By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

Riders Appear Ready for Regular Season – We Hope

Jun 6, 2022 | 6:50 PM

“The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Pattison Media and this site.”

For those of us who watched the Riders lose their second exhibition game to the BC Lions 20-18, a few things to keep in mind.

1. The Riders don’t feel the need to win a pre-season game to get fans excited. While the over 1 million Rider armchair GMs may differ, the purpose of preseason is to evaluate players and the Riders have the staff to be a better job than fans with a keyboard and an opinion.

2. I was wondering why the Riders were holding on to so many kickers until I heard about the trade between the Riders and Stampeders Monday for a punter to replace the one that Calgary lost to injury. The Riders did well to get assets for a player they would have cut and got nothing for.

3. The Riders offensive line may have benefitted from a year of experience. Their first game Saturday against Hamilton will pit them against a defensive line that may be the toughest to run on. If the Riders manage to pull out a win, they will be well on their way to say, a 12-6 record.

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4. The Riders passing game will be good and will be better when Kyran Moore returns halfway through the season.

5. The only area of concern may be the defensive secondary which was more a sieve in the two exhibition games, but then again, they had pylons and special projects who did not rise to the challenge. The defensive line looks good and the line-backing corps will be good despite Micah Teitz on the six game injury list with groin and hip problems.

The Riders seem to have improved and moves like bringing back Charleston Hughes at defensive end may pay off if the Riders can figure out a system of rotation to make it easier for Hughes to last the season without serious injury.

Hughes fell off the radar last year in Toronto, but that may have been the case of Hughes not being in the right system. Physically Hughes seems ready to start the season, but I would prefer Hughes to be at his best when blitzing quarterbacks in the Grey Cup game, not start off strong and lose steam to injury at the end of the season.

One of the biggest questions will be at running back where Jamal Morrow appears to have landed the starters position. The Riders play Hamilton on Saturday and their defensive line may be the toughest in the league to run against. If Morrow gets 50 yards consider that a win.

While teams are making their way through their final picks and swinging some trades to fill some holes, the CFL is dealing with an interview with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Larry Tannenbaum who spoke in an interview of how MLSE’s goal is to increase franchise values and apparently the community owned teams are standing in the way between Tannenbaum and presumably an XFL or NFL franchise.

MLSE’s position on raising franchise values is consistent with the Ponzi scheme that is Major League Soccer but at odds with the CFL whose goal has been to put a good product on the field, pay the bills, and put aside cash for a rainy day.

Tannenbaum may want to see how his approach contrasts with say, BC where the new owner is building bridges in the community and doing things to encourage attendance. MLSE doesn’t seem to put much stock or effort into building a fan base and it would be fair to say the clock is ticking on a sale of the Argonauts.

This may solve one problem with the CFL ridding itself of an owner who had one foot out of the door, but it raises another with where the Argos may play if they are sold.

The Argos had problems getting facilities never mind a decent schedule at BMO Field, and with a vengeful owner feeling his franchise value is derived from soccer, expect to see the Argos to again pay for the hubris of their owners.

The season starts Thursday with Montreal going to Calgary. Calgary swung a trade with the Riders for a punter and Calgary has been pretty much trying to make up for its roster being picked over in free agency and NFL tryouts.

The major question for Calgary has been the health of Bo Levi Mitchell’s shoulder and judging from the two exhibition game appearances, the prognosis seems to be more time is needed for the shoulder to get back to where it once was.

Calgary had signed former Rider Jordan Williams-Lambert only to cut him at the end of training camp, so what Calgary might have for receivers may be sufficient, but whether the Stamps have an arm to deliver the ball to those receivers is not certain.

No one can deny Montreal has talent, but the question at the end of last season is whether Montreal has the discipline to ride the talent into the playoffs and past the first round. Vernon Adams Jr. is back as the starter with Trevor Harris as back-up, which should work out on paper.

Montreal can win this game, but I suspect they won’t because I’m still not convinced the team can play for each other instead of their own egos. Calgary should win this one 28-17.

On Friday Ottawa goes to Winnipeg with practically a new team and the first time Ottawa head coach Paul La Police has been back in Winnipeg since winning a Grey Cup.

Ottawa has Jeremiah Masoli starting and that will ensure a more mobile QB than say, uh, the traffic cones who served as Ottawa QBs last year. While Masoli is an improvement, the rest of the team will need time to come together and while Ottawa can count on surprising an opponent or two, consistent success will come when both sides of the offense and defense understand what they are doing.

Winnipeg is going for a three peat, this is where their banner goes up and the Grey Cup rings get handed out. Winnipeg wins this one 31-24.

Edmonton goes to BC and the tear down that Chris Jones started on the Elk, or Chronic Wasters, continues. If his previous work in Edmonton and Saskatchewan is any indication, expect the Chronic Wasters to have a decent defense and maybe a competent offense.

BC waved goodbye to Michael Reilly at QB to try starting a pair of Canadian QBs in Nathan Rourke and Michael O’Connor. There will be growing pains, but the Lions showed against the Riders they will have flashes of competence on their offense and their defense will be able to keep them in.

BC wins this one 31-14.

Hamilton invades Mosaic on Saturday night to play the Riders in their season opener. Hamilton is coming off two consecutive Grey Cup losses and well, history is not kind to a team trying for the trifecta.

Hamilton has a solid defensive line with the addition of former Rider Micah Johnson, so do not expect the Riders to run with any success in this game. The Riders will have to pass their way down the field and if their defense can get consistent pressure, they should do help the Riders figure things out.

I would expect a low scoring game with a lot of playoff intensity. The Riders lost to Winnipeg in the Western Final, the Cats lost to Winnipeg in the Grey Cup. Both teams have a major chip on their shoulder and this game should give each team a pretty good idea of what they have to do to win in 2022.

If you could bet in Saskatchewan, go with the Riders to win 21-20. The Riders have a team capable of going 12-6 and this will go a long way to show whether or not the team will get there.