Riders on the Verge

The Riders beat Ottawa 20-13 in a game where the score was closer than what it should have been, but the Riders showed they are continuing to be a work in progress. Kian Schaffer-Baker returned to the lineup in the receiving position and helped open up lanes downfield for other receivers, but the most notable play came from AJ Ouellette who ran down an Ottawa defensive lineman who intercepted Trevor Harris and would have scored, except Ouellette tackled him on the Rider 17-yard line and forced Ottawa to settle for a field goal.

Injuries to the starting Canadians in the Rider receiving corps forced the Riders to rely on back ups and the Riders went to a ball control offense and getting into open spaces was most important. Speed has returned to the receiving corps and combined with perhaps the most effective running game since 2013, the Riders in the playoffs will strike deep to get an early lead and then use their running game to put other teams away.

The return of Schaffer-Baker and Emilus is forcing Harris to work on his timing with these two, and remember they were on the injury list and could not practice with the team. For receivers coming off injury and back on the starting roster, it usually takes on average three games for the quarterback and receivers to regain their timing so I would expect the Riders to be fully off and running next week against Stony Mountain Blue Bombers.

Of course, if the Riders win on Friday, I will think Jake Maier would start against Winnipeg since there is no point exposing Trevor Harris to potential injury, especially against a Bomber team that has perfected the art of the dirty hit. I would expect Harris back in the season finale against BC which may be a preview of the western final depending on how the next few weeks unfold.

Nothing has warmed my heart more than reading Bomber fan pages and seeing the reactions range from total despair to clinging to hope that in a three-way tie with Calgary and Stony Mountain for first in the west with the Riders, the Riders would be ranked third and the Bombers would host the western final. The Bombers will be lucky to make the cross over if Edmonton gets its act together and wins their last three games to make things interesting.

The Riders win over Ottawa was due mostly to CJ Revis being moved to safety following a rash of injuries to Nelson Lokombo and Jaxson Ford. Add to that an undisclosed injury to Tevaughn Campbell and defensive back Marcus Sayles, and the defensive secondary has moved from a position of strength to one of fan anxiety.

Ottawa and Toronto were officially eliminated last weekend and Toronto has put quarterback Nick Arbuckle on the injury list for the rest of the season and will start Jarrett Doege and look at their other quarterbacks especially after having sat Chad Kelly on the injury list all year from the broken leg he had in the eastern final last year.

Toronto is doing their own due diligence on their team for next year, but it does raise the possibility that if their quarterbacks do show something, Toronto may be looking at a trade or two to improve their lineup or their draft positioning.

Friday’s game is not a gimme for the Riders. The Riders have had a habit of playing down to the level of teams they are facing (which explains the anxiety and air of unreality the Riders could finish first) and over my 50 years of watching Rider football, the Riders have sometimes been very welcoming to new opposition quarterbacks and made them look like Warren Moon on a hot streak.

The Argos were doomed when they lost their entire defensive line in free agency and did not recruit well enough to replace them. The Argos have been saved by Arbuckle who came in as the back-up quarterback in the Grey Cup last year and beat the Bombers, then continued in that role while waiting for Kelly to mend.

Arbuckle has shown leadership and talent in leading the Argos, and can’t be held responsible for his defense, special teams or receivers failing to play to standards. The Argos will be looking at their remaining roster and trying to answer the question – which players came out and competed even though the team was eliminated?

The ones that did come out and play Friday night are the players Dinwiddie wants for next season. So while the stakes for the Riders are pretty sizeable, for the Argos this is more of an exhibition game.

I feel better about the Riders considering their game day roster released on Thursday and Sayles being back in the lineup. I suspect the offense will look smoother and be more effective in moving the ball, and the return of Joe Robustelli at receiver is always welcome news for Rider fans who enjoy watching a guy not afraid to block and catch.

I have talked about the difference between artistic impression in winning and actual winning. The Riders do not care how a win looks; they are concerned with getting the win.

In a weird way, the team atmosphere on the Riders reminds me of the Blue Jays where everyone contributes to a win. At the start of the year I thought the Riders would win the Grey Cup, and now I think the Jays could well win the World Series because they are playing as a team, much as the Riders are.

The Riders are no dummies, they know the benefits of beating Toronto and clinching first. Of course, they will make it as interesting as possible until the final gun goes off.

Riders beat Toronto 30-27.

Calgary goes to Hamilton in a battle of teams trending in two different directions. During the Calgary loss to BC, I heard someone quote Vernon Adams Jr., Calgary quarterback, talking about his low level of confidence.

The Stampeders fall from number one contender for the Grey Cup to barely hanging on demonstrates conclusively how teams are dependent on luck to get into the playoffs. The Stamps had one of the best defensive lines in the CFL earlier this season, but injuries there and elsewhere show that if you don’t have depth and lose your starters to injury, you are likely going nowhere.

While Calgary is trying to tread water to catch BC and there is a snowball’s chance in hell of them catching the Riders, Hamilton rebounded from a 40-3 thumping at the hands of the Blue Bombers to eliminate the Argos in a game that must have been so satisfying to Hamilton fans.

While the media pump up Bo Levi Mitchell’s tires as Most Outstanding Player, Hamilton is essentially doomed because their defense couldn’t cover a slice of bread. This may not matter against Calgary because Calgary has an offense limited to just running the ball and until Adams gets his mojo back, it is not inconceivable the Stamps could even slide out of the playoffs altogether.

Hamilton should win this 27-24 and Calgary will have some serious questions to try to answer in the next two weeks before the season ends and playoffs begin.

The Bombers goes to Edmonton for a perogy eating contest and are eyeing a cross over berth in the east as the best route to getting to the Grey Cup being hosted by the Bombers. Their win over Hamilton has the good people of Stony Mountain saying the magic is still there for a hometown Grey Cup win but this was Hamilton, and they play in the east where easy games are a way of life.

Edmonton is not Hamilton. Edmonton has a running game and Cody Fajardo has stepped in and made the Elk competitive instead of Tre Ford. Edmonton’s defense has been an ongoing work in progress though and if Zach Collaros gets time and doesn’t have a gust of wind blow him over where then the Command Centre will penalize Mother Nature and, in this case, the Elk, for unnecessary roughness, the Bombers may finally get a test to see if they can handle playoff football.

As much as it pains me to say this, the Bombers have the benefit of experience over the Elk and should win this away game 27-24, which I think should eliminate the Elk from the playoffs.

Finally, we have a turkey of a game on Monday with Ottawa going to Montreal. Ottawa has been eliminated from the playoffs and I would expect Bob Dyce will be replaced as head coach, perhaps by Marc Mueller, Rider offensive coordinator, and Ottawa is looking to audition players and probably coaches for next season.

The return of Davis Alexander and the improving health of the Montreal defense makes Montreal my pick to come out of the east. Alexander has still not lost a game as a starting quarterback, but streaks are made to be broken, although I highly doubt Ottawa is the team to pop that category.

If Hamilton loses to Calgary, Montreal has a door opening to make a move towards first. I think that would be nice motivating factor.

Montreal wins 36-24.

Happy Thanksgiving!

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders on the Verge

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