Will Riders Wallow into Playoffs?

If the Riders win, they should in theory finish in the crossover spot and probably declare Friday a one-time holiday considering that will be the last game the Riders win this year. The Riders conclude with a two game series against Calgary where Calgary will use to determine playoff positioning and rotation of players.

The Riders defense not showing up and the many blown coverage’s would indicate the defensive backs are not talking to each other. Usually that is a result of the defenses being tired from being on the field for so long. The Rider defense is mentally and physically spent.

If the Riders make the playoffs they should thank the CFL schedule maker for giving them a patsy schedule to start off with. When the Riders got to playing competitive teams, they found their offensive line unable to protect, their quarterback looking for PTSD pay and their inability move the ball dooming them to also ran status.

The Riders got a taste of what could be in store when Ottawa fired Paul La Police as head coach. La Police is a good offensive coordinator but two shots at head coach showed he was working above his comfort level.

There are those who say the Riders showed some progress, but a team on a four- game losing streak has a pretty low bar for showing progress. Compared to the stomach virus that knocked the Riders out on their last trip to Winnipeg, the sheer ineptitude of the Riders coverage and tackling made it clear the Riders need no excuses when it comes to whiffing on their tackles.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo knows he is playing for a contract offer next year, something that is not guaranteed at this point. Fajardo got better protection from his offensive line, but again his inability to complete passes or make reads kept the Riders from making anything than a cursory effort to come back against the Bombers.

A debate has been raging about whether it is Fajardo or the offensive line most responsible for the regression of the Rider offense. Fajardo has been “seeing ghosts” in the defensive secondary coverage as the lack of blocking resulting in multiple players rushing him has him seeing things that aren’t in the defense.

One wonders if the Riders sign someone like Kevin Glenn to work with him, or maybe get him to a quarterback whisperer who can advise him on his mechanics in throwing the ball. Fajardo has moxie, but the question is does he have the self-awareness to address the mechanical problems of his throwing?

Fajardo has been honest in addressing the concerns over his play and the high wire routine that comes with playing the most important position on the field. While his play has improved and the return of some receivers and Dan Clark seems to have helped, Fajardo still makes mistakes like throwing the ball into coverage that other quarterbacks get around by throwing it out of bounds.

The Riders have just three games left in their season and the opportunity to fix mistakes seems to have passed them by. Perhaps the return of various walking wounded will help the team, but in a perfect world, the Riders finish with a 7-11 record, go into Montreal, maybe win, maybe not, and advance to the eastern final.

Maybe then the Riders can win the eastern final, but probably not, and the length of their stay in the playoffs may ensure that Craig Dickenson and Jeremy O’Day return as coach and GM respectively.

The Riders need to answer questions about their recruiting and coaching. The existence of the USFL, XFL, spring football and other leagues means the competition for players is more intense and the Riders will have to get used to not getting players who are just a snap away from getting into the NFL.

The Riders needed better coaching to address things like blocking. If one accepts the quality of player coming onto the Riders is reduced from previous years, good coaching can help the players play better.

The trick to coaching is not yelling at the players, but teaching them how to make the most of their abilities. It is not clear whether Stephen Sorrells, the current offensive line coach, has been able to get the most of this group.

The football administration cap handcuffs teams from making decisions like firing coaches because teams are still on the hook for paying them out. The Riders will have to make decisions at the end of the season and the lack of clear direction and leadership from the senior ranks will not make the job easier of getting the team over the hump.

The Riders have also suffered from the lack of a consistent pass rush, especially after cutting Garrett Marino because, he was so mean towards other players like Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Marino was the victim of a social media attack and the Riders gave up rather than show leadership.

The Riders have a weak inside of their defensive line, Charleston Hughes did pretty well in his last few years in Saskatchewan but not this year. AC Leonard has been struggling with injuries and his sack totals have not matched what he has done in previous years.

At the start of the year, it would have been an easy bet on Jason Shivers moving on to a head coaching position elsewhere. With the Rider defense tanking in the last few weeks. Shivers will likely stay on for another year and be given a chance to get the defense back to snuff.

So while Winnipeg clinched a playoff spot and likely first with the sweep of the Riders, BC beat Ottawa 34-19. For Vernon Adams, the game was a rebound from the lackluster effort against Calgary last week.

Adams was the subject of a trade from Montreal to BC in exchange for a first-round draft pick. BC lost their quarterback Nathan Rourke and traded for Adams in an effort to salvage their season.

Adams has shown his ability at time, but Adams is a streaky quarterback who when he is good, is very very good, but when he is bad, he is inconsistent. BC still has their fate in their hands, but now has to work on being consistent and the amount of yardage given up by BC at the end of the game is a subject of concern.

If an offense like Ottawa can rack up the yardage they did, it is just a matter of time before it translates into points. BC needs to clinch second to host the western semifinal and then after that then anything can happen.

For BC to experience success, Adams needs to provide consistency in his play as quarterback. Adams also knows that with Rourke’s contract expiring, there is the chance Rourke moves to the NFL, and if he does, Adams has a chance to lead a club.

If Rourke does not go, then Adams is auditioning for a starting job across the league and there is no shortage of teams who would be willing to entertain him at the position. Amongst them would be the Riders.

Edmonton had a chance to move into the playoff race and perhaps more importantly win for the first time in over 1,000 days. Instead Edmonton gave up a pick six to allow Montreal to win 25-18 and well, Edmonton is getting better, but not quite fast enough.

Calgary’s defense was the star as they throttled Toronto 29-2, with Cameron Judge’s pick six being a high light. Calgary is serving notice they are likely the best second place team in the CFL, but for them to finish first, they need to go through Winnipeg but so far Winnipeg has not lost to the west.

So, this week the Riders go to Hamilton to perhaps decide the final playoff spot and whether it goes to a cross over team or not. The Riders beat Hamilton in the first game of the season, but since then Hamilton has discovered that Dane Evans may or may not be the right answer, their running game sucks, their receivers are uh, inconsistent, and their defense needs work.

The Riders kept it somewhat close against Winnipeg, but failed to display a sense of knowing how to close games. A four-game losing streak in a fish bowl like Saskatchewan does not help build faith in a team’s ability to win close games.

The Riders have put some pieces of their team back together with Terran Vaughn and Dan Clark back on the offensive line, but in the meantime their running game has blown several tires and the Riders find themselves in the position of not having runners despite ranking second or maybe third this week in running.

So, in that respect the Riders are like Hamilton in not having a running game. Then it comes down to how each team handles each other’s pass rush and how the teams can move the ball through the air.

Hamilton may benefit from the Riders lack of communication in their defensive backfield and their inability to make definitive tackles. Those mental lapses are a sign the Riders are checking out of this season and lack the consistency that makes a winner.

For all the talk of the Riders inconsistency, Hamilton is also built on a castle of sand and Evans has made more than his share of ball insecurity issues. If the Rider defense can return to its earlier incarnation, the Riders should be able to win, but nothing is definite when it comes to teams this inconsistent.

At this stage, the Riders may have just one more win in them this season and that win may help them land a playoff spot. The Riders should win this 31-27.

BC goes to Toronto, and will the real Vernon Adams please stand up and take control of his team?

The acquisition of Adams by BC following the likely season ending injury to quarterback Nathan Rourke was a savvy move by BC to try to maintain some of the momentum built by Rourke who had the team challenging Winnipeg for first.

The problem is that while Adams can be mobile, he can also be streaky and inconsistent. So, if he is good, he is going to be very good, but if he is not, well, do you really want to hitch your Grey Cup hopes and dreams of relevance in the BC sports marketplace to Antonio Pipkin?

Mind you, that inconsistency works for the Toronto Argonauts who played as if they were under the influence in Calgary in a 29-2 debacle. Toronto still has first place and if they clinch, just winning one game and getting into the Grey Cup would be considered pretty good.

The problem is there is no guarantee that Toronto will show up for the eastern final against whoever their opponent is. Toronto has no running game, they have decent receivers and their defense has performed very well.

Quarterbacking is their weak spot although one could argue that play calling in the hands of Ryan Dinwiddie is also to blame. BC also has problems with injuries in their receiving corps and the absence of Lucky Whitehead is sure to get Toronto’s defense focused in on whoever is remaining.

So using that as a gauge to see how this game goes, Adams may be due for a lousy game while trying to figure out his new offensive weapons and that will leave Toronto the default winner by a 21-17 score as their defense does enough to keep them in the game.

Then we have the miracle of what is the Edmonton Elk, having screwed up their best chance at winning at home against Montreal in over 1,000 days, traveling to Winnipeg.

Winnipeg swung a trade with Hamilton for some defensive back depth and while Bomber fans may bemoan the fragile state of their team depth, uh, quit whining Winnipegers, you are back-to-back Grey Cup champs with a good chance to make it a three peat.

Edmonton is going through more growing pains than a Malamute husky that keeps stumbling over its own two feet. The partially guaranteed contract given to Cornelius Taylor was a ballsy move by Chris Jones, but it seems to indicate he has found a quarterback the team can rally behind much like Mike Reilly on the only Grey Cup team that Chris Jones was head coach of.

Edmonton has some intriguing pieces, like a running back and some receivers who might come in handy, but they also have some mental lapses worthy of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

One could see Winnipeg taking this game off and putting in back ups since they have first place sewn up and are trying to avoid injury that could screw up that three peat. However, Winnipeg hates Chris Jones almost as much as they hate Saskatchewan.

Winnipeg 34-17.

Finally, we have the dawn of the Bob Dyce era in Ottawa as Ottawa goes to Montreal. Dyce took over for the fired Paul La Police whose decision-making ability in play-calling had some calling the medical alert lines wondering if La Police had suffered some kind of stroke because of the inane play calling.

This is Dyce’s second run as an interim coach, he had taken over from Cory Chamlin as the Riders coach in 2015 when the Riders inability to bring players in and salary cap screw ups left them in a big hole. The Riders had some young quarterbacks and Dyce did as well as one could hope in that situation and maybe had done enough to earn a shot at a regular head coach job until Riders decided to try the Chris Jones experience.

The big question mark will be who will call plays in this game because as of Tuesday there has been no offensive coordinator named for the Redblacks. Perhaps Ottawa will open the phone lines and keep Twitter clear so Ottawa fans can call and tweet in their play suggestions?

Well, it couldn’t be worse than what it was under La Police.

That uncertainty in Ottawa combined with Montreal looking to take a solid run at Toronto for first, if not clinching second, leads one to suspect Montreal will be feasting on Ottawa and Dyce may be getting flashbacks to the last time he was a head coach in Saskatchewan.

Montreal 31-13.

by Greg Urbanoski

Will Riders Wallow into Playoffs?

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