Riders win West over Entitled Stampeders!

On Saturday afternoon Harker looked like a first year quarterback, but unlike say, Brandon Bridge, he was able to make reads and get the ball down the field and if not for some missed field goals by Brent Lauther and some questionable playcalling from the sidelines, the Riders should have won this game 32-13.

At the end of the game, it came down to Cameron Judge, a first round draft pick who had a troubled first year but has found his legs and this year emerged as the outstanding Canadian and a linebacker who capped off the regular season with a pick six to clinch the win.

And then the fans started chanted “Here We Go Riders, Here We Go!” and the impact of all this was starting to sink in. The Riders are in first place and a game away from being in the Grey Cup game. I looked at my picks before the season began and I picked the Riders to finish first and go to the Grey Cup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. I I have a feeling it will be the Riders and Hamilton in Calgary on November 24.

So this week armchair QBs are checking out what exactly are oblique injuries and what is the recovery time for them. It’s not written in stone, and while Fajardo said he would be ready to play regardless of the pain in the western final, Rider fans should be prepared to accept that while Fajardo may start, he might not finish.

So that means making it to the Grey Cup will require a total team effort and when you look at players like AC Leonard who played like a man possessed on Saturday, this team has totally bought into the concept that Craig Dickenson has brought them and the results are a team that seems to be able to win despite the odds against them.

The Rider 23-13 win over Edmonton was also notable for the Al Bradbury reffing circus where both Edmonton and Saskatchewan were repeatedly victimized by calls that verged from the sublime to the ridiculous. One of the more interesting statistics in the league would be the record of teams playing under various refs and what sort of calls are made more often by the respective refs.

Another thing that was notable was even though Saturday afternoon in Regina was absolutely perfect for football, there were 29,000 paid attendance, a drop from the sell out one would expect for a day that Rider fans have not experienced that often.

The Riders led the CFL in attendance again this year, but Calgary seems to be the only team that saw an increase in attendance.

1. Saskatchewan 30,723. -4.2% (92%)

2. Edmonton 29,341 -5.7% (52%)

3. Calgary 27,027 +2.6% (76%)

4. Winnipeg 25,414. -5.5% (76%)

5. Hamilton 22,271 -1.1% (91%)

6. Ottawa 22,605 -2.9% (90%)

7. BC. 17,803 -10.9% (33%)

8. Montreal 17,574 -1.4% (75%)

9. Toronto 12,493 -12.1% (50%)

The percentages refers to the number of seats at each stadium. And let’s be honest, the Riders bump the attendance of all teams when they come to visit because Saskatchewan people use Rider games as an excuse for reunions with other Saskatchewan people who left to go elsewhere, but didn’t give up their right to be Rider fans for life.

Whether the CFL 2.0 Experiment, which brings in International players as a way to appeal to new Canadians especially in the larger cities, works is an open question, but teams like the Riders are finding out that perhaps things are at a tipping point for fans who have kept the team at the top of the financial reports.

Fans will pay so much, but no more, to take in a football game and the whole value for money paid feeling when you look at the cost of beers, food and whether or not it is cheaper to be at home, pick up a dozen and order in a pizza, is something other teams have been attempting to deal with.

Edmonton and Winnipeg made some changes in their ticket and concession prices to be more attractive to families and people who are not corporate sponsors. BC went with a ticket plan to make it easier to bring kids to games.

Montreal may have given some tickets away, but the play of the team may have helped make the bleeding not so bad. The way the Wetenhalls, the previous owners, lost money, you have to wonder what exactly was going on, but with competent ownership and buy in from the local business community, Montreal could be perched on the verge of a competitive run fitting for a city that is a front runners paradise and let’s be honest – Montreal is a Canadiens’ town.

In BC David Braley has thrown the search for ownership open to those living outside of the province, not getting what he was looking for locally, but also warning the new owners should be ready to lose about $7 million a year. While Braley should be thanked for keeping three franchises afloat, he did not do much to keep them thriving and that involves an ownership group looking to take the long view and actually do the work to market to all people.

In the NFL the Monday after the regular season is known as Black Monday because coaches on losing teams get fired. In the CFL on Monday it was Redblack Day as Rich Campbell announced he and the Ottawa RedBlacks were parting ways.

Campbell was the only coach the Redblacks had known and a combination of a friendly expansion draft and some nice player moves got the Redblacks into the Grey Cup game a number of times and winning one Grey Cup. This season however Ottawa’s GM Marcel Desjardins, let quarterback Trevor Harris walk, along with running back William Powell, offensive lineman Sirvincent Rogers and receiver Greg Ellingson.

The problem is that the players Desjardins thought would replace them did not do what was expected, and Ottawa fielded a team that would have gotten beaten by say, the University of Ottawa GeeGees. So Campbell left, and will get paid this season, but obviously figures he will be working again.

The first place would be Edmonton where the Campbell name is gold and if Jason Maas goes down in flames in Montreal, he would be booted and Campbell brought in to work once again with Harris and Ellingson. Other potential landing spots would be Toronto, maybe Winnipeg. Campbell will not be out of work for long next season.

Taking over for Campbell might be names like Paul LaPolice, although Noel Thorpe might have the inside edge considering he and Desjardins know each other from their days in Montreal. Tommy Condell might well be another potential head coaching candidate to come in.

All of this distracts from the fact that Ottawa simply doesn’t have the talent to figure out how to win more than three games. The responsibility for that is on Desjardins’ shoulders.

So it is semi-final weekend coming up and two games that should be close and entertaining.

In the Eastern Semi-Final the Edmonton Eskimos go to Montreal as the crossover team and while crossover teams can win the eastern semi-final, they have yet to win the eastern final.

Montreal is one of the feel good stories this year with the team emerging from the Kavis Reed reign of error to finish 10-8 under the leadership of Vernon Adams Jr. who emerged from the shadow of Johnny Manziel to finally be recognized as a leader.

Montreal has the defense in place and the running game to take command, they are prone to the occasional brain farts that a young but improving team are prone to now and then. You would think that Montreal will be running wild at Edmonton and then use Adams ability to scramble to take the edge off of Edmonton’s pass rush which after watching them the last two weeks is pretty good.

Edmonton has a world class defensive line but a really stupid defensive secondary which depends on the ability of the defensive line to get pressure on the QB before they are set to pass. On offense Trevor Harris will be back and when he is in his rhythm, he is next to impossible to beat. But if you can get him off his rhythm, he can be beat.

Edmonton’s only win over a team with a winning record came against Montreal and the team split their series, but that was at the start of the season. Now momentum is on Montreal’s side and Edmonton has shown flashes of offensive gadgetry but again, their defensive secondary are fat and sassy and ready to be plucked.

The problem is while Adams is not a stranger to playoff action, he was on the sideline for the Riders two years ago when they went to the eastern final, he is now in the realm where the fact is there is no tomorrow. When you don’t have the comfort of knowing you can be playing next week even if you don’t win, you try to do too much and them major mistakes that will cost you the game.

That is the difference between Adams and Harris. Harris has been there before and if he gets into a groove, Edmonton may be able to surprise Montreal and derail their Cinderella season. As much as I respect Montreal’s defense, especially John Bowman, Montreal just doesn’t blitz enough to be able to make Harris get off his rhythm

That will be the difference in the game, the experience at quarterback. If Montreal brings back Khari Jones, who won his only Grey Cup ring with the Riders in 2013 (how about that Bomber fans?) I would think this learning experience will help Montreal next season.

The news that Campbell has walked away Ottawa and is likely a leading candidate to take over for Edmonton if Maas self-destructs in Montreal, will be interesting to see if it affects Edmonton. My guess is for all his tantrums and stupid decisions, his players like him and that might be the X Factor as Edmonton beats Montreal 27-24 to win the Eastern Semi-Final and advance against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

If that keeps Maas’ and his circus in Edmonton for the next year, that is good news for Rider fans!

In the western semio-final, Calgary’s nose is out of joint complaining about how the Riders are so lucky while the Stamps are forced to host Winnipeg for the semi-final. If Calgary didn’t feel so entitled, maybe they would have won one or two of the games they lost and once again sat on top of the west, the ultimate fat and sassy team.

The problem is in 2019, injuries have imposed their own form of parity in the CFL and if your back-ups do not rise to the occasion, your season would be like Ottawa’s – short and to the point. So for Calgary to have floundered past BC in the season finale to secure second, it is an interesting scenario they are facing with the arrival of the Bombers.

For Winnipeg, their season may have been salvaged with the insertion of Zach Collaros at quarterback as he led Winnipeg to a win over Calgary in their season finale that effectively gave the Riders the inside track to first place. Collaros is more of a rounded quarterback than Chris Streveler and that experience and the ability to complete a forward pass makes him more valuable than Streveler in getting Winnipeg to the western final.

The problem is Collaros has a glass jaw and if he takes a serious hit, there is no guarantee he will get up from it which would put Winnipeg’s hopes in the hands of Streveler. For the western semi-final, Winnipeg will have to keep Collaros up on his feet and use Streveler on short yardage situations to reduce the opportunities for Calgary to knock him out, which they will attempt to do.

Collaros actually has a pretty good record against Calgary, but beating Calgary with the receiving corps Winnipeg has – hobos and ne’er-do-wells – was a major accomplishment. Winnipeg does have the advantage of having a bye weekend last weekend, giving the team time to work through schemes which may unhinge Calgary and force a mass selling of Grey Cup tickets at cost if Calgary should lose.

When it comes to picking a winner between Winnipeg and Calgary, it is somewhat similar to being asked to pick between bubonic plague and ebola. As the rumors swirl about Mike O’ Shea leaving Winnipeg to take the Toronto job or Paul La Police maybe going for the Ottawa job, one thing that might keep O’Shea in Winnipeg is a playoff run and beating Calgary in Calgary is a great place to start.

Winnipeg has had an extra work to work on its plans for Calgary and for this game, beating up Calgary’s receivers and getting turnovers and being able to capitallize on them may well be the difference for Winnipeg making travel plans to come to Regina for what will be a vicious and unholy western final Winnipeg beats Calgary 27-24.

photo by Greg Urbanoski

by Greg Urbanoski

Riders win West over Entitled Stampeders!

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