Monday Morning Sentimonies: Are We Better?

There was much rejoicing in Rider Nation when Craig Dickenson was shown the door and replaced by Corey Mace. After two seasons that ended in absolute misery there was hope on the horizon. And the early results were extremely positive. But after not winning a game in two calendar months (also known as pulling a Dickenson here in Saskatchewan) its fair to ask, are we actually on the road recovery or are we still stuck in an endless cycle of misery? 

Side note: Being a Rider fan in general is a commitment to an endless cycle of misery. Just follow the team history through 1956, 1972, 1976, most of the 80s and 90s, 2004 and 2009. Better yet, don't go back and remember those. For today I’m focused solely on the recent history. 

To give a clearer indication on whether we have progressed under Mace let’s look at the the statistical numbers between 2023 and 2024:

 

After 13 games	2023	2024	Difference
Wins	6	5.5	-0.5
Avg Margin of Defeat	18.7	5.9	+12.8
Points For	275	333	+58
TDs	25	33	+8
Pass yds	3479	3671	+192
Rush Yds	1084	1023	-61
Sacks Allowed	39	24	-15
Points Allowed	389	330	-59
Yds Allowed	4642	4552	-90
Sacks	27	31	+4
Turnover Ratio	-7	14	+21
Penalties yds	839	852	+13

 

A few observations: 

In terms of winning we are about the same. But the average margin of defeat shows we are a much more competitive team. Last year when we lost, we tended to get embarrassed. Like finding out at the exact moment your pants fall down that you forgot to wear underwear type of embarrassed. This year we are hanging with every team we play. 

Offense is showing improvement. I would argue that’s more to do with QB play than OC at this point. Turns out having capable QBs like Harris and Patterson improves your offensive firepower over Dolegala and Fine. Most telling for me is that we are scoring more TDs. Those had almost become an extinct species in previous years. The other big thing is sacks being way down. When you put that in context of having almost every starter on the 6 game and playing basically a new combination every week that is amazing. I know improved QB play helps the line but don’t tell me coaching doesn’t impact things. OL Coach Edwin Harrison may be one of our best offseason additions. The one negative is there that has been no improvement in our run game. 

I was most surprised by the defense. Obviously I expected turnovers and sack to be up but given our complete inability to stop the pass I was a bit surprised to see we are allowing less yards. I must have successfully repressed how bad last season was. To really understand our D you have to break it down. D-line gives you reason for a ton of hope. Micah is playing like man half his age. Cox and Carney are stepping up. Also remember that our best lineman in Lanier remains our as do Albright and Dabire (who are important rotation guys). Linebackers are steady and solid. They quietly take care of business for the most part. Secondary is where the concern is Milligan is playing at an MOP level. Sayles is a reliable starter more often than not. The rest of that secondary is a liability more often than not. And you can’t even blame the issues on injury… these are our anticipated starters. There is no miracle cure sitting on the IR waiting to heal up and save the day. 

On the whole, I hope this breakdown helps alleviate a bit of the doom and gloom. Don’t get me wrong, losing still sucks and we need to start seeing some improvement. But we are definitely better than last year even if the standings don’t reflect it. There are many valid criticisms of Mace at this point but he does have this team trending in a positive direction.