Friday, June 27, 2008

It's taken until about now to finally unclench our butts following the nail-biter of a Grey Cup. Victory was oh, so sweet, but oh, so painful to watch.

Anyhoo, much like last season, there are a bunch of changes to the Rider roster. First and foremost Ken Miller takes the wheel from Kent Austin and for anyone who dismisses the idea that your coach is the driver of the bus, simply look at last season. Granted Eric Tillman did a major overhaul of personnel and dispatched a lot of salaries, but it was certainly the leadership of Austin that held the boat together. The obvious question then, is whether or not Ken Miller can fill his shoes. Personally, I think that he can. It may not translate into a Grey Cup, but Miller's a veteran guy who doesn't take crap. He is also mature enough to not get a swelled head over last season's successes.

With Paul Lapolice taking over the offence, that also is a shift in direction, however, as Ken Miller ran the offence last year, the philosophy should remain the same.

The question mark, as usual in Saskatchewan, is at quarterback. Marcus Crandell is a good serviceable quarterback. Is he a game breaker? No. Is he a Marvin Graves? Let's hope not. The diamond in the rough here is probably Stephen Jyles, who was acquired in the Fred Perry trade. He is a raw talent who will no doubt be prone to mistakes, but he was highly regarded in Edmonton , where he wasn't getting any playing time behind Ray and Lefors. Add Jason Maas' return and he was a throwaway. With a Joe 747 type arm, let's hope here too that his head isn't similar. Both he and Darian Durant had a good preseason opener against BC. Let's forget the Edmonton game as the O Line was comprised mainly of new guys. A QB needs time after all!

The injury to Matt Dominguez is a very unfortunate occurrence and personally, I'm not sure if rushing to come back is such a good idea. The last thing Dominguez needs is to injure any of his knees. They are held together with duct tape right now, so why push it? The early season reports say that Adarius Bowman is a keeper and with NFL type bloodlines, we might only see him for a year. The rest of the receivers are pretty good and with Andy Fantuz another year older and better, it could be downright scary once everyone is healthy. Again, though can Crandell get them the ball consistently?

Running the ball, Wes Cates is a lock, though some interesting battles are taking place between the Canadian running backs. Neil Hughes and Stu Foord are slamming out some good runs. Don't think they can block like Chris Szarka, but fun to watch.

On the defensive side, losing Reggie Hunt and Fred Perry was tough, but there are a lot of linebackers in the world who can do a good job. Maybe not “Reaper” type good, but who have enough jam to make plays. Anton McKenzie is currently penciled into Hunt's spot and we'll have to see how the rest of it shakes out. Losing Fred Perry now puts the pressure on John Chick to be “the guy”, but when last year we also thought that the loss of Nate Davis was devastating and lo and behold, Marcus “Chunky” Adams steps up to the plate. The intriguing factor here is the arrival of Keith Shologan, the Riders first pick in trhe CFL draft, who was recently cut from the San Diego Chargers. Could be a ratio-breaker before the year's out.

With Eddie Davis back in good health, the db's appear to be in good shape, particularly with Omarr Morgan back. Like a good unit, though without a decent pass rush, they might be left to fend for themselves from time to time.

Kicking game is pretty much status quo and let's not mess with it!

So there… that's the synopsis. From a season prediction standpoint, everyone is expected to be better in the west this season. BC will be outstanding and will have a chip on their shoulders after losing at home in the Western Final. Problem is they are using Buck Pierce at QB, who is brittle and I'm not completely sold on Jarious Jackson as the alternative. Calgary will be a lot stronger with John Hufnagel running the show. A new defense, particularly at coordinator, will mean the world to their 2008 chances. With Hufnagel, thinkKent Austin from last year and this will be the same effect. Edmonton has made a ton of changes and though the players will likely be a lot better, they will probably suck in the first half of the season before catching some fire in the second half. Then again, Danny Macchiocia is the "architect" so when will THAT house of cards tumble?

First – Calgary 12-5

Second – BC 11-7

Third – Saskatchewan 10-8

Fourth – Edmonton 8-10

Roughriders – Sask Social Club
Since the club was formed, the Saskatchewan Social Club has worked closely with the Roughrider Football Club. For example, the past few years we have helped to organize a pre-game tailgate party in Calgary that regularly attracts 4,000 people!

Also, during the 2000 Grey Cup in Calgary, the football club asked us to operate the Rider Hospitality room, which we did with great gusto! 19,000 drinks served in a place that held 400 people was quite something to behold! We have also maintained very close ties, with members of the Rider staff and board often attending events here in town whenever we have held them. That relationship continues and we plan on forging some sort of tie with the Green and White in relation to Rider memberships and the Riderville website.

Riderville is a fundraiser for the football club. A Riderville membership gets a person access to internet accessed Rider information not found in other places, as well as access to the official Roughrider radio broadcasts of games, (featuring Rod Peterson and Carm Carteri). We would encourage all Saskatchewan people in Calgary to show a little support if you can.

Click here to get to Riderville or click here to get to Kevin Clive of the Roughriders, who can answer your questions about the site!

Trivia: The Sask Social Club has plopped over $250,000 into the Calgary Stampeder Kiddy since 1992. That's 300 tickets per year for fifteen years with an average of $50 spent per head, per game on tickets, drinks and food (and that is a conservative estimate!).