Winnipeg has had the best tackles in the CFL. This year they have noticeably slipped. Still good but not great. We managed to beat BC because we got a ton of pressure on Adams. We need pressure and hits on Collaros. The other thing you need to stop to slow Winnipeg down is the deep ball. Collaros has 11 TDs on passes over 20 yards which is more than half his total. We cannot get beat deep (I’m looking at you Marshall). Keep it in front of you and you have a chance. Also need to slow Olivera down. That means hitting angry. We looked pissed off in the BC game and imposed our will because we were by far the more physical team. We need that again.

Offensively, can we slow our expectations of Dolegala. This will be his second “real” start. Go back and look at the list of QBs that did great in their first appearance and regressed in their second once teams had game film. Against a D as good as Winnipeg, he will regress. The only question is how much. Bombers can be run on… most teams just usually end up trailing and abandon the run. They allow the 2^nd most yards per carry. Feeding Morrow is a good way to help Dolegala. I would also recommend Dolegala avoid throwing in Houston’s direction. He already has 7 picks and I bet Jake could pad those numbers. Be smart with the ball and rely on your playmakers like Bane, Emilus and Baker. Can’t treat him like a baby (Jake is going to need to make some big plays) but we also want to be a bit cautious and not turn the ball over. Winnipeg is the best at the league at generating turnovers. Gotta find the right balance

Last time we played Winnipeg they scored a massive TD on special teams. That can’t happen again. We all need to channel our inner TJ Brunson and impose our physicality in all aspects of the game, especially special teams. Be nice if Alford could be impactful again, though a lot of that is on the blocking (or lack thereof) he receives. 

If you are betting money, you should probably bet on the Bombers. They remain the top dog in the West and we are far from that. But they also lost to both Ottawa and BC who we both beat. So I’m saying there’s a chance.

I’m choosing blind faith in a Labour Day Miracle. Like a Rocky Butler, Michael Bishop level Labour Day miracle. We should probably lose and I’m probably setting myself up to drown my sorrows in rye but dammit if I don't believe a packed house can cheer us onto to another upset victory…

Riders by a Schaefer-Baker TD.