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Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Morning After

The natives are restless. They demand answers. I can't really blame them. The Riders laid their second consecutive 4th quarter egg as they lost to Hamilton in a game they could have won. This team could be 5-0. They're not. They are 3-2 and I think they are a football team that can contend for first in the West, but work needs to be done. Here are some thoughts at what transpired yesterday


--Richie Hall is taking a lot of the heat for what happened. I understand that. The inability of the defence to stop those crossing patterns with Chris Williams and the fact that Dave Stala and Onrea Jones were constantly open in goal-line situations is very frustrating. However, injuries are taking its toll on the secondary and its starting to show. Nick Graham struggled, Paul Woldu was in this bloggers opinion giving way too much of a cushion to Williams and it didn't seem as if he was meshing well with Terrell Maze. While this was happening, three defensive backs were sitting on the sidelines injured---Eddie Russ, Woodny Turenne and Tristan Jackson. The Riders are scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the secondary and against a receiving core that Hamilton has perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that Henry Burris had his way with them. That being said, the d-line didn't make life miserable for Hank.

--Say what you will about Henry Burris, but he is making the Stampeders look bad for making that trade as he is playing some of the best football of his CFL career. Four more TD passes yesterday gives him 15 on the year. Ever since he got yanked for throwing an INT late in the first half in Vancouver, Burris has turned it around. So have the Ti-Cats for that matter

--I'll give credit on this one to Matt Dominguez, but I agree with him totally. Dominguez (who is outstanding in his role on CKRM and CTV and would be better on the TSN panel than Milt Stegall) said after the game that he thinks Kory Sheets needs to touch the ball more. The guy has an explosive capability to his game and Dominguez thinks the Riders need to do what the Eskimos do with Hugh Charles and give Sheets at least 15 touches a game whether it be running or receiving. Dominguez feels Sheets could be that number 3 weapon behind Dressler and Getzlaf. I don't disagree.

--Darian Durant is taking some heat for his performance. Yes, he once again had a costly fourth quarter turnover when he fumbled which I thought was the key play of the game as the energy got sucked out of the stadium, but when you put up 34 points, you should win the football game. Durant did enough to get his team the win, but the defence let the team down. I didn't like the last series of the game when Durant threw all three times unsuccessfully to Chris Getzlaf, but you would have to look at the film to see who else was open. He might not have had any choice. I also thought Darian had some opportunities to run yesterday and he didn't.

--When Taj Smith gets the ball into the endzone, should we refer to it as a "Taj-down". Sorry, that was rather Vanstonish of me! Apparently, we both Tweeted that at almost the exact same time yesterday. He sits a few people away from me in the pressbox so I guess its a case of great minds thinking alike right Rob?

--It had to be a tough night for Chris Milo. He said after the game to pin this one on him seeing the guys put him in a position to win the game. What had to make it tougher for Milo is the guy whose job he took was sitting on the other sidelines. 47 yard field goals are tough no matter if you are in the CFL, NFL, CIS or NCAA, but missing the 38 yarder earlier in the game was one he should have had. Milo has been a little inconsistent this year. That needs to improve.

--Warren Woods of Global and I are thinking the same thing on this. When a team is called for no yards in the endzone as was the case in the game yesterday, they should not get a point if the other team declines the penalty. In what sport does a team get a point when they are penalized. The CFL should change that rule saying there is no point and simply giving the offence the ball at the 20 yard line. Of course, they could go one step better and just eliminate the "rouge" altogether.

--After a 3-0 start, this team is certainly in need of going into pit row to get the oil changed and the tires rotated, but there is no need for an overhaul. Despite the two game losing streak, the Riders are still first in the West at 3-2 and its a great improvement over what we saw last year. The CFL has had many close games this year and there is nothing to suggest that won't change. I'm guessing we will be in for a few more nail-biters this year with games coming down to the final seconds and that is great for the league, but emotionally nerve-wracking for the fans. Get ready, this ride is a long ways from being over. Buckle up!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're right when you talk of the no yards in the end zone then you blow it by suggesting they eliminate the rouge. Mitch, it's Canadian. We have a better game than the Americans do but some people are blinded by 'Yankee worship' that they can't think straight. Keep the Rouge!!!

Anonymous said...

The rouge is ridiculous and rewards a team for failure. Get rid of it!

Anonymous said...

Dominguez is right. It also asks the question as to why Charles was let go for nothing. Is this a Miller mistake or do we pin that one on Taman?

Riley

Anonymous said...

Woldu was playing as if he was scared that Williams was going to fly by him. It made it very easy for Williams to create some space on those crossing plays.

Anonymous said...

Durant simply has to be better in the crunch. His first three games were great, but he has made some questionable decisions in the 4th quarter of the last two games. Why on 2nd and 2 would you not run Sheets or run something with Dressler or Sanders. Very frustrating!


Dustin

Anonymous said...

Dustin; DD doesn't call the plays.

Mike from Vita, MB said...

Could Lance Frazier get a "Call" to fill in on an emergency basis?

Anonymous said...

How much longer can we tolerate Richie Hall? Chamblin is a defensive guy. Tell Richie to hit the road already and open up some eyes!

Anonymous said...

Milo has been an inconsistent FG kicker ever since he got here. Collapse aside by the defence yesterday. Milo cost us that game with two big misses. I am guessing Chamblin will be bringing in a kicker this week to compete for the job.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Matt's take. Sheets needs to touch the ball a little more. Look at how Hamilton uses Walker.


Tony

Anonymous said...

On the last drive DD had 6-7 sideline patterns open. They are always open. You don't need to get it all at once. Ball control and little chance of pics. Remember Milo last year could have won a couple games early and didn't. He too contributed to coach firings. Not good enough. Our MLB is not good enough, we need help in our defensive backfield and a defense captain. Much of this is on Hall, again this year. Time to send a message!

Anonymous said...

Bring back Eddie Johnson!

Anonymous said...

This is all on the defence. Who is in charge of the defence? GET RID OF RICHIE HALL!!!!

Cmon Chamblin. Do the right thing here and send a message that this isn't going to be tolerated!

Kevin

Anonymous said...

Darian is not the only reason we lost but the primary reason. Last Thursday when he served up that late pic in Calgary the air was sucked from Rider fans across the nation. Yesterday the same thing happened when he fumbled. Those were direct outcome altering events. Right now Rider Nation is quick to forgive these mistakes because we don't have a Travis Lulay waiting on the sidelines, therefore have nothing better. We need to find a Travis Lulay for the sidelines. After last season more and more people are becoming alarmed at DD's true leadership qualities. Add this to what is now the "worst" defense in the league and we have some major problems to overcome.

Anonymous said...

Darian is the primary reason? Is Darian on the defence? Did Darian miss two field goals? Darian's biggest problem was he kept throwing to "Goofslaugh" who couldn't catch a cold. That is two straight games that he should have had a TD and had it go clank. Why isn't he being criticized? Is it because he's a hometown kid? The same goes with Woldu. Nice coverage. No wonder you never started in Montreal. Saying Darian is the primary reason the Riders lost is taking the easy way out.

Anonymous said...

Get rid of the rouge!

Anonymous said...

Milo is 11/17 on the year in FG's. Missing six in five weeks is not good. What also isn't good is attempting 17 FG's. The offence isn't finishing drives.

Offences can't score every time, but kickers are expected to make 95percent of their kicks inside the 40 and 100 of them inside the 30. Its time to bring in some competition.

peter dalla riva

Anonymous said...

Milo is 11/17 on the year in FG's. Missing six in five weeks is not good. What also isn't good is attempting 17 FG's. The offence isn't finishing drives.

Offences can't score every time, but kickers are expected to make 95percent of their kicks inside the 40 and 100 of them inside the 30. Its time to bring in some competition.

peter dalla riva

Anonymous said...

1. Don't get rid of the single point. Its one of the things that makes our game unique

2. FIRE RICHIE HALL

3. Bring in a kicker

4. FIRE RICHIE HALL

5. Tell Bobby Dyce to incorporate a few more plays for Sheets like Dominguez says

6. FIRE RICHIE HALL

7. Bring back Lance Frazier

8. FIRE RICHIE HALL

Anonymous said...

Chamblin needs to make some kind of move this week to get people's tongues wagging and show that he's serious.

I for one would not be upset if it was announced Monday or Tuesday that Richie Hall had been let go. I can't see it happening, but I can dream can't I.

Scott

Anonymous said...

I'm not a wealthy man but I'll sure chip in to cover Richie's moving expenses providing he leaves Regina.

Dollar Bill

Lee-Anne said...

B.C. beat Calgary on Saturday,and Luly completed passes to 9 different receivers!! Are you kidding me? I think that the Riders only have 2 on the field most times. Is Darian getting "locked in" on 89 and 7? He has to start getting confidence in the other receivers or it will be a long season. Case in point..on the last drive of the game, Durant threw 3 times to Getzlaf instead of going through his reads. To me, this was a veteran QB panicking at the worst time. At his stage of his career, Darian should not be panicking.

Lee-Anne said...

Who is the better RB right now? Hugh Charles or Kory Sheets? I would say that Charles is because of the number of touches that he is getting. Charles is used in many more ways that Sheets. Even so, I still think that Hugh Charles is a better all-around RB.