Mitchell Blair
I have had the opportunity to write articles for Riderville.com since the start of the 2008 season. It has been something that I and hopefully you have enjoyed. There have been articles that have been easy to write and there have been articles that have been extremely tough to write for one reason or another. However, this story while easy on the surface might be the toughest assignment I have had since starting this gig.
With the football team on its bye week, I have been asked to grade the squad after five weeks. I could make it easy and say give everyone a gold star, give every facet of the game an “A plus” and move on. How can you not do that with the way the football team has started? You have to search for a weakness on this football team or something that would grade out at any less than a B. So many players have great starts to the season and that has translated to a 5-0 start with all five wins coming in convincing fashion. Where do I start? I guess there’s no better spot than the quarterback
- Darian Durant has had the best start to his CFL career. It is safe to say that he has become a star pupil of offensive co-ordinator George Cortez because he is at the head of the class in many categories. Through five weeks, Durant has thrown 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. The 12 touchdowns lead all CFL quarterbacks as does his quarterback rating of 136.9. There is no doubt that we are seeing Durant at the top of the game and the only thing hindering his start has been the injury he suffered in Toronto that prevented him from playing the team’s last game. That foot injury should have healed sufficiently to the point that he will start August 9 against Calgary. The fact Durant has only played in 4 of the 5 games means he gets just an “A”.
- Some will argue Durant is the M-O-P through five weeks of the season while others will argue Kory Sheets. There are compelling arguments to make for both, but in the end, you can’t ignore the numbers that the 28 year old grad from Purdue University is putting up. If he continues on his current pace, he will shatter the CFL’s record for most yards gained in a season as he is on pace for over 25 hundred yards. He is the only Rider running back in the history of the team to have five straight 100 yard games and if everything keeps going the way it has been, he will have six, seven and perhaps stretch the streak into double digits. The Riders have learned that giving Sheets the football is the key to success as he has gained a majority of his yards in the second half with a lot of those coming after the game has been decided. There is no reason to give Sheets anything but an “A plus”
- As a collective group, the Rider receiving group gets an “A’ for their efforts. Durant and Drew Willy have done an outstanding job in spreading the football around with 11 receivers catching balls with seven of them scoring at least one touchdown including offensive lineman Dan Clark. Weston Dressler has been his usual self catching 23 passes with three of them going for touchdowns. He gets a definite “A”. You can’t help but give Rob Bagg an “A” as his comeback appears to be complete and he is once again the speed merchant on the outside that the team has been looking for. Chris Getzlaf has improved from a sub-par 2012 to once again be one of the top Canadian receivers in the game. I’ll give him an “A” as well. Taj Smith has emerged not only as a receiver, but as a blocker. The only thing about Taj I haven’t liked is some dropped passes, but he has more than made up for it. I can’t give him a “B” but those drops will give it an “A minus”. Geroy Simon has made an impact since debuting in Week 4, but because he missed three games, I can’t give him an “A”. He gets a B” plus, but you know that grade will improve as the season goes on if he stays healthy as he showed everyone in Guelph that he is not slowing down.
- The offensive line gets an “A plus” and that may be a little low. The superlatives have been many for this group, but the majority have been for Weyburn’s Brendon Labatte. He has not only been the best lineman wearing green and white this season, but he has been the best lineman in the CFL period. He has bulldozed many a defensive player in creating large holes for Sheets to collect big chunks of yardage and he has helped keep the quarterback clean as the Riders have a league low seven sacks against. If this group continues playing at the level they are at or somehow find a way to take it higher, there is no doubt this team will be in the Grey Cup. While Labatte has been solid, Ben Heenan looks like a savvy vet instead of someone who is still wet behind the years with a year plus of experience while Xavier Fulton just continues along perhaps being the most underappreciated player in the league.
- What was thought to be a weak spot going into training camp has turned into a strength. The Riders defensive line is no longer an area of concern. John Chick is not putting up the numbers he did when he won the CFL’s top defensive player award in 2009 before bolting for the NFL, but it appears evident his time south of the border polished up some of the rough spots he might have had as he appears to have come back as a more complete player. Pressure from Chick and free-agent pickup Ricky Foley have allowed interior linemen Keith Shologan and Tearrius George to each have perhaps the best starts to their careers with George coming off a three sack effort in the win over Hamilton preceding the bye. Talk of who will sack the quarterback is now replaced by talk of leading the league in sacks with 22. No one is saying the d-line is the team’s weak link now. Once again, all members might not get an “A” for their individual play, but they get one as a collective unit.
- If Kory Sheets is the top offensive player in the CFL after the first month of the season, then linebacker Rey Williams has to be the top defensive player. Returning to Riderville for a second stint, Williams is playing at his highest level and its showing. He is amongst the league leader in tackles with 22 and quarterback sacks with 6. Fellow linebackers Craig Butler and Weldon Brown have been solid with both making big plays at time. Collectively, I will give this unit a “B plus”
- The secondary is doing its job without anyone player standing out. Injuries have had a toll, but the back five has not had many big plays against them and have done a good job of shutting down opposition receivers. I will give this group a “B”, but that is only because of the turnover at the position due to injury. Give the secondary depth an “A”.
- Special teams will get a B. Chris Milo is a perfect 12 for 12, but a lot of his field goals have been of the chip-shot variety. Milo has shown in the past he can make the long field goal of 40 yards and over and he will be needed to make many of those before this season is over. Right now though, he is satisfied as he should be with what he has done. Punter Ricky Schmitt is perhaps the best punter this team has had in years, but Ricky still needs to learn the Canadian game as evidenced in the game against Hamilton here when he didn’t chase down punts into the wind. When not kicking long field goals and not covering shanks is the only negative you can find, its tough not to give special teams an “A”, but there is no reason to think this area can’t graduate to an “A” going into the stretch run.
- This leaves coaching. I don’t dare give Head Coach Corey Chamblin anything less than an “A” for what he has done in the first five weeks for fears of good-natured reprisal, but in all seriousness, what complaints can you find from the head coach. Chamblin expected more of his first year players and like them he has matured and has given more in this his sophomore season carrying the clipboard. His decision to get George Cortez as offensive co-ordinator could very well go down as the team’s biggest move all season long.
At the end of the day, the Riders have impressed everyone with their 5-0 start and they are worthy of the high grades that are given with those perhaps not getting an “A” or higher knowing they are just one or two plays away from achieving that grade. As a team, you can’t help but give them an “A plus” because of the way they have manhandled their opponents over the first five weeks winning all five by double digits. It is too early to tell if this is the best Rider team ever put together as some have suggested or if this team will attempt to get coronated as CFL champions on their home turf at the 101st Grey Cup, but the first month of the season has been one of the best if not the best ever in franchise history and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
The Riders are currently on their bye week and will not play again until Friday, August 9 in Calgary with their next home game on Saturday, August 17 against Montreal. Will they be 7-0 at that time? One has to like their chances after the performance of the first five games, but as the team will tell you those five games don’t mean anything now as they prepare for their Western opponents.
