Dan Plaster
Hello folks, time to get you ready for this weeks’ CFL game of the year as the Riders (3-2) head to Winnipeg to face the streaking Bombers (5-1) in front of a packed house at Investors Group Field. Now week five’s Battle of Alberta between two undefeated teams in the Eskimos and Stampeders was that week’s game of the year (Stamps came away with the win 26-22, in case you missed it). All this means is the media loves and I mean LOVES hyperbole.
It’s been a slow week in Saskatchewan with the Riders out East in Ottawa preparing for tonight’s game. The Green and White are coming off their second straight win, doing it in grand style with 24 first quarter points en route to the 38-14 win over the REDBLACKS.
One of the topics of discussion before the Riders left and into this past week was why the team was staying out east in preparation for the Bombers. I agree with the team officials on staying out in the Nation’s Capital, because I, like most of you, have flown out of Regina many times. It’s painful at its best and at its worst, it can be downright disgusting . So, with the total lack of direct flights to Ottawa and with more direct flights FROM Ottawa to Winnipeg, it was easy to use the time to prepare for the game by staying. At this point of the season, time outweighs the cost.
I asked Rider Alumni if they remember at any time of their career if they ever stayed away from Regina for a week between games. All said no. Even though the Riders don’t have any recent experience with sort of situation, it happens more than you think (including a few weeks ago when Hamilton stayed in Regina after their week one loss in preparation for their week two game in Edmonton)
The only experience I have with this is in the summer of 2002 when the Don Matthews led Montreal Alouettes stayed in Alberta between games with the Lions and Riders. For some reason the Alouettes stayed in Red Deer where I was sports director at RDTV at the time. Why they stayed there, no clue. I remember their stay because of two things: Ben Cahoon had family ties in Red Deer and Don Matthews was a great interview. What I also remember, Don Matthews forgot (on purpose?) to inform the league on the location of his football clubs’ whereabouts during the week. I had the fortunate circumstance of stumbling upon their practice at Lindsay Thurber High School in Red Deer and filed two days’ worth of stories. I’m also pretty sure the Als were fined for not alerting the CFL on their location.
That year the schedule had Montreal in BC on Wednesday, August 21st, then in Regina facing the Riders four(!) days later on Sunday, August 25th. During that swing, Montreal lost in Vancouver (no surprise, they always do), but turned things around and defeated the Riders 23-9 at Taylor Field. So staying out on the road has happened and it can be successful.
Winnipeg quick hits:
(The Bombers are very average at everything, that’s not a bad thing, there are no real holes so far this season).
– Cory Watson is back in the line-up, he joins a solid receiving group that has four players (Watson, Clarence Denmark, Aaron Kelly, Nic Grigsby) over the 200 yard receiving mark so far this season. Nick Moore is still out.
– Grigsby is option #1 on first down, he gets 46% (prior to last week versus Hamilton) of the touches (run/receptions) on first down. He is also tops in the CFL with 12 runs of 10+ yards.
– Ian Wild is solid up the middle, almost 90% of his tackles come before first down yardage is gained.
– Three of the five Bomber wins have seen them come from behind.
– Even with the come from behind wins, they are not a second half team. Of their 168 points, 85 come from the first half and 83 in the second. Their 77 points allowed in the second half is the second most in the CFL
The Bombers and Riders are one and two respectively in the CFL in a couple of big statistical categories:
Discipline:
1.Winnipeg – 9.5 per game for 85 yards
2.Saskatchewan – 10.2 per game for 87.2 yards
Scoring:
1.Winnipeg – 28 points per game (23.8 offence only)
2.Saskatchewan – 26.8 points per game (24.6 offence only)
Rider quick hits:
– The difference between sacks (21) and sacks allowed (12) currently stands at +9, which is tied for first in the CFL.
– In a weird twist, the Riders have been involved in the highest combined net yardage game (968 in the July 5th loss in Toronto) and the lowest net yardage game (399 in the June 29th win versus Hamilton)
– This is Chris Getzlaf’s 90th career CFL regular season start (99 career regular season game.
– Will Ford is 86 yards away from 1000 career rushing yards (in 27 games/11 starts).
– Fast starts have been the norm for the Green and White:
*They are tops in first and second quarter scoring and 2nd in the CFL in third quarter scoring.
*Fourth quarter scoring is a completely different story, 9 points is by far and away the lowest in the CFL.
Few things I will be watching tonight:
1. The obvious…Durant vs. Willy – This is not teacher facing his pupil, but just a couple of former teammates battling for the first time against each other. They will never be face-to-face on the playing field, but you know that both will compare their results when the clock hits zero. Drew Willy has already demonstrated that he belongs as a starting quarterback in the league, but will want to desperately strut his stuff against his former ‘mates. Darian Durant wants to keep the rhythm going that he started in Ottawa last week and pick up the third win in a row.
2. Chaz Schillens – With the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Taj Smith, it gives the first year Rider the nod at wide receiver in Smith’s place. This is a comfortable spot for the San Diego State product as this is where he was successful in college and in the NFL. Schillens has had some problems with the adjustments needed to play slot in the CFL and he will be much more at ease from a two point stance on the wide side of the field.
3. Contain Grigsby – The former Arizona Wildcat has had an amazing start to his CFL career. In 103 touches on the ground and through the air, he has 566 combined yards and six touchdowns. His biggest impact is made on first down, stop him there, it’s going to be a long game for the Bomber offence.
4. Sketch an Etch – Rider fans are very familiar with Bombers defensive coordinator, Gary Etcheverry’s unique defence from his stints with the Green and White (1997-99 and again in 2005). Some teams have problems dealing with it because of the many unique blitz and cover packages. The veteran Rider offensive line, along with Darian Durant may have an opportunity if they are able to stay on the same page and take advantage of open spots on the field left by the blitzing players.
5. The Trenches – I will return to the tried and true cliché that football games are won and lost along the line of scrimmage. This is where the Riders have a huge advantage over the Bombers. The Rider defensive front is playing some fantastic football right now and the offensive line is proving that it too is one of the best in the league, perhaps even the deepest.
6. Conditioning/injuries – This stretch of games will put a strain on the Riders current physical condition. It always does with a short stretch between games. The coaching staff will have to find a spot to rotate in their full complement of players to avoid fatigue as the game rolls on.
As Always remember to join us here on riderville.com for RIDER REWIND on Tuesdays and Countdown to Game Day on Thursdays prior to the weekend ahead. Enjoy the game!
