Dan Plaster
Hello fans, as we get ready for another pilgrimage to Mosaic Stadium, there is a sense of early season urgency in Riderville. Well, as I said during our Countdown to Game Day web show (seen HERE), “let the cake bake”. I can’t take credit for this line, I heard it during one of the many NCAA Conference Media days, but it really does apply to this current situation. This is a long season, and sometimes a great start doesn’t mean a great finish and vice versa.
Sure a one-and-two start isn’t great, and I think the way the losses unfolded left a bad taste in the players and coaches mouths. They all know they have to be better, and with the amount of changes throughout the line-up, it will take time. It won’t get any easier today as the Riders face the Toronto Argonauts for the second and final time this season. They met in week two at Rogers Centre in Toronto with the Green and White handing the game over to the Argos 48-15 (the largest margin of defeat during coaching tenure of Corey Chamblin). Many things will have to change for the Riders to improve to two and two and climb into a tie for fourth with the BC Lions in a hyper-competitive West Division.
Opposition Quick Hitters:
We know Ricky Ray is probably the top pivot in the CFL, and it shows on first downs where he has a 74% completion percentage on 1st and 8+ yards (with the vast majority being 1st and 10).
– Anthony Coombs sees the ball (running or receiving) 14% of the time on 1st and long with Chad Owens seeing the ball 16%
– The Argos run 30% of the time on 1st and long
Things drastically change on 2nd and long (8+):
– Of the 32 plays over the 4 games this season, the Argos ran the ball twice
– In the next 30 plays, Ray was sacked four times
– Ray has a completion percentage of just 46% on those 2nd and long situations
– Anthony Coombs sees the ball the most during these situations at 16%
So, huge factors to the Riders success tonight; force as many 2nd and longs as possible and allow the great Rider pass rush to get to Ray and make his life miserable. This is a double edged sword, because their over aggressiveness got them in trouble in Toronto with the Argos running a ton of screen and counter plays to take advantage of this aggressiveness. Patience will be key.
Rider hits:
– The one glaring stat that stands out above all the rest is that the Riders are being out-scored 40-0 in the 4th quarter. This is almost unheard of for this group of players. This stat will very likely even itself out, and let’s hope it starts tonight at Mosaic Stadium.
– What team comes off a bye week more banged up than when they left? Easy answer, this one. As the week went on, the receivers began to drop with both Alex Anthony and Ryan Smith joining the injured list along with centre Dominic Picard.
– This will be the CFL debut for three players: Dan DePalma (SB), Alex Pierzchalski (WR), Matt Webster (DB) and the Rider debut of Will Ford (RB).
– Dan Clark will get his first ever start on the Rider offensive line at centre, replacing injured Dominic Picard.
– Chaz Schillens has been taken off the injured list and will be a great addition to the Rider receiving core.
– 8 different faces will be in the Rider line-up as compared to just 3 weeks ago in Toronto.
Fast Facts:
– Chris Best will make his 70th regular season start
– Tearrius George will appear in his 80th career CFL game
– Since 2008, all eight of the Riders wins over the Argos have been decided in the final three minutes
– Darian Durant has started every game against the Argos since 2008 except for one (Aug 29th/08 Michael Bishop).
– Heading into week five Anthony Allen still leads the CFL in carries of 10+ yards with 10
– Darian Durant is 87 yards from overtaking Danny Barrett for 21st on the all-time passing list. He needs nine more TD’s for 100 career touchdown passes and is one more 300 yard game from 30 in his career
Five things I will be watching:
1. Punt Coverage – the usually stout Bob Dyce punt team has had a tough start to the season. While Josh Bartel is mid-pack in average yards per punt, the Riders are dead last in net yards per punt. The opponents are averaging a league best 13.8 yards per return have there have already been 2 returns over 30 yards this season. When things settle down here, this will relieve a little pressure on the Rider defence and any extra yards a team can find, especially on special teams is a huge bonus.
2. Anthony Allen – Despite what the media says, there is no running back carousel, unless your amusement park likes a merry-go-round with only two horses. Anthony Allen will be playing in his fourth straight game and will still see the ball a lot. Yes, Will Ford was brought in and Jerome Messam is providing relief for an injured Neal Hughes, but Allen is the consistent part of this rotation and will provide a spark to this offence. And it’s not unique for the Riders to have three running backs on the roster, remember last season (Sheets, Sanders, Hughes)?
3. The ever-changing receiving core – if we are on the carousel routine, the Rider receiving core definitely fits the bill, but this is completely because of injury. Chris Getzlaf is still out and Ryan Smith hurt his hand in the last practice of the week. That means even more changes to this group of pass catchers and more pressure on Darian Durant to connect with those he is familiar with. Chaz Schillens is back into the line-up and will provide a spark, but it’s up to those consistent parts of the offence to step up in Taj Smith, Brett Swain and Rob Bagg to help their QB out.
4. Tackling – This hasn’t been just a Rider problem, but man, the tackling in the CFL so far this year has been below average at best. You don’t have to blow people up and make the highlight film, just be a sure handed tackler or hold the ball carrier up and wait for help.
5. Dwight Anderson – Just because he’s fun to watch, and I may learn some new and colourful words.
Thanks for reading, and you can follow me on Twitter @dan_plaster, and make sure to tune into “Rider Rewind” the Tuesday after every Rider game and our new show “Countdown to Game Day” every Thursday night, all on riderville.com. See you at the game!!!
