Riders vs. Lions: Road Kill

You may remember that prior to the last matchup against BC I titled my post "Beatdown Coming" and predicted we would get whooped. We of course played one of our better games of the season and snuck out a big win. So dare I risk making the same mistake twice?

You damn right I do! We suck on the road. So much so that our odds of victory are on par with the odds of Micah Awe getting suspended. I mean sure, its technically possible, but not very likely based on recent history. The only team with a worse road record than us is Ottawa (who we just go embarrassed by). We lose road game by an average score of 31 to 16. If you only count the most recent 5 road games (i.e. exclude anything that happened in Alberta) that jumps to 36 to 14.

BC is 5-1 at home and trying to clinch a home playoff game/chase down Winnipeg. They are also… what’s the word I’m looking for?... good. They are mostly healthy and getting Dominque “Busta” Rhymes back into the line-up. While we do get Dalke back, we are far from healthy. I wouldn’t recommend taking betting advice from an online blogger who dresses in a robe but betting on BC is probably a pretty safe one. I would also bet the over on BC's runningback's rush yards (don't even care what the line is, take the over).

Jake Dolegala needs to figure it out on the road. He seems to do okay at Mosaic but on the road he goes to hell. He has a decent 9 TD to 4 INT ratio overall but in his road games that ratio is just 2 TDs and 3 INTs. Frankie Hickson appears to be a guy who could really help him out but expect another great first quarter followed by the run game becoming an afterthought. Bane also appears to have become an afterthought. If we have any illusions of winning I think both Hickson and Bane need to be fed the ball. I know it makes me sound like the Szarka lovers I used to openly mock but dammit I think we should give Betrand-Hudon a few carries. If nothing else he will set a physical tone.

Defensively, I think we will all be happy with pretty much anything above laughable incompetence. I would like to see if Albright was a one hit wonder or if he’s yet another of O’Day long line of great D-line finds. Dalke back at safety should help with physicality. He can stop the run on his own or make other guys tackle any better but every little bit helps at this point. When flustered, Vernon Adams will hand out turnovers like he started a bakery and that’s our only chance of hanging in this one is a few takeaways. 

I’m not even going to pretend to be optimistic in this one. We are going to lose. Likely by multiple TDs. This team always looks about as excited for a road game as you would be for a colonoscopy. By the time the final whistle blows in BC some of you may be wishing you’d opted for a colonoscopy over watching the game. 

BC by 18.