They don’t hand out the Grey Cup in August

The Riders for their part had also benefited from less-than-optimal opponents. They beat Montreal who were playing without Alexander but with McLeod Bethel Thompson who seems to have hit a wall and now rests comfortably on the six-game injury list as Montreal now moves to their fifth quarterback this season.

The Riders had already beat Hamilton in Hamilton in the second week of the season and while Bo Levi and his media supporters were talking about an amazing comeback, Mitchell is not the same quarterback he was four years ago despite the yardage he posted in garbage time last season.

There was the issue of the wind at Mosaic which is different from the wind tunnel that was formerly Taylor Field. The flags on the goal posts were going in different directions indicating a swirling wind that could play havoc with kickers.

Hamilton won the toss and forced the Riders deep in their end and the Riders on their first two possessions looked like a team that failed to knock the rust off after a bye week.

The Riders dodged a few bullets like almost throwing costly interceptions and the Rider defense rose to the challenge of minimizing the damage Hamilton could do. The Riders were trying to capitalize on injuries in Hamilton’s secondary, especially at safety, and eventually between persistent running and picking spots, the Riders finally got untracked with big plays and even hit a 59-yard field goal to end the first half, a half kicker Brent Lauther would prefer to forget after seeing a 30-yard field goal drift right in the southern end of the field.

The Riders defensive line with six sacks and some very timely interceptions to fluster the MOP front runner and the Riders came away with a solid 29-9 win, the second straight game the Riders have held their opponents to no touchdowns during the game.

The win left the Riders alone in first place with an 8-1 record and the fans who came for the 1 pm kickoff (a perfect kick off time for the 30 per cent of Rider season ticket holders from out of town) were left wondering if this team was a Grey Cup contender.

It is apparently the first time since 2007 the Riders have been at 8-1 at this point in the season, and Rider fans remember how that turned out with a Grey Cup win over the Stony Mountain Blue Bombers. It is very premature to think history will repeat itself because this week the Riders play Calgary, the only team to have beaten them so far this year, and after that they have a home and home with Stony Mountain and then after that they face Montreal, which may have Alexander back in the fold by them.

This stretch for the Riders is a very good test of whether they are contenders or pretenders, but with the defense operating on full throttle and the offense managing very well without their top two Canadian receivers and managing injuries on the offensive line, is playing remarkably well.

It would be natural to look ahead at the schedule, especially with the toothless denizens of Stony Mountain preparing for their annual pilgrimage to Riderville looking to pick up functional false teeth as part of the Labor Day match up. The Bombers have been in the last five Grey Cups but have lost the last three and if you read Morning Big Blue, the Bomber fans are wailing and gnashing their teeth as how Bomber coach Mike O’Shea has stuck with his Canadian veterans maybe a bit too long and the Bombers now look like a time whose time is past.

Ordinarily I might agree, but the Bombers are like Michael Myers in the Halloween movies – just when you think you have driven a stake through them, they somehow get off the floor. The Bombers though are next week, the Riders have business in Calgary on Saturday.

Calgary’s win over the Riders came the day after the initial Friday night scheduled match up was postponed due to excessive smoke from northern forest fires. The Stampeders scrambled for rooms including staying at dorms at the University of Regina, and you would have thought the Riders would have benefited from this, but the next day Calgary manhandled the Riders offensive and defensive lines, which was embarrassing for the team which was coming off a bye week.

There were hints of déjà vu of that game when Hamilton came to town, but the Riders did not panic, made their adjustments, and walked away with a win.

So, on Saturday night in Calgary, the Riders come in with likely a few lineup changes. Lane Korte Moore on the defensive line is out for the season with an ACL tear, but the Riders seem to have enough depth including signing their first-round pick in the global draft who happens to be a defensive lineman.

The Riders have been rotating their defensive linemen, not only giving them valuable rest, but also taking advantage of the talents those players bring. The Riders have not had to blitz much, and their defensive line has been dominating.

Calgary will be down two top receivers, but they have an excellent defensive line that I believe mostly rushes three linemen and a young secondary that is talented but also being tested. Calgary has a good offensive line and their running game along with quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. ability to bounce around to set up big plays will really require a lot of discipline on the Riders defense.

Calgary is two games behind the Riders and a win by them would clinch the season series and keep them ahead of Winnipeg and BC and even Edmonton who seem to have new life under Cody Fajardo. If the Riders win, they move three games up on Calgary with eight games remaining.

I have a lot of respect for Montreal’s defense, Hamilton’s offense, and Calgary’s balance. I thought the Riders would have tougher times with Montreal and Hamilton than what transpired on the field, and I expect an old-fashioned western division dog fight in this one.

The Riders move to 9-1 with a 26-23 win over the Stampeders.

Winnipeg goes to Montreal and with Montreal signing former Rider QB Shea Patterson to step into the carousel at quarterback for Montreal, this is not a situation that calls for much confidence in Montreal. What has surprised me has been how the absence of Alexander has left Montreal’s offense ineffective and more importantly, how Montreal’s defense is forced to rely on former gambling defensive linemen to try to find a spark.

Winnipeg is coming off a gift 30-27 win over Ottawa whom they let back into the game to tie with less than a minute on a punt return touchdown, only to get a gift from Ottawa Head Coach Bob Dyce and offensive coordinator Tommy Condell who seemed perplexed about how to kill a clock at the end of the game and force overtime.

Winnipeg is bringing back as many former Bombers as possible to try to replicate the magic of their last five years and there are rumblings receiver Dalton Schoen will be back for the Labor Day game. This won’t make a difference when the Bombers play Montreal.

The Bombers need this game to stay just slightly ahead of BC in the western standings and if the Riders beat Calgary, the Bombers could be a game behind for second place.

The Bombers are showing their age, but their fans, alternating between burning Princess Incestuous Field to the ground, firing Mike O’Shea, trading Zach Collaros for draft picks and who knows, maybe even Dru Brown, are aware the clock is ticking on their domination of the western conference.

The Bombers are not going to go down without a fight – especially against an injury ridden team like Montreal on their fifth quarterback. Bombers win this one 27-26.

The Edmonton Elk look like a contending team under quarterback Cody Fajardo, but especially with a defense looking to finally play up to its capabilities as they head off to Ottawa. As previously mentioned, Ottawa gave a game away to Winnipeg while Edmonton kicked Toronto 28-20 in an entertaining game.

Ottawa is at home trying to answer the question of whether Dru Brown will be available or not for the game, but after the questionable football strategy decisions made by Dyce and/or Condell, you must wonder if there will be some coaching changes in Ottawa this off season.

Edmonton is starting to find their own feet and showing consistency on offense and defense. The offense improvement is not surprising since Canadian quarterback Tre Ford can scramble, but other than highlight reel footage, cannot provide any inspired quarterbacking.

Ottawa needs a win to stay afloat in the east, while Edmonton is trying to close the gap and maybe contend for a cross over spot while giving their fans a reason to show up at the ballpark.

Edmonton wins this one 36-25 because while Ottawa has talent in its lineup, they are cursed with questionable coaching, and Fajardo knows too well how teams with questionable coaching tend to implode.

We have BC going to Toronto with two teams going in different directions.

It would be fair to ask if Argo Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie has lost the locker room after speaking out how his players seem to be passengers and not showing enough fight or commitment to finishing games against their opponents.

The number of mental mistakes the Argos have made this season is mostly due to the number of new players in the lineup because the Argos lost their entire defensive line in free agency. There is a certain consistency the Argos have yet to achieve while blending old and new players and dealing with injuries, and I don’t think injured quarterback Chad Kelly would make much of a difference even if he was available to play.

The Argos special teams and defense are the problems on the team and unfortunately for them they have the Lions coming to town and the Lions are on a roll.

BC is coming off a 36-18 win over Montreal, which is probably more impressive than it sounds when you consider Montreal lost another starting quarterback in that game, but James Morgan handled himself not badly in defeat.

The Lions get the benefit of playing another team specializing in self-inflicted wounds in the Argos and while Toronto’s offense can compete with BC, the defense and special teams are another story. If Toronto cannot put pressure on Rourke, he will run all over them.

I am going to say BC wins 29-27 which is pretty generous to Toronto, but I have seen stranger things so far this like the Riders posting an 8-1 record, so anything is possible.

by Greg Urbanoski

They don’t hand out the Grey Cup in August

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