Is this where the Riders fall apart?

The major injury last week was Anthony Lanier on the defensive line, which put some pressure on Malik Carney, who folded like a cheap suit before the Elk offensive line who probably got aroused as Elk usually get when someone talks more with their mouth than their on-field performance.

Leake had two major runs in the fourth to clinch the win for the Elk, both times taking advantage of Carney overplaying his position instead of being patient and seeing how the play was developing. Carney was trying to make the big play the Riders have prided themselves on since the start of the Mace regime, but his emotional reaction played right into the Elk hands.

It seems there are enough ex Rider coaches on the Elk who know the makeup of the players and where their vulnerabilities may lie. The Riders did try to make it close, but while Patterson did not lose the game, neither did he win it. His most impressive drive may have come when the Riders were on their one-yard line, and he managed through a series of Elk penalties and first down plays to get them out of the shadow of their goal posts.

Patterson does well on a short field following a turnover provided by the Rider offense, but he hasn’t shown me at least the ability to lead the team down the field on a clock eating march to get go ahead or clinching points. Patterson has improved over his five games, but again, showing a tendency of someone who has not had a lot of starting experience, sometimes he throws against the grain with his body without maybe checking out which receiver is open.

A quarterback like Patrick Mahomes can pull that off. Patterson is not yet in that area code of the conversation. While Patterson can move, he cannot or has not yet thrown deep and connected like Trevor Harris, which at least forces defensive backs to lay back because they cannot cheat playing tight to the line of scrimmage.

The Riders have used Frankie Hickson as a good replacement for AJ Oulette who has hip problems, but again, they find themselves behind the eight ball on the scoreboard and must abandon the run to move down the field and score points.

Patterson was not helped by his receivers who dropped passes they should have caught. After the second Leake touchdown run by the Elk, I said to a buddy at the game it looked like the Riders had run out of gas both on and off the field.

The other interesting thing about watching the game from Pil Country was seeing McLeod Bethel Thompson on the sidelines, helmet on, ready to go in. Thompson has been said to be showing up just before practice, especially after Ford was named the starting quarterback for the Riders game and the word, I heard from Elks fans was that Thompson has seemed to have checked out of the Elks camp.

Thompson has not played badly for the Elk in the last seven games, which were all Elk losses and probably a team effort as they seemed to come apart at the most inopportune times. I’d have to say while I like a bit of gunslinger confidence in my QB, there is a fine line between confidence and entitlement and Thompson with his record of journeyman quarterbacking in the NFL before breaking a finger in the Grey Cup and leaving the door open for Chad Kelly, surely must realize the end is nigh.

If the stories off the Elk fan sites and what other people are saying are true, Thompson is not making himself an attractive trade or even free agent target. Other than Jake Maier in Calgary, no one has gone through all 18 games as a quarterback over the last couple of years and it is often the duty of an experienced quarterback to hand down his experience because who knows when he goes down with an injury and the backup must go in.

Whether Tre Ford is the answer is another question altogether, because once he makes a circuit through the CFL and there is more film on him, defenses should be able to plan for him better and pay attention to players like Leake who were probably overlooked in Rider game planning.

For the moment though, Ford represents hope in Edmonton and especially after the last three years of the Chris Jones flying circus and many empty seats in Edmonton, hope is a good way to get fans and potential fans interested in buying seats for the team once again. I had an interesting online conversation with George W. Harcus Jr. who used to be the photographer for the PA Daily Herald and an avid Eskimo fan.

He said Edmonton used to lead the league in attendance and if they can sort out who owns the team and who is going to run the football side, there is no reason why fans would not return.

A good start would be Sunday night in Edmonton when the BC Lions come to visit. The Rider loss to Edmonton would be the major story of last week but the Bombers blanking the Lions and forcing Vernon Adams Jr. out with an injury suddenly makes the western division a much closer and more competitive division than it was a couple of weeks ago.

The Lions will be starting last year’s back up Jake Dolegala from the Riders. Dolegala started with a bang, beating BC and Winnipeg before sliding with the rest of the team out of the playoffs. Dolegala can throw a deep ball, he has problems with the touch on anything other than a deep pass.

This may not matter to the Lions who have a speedy receiving corps, but Winnipeg showed the Lions may not have the greatest of offensive lines and Dolegala may have some PTSD from his time behind the Riders offensive line last year.

If the Elk can put enough pressure on Dolegala and use Ford to force the Lions to defend against him or maybe pay attention to Leake, who apparently can run, Then the Elk can add another win to their total and get themselves back into the conversation about playoff chances.

With all the talk of Nathan Rourke maybe coming back, which last week looked like it played on the mind of Adams who felt compelled to prove he is a good quarterback, even if he is small, there is something clearly amiss in the Lions locker room. I don’t think Jake Dolegala is the answer as the Elk will win their first home game 31-25.

Interesting fact before I move on. Ford is also not very big physically which means if you get big defensive linemen putting up their arms, it can play havoc with his ability to get the ball out.

The Riders for their part held out a bit of hope with Trevor Harris maybe coming back off the injury list to go to Ottawa to play, but the Riders got hit with the retirement of offensive lineman Brandon Council who came in for one game and left, apparently not in game shape.

The philosophy of the next man up is taking a beating in Riderville as the offensive line is looking to duct tape the best version of itself during a short week. The one public practice had the players in shorts, not surprisingly since they are playing a short week and while Harris was out there, he was still on his brace which may have on or off during the Tuesday closed practice.

The Riders brought in a couple of players, but for them to turn this around, it will require getting leadership back from the injury list. The Riders have their quarterback, top receiver Kian Schafer-Baker, top offensive lineman Jemarcus Hardrick and top running back AJ Ouellette on the injury list. Add to that offensive lineman Philip Blake and defensive lineman Anthony Lanier and while the Riders have some talent, their depth has yet to step up.

Ottawa is coming off a bye week, a 33-6 win over the Calgary Stampeders and more importantly, they believe in themselves. Ottawa should be looking at this game as an opportunity to position themselves for a run against Montreal who have quarterback injuries of their own and having a wounded and dispirited Rider team coming east is a great opportunity.

This season it is never easy or wise to make glib comments for predictions, but while the Rider players defended their coach, they also showed by their undisciplined play the way Mace wants them to play has perhaps not totally sunk in yet.

I think the Riders are basically waiting for the Montreal game where Harris should be returning along with other key players. If the Riders lose, BC loses and Calgary wins, there will be a three-way tie for first place in the west so the Riders are not really losing too much ground, but at some point, you might want to see some smarter play from these guys.

Both Ottawa and Saskatchewan will be looking past this game, which will be too bad, but I think it will be a 33-31 Ottawa win because again, go with the home team in an east west battle.

Calgary and Toronto complete their season series after Calgary somehow won 27-23 with a fourth quarter collapse by the Argos. I watched the game three times trying to figure out exactly how Calgary did it, and I am still not sure.

Toronto seems to have lost it swagger, although it still has talent on the roster, and it has Chad Kelly looking to see if his gender violence homework passed muster with the CFL. Cameron Dukes has not done bad, but perhaps he is nothing better than a back up quarterback with limited appearances. Kelly had an MOP season last year but absolutely fell apart in the eastern final against Montreal and there is no indication he is mentally tough enough or has enough character to learn from those moments and move on.

Calgary is on the road in Toronto and considering the inability of Calgary to win on the road, Toronto still has more talent than Calgary and should be able to scrape out a win at home, even though Calgary may be starting to think they can a shot at first place…and they do.

It just wont happen this week. Calgary biggest problem, which pretty well everyone but Montreal shares, is a lack of consistency. Calgary will serve notice they are a genuine first place contender with a win in Toronto, but with these two teams waging a defensive struggle, Toronto ekes out a 16-6 win.

Hamilton goes to Montreal and while it is hard to complete a back-to-back sweep of a team, it does get somewhat easier with one team down to its third string quarterback. Montreal signed Dominique Davis to replace Caleb Evans who is out for the season and to help bolster the ranks until Cody Fajardo comes back from his hamstring injury.

The funny thing is that Montreal’s defense has been deciding games for them and I see no reason for them to start. While the TSN pundits love to talk about the comeback of Bo Levi Mitchell, I will continue to insist my cat Cuddlebug can throw the ball better than Mitchell.

Mitchell does not have the personnel around him that he had in Calgary to help carry him through a defensive onslaught such as the one Montreal will bring to bear in front of their home fans. Davis Alexander for Montreal has the advantage of very little film on him and having the personnel around him to not have him force the ball down the field.

Even if Alexander does throw deep, I am still not kept up at nights wondering about Hamilton’s secondary. While my cat may not like my choice of Montreal, defenses do win championships and Montreal’s defense has not shown any signs of coming apart at the seams.

Montreal wins this one 27-16.

by Greg Urbanoski

Is this where the Riders fall apart?

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