Now for the Main Event!

The delay of the game had an impact on attendance as while the Riders announced attendance at 26,000, actual attendance was anywhere from 1700 to 7,000. The game was the first since last Saturday when the Riders had a season ticket holders’ event to provide them with shiny things and maybe even get a tour of the locker room and/or autographs with players not going to Winnipeg.

I waited for over 2 ½ hours and then found I would have to wait another two hours for the locker room tour before I bailed and while this event was designed to build relationships with season ticket holders, it just managed to tick a lot of them off. For whatever reason, the Riders seem determined to go with the big spenders and season ticket holders and especially those from out of town are being treated as less important.

For example, the season opener on Thursday night is against Ottawa and starts at 7 pm, unless smoke prompts a postponement. When I lived in PA, I would come down with the PA Daily Herald photographer George W. Harcus and we would get down and come back the same night because we had pictures to develop and stories to do.

However, if you have a family or a job where coming in late the day after is not in the cards, it is tough to make it down for a Thursday game. Considering that at least 30 per cent of Rider season ticket holders are from outside of Regina, making it to a Thursday night game is asking a lot. Add to the equation traveling from Northern Saskatchewan with forest and grass fires running rampant could potentially risk your life or the lives of your family and friends and is something that Regina season ticket holders do not have to deal with.

If I was Craig Reynolds, I would use this as an opportunity to tell the new commissioner the Saskatchewan Roughriders are a team that has fans driving at least four to five hours out of town to come to games as opposed to other teams whose ticket bases are located closer to their home stadium. I would humbly decline the Thursday night games because these lose money to the club from out of towners not being able to make the game.

The province could do something to help by having passenger rail service running from PA to Saskatoon to Regina, which would reduce the amount time spent on the road and probably the number of drivers under the influence. These would help with concerts in either city allowing people to attend without worrying more easily about driving in dicey conditions.

The attendance at the game was startling considering the feeling this team can go further than it has the last five years. Season ticket sales are said to be around 15000 which considering they were 25000 a few years ago shows the twin effects of increased ticket prices, lack of winning or competitiveness and poor economic conditions have people spending money where they think their return on investment is better than what it is for Rider games.

The frightening thing is tickets sold for the exhibition game were more than what have been sold for the season opener. This is Sunday morning and when I showed up for practice, I was told they might go indoors because of air quality conditions and I went home because a walk through in doors is not going to tell me anything considering the Riders are looking for a punter.

Adam Lorshak of the Riders retired after not getting his request for a raise met by the Riders and the Riders are finding getting a punter is easier said than done. Bailey Flint who has a great back story, did not show anything against the Bombers in the first game so the Riders went back to Joe Couch, another Australian kicker who can kick deep, but in the middle of the field and may not be enough to replace Lorshack.

The short version of the Friday night game is Jake Maier was OK, showed better than Shea Patterson and Jake Dolegala, but has absolutely no ability to avoid the rush. Coan can move the pocket but when he was in, the Bombers were drafting fans out of the stands to play in the defensive backfield. Coan looked better than he did the last regular season game when he saw playing action and I think if he can continue to learn and get technically better in throwing on the run, he will be ready to be a starter in a year or so.

The Riders went with Mario Anderson and Trent Penix at running back and while Anderson fumbled and had the ball returned for a touchdown, for whatever reason the CFL stats people felt the fumble return means the Riders had minus 73 yards in rushing, which is an amazing number to think about.

Penix was cut on Saturday while Anderson made it to the practice roster. One standout was Joe Robustelli, a receiver who came to football late and during the game was the big play receiver for Maier and Coan and made it to the practice roster. The Rides seem determined to do several Canadians at Receiver which is fine because you want both starters and backups.

One thing to keep in mind depth and the Riders are looking at what they have on the offensive line. Sean McEwen, the former Stamps center, went down with an ACL injury in training camp and Philip Gagnon, another offensive lineman, went down with a torn bicep muscle. The Riders had 16 injuries on the offensive line last year and a lot of their offensive line players were coached up well enough to provide the Riders with competent offensive line play.

While the Riders made their cuts along with the rest of the CFL on Saturday, the Riders will be looking for adjustments and may even bring some players in from other teams to bolster their depth. While the Riders did not score their only touchdown until the last minute, at least they were competitive.

So after two exhibition games, where will the Riders finish up this year?

I am going to pick them for first., Unlike the Bombers, the Riders were not looking to play mental games with their rivals, concentrating more on player evaluation. The Riders have carried over most of their core, the interesting thing is seeing how well the other players come in and recognizing the Riders will be adjusting their roster through the season.

The Riders QB depth is improved, and their offensive line is one of the more experienced. The question marks will come in the Rider secondary, but if Jaxson Ford continues to show the flashes he did the last two games, they should not be allowing the Bombers to go deep on them as they did in the western final and the first two games of the exhibition season.

The big question is whether the Riders can climb the final mental hurdle of beating the Bombers in November. It reminds me of the 1970s when the Riders could not get past the Eskimos in the western final until 1976 when the game was finally played in Regina.

While the Riders did not beat the Bombers in the preseason, those games are not important. The series in September and probably the playoff in November will decide that.

The Bombers are at the end of their run, hoping that muscle memory and the ability to manipulate the weak minds of officials will allow them to repeat past glories. The Bombers will be placing great faith in their offence but for the most part, their offense did not ring any bells. If the Bombers run into injuries, they can easily slide out of first place.

The Bombers are hosting the Grey Cup, but keeping the band together for one last run is understandable but probably futile. Time catches up with everyone and after three consecutive Grey Cup losses, the Bombers are primed to soil themselves and their entitled fans with a performance worthy of a colonoscopy.

Third in the west will be interesting because Edmonton and BC have first year coaches. Calgary is continuing with Dave Dickenson who has Vernon Adams Jr. as his new QB. Adams has the President’s Choice No Name Brand surrounding him on offense and whether this is enough to get the Stamps back into the playoffs is another question. Calgary is hosting next year’s Grey Cup and will be building for that and they came out strong in their two games, but again, this is exhibition and it doesn’t mean anything.

I will pick BC for 3rd, reluctantly because Buck Pierce is their head coach and offensive coordinator and they have some major pieces in place, but the big question is whether Nathan Rourke has recovered from his inept return from the NFL last year.

BC has enough pieces in place to make a claim for third, but BC could go further if Rourke regains his form or flounders again in the shallow waters of BC Place.

Let’s go with Edmonton Elk for fourth because Mark Killiam beating Calgary, who released him in preseason, is too good a story to fail. But fail it can because Tre Ford is now the starting quarterback but if you can keep Ford in the pocket, he won’t beat you. The Elk have Cody Faardo at back up and they do have the best rushing game in the CFL, so Edmonton is well position to make some sort of impact, but it becomes a question of whether Killiam can get all the pieces working together to produce a winning club.

That leaves Calgary for last, but I would not write the Stamps off, but working against them is the unknown nature of their roster. Calgary can surprise but they can also flounder. Adams will make them entertaining, but Calgary is probably a year away from making a run back into contention in the west.

In the east, I must admit to filled with admiration for the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts for cutting the strings to quarterback Clarence Dukes and running back Ka’Deem Carey. Dukes filled in nicely to start, but when people got film on him, he was relatively easy to defend against, so the Argos are commended for moving past their comfort zone. Whether they can translate that to another first-place finish is up in the air, but if they pull this off, this is a tribute to John Murphy and his ability to evaluate talent.

Montreal has moved on from Cody Fajardo and the combination of Davis Alexander and McLeod Bethel Thompson at quarterback will be interesting, Alexander will have to demonstrate he can be more than an unknown when other teams get film on him, and Thompson can take the wheel when needed. Montreal got rid of Walter Fletcher at running back and so the Als running game has a question mark, but you must give Montreal credit for not playing it safe.

Hamilton made a late charge for third last year but just fell short despite an MVP season from Bo Levi Mitchell. Hamilton has added some key former Blue Bombers but while their offense should be good, their defense is still a question mark. Mitchell proved a lot of critics wrong last year, but it could be argued a lot of his stats came in garbage time. I reluctantly put Hamilton third in case Mitchell is for real.

Finally, we have Ottawa and while they were 7-1-1 at home, I don’t know if Ottawa has done enough to show they were more than a one-year wonder. They could cross over to the west, but I think Ottawa still has enough holes to not mark them in pen for any playoff spots.

So, I am going to pick the Saskatchewan Roughriders winning the Grey Cup in Winnipeg over the Montreal Alouettes. It would be the cherry on top of the 2025 season.

This season starts with the Riders hosting Ottawa and I would like to make a request. About 30 per cent of the Rider season tickets are from people outside of Regina and if they have families, coming in from out of town, and I came in from Prince Albert, takes a lot of time. Last week while the Riders said 26,000 tickets were distributed, I would say there were only 7,000 people in the stands.

Now the trolls who live under the Stony Mountain bridge may cackle at that, but their crowd for their game was not great either, no matter how many tickets they may have “distributed”. Thursday night football does the Riders no favors, nor does it do the CFL when you have empty sections, and you are trying to sell casual fans on the atmosphere.

So please, don’t play football on Thursday nights in Saskatchewan. Especially during fire season where like last week, we could easily see another postponement or even cancellation due to air quality issues which is another deterrent to people showing up.

So for the game, Ottawa is setting itself up for another run after finally making the playoffs last year. Dru Brown has the reins to the offence but while the passing game seems good, the running game may not be any great shakes, at least until someone gives Stanback some decent blockers.

Ottawa’s passing game gives me the bejebus because the Bombers went after the Riders secondary last year in the western final and put the Riders away before they get untracked. However, the Riders defensive philosophy has shifted a bit where teams can probably get all they can eat on short games while the Riders try to cut off the deep threats.

Whether this works depends on the level of communication and more importantly, who lines up in the safety position. The Riders moved Jayden Dalke to linebacker because while he does hit like a truck, his ability to run down receivers taking him deep is questionable.

That leaves Bo Lokombo and Jaxon Ford with most favoring Ford due to his preseason play and being the grandson of Rider great Al Ford. The Riders are working through the kinks of who will line up where, with the defensive end positions being major question marks although Argo fans may remember defensive end Shane Ray who may or may not have a glass jaw.

So while the Riders lost twice to the Bombers, when you play only half your starters in the two games, continuity is a bit of problem. The Riders have a sneaky receiving core and while I am not sold on their running game, if losing 25 pounds make AJ Ouellette a hurdling fool through the opposition, what the hell.

It is not going to be pretty, two teams forced to play all their starters in this first game, but it should be entertaining, forest fires permitting. The Riders open with a 31-17 win.

Toronto goes to Montreal and I have to tip my hat to the Argo top brass. Cutting loose experienced quarterbacks and running backs is either a brilliant example of the moneyball principle at work (never overpay for players) or a massive vote of confidence in the scouting of the Argos.

Nick Arbuckle takes the lead for the Argos, much like he did in the Grey Cup. I am firmly convinced Toronto’s use of Arbuckle in the Grey Cup prompted CFL teams to make sure their back up quarterbacks had substantive playing experience so the bright lights wouldn’t fluster them.

My big questions are on the defensive line where the Argos lost everyone, and probably running back as well. Then again, there are lots of running backs out there looking for work, so you always have options. Defensive linemen are also somewhat plentiful, but as I noticed in the two Rider Bomber games, players up from the States have no idea they need to use more cardio to play on the bigger field, so look for a lot of rotations on the d line.

Montreal is going with Davis Alexander who started off well against the Riders, but then again, who doesn’t, and they have McLeod Bethel Thompson to step in in and when Alexander needs to be pulled. Montreal made some intriguing moves like getting rid of Walter Fletcher, but while Danny Macocia always struck me as a bit of a dingbat when in Edmonton, his time with the University of Montreal and work in Montreal has me thinking he is bringing a good eye to the talent.

While Montreal has more of its team coming back than Toronto, I am reluctant to go with Montreal because Toronto, even with the people they have lost, do have great coaching and a great personnel department. Whether the players they bring in will make an immediate impact is open to question, but I am going with the more experienced starting quarterback in Arbuckle and a Toronto 27-24 win.

Hamilton goes to Calgary and the world will be subjected to Bo Levi Mitchell coming home stories, which happened last year, but why not keep beating a dead horse? Mitchell had a pretty good season, mostly in garbage time and while he got a MOP nod out of it, Hamilton tends to stumble out of the gate and it will be interesting to see if Hamilton’s additions from the Bombers helps change things.

The caveat on the Stampeders, having endured the CFL + telecasts of their games is Calgary will be playing fast. It starts with Vernon Adams Jr. at quarterback and I got the feeling Calgary is kind of enjoying being written off because the Stamps went a few different directions than what people were expecting.

Calgary is hosting next year’s Grey Cup and the Stampeders are facing the pressure every hosting team must contend with, having a team with a legitimate chance to get there. Calgary is under pressure to play not just winning football but entertaining football and while Bo will love to stomp his former team, I think Hamilton is in for a surprise.

Calgary 21-17.

Finally, we have Edmonton at BC as two rookie coaches make their debuts with teams somewhat similar to each other. Nathan Rourke is back in BC trying to prove his debacle return from the NFL has been put behind him and new coach Buck Pierce whose video of him getting him on a blitz by Rider Craig Butler and his helmet rolling across the field like something out of the French Revolution is a high light I return to time and time again.

BC badly handled the return of Rourke, with a divided locker room, and now Rourke is in the position of proving he can be the same player he was before he left for the NFL. For Rourke, a good season makes a return to the NFL more credible, but BC will have to deal various holes in other parts of their roster to inspire confidence.

Mark Killiam was released as special teams coach for the Stamps and landed the Elks top stag position with the bonus of having Canadian Tre Ford at quarterback. When Ford can run, he can shred anyone, but force him to stay in the pocket and his ability to make his reads is somewhat limited.

Edmonton probably has the best running attack in the league, the passing game might be a bit shaky, but then that is probably why Edmonton got Cody Fajardo to spell Ford off when he gets flustered by multiple defenses.

The CFL’s two exhibition game maximum means a lot of teams will be putting their starting units in for the whole game, instead of a half, and when that happens you get continuity problems. For that reason, and for the fact Snoop Dog is opening the BC season with a concert, let’s go with BC because even if they don’t win, the fans will go home happy.

by Greg Urbanoski

Now for the Main Event!

This Week in Flyers

This Week in Flyers

What's Trending