All the play-acting is done. The regular season is over and now… the quest begins to defend the title. Question is… are the boys up to it? Despite running through a season that resembled a MASH unit at times, it appears that most of the war wounded are making their way back to the battlefield.

The ultimate question remains, though. Will there be someone... ANYONE…who can step up to the plate at the quarterback position?

From the sidelines here, there are three guys who at any given moment can take an offence and play great music with it. The problem is that sometimes some pretty sour notes hit the ears and we are left to hold our ears in agony.

Will the good Bishop or the awful one show up? Will the Steven Jyles merry-go-round toss up a spectacular long bomb or another teleprompter-diagrammed interception?

Will the brilliant Darian Durant step on the field, or the erratic one who tends to throw to the “other guys” in the endzone?

It is to wretch.

Fact remains, Wes Cates has to stay healthy and both lines need to smack around their opponents. No protection and no defensive pressure means that there will be no repeat.

In this most bizarre of Rider seasons, the boys always have found a way to pull out wins. Can that factor get us by BC and ultimately by Calgary ? Henry has had his playoff issues and he's due for a break-out game.

We have written the Riders off more than once this season and it would probably be wise not to do it here. The nerves are a bit raw at this point, though.

We shall see on Saturday!

Wednesday, August 27

Sorry for the gap between blogs here. Family stuff took major priority.

Labour Day time and we all know that THAT means. For those of you in a cave, it means that the lazy hazy days of summer football are now over and the business of getting to the Grey Cup now begins in earnest. With the Riders just off their break and a two game loss streak, it appears that Eric the Red has seen about enough of Marcus Crandell's ground balls to short and has made a move. On paper, Michael Bishop appears to be a physical upgrade to what Marcus was able to provide. At the beginning of the year the fear was that Crandell would evoke memories of Marvin Graves and despite the wins it was not a QB-driven set of wins with him at the controls. The Edmonton game was awful and that comes from someone who was at the stadium, absorbing all the catcalls from the green and gold "mouth-breathing" fans.

Football is a win now type of business. You just have to look at Winnipeg and Toronto to see how fortunes can turn south fast, and fans can see the constant tinkering of parts is always needed. In one respect Tillman isn't afraid to pull the trigger on a trade to upgrade the talent pool. What the unknown factor becomes is how that translates in the locker room. People looked up to Marcus Crandell and now that he is out the door, how will that figure into the chemistry. Given the last game was as bad as it gets, though I guess it sends a message to the troops that you can't afford to sit on a 6-2 record.

The only thing I fear about al this is that Darian Durant is a bonafide star in the making and that sends a message to him that he will need to continue to wait his turn. He had an outstanding run guiding the offence while he was healthy and this stuffs a cork in his aspirations for now (at least with the Riders). He may just decide to test the waters and we will be once again left with a 33 year old QB calling the shots next year.

Too far ahead of ourselves here…

A couple more things to stew about. Both lines need to step up to the plate. In the Edmonton game they looked like floor mops and were humiliated. It also didn't help to have Adarius Bowman and Mike Washington drop catchable balls or have undisciplined penalties call back receptions when they actually did catch it. The need to play between the ears is also required.

Pray for the return of Fantuz and Flick as nobody else seems to be able to help the QB's out. (see Crandell departure above).

Enough venting for now. Every team needs a little drama during the year to build upon and this team is no different. The difference this year is that with Edmonton now back into it and the Stampeders poised to bust out, I wouldn't wait too long!

Thursday, July 24

I guess it isn't mirrors like in my last commentary. Instead, the Riders have decided that they just don't want to lose games and that's something that you just can't teach! Inevitably there will be some sort of downpoint in the season, but this certainly lays some great groundwork for digging out of any future holes. The injuries have been devastating so far this year, yet the boys keep on ticking. Besides the band-aid job that Ken Miller is doing with bodies filling in for ailing ones, the system seems to be the key and players have bought into it. I mean, losing John Chick and Chunky Adams would usually point toward some sort of doom, but Luc Mullinder and Jimmy Verdon, simply step in and do the job.

On the other side of the ball, what more can be said about Darian Durant? Double "D" has poise wayyy beyond his experience level, so with Crandell out it is an amazing set of numbers he is putting up. Let's just say that if he picks apart Toronto, then we have ourselves someone who should be able to work against pretty much everybody, setting up a cracker-jack of a game on August long weekend. Didn't get your ticket with the Sask Social Club? I'd book now for the October long weekend rematch at McMahon.

When will that bubble burst.....or will it?

Tuesday, July 15

What's in the Kool-Aid?... we are asking ourselves. A three and oh start is rather sleek for this old plough-horse, don cha think? Anyways, we're not sure how they are doing it, but I guess we'll just have to take it, eh? The biggest difference between this year and past ones is that instead of in a critical situation, where the Riders would turtle under the pressure, this year, they have figured out how to dig down and yank a win out of the old hat.

Wes Cates had better stay healthy as he has certainly been the bright bulb on this Christmas tree set. Darian Durant has also been biding his time (does the name Kevin Glenn, ring a bell?) and appears ready to step up into a bigger role should Marcus Crandell get hurt or begin any nose dives. Very impressive outing against Hamilton .

Anybody else have their stomach churn a bit when DJ Flick's leg rotated like a power drill? Weston Dressler looks pretty god as a replacement, give or take a wonky hamstring.

Next up is Montreal and the way they have been playing recently, they will certainly be a hand-full. No doubt Reggie Hunt will be out to prove he deserved a better fate, too.

Anybody feel sorry for Winnipeg or BC yet?

Later dudes…

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!).