Dan Plaster
“Losing streaks are funny. If you lose at the beginning of the season, it’s a bad start. If you lose in the middle, you’re in a slump. If you lose at the end, you’re choking.”
Former Major League Baseball Manager, Gene Mauch
If anyone would know the ups and downs of pro sports, it’s former manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos, Gene Mauch. He was a hair away from getting to the World Series three times, but also has the two longest losing streaks in Major League Baseball history; his 1961 Philadelphia Phillies lost 23 in a row and the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969 lost 20 in a row.
So, this is as simple as saying that it’s just a bad start for the Riders. Riderville is a little worried because many think a bad start is out of the ordinary for a Corey Chamblin coached team, but lets look closer:
2012 – Three in a row to begin the season before losing their next five
2013 – Straight up unreal start, 8-1 to begin the season before a mid-year swoon
2014 – It was slow out of the gate, opening day win, but then back-to-back bad losses to BC (smoked at home) and then getting bombed out of Toronto in week three.
In summary, the trend is that there is no trend, that’s what’s awesome about sports!
What we know is this Rider offence has an opportunity to be something special. Over 1,000 yards in net offence, including leading the league in both passing and rushing yards per game. There are so many positives and surprises heading into week three:
– Ryan Smith leading the league in receiving yards, but is unfortunately on the six-game injured list
– An offensive line that has given up only a single play for a loss (a sack last week)
– Solid running back duo of Jerome Messam and Anthony Allen
– Kevin Glenn continuing to pile up the passing yardage
– The number of weapons at Glenn’s disposal.
So, to the negative, Red Zone efficiency, it’s awful. Of their five entries, the offence has pushed it into the end zone just twice. One more touchdown in either game, and this team is .500 or better. As a point of reference, the CFL average is 55%.
Which brings up the defence and their well documented difficult beginning to the year. One statistic can sum things up; opponents are 8-for-8 in Red Zone opportunities. I will peg this defence as ok so far, and what has been missing is the big play; an interception, forced fumble, sack, knock down…anything. The difference between winning and losing can be one or two big plays, and those lack of big defensive plays is what is lacking on the defensive side of the ball.
Case in point:
The Argos led the Riders 10-6 late in the second quarter in last week’s game at Mosaic Stadium. The Argos had back-to-back series end with big plays; first the crazy interception by Jake Doughty that led to a Paul McCallum field goal, then Derek Walker sacked Trevor Harris to end the next Argo drive that turned into a late Rider touchdown, and the 17-10 half time lead.
So, a pair of big defensive plays turned the momentum in the football game and that is exactly what will cure the defensive woes.
To this week and it’s great to see Travis Lulay back behind centre of the B.C. Lion offence. The oft injured quarterback was average in their loss in Ottawa to begin the season, but this was his first start since an injury shortened 2014 that saw him attempt just 35 passes. If Lulay begins to feel the rhythm without anyone in his face, he has an arsenal of offensive tools to choose from including Emmanuel Arceneaux, Austin Collie and Shaun Gore.
What worries the Rider coaching staff is running back Andrew Harris. Remember week two at Mosaic Stadium last season? Harris dominated in the Lions 26-13 victory with 203 combined yards. Then do you remember the Riders win in B.C. six weeks later? Harris had just 11 yards rushing in the Riders 20-16 win in Vancouver. As Harris goes, so does the Lion offence.
Their defence is strong once again, especially in their front seven. Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill are the best 1-2 combo of linebackers in the CFL. It is the same problem plaguing every CFL team, and that’s adjusting to the new defensive pass interference rule. Henry Burris threw for almost 300 yards in the REDBLACKS 27-16 win over the Lions and dominated the clock. Extended drives and big plays were key in the win, and we will see how fast they can adjust to both the rules and the Rider offence.
It will be an interesting overall match-up because the core of both offensive coaching staffs were members of the opposite team over the past two seasons. Jacques Chapdelaine’s last CFL stop was 2013 in B.C., while Dan Dorazio was with the Lions last season. On the other sidelines, George Cortez and Doug Malone were with the Riders last season and Khari Jones was in Saskatchewan in 2013.
So many story lines that will make this one a dandy in Vancouver. Let’s hope Lions fans pack the house!
Fast Facts heading into week three:
– Home teams are just 4-4 this season
– The number of penalties are up 34% over 2014 and 54% over 2012
– Total points per game are up seven from 2014, but are exactly the same as 2013
– Lions head coach Jeff Tedford is two-for-two on coaches challenges while Corey Chamblin is one-for-three
– Riders are first in big plays (20+ rush and 30+ pass) with nine in two games
– Riders are a -2 in turnover ratio
– Riders are first in 2nd down conversions due mainly to their league leading 8.4 yards gained on first down
– Rider opponents have scored on 13 of 24 drives
– Ray Early has been unreal to begin the season. He is a league best 51.5 punting average and second in net yards at 43.9.
Five to watch:
- Red Zone – Pretty simple, the Rider offence can pile up as many yards as they want, but need to cash in touchdowns when getting past the 35, while the defence needs to make stops and force field goals.
- Rider offensive line – If this group can continue to shine both in the passing and running game and keep team losses to a minimum, the offence will continue to shine and Kevin Glenn will stay healthy.
- Rider front seven – Much maligned group this week because of their lack of pressure in the waning moments of last week’s loss to the Argos. A great game by either Alex Hall or John Chick on the ends is needed as well as continued improvement from young linebackers Jeff Knox Jr. and Jake Doughty.
- Young versus old – Will the 23 year CFL vet, Paul McCallum return to B.C. and out kick rookie Richie Leone.
- Road warriors – The Riders will need to make up for their two home losses with strong play on the road.
Riderville.com will have all of the post game reaction from tonight’s battle in Vancouver. Follow us on Twitter @sskroughriders and Instagram @sskroughriders for all of your Rider information and in-game updates.
