Get Ready for a Shoot-out Saturday!

The Riders paid tribute to Rajyaguru and Dalke before the game, but the team’s head was not in the game with the normally tight defense giving up long touchdowns due to a lack of communication, which was strange considering Rolan Milligan was returning to the defensive halfback position.

The Riders were not helped by the offense occasionally breaking down and not moving the ball as efficiently as in previous games. The Riders did shut down Justin Rankin of the Elk but allowed over 500 yards in passing by Cody Fajardo who also hit a cross bar in tribute to his memorable doink in the 2019 Western Final.

The Riders missed a field goal and had a punt return touchdown by Daniel Wiebe voided by a penalty goal and Harris missing a sure touchdown by throwing short of a wide-open receiver to put the game away. The win left the Elk at 6-1 and sole possession of first place in the west while the Riders dropped to 4-2 and a tie for second.

If this game was like a classic heavyweight boxing match from the 1970s, the rematch on Saturday in Edmonton should be a continuation of the same. The Riders will be working on resolving their communication in the defensive secondary and tinkering with their defensive line to see if they can put more pressure on Fajardo without losing people in coverage on a diverse Elk offense.

The Elk almost gave the game to the Riders and while the Elk did get a walk-off field goal to win it, it got me to think that while the Elk are working on winning games but might not be ready to close the deal as a contender in the west. The Elk have shown they are more than just the Justin Rankin show or Aaron Mack show with a supporting cast of receivers that bear watching.

On Saturday night in Edmonton, they are expecting 30,000 fans for one of the biggest crowds in Edmonton in years. They should expect to see the Elk and Riders rev up their offenses for a repeat of last week.

The Riders will be without running back AJ Ouellette who has a bit of a knee injury and was moving a big gingerly in the two practices I took in this week. The Riders will bring in Quali Conley who hits the holes in the line very quickly and hopefully is as good a blocker as Ouellette in protecting Trevor Harris. Conley is also a good receiver and will be tough to catch if Harris hits him on the fly.

I would also expect the Riders to use short yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens even more because he gets the yardage he needs and more when he is in short yardage. Stevens does have an arm, and could surprise with a pass, but with his running I would expect the Riders would use him and Conley to control the time of possession and keep the ball out of Fajardo’s hands.

One guy to keep an eye on is Daniel Wiebe who had a punt return for a touchdown called back on a penalty that had nothing to do with his run. Wiebe can return kicks and he reminds a lot of people of Weston Dressler with his speed and size.

The Elk are for real, but on Saturday night the Riders get back in the race with a 29-28 win.

Calgary went into Winnipeg and beat the Bombers 52-30, reinforcing Calgary as a team that scores big and then not scores big. Vernon Adams Jr. is having a most outstanding player type of season while their defense tends to sway from one extreme to another.

The Bombers were thrilled to get Dru Brown back into their quarterback room after Zach Collaros went down with a neck injury, but either Brown is vastly overrated, or Ottawa Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie had it right when he was not impressed with Brown’s passing.

The other problem with the Bombers is they have stuck with some of their veterans well past their best before dates. Being loyal to your players is one thing when you are showing up in five Grey Cups, winning two and losing three, but when you are barely getting past teams like Ottawa, you can’t expect to match points with Calgary when they are on.

Calgary goes to Hamilton, who have also lost their starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell for the season with his ankle injury. Hamilton gave Montreal a close game until the fourth quarter in a 31-18 loss that was notable for Tre Ford having various brain cramps and throwing interceptions that clinched it for Montreal.

Hamilton’s defense can keep them in the game and after games of Jake Dolegala and Tre Ford trying their hand at leading the Cats, Scott Milanovich may be looking at an option where Dolegala handles certain situations and Ford taking others and maybe someone else taking a third of the snaps. Milanovich may be looking at seeing if Dolegala and Ford and whoever could maybe add up to one Mitchell, but getting the quarterbacks to buy into a rotating system may be asking too much.

Calgary can climb into a tie for second place with a win and their offense is much better than Hamilton’s, but Hamilton does have a defense that can give them a shot at winning. I will be surprised if Calgary can launch another 50 plus points on a hapless opponent, but Hamilton’s defense shouldn’t allow such a violation.

Calgary wins 32-28.

The BC Lions may not be mathematically eliminated, but they are on the way following their 26-12 loss to Toronto. Chase Brice took over for the injured Nathan Rourke and led the Lions to no touchdowns. The Lions managed to take out Chad Kelly with a neck injury, but Toronto responded by bringing out Grey Cup MVP Nick Arbuckle.

Rourke is making noise about returning in weeks, but by that time it may be too late for the Lions. Kaidon Salter will take over the controls for the Lions and his brief appearance against the Argos showed more fire than what Brice did but…

James Butler is out for the Lions at running back and the Lions will put in Emani Bailey at running back, Anu Una at Left guard and Tyran Walker-Hunt at right tackle. If the Lions can block, maybe they can run Bailey and take pressure off of Salter, and it will be possible to pick up yardage on the geriatric Bomber line.

If Brown continues to throw interceptions, the rabid Bomber horde may start to look to Tommy Condell’s head to roll as the Bombers try to stay relevant. The Bombers are fortunate to have a Lions team that has some fundamental flaws in their lineup and while BC is desperately fighting for a playoff spot, they will fall just short to the Bombers 28-27.

Montreal goes to Ottawa and Montreal managed to get above a very competitive Hamilton team just in time for their 31-18 win. The TSN adulation of Montreal Quarterback Davis Alexander went down just a bit as Alexander threw his first interception of the year.

Montreal’s offense is operating on all cylinders while their defense can be had but could also be working into form for the playoff rush. Montreal can continue to rack up the wins as they appear to be unchallenged for first place in the east but could face some pushback from Toronto.

Ottawa on the other hand is coming off a bye week and Jake Maier not only needs to deliver on the faith Dinwiddie has shown him, but the rest of the Redblacks better play up to their potential or they too will see a playoff spot disappear before their eyes. While it is good to see crowds coming back to Edmonton, Ottawa better start giving their fans a reason to believe.

But not this week – Montreal wins 34-27.

by Greg Urbansoki

Get Ready for a Shoot-out Saturday!

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