Riders Win Closer Than it Needed to be Labour Day Classic

While I was reading the Bomber fan pages, I noted how a louder portion of their fan base who feel timid play calling should be laid at the feet of their new offensive coordinator, ironically the former running back coach for the Bombers. The Bombers did not try to run very much, relying on Zach Collaros to roll out and go deep and I can see why Collaros would want to try that based on his experience in the 2024 western final when the Bombers went deep on the Riders in the first quarter and stunned them en route to going on to lose their third straight Grey Cup and setting the record for all time losers in Grey Cup games.

The problem with Winnipeg’s passing game is the assumption the receivers they have now were the equal of those in the western final. They are not and the return of Dalton Shoen to the receiving corps, which was greeted with hurrahs by the Bomber faithful, was not that substantial especially when the Bombers attempted to go for a two point convert to tie the game which was intercepted and returned for two points to clinch the win.

Collaros was attempting to hit Shoen but the way he moved indicated he maybe should have waited another week before coming back on the field. The problem with that is the Bombers are now forced to go through training camp cuts to bring receivers back who might be fast, but don’t know how to catch, or can make circus catches, but not consistently.

The Riders stuck with the running game setting up the play action and even though the Bombers played an effective zone, the Riders were able to hit some big plays and use the running game combination of AJ Ouellette and Marian Anderson to batter and then slice through the Bomber run defense.

As a result of their success in the last five to six years, the Bombers have received the benefit of the doubt from refs who apparently don’t see a helmet being torn off the head of Ouellette as justifying a flag. There was also the confusing example of the Riders trying a quick kick by Trevor Harris in the fourth quarter where the Bomber returner took it outside of the goal line by ran into the end zone where he was tackled.

Normally I would have thought this was a safety, but argued with my inner demons the likelihood the Clown or Command Centre would say the Bomber returner was down before entering the end zone. The decision to make the play a single kept the Bombers in the game but the Bombers over confidence in making their throws would blow them out of the water shortly.

Heading into this season, I thought the Riders biggest problem was dealing with the Bombers on the field, not being intimidated by them, and not giving them close games. Today I would say the Riders biggest problem is dealing with the coaching adjustments of the Calgary Stampeders, but from a psychological point of view, the Riders win was an important step on their road to the Grey Cup.

The Riders proved to themselves they could put pressure on Collaros, their defensive secondary is up the challenge of the Bomber scrubs receiving corps, they could run on a consistent basis against the Bombers and they could put up big plays through the air.

The caveat to all of this is the Riders did this at home, and if this game did anything to the Rider players, it should have reinforced the idea of the Riders hosting either the Western semi final or final and tapping into their fan’s energy. The Riders now must go to Stony Mountain and Princess Incestuous Field and deal with the sound of thousands of Bomber fan dentures falling out of their owners’ mouth and clattering throughout the stands making tremendous noise in trying to distract the Riders.

I would expect the Bombers to come out swinging and if they have learned anything, try to run every chance they get. If the Riders can outlast the initial hype of the Bomber crowd, do some ball control, and keep the Bombers offense on the sidelines, the Riders will be the first team in the CFL to come up with 10 wins this year.

The Bombers are now in a dogfight with the Lions for third and there is no guarantee a cross over in the east may happen with the Toronto Argonauts rising like the Evil Dead to wreak havoc east of the Lakehead. The Bombers are relying on what appears to be muscle memory these days, relying on what worked in the past and trusting they will again.

Expect another close game, but the Labour Day game should not have been that close, and this game will see the Riders win 28-24 over the Bombers.

Toronto’s win over Hamilton has me thinking the Most Outstanding Player candidate from the east should not be Bo Levi Mitchell, but Nick Arbuckle who was seen as nothing more than a placeholder until Chad Kelly recovered from his broken leg. Arbuckle made the Hamilton defense look like it was being played by Atom level players, especially on the final game winning field goal drive and continues the streak Arbuckle has kept the Argos afloat this season and even if Chad Kelly does come back September 13, do the Argos even need to play him then if Arbuckle is pulling rabbits like the Hamilton game out of his hat.

Toronto gets to a bye week, something they could use, while Hamilton goes to Montreal for what might be described as a first-place showdown. Hamilton’s six game winning streak is a distant memory of summer while Montreal may or may not have Davis Alexander ready to come off the injury list, but hopefully has done what they could to coach up their fourth and fifth best quarterbacks.

For Hamilton to lose a game like Labour Day to Toronto in a way that brought back memories of Milt Stegall beating Edmonton on a deep pass that somehow worked, you would think that sucking sound would be the collective soul of the Tiger-Cats leaving this realm for a far darker and more terrifying place.

Montreal has other problems beside their quarterback being missing because of a hamstring injury. Montreal’s defensive has not proven to be capable of helping their limited offense and even when Alexander returns, I am not sure his undefeated as a starter record will be enough to stop the inner demons of the Montreal defense from consuming themselves.

This season the team with the best timing will win the Grey Cup. Hamilton will get a gift with this game, but Montreal’s distant back ups may prove to be more troublesome than the Cats might want to admit.

Hamilton wins this one 27-24.

Calgary graciously provided the Edmonton Elk with a way to measure their progress over the few games. Edmonton was on a three-game winning streak under Cody Fajardo and then they went to Calgary, and someone shot the tires out from under them.

Fajardo did not play all that badly, but he was not helped by his offensive line who looked uncertain on how to block and Edmonton’s receiving corps rivals only the Bombers for missed opportunities. Calgary sent a message to teams thinking they might be able to take advantage of the Stampeders looking past them, by pounding the Elks into submission.

With the return match in Edmonton, the Elk will have only one practice to try to figure out how to counter the Stampeder moves. Edmonton picked up a few players to try to bolster the roster for a potential playoff run, but for Edmonton to get to that level, they will have to beat the teams they should be beating and being competitive in games against teams like Calgary.

All Calgary must do is continue their defensive dominance and wait patiently for the Riders to stumble at the top of the standings. Edmonton will have to pull some stuff out of the back of the playbook because with this home game, they are trying to send a message to their fans they will be competitive in the last third of the season which may result in a playoff spot.

While the Elk are competitive with Fajardo at quarterback, there is a growing sense in their fan base Fajardo is not the transcendent quarterback the Elk have lionized in the past and hoped they had in Tre Ford. Ford may be a longer-term project than what Elk fans may have expected, but he may be no more than just a gadget player or a third down quarterback.

The best part of the Elk offense is their running game but if you have seen Calgary these last two weeks, they are handling other teams running games very well. It is an important game for the Elk, but the Stampeders will emerge with a 28-21 win.

Finally, we have the first game of this weekend, the BC Lions going to Ottawa This could be an interesting game, BC is coming off a shoot-out with Toronto and if finding its race for either third in the west or east to be getting tighter.

The Lions would welcome a Rider win against the Bombers which opens the door for the Lions to move into a tie for third, although the Bombers have the season series. The Lions have the offense, it is their defense that stands between the Lions and a playoff berth with its inability to cover receivers.

The question for Ottawa is whether Dru Brown is back or if Dustin Crum returns for another session of game management. Ottawa is a better team with Brown and Ottawa does have some talented players in various positions, but some questionable coaching moves have made Ottawa’s season harder than what it should be.

Brown can move the ball against the Lions defense, but whether Crum can do that with just his legs is another question. If BC loses this game, they might as well fold their tents because having a great quarterback but with not defense, will not get you into the Grey Cup.

Ottawa needs to keep pace in the east and win enough to head the Lions or Blue Bombers off at the cross over berth. BC can move the ball, but maybe not to stop anyone with the ball.

BC wins this one 28-24 and here we go September!

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders Win Closer Than it Needed to be Labour Day Classic

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