Dan Plaster
Hello Rider fans, it’s time for the third and final meeting of the season between the Riders (7-2) and the Bombers (6-4). The Green and White have already sealed the season series with their thrilling 35-30 win last Sunday at the Labour Day Classic. The win was their sixth in a row, and was their tenth straight Labour Day win over their Manitoban rivals.
What we saw in the win was very similar to the last five Rider wins: great defence, mistake free offence and an unreal running game. The three headed monster backfield of Will Ford, Jerome Messam and Anthony Allen was fantastic and a great surprise in a position that the Riders thought would be a tough one to fill with the loss of Kory Sheets. If you combine the total rushing of the three backs, they would be on pace to rush for over 2,000 yards.
Sunday’s tilt at Investors Group Field will be the toughest game of the season for the Green and White. Everything will be against them: the crowd, a wound up Bomber club and history. It would be a monumental victory for the Riders if they pick up the “w”. The win would mean the season sweep, their seventh win in a row, and biggest of all, it would rip the heart out of a Bomber club that has had a fantastic turnaround in 2014, after a three win season a year ago.
The Bombers have had a dramatic reversal of fortune from their wretched 2013 season. The play on the field is years ahead of where they were last season and the front office is enjoying a renaissance. In my role with the Riders, I have the opportunity to work with all of the front offices in the CFL and with a lot of new pieces in place in Winnipeg, it may be tough slugging, but the future is bright.
Everyone by now should know who the keys are to the Bombers, Drew Willy and Nic Grigsby on offence, and Ian Wild on defence.
Willy was solid again last week for the Blue and Gold, both with his arm, and even more dangerously, his feet. He is lethal on second and long running the football, which was evident with his 11 yard draw play touchdown in the third quarter in last Sunday’s game. Turnovers are still a problem for the young quarterback, he has thrown nine picks this season against his 10 touchdown passes.
Nic Grigsby is responsible for over a quarter of the Bomber offence. He is tops in the CFL in carries and yards. He has picked up 577 of Winnipeg’s 763 total rushing yards (which is second last in the CFL per game).
Linebacker Ian Wild flourishes in Gary Etcheverry’s unique defence and is one of the top tacklers for the Bombers. He would thrive in any defensive system and soon will be in the same conversation as other great linebackers across the CFL.
A few fun facts about the Bombers heading into this third meeting of the season:
– This is the most disciplined team in the CFL, they are the least penalized in amount taken (9.7) and yards against (80.7). Last week they were 12 for 65 yards.
– They are the worst rushing team on first down at 4.5 yards per attempt with Montreal next up at 5.1 yards per attempt.
– The Bombers can put points on the board. They are second in the CFL in points per game (26) and great in the red zone, picking up touchdowns on 17 of 34 entries.
– First in the league in big plays (20+ yards rush, 30+ pass, 30+ return) with 28.
– They do give up the most sacks in the league with 35 take downs against and a sack ratio (sack versus sacks given up) at -10.
Now to the streaking Riders; this isn’t the same team we saw a season ago. The 2013 club relied on older football vets like Geroy Simon, Rey Williams, Mike McCullough and Keith Shologan. This year’s version is younger, much younger. On the 46 man roster that is dressed for Sunday’s game against the Bombers, 19 are 26 years old or younger. The oldest is Rickey Foley (32 on June 9) with the youngest player is special teams tackles leader Dylan Ainsworth (22 on November 19). Also of note this will be the first game as a Rider for Tim Cronk and Marvin Burdette and the second game for 2014 draft pick Matt Webster.
As for the 2014 draft, it was thought to be a weak one without the inclusion of NCAA juniors. It has been a crucial one for the Riders with Ainsworth (2nd rd, 11th overall), Alex Pierzchalski (2nd rd, 18th overall), and Matt Webster (5th rd, 39th overall) all seeing the field this season and Kristopher Bastien (3rd rd, 26th overall) on the practice roster.
As we head into the tenth game of the season, a team’s identity is pretty set, and here are a few of the trends with the Riders so far in 2014:
– This is the fifth game on the road for the Green and White. They are 3-and-1 with 96 points scored and 95 points against. Take out the week two debacle in Toronto, and the Riders are 3-and-0 with 81 points for and only 35 points against.
– We all know the strengths of this club, with the top rushing game and top defensive line in the CFL, but this team is also #1 in turnover ratio of +14 (the weird thing, there is only three teams on the plus side, the Riders, Stampeders (+11) and Eskimos (+4)).
– This team is great in the Red Zone. In 23 trips, 15 have turned into touchdowns which means they score 67% of the time when in range.
– Even with all of the hand wringing over this being too much of a grind it out offence, this team is second in the CFL in big plays (+20 rush, +30 pass, +30 return) with 26.
– This is also a very good team on first down. They are tops in yards per catch on first down at 8.7 and second overall with 7.1 yards per first down play.
Challenges are up this year with the coaches able to challenge Defensive Pass Interference (DPI) calls or non-calls. Overall coaches are 15/54 on challenges, but of those, just 6 of 28 DPI challenges have been successful.
Penalties are still up overall this season on a per game basis with the amount of penalties up 22% and yards up 16%. You would think that would mean more points, but if Friday’s Lions/REDBLACKS game in Ottawa is any indication, that would definitely be wrong, penalties are up most on offence (30%).
Here’s what I’ll be watching (as will most of you) today in Winnipeg:
1. Rider cover teams. They have had a bad stretch over the last few weeks. It won’t get any easier, with injuries to long snapper Levi Steinhauer and punter Josh Bartel, the punt team will be under even more pressure. Chris Milo is very capable of handling all kicking duties and Brian Peters will fill in nicely as the long snapper. Special Teams Coordinator, Bob Dyce is a great coach and will find a way to turn things around.
2. Winnipeg Defence. With the Rider running game punching the Bomber defence in the face in their two victories, it will be interesting to see what changes on the front. I don’t think Gary Etcheverry will overhaul things, but there could be a tweak or two. If that happens, the Rider passing game will open up.
3. Crowd Control. The Riders will fully admit they were ill-prepared to handle the extreme crowd noise at IGF in Winnipeg last season. They did well earlier in the season, but Sunday will be a whole different animal. Take the crowd out of the game, and victory is that much easier.
4. Rider Pressure. John Chick was held off the stats page last week, the first time that has happened this season. The Bomber o-line double teamed the all-star defensive end on almost every play, but because of this, Ricky Foley, Derek Walker and Tearrius George all picked up the slack. This will need to continue, and the trend says it should because Drew Willy is the most sacked QB in the CFL.
5. Everyone but Weston. The Bomber defensive backfield really focused on the CFL all-star in his return to the Rider line-up. With Weston getting back into the rhythm of the offence, even more caution will be taken by the Winnipeg defensive backs. This should benefit the rest of the receivers, if I were a betting man, there will be a Rider receiver with over 100 yards this game, and it won’t be Weston.
Make sure you stick with riderville.com for the most insightful coverage of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. This includes articles, videos, Rider Rewind and Countdown to Game Day. Also, follow me on twitter @dan_plaster. Rider Rewind this week will come from IGF in Winnipeg, so tune in on Tuesday for the show.
