Riders season essentially over: start prepping for 2022

Winnipeg did the same thing and as Ron Lancaster once said, if something is working, keep running the same play until the other team figures out how to stop it.

Defending the Riders is pretty easy. Play zone because the Riders have neither the time nor the receivers to get deep, send four defensive linemen on regular stunts to put pressure on the quarterback, and use you linebackers to stuff whatever remains of the Rider rushing game.

The Riders running game is pretty non-existent because with the rush, it can be hard to hit the holes unless they are there immediately apparent. William Powell has not had a bad year, but with no consistent blocking, Powell has been unable to be the clock killing assassin the Riders were hoping for.

Take a look at the stats over the last 15 minutes of the game.

First downs – Calgary 9, Riders 1

Time of possession Calgary 9:26, Riders 5:32

Plays from scrimmage – Calgary 19, Riders 11

Net offence Calgary 139 Yards, Riders 39.

That is not how championship teams claim titles. The Riders are not a championship team in 2021.

If the shame of being swept by the Winnipeg Major Crimes and Rehab Centre was not enough for the Riders, losing twice to the Calgary Prima Donnas was the cherry on the incomplete season being waged by the Riders.

Not only does the loss through the race for second in the west into question, it also raises the possibility that with the Riders on the road quite a bit, they will have to earn their way to the playoffs, although they do have two games left against the worst team in the CFL – The Edmonton Chronic Wasters.

The Riders first priority will have to be to work on their offensive line play. Get them working on run protection and some basic pass protection and each week try to expand their packages.

Once the Riders get better on rush blocking and pass protection, the Riders can then maybe try to have Fajardo stay in the pocket and try some deep passes. An effective running game would also help take pressure off the Riders offensive line and Fajardo.

Ah, Fajardo. I have written of the uncomfortable parallels between Fajardo and former BC Lions quarterbacks Casey Printers and Jon Jennings and how once team had film on them, they managed to defense them enough to end their careers.

Teams now have a year of film on Fajardo, and now Fajardo has to think of ways to add to his game to prevent defenses from anticipating where and how he will go. If he and offensive coordinator Jason Maas are unable to concoct an offense that can work with the parameters of an inexperienced line and no speed in the receiving corps, then the Riders will be lucky to finish 7-7.

A lot has been said about Fajardo calling out his receivers last game and then apologizing to them after the start of practice last week. A great quarterback is recognized by championship rings and while Fajardo may have one, it was not as a starter.

Fajardo may have put too much pressure on himself by making the extra play to compensate for the last of speed or blocking by the O Line. This break may be the best thing to allow Maas and Fajardo to identify what plays work with what players and try to master a set of plays that establishes who and what the Riders want to be on offense.

The arrival of Duke Williams, seen as trying to address what Fajardo said was a scarcity of receivers who can win the jump balls thrown by quarters, will not address the Riders offensive problems.

If you want throw deep and let Williams jump for the balls, you need to have time to throw the ball and there is nothing that yet convinces me the Rider offensive line is now capable of pass blocking on a physical regular basis.

So Williams may get open, but Fajardo may not have time to get him the ball, and so, how are the Riders further ahead since Williams is only here on a one-year contract?

The win by Calgary just points out the Riders have a psychological problem and until they overcome it, they will not get past Calgary and Winnipeg in the west.

One option for the Riders may be the cross over which considering Montreal has now lost their quarterback will make their path harder, although they have two games left against Ottawa which should help finalize their playoff standing.

The team which may be matching the Riders record for disaster is Hamilton which dropped another game to Toronto, for the first time in Hamilton in four years. The Toronto win was the first home loss endured by Hamilton Coach Orlando Steinhaeuer who is now looking at a team that was said to be favorite to play in the Grey Cup it is hosting, but can, under the right circumstances, not make the playoffs.

Hamilton rolled the dice on signing all their free agents to assemble a Grey Cup ready team, but injuries, age and an underwhelming offensive line may has determined Hamilton will fall short in playing in the Grey Cup.

The Riders could finish in third or fourth, and either would seem realistic depending if Calgary has again risen from the dead like Jason Kenny with a Chuckie Doll and takes second. Moving over to the east would put the Riders into either Montreal or Hamilton for the eastern semi final and I would argue the Riders could easily win there.

That will put them into Toronto and with Toronto drawing 6,723 with the might of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment marketing, the Riders can easily match the Toronto crowd with their own expatriates and could easily find themselves the eastern champs.

Which will likely put them into the Grey Cup against Winnipeg or Calgary. Which they will only win if their offensive line can gel together and learn to play as a unit. Common sense says the Riders hit the home run with their offensive line next year after a year of maturity, but with good coaching and a bit of luck, the Riders could pull off a one game miracle.

But that just one potential future.

After a pretty good week of entertaining CFL games, the Riders thankfully are off the tube to regroup, leaving us with Winnipeg at Edmonton to start Friday.

The Edmonton Chronic Wasters host the Winnipeg Major Crimes Unit on Friday and if there was a more dominant performance than Winnipeg beating Edmonton 30-3 this season, it has not been played.

Winnipeg plays physical on their offensive and defensive lines and are built for playing deep in November. Edmonton with what was expected to be a high flying offensive has fallen flat and doesn’t even have a running game to give it options.

The biggest danger for the Winnipeg Major Crime Unit is the overconfidence that can develop with no injuries. You put a couple of offensive linemen on the injury list, you open the door for Collaros, who is the leading candidate for Most Outstanding Player, to get knocked out and after Collaros, Winnipeg does not look like much of a Grey Cup champion.

In 2013 the Calgary Prima Donnas hosted the BC Lions in an essentially meaningless game, but Calgary lost Micah Johnson and another offensive lineman in that game and two weeks later, the Riders with Kory Sheets ran through Calgary like grass through a goose.

So unless Winnipeg gets injuries like a MASH unit, they should beat the Edmonton Chronic Wasters 26-15 with Edmonton getting five field goals.

On Saturday Montreal goes to Ottawa and while Montreal has a gutsy comeback win last weekend, they also lost their starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Back up Matthew Shiltz came in and helped Montreal over the top.

The question is can he do it again? Montreal has talent around Schiltz but whether he can consistently pull the trigger on winning drives may have to be wait to be answered this week.

Ottawa has swept Edmonton and quarterback Caleb Evans has promise, but for Ottawa, the smart thing to do now is treat the rest of the season as a training camp opportunity for 2022. Ottawa has the coaching, they do not have the depth, and that will come with time and opportunities to play.

Just not on Friday.

Montreal 27 at 20 Ottawa.

The final game has Calgary move on to BC for what seems like an interesting challenge. BC is feast or famine on offense with the ability, or rather, the former ability to go deep to Lucky Whitehead but otherwise with no running game etc, it may find it hard to consistently run the ball which is who might save it against Winnipeg.

Calgary gave the Riders a middle finger by taking the first two games of their three game series and they are seriously in the heads of the Riders along with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. For Calgary, it seems like their offense is starting to get unstuck but today the Lions will eke out a 22-21 win.

Kyran Moore Praying Before Calgary

Lauther Hits Field Goal Against Calgary

Fajardo Back to Pass Against Calgary

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders season essentially over: start prepping for 2022

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