Monday Morning Sentimonies: Ariba!

 

I am currently laying on a beach in Mexico, most likely with a drink in my hand. That or I'm chasing the lizard that made off with my wallet. Either way I am on vacation and my sentimonies and Rider Prophet Awards will return next week.

Fans’ Choice Douchebag of the Year 2024

Next week we will award the 16^th Annual Rider Prophet Awards. The cornerstone of those awards is the Fans’ Choice Douchebag of the Year. The annual opportunity for you the fans to cast your vote and recognize outstanding achievements in the field of Douchebaggery.

Cast your vote on Twitter @RiderProphet. I also accept write in votes in the Comments below:

Here are this year’s nominees:

Chad Kelly – There is almost nothing (short of murder) that gets a suspension of more than 2 games. Chad Kelly blew by that marker with his overly inappropriate conduct towards a female member of the training staff.

John Murphy – I maintain that as bad as Kelly’s conduct was, its just as bad that the front office knew about the concerns of the female staff member and not only did nothing but essentially told her to not create trouble. John Murphy is no stranger to douchy behaviour so should we expect anything more?

CFL Command Centre – You know things are bad when the League office has to publicly comment on the state of things. While I could point to many reasons for the this nomination, I think we can all agree that if I just mention the end of the Ottawa game that people’s boil will instantly boil.

Miles Brown – I include Brown in an effort to be inclusive and neutral. I personally don’t have any issue with him but he did injure 3 QBs in a matter of just over a month. I am guessing there are some people he won’t be getting Christmas cards from.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Third Time’s A Charm

Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather have the season end with the Riders celebrating a Grey Cup… but get to watch Winnipeg choke has gotta be the second best ending to a season there is. Every, damn, year. And it never gets old.

To me this one is even sweeter. Unlike previous years where it was a close game down the final seconds and a blocked kick or a late TD were the difference, the Bombers just got embarrassed in this one… by Nick Arbuckle. That’s gotta hurt.

A few random thoughts on the game:

-        Ben Majors having to stop the coin toss because no one had called heads or tails yet was a delightful way to start the evening.

-        In the end Winnipeg was done in by the same thing that plagued them all season… terrible offense. The only thing the Bombers seemed to avoid more than the endzone was Grey Cup wins. Even before lacerating his finger Collaros hadn’t done anything.

-        Collaros’ pre game F-bomb filled speech featured him saying “leave no f’n doubt”. In the last 3 Grey Cups Collaros has 0 TDs and 6 INTs. I guess he lived up to his word and left no doubt that he chokes in championship.

-        I knew coming in that Toronto’s D would have the advantage over the Bombers O. But the Bombers had a legit good defense and other than Willie Jefferson lighting it up, they generally got outplayed by Nick Arbuckle. That was a surprise.

-        In the wake of the laughter being directed at the Bombers some butt hurt Bomber fans defaulted to the tired old comeback of “4 Cups in 100 years”… well be that as it may here’s a stat for my friends in blue and gold: In the last 30 years the Bombers have the same number of Cups as the Riders. In the last 20 years, the Bombers have the same number of Cups as the Riders.

-        In terms of regular season success, the last 5 years by the Bombers have been phenomenal no doubt about it. But in the last 3 years they have as many Cups as the Las Vegas Posse. That’s not really reason for bragging.

-        Despite being about 30 years older and the wrong gender than the target audience, I thought the Jonas Bothers were OK at halftime.  

-        I am almost offended that Dinwiddie won despite making so many obvious coaching errors. He should have gone for the TD from the 1 rather than taking the FG. He should have gone for 2 after the Brisset TD to make it a two score game.  

-        Mike O’Shea should have been kicked in the crotch for challenging in garbage time. 

That brings an end to another CFL season. But don’t go anywhere, we  have coverage to get you through the entire offseason, starting with the Rider Prophet Awards (voting kicks off tomorrow).

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Embarrassing Ending

Riders 22 – Bombers 38

My sentimonies today are going to be split into two distinct sections. One will be my sentimonies on the game. The other will be my sentimonies on the season. They are very different view points with very different levels of rage. 

On the game…

What an absolute utter embarrassment. Just pure shit. No one on that team showed up ready. We were outcoached, outplayed, outworked. Every single person in that locker room from the coaches to the players should be embarrassed about that effort with a chance at the Grey Cup on the line. I won’t go into detail but here are a smattering of the thoughts that were running through my head as my swearing at the TV slowly turned to silent head shaking:

-        There was overt holding on the first Winnipeg TD drive. Suitor even managed to inadvertently circle the infraction on the replay. Unreal that it was not called.

-        I also thought that Baker made that catch. Yes the ball touched the ground but he had full control at all times.

-        That said, reffing impacted the outcome of the game about as much as the moon cycle and the temperature in Fiji did.

-        We had one solitary effective offensive play… Baker on a hook over the middle. 95% of our offense was just that exact play. Honestly not sure if Mueller had a second page in his playbook.

-        Trevor Harris picked a hell of a game to suddenly suck. He was fixating on receivers, throwing into double coverage, not finding open receivers. Not at all the Harris that got us to this point.  

-        Emilus picked a hell of a game to regress to his midseason butter finger self.

-        Thank you to Korsak for giving us that one fleeting moment of joy.

-        I’m not sure where to start with the issues with our defense. Front 4 got zero pressure and running a soft zone when the QB is not pressured just leads to the easiest game of pitch and catch ever. We staunchly refused to change out approach even as the easiest TDs imaginable kept piling up.

-        Secondary compounded things by just not having a clue. Henderson sucks. Sayles had a rare bad game. It is a slight against out recruiting and coaching if Lokombo is legitimately the best option they could find at safety. He’s an adequate run stopper but is constantly lost in pass coverage. Hardrick on crutches would be more effective out there. 

-        Mace’s strategy was all over the place. I honestly did not hate the call to go for it on 3^rd on our own 24. It was desperation time. But then on the next drive with less time on the clock and in better field position he punted. Make up your mind, if you are going aggressive from the 24 you should be committed to that the rest of the way.

That was a pathetic way to end the season and I hope the memory of that loss fuels all those players and coaches in their offseason work.

But on the season…

As much as that loss hurts (and essentially handing Winnipeg a Grey Cup win over Nick Arbuckle) I have to consider this season a success and be appreciative to the whole team for what they accomplished.

What you saw on Saturday is what we were for 2 straight seasons. We couldn’t win after Labour Day. We did not make the playoffs. We sucked. For a rookie Head Coach I was realistically hoping for a 3^rd place finish and first round playoff exit (like Chamblin delivered in year 1). It may have been a very unconventional way to get there but if you had told me at this time last year that we’d have a home playoff game in 2024 and play in the West final I would have laughed at you and done my best Jim Mora impression. 

Mace raised the bar and got us back to where we should be. His job is far from done but he took some massive steps forward in 2024. He needs to improve if we want to take another step in 2025. His assistant coaches need to improve. This roster needs to be improved. But I give full credit to Mace. After 2 years of just hating Rider football, we got a season with some actual reasons to cheer. 

Saturday sucked… but for once we have reason to believe that next season won’t.

Riders vs. Bombers: West Final 2024

It’s the biggest football game for the Riders since 2021. The two top teams in the West clash on Saturday. The winner gets a plane ticket to Vancouver and a shot at the Grey Cup. The loser gets a plane ticket home and the boos and jeers of opposing fans (and possibly their own). 

Both teams took very different paths to get here. The Bombers started off 2-6 before turning things around and going 8-1 down the stretch on route to a very wind-aided first place finish. The Riders started 5-2, took 2 months of and then finished 4-1 down the stretch. At various points of the season both teams looked destined to miss the playoff completely, finish first place and everything in between. 

For all the momentum and confidence the Riders come into this game with, this will not be easy. We don’t win in Winnipeg (I mean no one in Winnipeg can be considered to be winning but I am talking literally). The last time the Riders won in Winnipeg most of the people in 8^th grade in the Manitoba school system were still in 8^th grade. I think this is the most beatable the Bombers have been since 2018 but they are still a very good team and have no intention of just handing us the game. 

There are a couple ways you could interpret the recent history between these 2 teams depending on your biases. You could rightly argue that the Bombers beat the Riders the last 2 times they played and pretty much anytime we play in Winnipeg. You could also rightly argue that the Riders lost the last 2 games by a combined 7 points and that includes a 5 point loss in Winnipeg when we were forced to start Zerr and Jones at guard. The Bombers allow an average of 20.3 points per game (best in the CFL), we have exceeded that twice. We are also the only team to hang 30 on them in the back half of the season. While the Bombers are rightly favoured, this is not as lopsided a match-up as it may have been in previous years. 

The Bombers' biggest strength is their defense. They are what has powered their turnaround. They are as stingy as they come. Trevor Harris and the offense will have their work cut out for them. I don’t think we need to overcomplicate the game plan though. For as good as that defense is they are #6 against the run. We brought AJ Ouelette in specifically for this, let’s make full use of him. Mix in some Armstead but for all the talk of a dual threat rush attack this is the AJ show with spot appearances by Armstead. We ran just 9 times in the Banjo Bowl loss. That is almost criminal and can't be repeated. But we will have to pass, against the best pass D in the CFL. We will have as good of an OL as we could hope for this time of year (minus Reid) and Harris protects the ball better than anyone. We will likely have to settle for more FGs than I would like but in this one, take the points. Best way to deal with a noisy crowd is to shut them up by scoring.  

Defensively we get to face the Most Okayest Player Nominee (4 TDs and playing on the 7^th ranked offense is not outstanding) and Zach “if you sneeze on me I will cry and drop like I was shot” Collaros. Two things are true about this Winnipeg offense. 1 – It sucks. 7^th in points scored, 8^th in passing, 5^th in sacks allowed. 2 – at any moment an offense featuring Collaros, Olivera and Lawler could go off. In the words of Toby Keith “May not be good as a I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was”. The key comes in shutting down Olivera and putting pressure on Collaros. I am not worried about Olivera rushing. He doesn’t rush against us, no one does. But where he killed us was in check downs and dump passes. We can’t allow easy completions and first downs to him our LBs need to shut that down. We need our front 4 to get pressure. Collaros was sacked more than any QB this season. Mostly we just need to stick true to what got us here. At our core this defense exists to stop the run and force turnovers. That’s how we win Saturday. If we can force turnovers we will win. 

I do think special team could play a role in this. Sergio Catillo missed 13 FGs this season and was the least accurate kicker not named Bede (Bede being headed for the unemployment line this offseason). I have faith in Lauther. I would be curious how much fans Bombers faithful are putting in Sergio. 

At the start of this season I had this team on the Cory Chamblin (or Chamberlain as he prefers to be called) arc. Season 1 is about stabilizing and getting back to the playoffs but year 2 is where things really take off. But as this season has progressed you can’t help but wonder if we are on the Kent Austin arc  instead. 

The Riders have been very successful this fall when I pick them to lose so I am not changing things now. But I will say that I am not just picking them in this space out of superstition. As much as I hate to admit it, I do think the Bombers win. We match up well but Winnipeg has been a house of horrors for us (as it is for its residents). Until I see evidence to the contrary I will be prepping myself to open the consolation rye as opposed to the celebratory rye. Game will be a dramatic back and forth affair that will come down to the 4^th quarter but… 

Bombers by a late Lawler TD.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: That’s It, We’re Going Back to Winnipeg

Riders 28 – Lions 19

I woke up this morning with a pounding head, a queasy stomach and no voice… turns out I was a little excited about our playoff victory and celebrated very enthusiastically.  

What A Game!

The Lions scored on their opening drive. A drive that should have ended on the third play with an interception that we dropped and a drive where I swear there was procedure on BC that got missed. But they scored and drew first blood. But then Sean Whyte (the most accurate kicker in the regular season) doinked the PAT. In retrospect that doink ended any momentum BC had because from that point on we were the better team. They fought hard and stayed in the game but they were chasing the whole time. We tied with game early in the second and never trailed from that point on. 

It boiled down to mistakes and missed opportunities. They made a lot. We made very few. Adams threw 3 INTs (more on that later). Harris had zero turnovers. Their kicker doinked 2 kicks. Ours made all his. In the 4^th quarter they settled for FGs, we scored TDs. 

Trevor Harris was the leader we hoped for when we brought him in last year. In our most important game of the year, he rose to the occasion. Completed 79% of his passes, did not turn the ball over, produced TDs rather than settled for FGs. Hell I don’t recall many 2 and outs. We dominated time of possession and kept our defense rested. Speaking of guys who delivered what we hoped for, this is why we went out and got Ouelette. He’s a physical playoff performer. Emilus was another guy who stepped up. Early in the season I was critical of him because of his inconsistent hands (may have even compared him to Chris Getzlaf at one point) but in the back half of the season and on Saturday he has been bringing his best consistently. Lastly how awesome is it to be able to replace your left tackle mid game with your centre (well your right guard who is currently playing center)? Ferland is developing in a Gene Makowsky level talent. 

The calling card of a Corey Mace defense is stop the run and create turnovers. That’s exactly what we got. The run game was a complete non-factor and we picked off VA 3 times (and as previously mentioned should have had a 4^th). The pressure created by our front 4 definitely impacted VA and led him to some questionable throws. I have no clue what he thought he saw on that first INT. Unless he just forgot that Marcus Sayles no longer was on his team? That second INT… do you know how bad you have to be to throw a pick to Lokombo? Its actually unprecedented. No other QB in the CFL has done it… ever.   Bout time the safety made an impact. The last pick… well that’s just Milligan being his usual outstanding self. In true Riders for we gave up over 300 yards but in the second half when it mattered most, we allowed just 2 FGs and got turnovers when it mattered most. 

It was a total team effort. Credit to Mace and his staff we looked well prepared. Its also looking like Mace is growing as a head coach. He is making better game management decisions. That 2 point convert made a huge difference in how the end of the game played out.

It was a great night and for those of us that suffered through the last 2 years it was definitely something to be savoured. Honestly the only blemish on the night was how awful that halftime Kiss cover band was. I don’t know if they normally sound that awful or just did not properly warm up their voices for the cold weather but they honestly would have been better off to just do karaoke in Pil Country. Quality would have been similar, entertainment value would have been better. 

Other random thoughts:

-        I need to know what’s going on with Lanier. Maybe he’s in Mace’s doghouse, maybe he's not quite fully healthy but I really don’t understand leaving him off the roster. For all the hype, having Armstead on the roster for 5 carries is not effective use of an American spot.

-        I guarantee Lauther had the green light to dribble kick at some point but BC scouted it well and covered it religiously.

-        Was it just me (and maybe a few ryes) or should BC not have had a lot more time count violations?

Riders vs. Lions: West Semifinal

Playoffs are back on the prairies. And unlike the divisional nominees for MOP, this should be anything but mediocre. We haven’t seen the playoffs since 2021… back when we still though Dickenson was a good coach. 

I think this is a fitting match-up to open the West Division playoffs. In a year of wild inconsistency, the semi final features two teams that have been hotter than hot, and colder than a penguin’s tuxedo. (I legitimately googled “colder than” and that’s the best that the interwebs came up with). At times both teams have looked like world beaters and at times like they couldn’t beat their own… err, manhood, if you paid them. The range of outcomes is anything from a blowout to a nail biter and everything in between. My heart has had 2 seasons to rest so it should be adequately prepared for the playoff stress levels. 

The Riders come into the came with a great problem to have. For once we are so healthy that rather than trying to find 45 healthy bodies, we now have so many healthy bodies we get to make hard choices about which ones won’t dress. As of writing this the depth chart hasn’t been released but Godber, Sceviour, Armstead and Straker are available. Be very interesting to see which ones will make the game day roster. Also given, that our season ended with a bye and essentially a preseason game, even our regular starters should be as rested and healthy as you can expect in October. 

Offensively, its time for Trevor Harris to shine. He hasn’t seen the post season since 2022 with the Als. The good news is that he threw 362 yards in that game with no INTs. The bad news, he only had 2 TD drives and they lost. I think he is poised to shine. BC allows a league high 73.8% completion percentage to opposing QBs and were 7^th in takeaways. They are a great match-up for a patient QB that can make quick reads and take what is given. The biggest challenge the Lions pose defensively is their D-line. They were 2^nd in the CFL in sacks and have playmakers across that front. If we can control that (with the healthiest O-line we’ve seen since June) then they are beatable. A strong running attack is the way to help neutralize the pass rush. I know people are clamouring to get Armstead on the roster but I don’t see how you can dress 2 American RBs and a dedicated returner. I expect this to be Ouelette show. He was brought in to be a physical and emotional leader and I expect nothing less in this one. We need to get him going. Call it a gut feel but Keesean Johnson strikes me as a guy poised to find the endzone. 

Defensively we get Vernon Adams (at least to start). VA continues to be a bipolar player. At his best he looks unbeatable. But as often as you see good VA, you also see bad VA. A guy that you can understand being deemed not as good as Brandon Bridge (if you’re new here, I am the further thing from a Bridge fan you can find). The times you see VA struggle, its all about pressure. The good news there is that BC has a terrible OL that allows more sacks than anyone and we have a fully stocked DL with Carney and Lanier back. We need to not just win the line of scrimmage but dominate. Adams likes to push the ball downfield, and unless he chooses to throw exclusively in the direction of Milligan that could be a problem. I mean unless you just avoid watching film completely, odds are you are game planning ways to isolate Lokombo. The better the pass rush, the less pressure on our secondary. I would mention the run game but Mace’s #1 priority is stopping it and Stanback has 49 total rush yards over both games against the Riders. Would not surprise me to see Rourke at some point if VA struggles. That worries me. Not because if fear Rourke this season but we just tend to play well against QBs we game plan for and bad against back-ups. I do expect our defense to try and rip the ball out with all the enthusiasm of that Yankees fan. 

Special teams could play a role in this one. Both kickers are currently playing at a top end level. BC does allow the 2^nd most punt return yards. Be great to see Alford make a game breaking play. Speaking of game breaking plays, it would not surprise me one bit to see Mace call the Lauther onside dribble kick in his playoff debut. 

It would be easy to be confident in this as 3 weeks ago BC came here in a must win game and got embarrassed. Like this level of embarrassing…

 

But while its certainly possible they come in and lay another egg, I expect a much more competitive team. This is the playoffs. I expect drama and me trying to calm my nerves with rye… which only fuels my rage (it’s a vicious circle). 

BC is 3-6 on the road. On paper, we are the better rounded team and should win. Here’s where I get superstitious though. Last week I picked the Riders to win and they laid an egg. The three time previous to that I picked them to lose, they won. It may completely ruin any illusion that there is anything to my propheting abilities but dammit if my pessimism fuels another Rider win then my reputation be dammed. In the words of Moe Szyslak “I’ve done stuff I ain’t proud of. And the stuff I am proud of is disgusting”. So for the greater good... 

BC by a Sean Whyte FG.