Monday Morning Sentimonies: War Of Attrition

Riders 29 – RedBlacks 16

In a very un-Rider-like move, the Green and White seized opportunity on Saturday. With a chance to move into 2^nd place and all but bury the Elks, I, like many, expected the Riders to needlessly overcomplicate things and lose. Instead they won in fairly convincing fashion. This despite enduring even more injuries leaving us with a starting offense that would be questionable by pre-season standards.

In the 4^th quarter there were maybe 4 people starting on offense that we actually intended to be starting. I can assure even the back-up plans did not contemplate a possibility where Alford, Duncan-Busby, Hunchak and Hudon were not only playing significant snaps but being relied upon to contribute offensively. But such was the world we found ourselves in with all the injuries. Bane sadly blew his knee out just as he was starting to show reliable hands and again. Armstead got hurt. Baker and Emilus were briefly out. Thank god they were able to finish the game because next on the depth chart may have been seeing if Micah could play RB or whether Jorgen Hus could run routes. It did not help that out first half offense seemed to rely exclusively on Harris having his receivers run murder routes across the middle.

But credit, where credit is due. They dug deep and got it done. Duncan-Busby stepped up and contributed a lot of yards. Johnson continues to be a valuable receiver. And my man Bertrand-Hudon (aka french Szarka) stepped up and helped seal things in the 4^th. The seas parted on that TD and the only question was whether he would run out of gas before the goal line. Offense settle for FGs too many times but in a game where it was clear the defense had things handled, they did not turn the ball over, they put together drives to keep the D rested and they put up close to 30 points. Again this was an offense featuring more players who should be one our practice roster or unemployed on their couches than actual starters.

It had been a while so it was nice to see the return of a defense that can make a difference. They are the reason we won. 3 interceptions, 2 sacks and just 3 points allowed through the first 3 quarters. The garbage time TD the RedBlacks scored with 2 mins to go really masks how dominant the D was and how ineffective Ottawa’s offense was. It had been a while since we had seen them dominate like that. To the untrained eye you might have even thought you saw Lokombo make a play. I assure you that purely by accident. A) he should have made that pick but B) he was very much in the right place purely by accident and just as surprised as the rest of us when the ball arrived.

It was another well rounded team effort with special teams also doing their job. Lauther was perfect. Alford chipped in a massive return. Kick cover unit was strong.

We very much needed this win and the team stepped up and delivered. The way our depth is stepping up this season is almost unbelievable. Amazingly after taking 2 months off from this whole winning thing, we now find ourselves in a position to host a playoff game. This is a dramatic turn of events because just 2 weeks ago we were all doing our best Jim Mora impersonation: “Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game.”

The way the injuries are mounting though is definitely concerning. We finally got some bodies back in Lanier and Brammer and evidently we are in a 1 for 1 trade system as it appears to have cost us Bane and Armstead. As long as Emilus and Baker are okay then we should be able to survive but we already had to sign Hunchak off the couch and if you think there are any Canadian WRs left out there who are even as good as Hunchak I have some bad news for you. We are one injury away from my phone ringing to see what I am up to next weekend.

For now though, I am definitely going to savour this second win in a row. One more all but locks us into the playoffs. For those of you that have forgotten what that is, they actually do let the good teams keep playing after the end of the regular season.

Other random thoughts:

-        In a game where everyone was getting hurt I’m still shocked that Miles Brown did not somehow inadvertently injure Masoli.

-        I fully support Ben Majors embracing this expectation that he entertain us when he talks on the mic. My only suggestion this week would have been that one that final play with all the ejections he should have started by apologizing for taking for long to only come away with 2 penalties with 6 seconds left.

-        Baldonado is quietly becoming a pretty reliable contributor on the D-line.