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Despite the Riders not having a sustainable running game, and I like Frankie Hickson, but only if he is running wide, or catching the ball, the Riders got some hellacious catches from their receiving corps and their bend but don’t break defense was enough to fluster McLeod Bethel Thompson, the Elk quarterback, into throwing one interception.

OK, I know he was listed with two, but one was a deflection off a receiver’s hands and that was a mistake by the Elk receiver, another mental breakdown amidst many provided by the Elk this season.

When I went to the Tuesday Rider practice, I saw something that made me think this season is far from over for the Riders. Running back Ryquell Armstead was practicing along with AJ Ouellette although Ouellette scaled back his participation and it appeared his hip may still be bothering him.

The idea of Ouellette and Armstead being in the same backfield or on the roster at the same time suddenly made me think about how the Riders may look in the playoffs. If they have both in the backfield, even on a rotational basis, the Riders are ready to run the throat down any team’s throat including the Godless Stony Mountain Blue Bombers.

The Riders offensive line, the Achilles’s Heel of the offense for the last three years, has markedly improved this year despite six starters being on the six-game injury list. The experience being picked up, especially by Logan Ferland is proving invaluable and the Riders are succeeding in flying under the radar while the media story is how Winnipeg is back.

The Riders host the BC Lions in what is shaping up to see who will finish second, but if the Riders win Saturday and the final game against Calgary and Winnipeg drops one to the Argonauts and then Montreal, the Riders finish in first place by one point.

It will apparently be a cool night in Riderville for the Saturday game, ideal for setting up a running game that had existed mostly in the imagination of Rider fans waiting for Ouellette to get off the six-game injury list. The Riders win against Calgary with Armstead rushing for over 200 yards gave fans a glimpse of might be possible and at this time of year and in November, you need a running game to wear teams down in the cold.

Saturday’s game is important for the Lions as well because they do not want to travel more than once to the prairies in the cold and would prefer to at least have one game in the dome to give their fans a thrill and perhaps set the stage for a hometown appearance in the Grey Cup, something that has been fueled by the return of Nathan Rourke at quarterback and Mathieu Betts on the defensive line.

How BC managed to fit both contracts under the salary cap will be interesting to discover someday, but the results have not been quite what the BC brain trust and fans might have been expecting. Rourke has been in the NFL for about a year and a half, but he has not been playing and the rust has been showing in his return.

Add to that BC already had an MOP candidate in Vernon Adams Jr. and the arrival of Rourke and the shuffling of Adams seems to have discombobulated the BC offense which has not been in the same league as when Adams had been leading it. BC has some outstanding players, but they also have some gaps in their offensive line, probably defensive line and linebackers and how Winnipeg rolled up the Lions is probably the template for short-circuiting the Lions this season.

The Riders have a few days to decide how they are going to set up their lineup, so while I think adding Armstead is probably the easiest solution considering how Ouellette was running, there are several days for the Riders to see how things play out on the practice field.

The prospect of rain makes a running game for both teams essential for winning and BC has William Stanback who is no slouch in the running back department. I was at the first game Rourke started in the CFL and the Riders put an awful lot of pressure in getting out to a first half lead and then Rourke found his legs and the Lions almost pulled out that game.

The Riders this time will use probably zone coverage and concentrate on limiting the Lions ground attack because I am hard pressed to name another running back on their roster other than Stanback. CFL fans may argue the same about the Riders running attack, but Thomas Bertrand-Hudon and even Hickson will provide enough variety to make concentrating solely on Armstead a recipe for disaster for the Lions.

Depending on the weather, the Lions may be looking to air the ball out and they do have the receivers, but with all the talk of Roland Milligan Jr. perhaps being an outstanding player candidate, the matchup of Milligan against BC receivers may go a long way to determining if Milligan will join Solomon Elimimian as the only defensive player to win most outstanding player or if Milligan may have to settle for most outstanding defensive player.

With the cooling temperatures and perhaps rain, the wisest approach will be to expect a defensive battle. The intangibles will be how into the game the crowd gets, and if they get loud, they will make life difficult for the Lions.

I am going to go with the Riders and a 22-6 win, clinching at least second place. If the Riders finish second, they should beat BC again in the western semi final and then it is on to Winnipeg to slay the demons that have haunted the Riders for the last four years.

What will make the Rider win meaningful will come on Friday night when the Toronto Argonauts travel to Stony Mountain to play the Bombers. The Bombers can clinch first with a win, but Toronto is only a point out of second and with a win will move ahead of Ottawa, pending Ottawa’s game with Montreal on Monday.

My usual rule of thumb in east west games is to pick the home team because it is difficult for visitors flying west or east, to play up to their potential. There are a few things to keep in mind for this game.

Winnipeg beat Hamilton 31-10 proving that, to quote an old Gertrude Stein line about Oakland, that there is no there there in Hamilton. Hamilton may have won four games in a row, but they beat the Argos twice and a sliding BC Lion team. The Hamilton carriage is about to turn into a pumpkin but that does not mean the Bombers should be already awarded the Grey Cup.

Winnipeg will be facing Chad Kelly for I think the first time since Toronto beat Winnipeg for the Grey Cup. Kelly has not played for half a season which means while he had some rust to shake off, he has done better than Rourke in his return. Kelly has been somewhat inconsistent, but with the playoffs drawing near, Kelly is motivated to come up with a performance to get Toronto over the roadblock that are the slumping Redblacks and serving notice they will be a factor in the playoffs.

The Bombers have won eight in a row but all streaks end at some point and I suspect the Bombers streak is due to end at the hands of the team that deprived them of a three-peat. I suspect this will also be a defensive struggle, again, depending on weather conditions and the Argos should win this 21-13

The other game of interest will be the Ottawa visit to Montreal. Montreal is coming off a bye week and are smarting after a loss to the Argos. Montreal is looking to get their mojo back heading into the playoffs and the big issue will be the Montreal offense getting into sync.

Ottawa has been decimated by injuries and have not bounced back like the Riders did. Their clinching of a playoff spot is due to Hamilton getting their lunch handed to them by Winnipeg.

Both teams have something to prove, and the question is what will be the deciding factor. I am going to go with Ottawa playing more desperate than Montreal, who have already clinched their division, and emerging with a 28-25 win.

Montreal may not like it, but they can use it as motivation for their final regular season game against the Stony Mountain Blue Bombers. Ottawa will be more motivated to stay ahead of Toronto and trying to convince their fans this season won’t be more than a cruel jest at their expense.

Finally, we have a game that means absolutely nothing, but the off field by both teams this offseason will be more entertaining than the football provided this year. The Edmonton Elk go to Calgary to try to set the stage for next season while Calgary is trying to wrap their heads around the end of their 20 years of playoff games.

Edmonton played the Riders close but Edmonton this year has shown a disturbing tendency to have a brain fart at the most inopportune moments. The big question is whether Tre Ford gets a start in the last two games or if Jarious Jackson decides to stick with Thompson.

I suspect Ford has burned the bridges to the current regime in Edmonton, but a new owner may bring in a new coach and maybe if Ford is patient, he will be able to start the team next year. If Jackson opts for Thompson, Jackson may be writing his own Elk obituary when he gets replaced in two weeks.

Calgary may be seeing some changes of their own and the testiness of Dave Dickenson, who is missing the playoffs for the first time as a coach and player shows the twin jobs of GM and head coach are probably too much for him. The reason for that is the inane CFL football operations cap that forces teams to have a head coach who is also filling another job.

One option Calgary may be facing is having Dickinson concentrate on being GM, Mark Killiam at head coach and Craig Dickenson as special teams’ coach. Killiam has been rumored to be a candidate for several head coaching jobs and the Stamps denied the Riders permission to interview Killiam for the Rider coaching job.

Calgary will have to decide whether they stick with Jake Maier at quarterback who has posted not bad numbers, but also had some really dumb plays that make getting him out of here easier. Calgary may want to get into the Vernon Adams sweepstakes but that may only work with a three way trade if BC sends Adams east and they in turn send him to Calgary.

I can’t see that happening, but I can see Calgary stopping the Elk 20-16.

by Greg Urbanoski

Click Click Boom – Riders Make the Playoffs Interesting

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