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Saturday, September 13, 2014

One Ti-Cat Sick Of Losing To Riders



Brian Simmons isn't looking to provide the Saskatchewan Roughriders with bulletin board material. There's no disrespect intended.
                        
But having lost four straight games to the Riders — including last year's Grey Cup and this season's opening day matchup — the Tiger-Cats' guard has had it up to here with Saskatchewan Ws.
"I'm so tired," he says, "of losing to that team."
                       
Simmons and his mates will get another shot at redemption this Sunday when the Riders become the second visiting team to grace the new — though still unfinished — Tim Hortons Field. Saskatchewan is 8-2 and looking for a franchise-record seventh straight win. Hamilton is 2-7 and trying to stay competitive in the woeful East Division.
                        
As lopsided as the matchup would appear, not everything is trending in Saskatchewan's favour. The team will be without starting quarterback Darian Durant for the reminder of the season and backup Tino Sunseri will be making his first career CFL start.
                       
But while Durant has certainly been effective this season, it's been the running game that has served as the Riders' primary offensive catalyst. They lead the league in virtually every rushing statistic and have had three running backs — Anthony Allen, Will Ford and Jerome Messam — named CFL player of the week this season.
                        
Ticats defensive end Eric Norwood, who will likely return to the lineup in place of the injured Antonio Coleman, says the Riders have essentially flip-flopped his standard priority list.
"Stop the run, then get pressure on the quarterback. They'd be crazy not to run the ball with the guys they have," Norwood said. "If you ain't got no pride, then you ain't going to stop it at all."
Speaking of pride, Simmons says his was bruised during the week one match up that saw the offensive line surrender 10 sacks, including two by CFL leader John Chick, who now has 13 on the season.
                        
"I'm still pretty upset about that game. I know it's been a rough season for us, but when I look at all the games I feel like that's the one where their truly was no chance for us to win it," Simmons said.
The team has made a number of changes since that rain-soaked day in late June, and just two of the five starters on the line remain. Quarterback Zach Collaros — who took responsibility for a number of the sacks in the opener — says the entire offensive unit is better.
                       
"I think we feel a lot more comfortable coming into this one and have a better idea as to what they are going to do," said the quarterback who has thrown for more than 300 yards in his last two contests since returning from a concussion that forced him to miss seven games. "We're going to have to protect, be on time in routes and I'm going to have to get the ball out of my hands."
                       
Ticats head coach Kent Austin says the real trouble starts when the Riders get both things going at once.
"It's not just their offence running the football effectively, it's their defence getting offences off the field," Austin said. "Your defence gets worn out and it starts to show up later in the game."
                       
While Collaros downplayed the revenge angle — he wasn't part of the Grey Cup-losing squad and said the team needs wins of any stripe at the moment — Simmons may be developing something of a Saskatchewan complex. Again, he's inclined to be circumspect but ...
"I'm just really looking forward to the opportunity to compete," said Simmons. "That's all I can really say about it."
 
(Hamilton Spectator)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hamilton Tiger Cats win this showdown. This will be the start of the Saskatchewan Roughriders rapid team decline into obscurity under the Taman watch as he knows absolutely nothing about long term development. Previous team editions 1999/2011 built by other's, any residual player remnants from the past getting old and brittle, fading away.to oblivion.

Go Cats Go ! Go Cats Go !

Anonymous said...

You will have to come up with something enormously better than this! What you just said is so ridiculous all it does is confirm your own stupidity!
Y'er welcome.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous #2 not realizing he answered his own question thereby putting him In the top spot #1 of Mr.Mitchell/others Idiots database.

Go Stamps Go !!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow !!!! Bo Levi Mitchell gets carted off the field of play and the Stampeders of Calgary don't miss a beat with their second string QB. Hmmm, his last name sounds familiar, Tate, ? as does Glenn ? Burris ? Willy ? etc etc. Didn't they once play for .... ? What kind of management lets QB's of this caliber walk away via trade or free agency?

Anonymous said...

Romby, Romby Bryant? Isn't he the speed demon who killed the Saskatchewan Roughriders play-off hopes one year? He'snow playing for the Blue Bombers 2014, and still skilled at his position.

Anonymous said...

No stupidity, just the hard cold truth of facts mame.

Anonymous said...

Oskee ....... Wee Wee,
Oskee ....... Waa Waa,
Holy MAKINAW !!!!
Roughriders Ear'en RAW !!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Classic case of a GM not taking care of business. He didn't have a competent back-up to replace DD should he go down, which he did. All of the good work this season went down at the same time. Buono said on Friday game that you can't win without an experienced QB. Taman didn't think anything was ever going to happen to DD. He could have signed Glen but said he had no interest in him. Sunseri may develop somewhat but he will never win a Grey Cup for this team. Isn't that we were shooting for OR was it to give Sunseri some reps in order to have some other organization sign him after next season?

Anonymous said...

Present a solution then?

Here it is in plain simple english just for you Anonymous. "Fire Taman". He had all off season plus some to to do a job, but he sat on his big fat a** not doing anything to address this scenario that is now being played out due injury to the starter. "Fire Taman"

Anonymous said...

I guess Brian Simmons isn't sick this morning. Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

and replace him with who ? and then that guy will just go out and pluck a starting qb off the tree? you have no football knowledge, do yourself a favour and stop exposing your ignorance here. LATER...

Anonymous said...

No ignorance, just fed up with Taman's bullsh*t of no long term team development and his tired old act of building through other's reject cast-offs.
Replace him with a person with "real football connections and knowledge, administration background, someone who's actually played the game",

Mr Cory Chamblin !

Do yourself a favor, wake up ! Last years Grey Cup championship courtesy of collective input by VP of operations Jim Hopson and board of directors in a win at all costs on home field mindset, mission accomplished 2013.

Anonymous said...

hopson and the board were making player personnel decisions were they ? wow are you confused. you still havnt given your idea for durants backup yet. waiting .....

Anonymous said...

Player recruitment and developement. This 2014 CFL season, who knows where anyone can find a veteran outside of Burris, and that's not good. Le Favour? He's a occasional hit and miss spark plug. How about Ricky Ray, nice trade for DD once healthy with a couple of throw in's, doesn't hurt to ask, they did it to Kerry Joseph. Pathetic Toronto club on the path to extinction anyway if no new owners found soon.

Anonymous said...

dan le fevour out for year torn up knee man . and argos trade ray lmfao aint gonna happen. dont even breathe the name burris . sunseri is the guy for better or worse there isnt another option

Anonymous said...

argos wont go anywhere till when or if halifax or quebec city gets a suitable stadium till then they are the leagues stepchild. ray is not going anywhere. the biggest worry is if milonovich bales because he dont wanna work in a gongshow situation who would want to coach there? players are retiring over staying there