Dan Plaster
“Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.”
Henry Rollins
The former lead singer of Black Flag sums up how this season has started for the Riders. The back-to-back overtime losses, serious injuries to key players and now some of the rabid fan base questioning what is going on behind the scenes; a lot of scar tissue has been built up.
Tonight will be a great chance to move on and put this difficult start behind them. A win over the Lions would cure many things; it would end the three game losing streak, get the Riders back into the West race, entertain the 32-thousand+ fans at Mosaic Stadium and most importantly, it would give the Green and White the confidence to move on and begin the trek to the top of the West standings.
Last week at B.C. Place was 57 minutes of what was on its way to being the first win of the season, but everything that could go wrong, did. From a missed third down gamble, to a rookie Lions kicker hitting a 55 yard field goal (that he had no business coming even close to making it), all went against the Riders in their second straight loss in overtime.
The aftermath was even worse; losing all-star half Weldon Brown and special teams demon Levi Steinhauer for the rest of the season just added to the misery.
So let’s sum this up: it’s just a three game losing streak, there was no chance the Riders would go 18-0 in 2015, and Corey Chamblin has lost three in a row in all three seasons (he actually has a couple of four game losing streaks too) as head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It’s happened before, and it will happen again.
We know what the Lions are on offence; a methodical, long drive, time consuming group led by a three headed monster of quarterback Travis Lulay, running back Andrew Harris and slot Manny Arceneaux.
Defensively they will give up the big play, bend but won’t break and just hang in there until the offence gobbles up half a quarter keeping the opponent’s offence off the field.
Which means for the Riders, cash in on the offensive big play, and somehow find the box of defensive big plays that’s been missing so far this season.
To the much maligned defence; this group hasn’t given up the big play, but they haven’t made one either. Other than Jake Doughty’s fantastic week two interception, the Riders haven’t forced any turnovers. They were 0-6 last season when losing the turnover battle and are 0-3 to begin this season. It’s not just a turnover; a sack, knock down, clutch tackle would all benefit this group that needs a spark from anywhere.
Here is a per game breakdown:
| Riders | Opponents | |
| Net Offence | 505 | 420 |
| Forced Turnovers | 0.33 | 1.6 |
| Sacks Allowed | 0.66 | 1.6 |
| Red Zone Efficiency | 50% | 77% |
No need to put the rest of the comparisons, because the Riders lead the CFL in almost every offensive category and are mid-pack in defensive stats…other than the two key ones, Opponent Red Zone Efficiency and turnover ratio. To make things worse, the defence has forced just nine two-and-outs this season.
Simple to say, difficult to execute. Let’s get to some fun:
– Ray Early and the Rider cover teams have been down right fantastic. The rookie punter is second in the CFL with his 49.8 yard average and is tops in net at 40.2 yards. Shades of Ken Clark in the early 80’s for the Riders.
– First year CFL head coach Jeff Tedford is 3/3 in coaches challenges including 2/2 in DPI challenges. Corey Chamblin is 1/3 this season.
– Jerome Messam is second in the CFL in rushing, but the more impressive is 91 of 128 of his receiving yards are after the catch.
– Jamel Richardson and his huge frame have been essential on second down with conversions this season.
– After the first week chaos when Darian Durant, Jonathan Crompton and Mike Reilly all went down for significant amount of time with injuries, this will be the third straight week where all teams start the same quarterback.
– The Rider offensive line have given up just two sacks this season.
– Penalties haven’t been as bad as publicized, on a PER GAME basis, the Riders are fourth in penalties taken with 14.3, which is also the league average. Heading into week three, the Eskimos were a league worst 17.5 per game.
– The DPI/Illegal Contact penalties are an issue with a second worst three per game.
What to watch tonight:
- Big stops: as we addressed many times, just any kind of stop, anywhere on the field. More importantly, a stop from their own 45-yard line and in. Force field goals and singles.
- Who will cover Manny Arceneaux? Weldon Brown did an incredible job limiting one of the league’s top receivers before getting hurt last week, it will be interesting to see who will key on the Lions top receiver.
- Big return. The Riders don’t have a big return yet this season, this can flip the field and can take a lot of the pressure off the other two units.
- Rider front six. These guys have taken a beating this season and have taken a lot of the blame for the defence’s woes. John Chick will find his way, and throw in a couple of +1 or +2 blitzes, to make things difficult for a very good Lions’ offensive line.
- Grind it out. To get their first win of the season, it won’t be pretty. All of the small things will turn into big things and those big things will turn into a Green and White victory.
The Riders have you covered on the field and off the field. Keep checking with riderville.com, download the Rider app, or follow on the Riders social media platforms for all of your Green and White information.
We also give you live game day coverage with 90 minutes of CKRM’s pre-game show with Michael Ball and post game coverage of Corey Chamblin’s press conference on riderville.com/riderslive.
