Good News and Bad for Riders

This week the Riders were going into Edmonton without Rolan Milligan, Samuel Emilus, AJ Ouellette. During the game they lost Trevaughn Campbell and Kian Schaffer-Baker,

It appears Milligan is gone for the season with an apparent injury. The injury was a non-contact one suffered in practice and while the Riders are more close-lipped than the Bombers on injuries, a non-contact injury sounds a lot like an ACL injury and Mace said it would be tough for Milligan to come back this season.

Emilus has a foot injury was a game time decision in the Elk rematch but was held out. Emilus was not at the Rider practice on Tuesday and with Wednesday’s practice closed, it may take awhile to find out if Emilus will be back in the lineup for the game against Ottawa Friday night.

Ouellette has a knee injury, but he has been out at practice lending help to Quali Conley who is filling in for him, and more about that later. Ouellette is on the six-game injury list, and while the Riders would like him back, it is smarter to hold him out until the Riders really need him, which is in October and November. The extent of the injury is not known, but watching Ouellette walk about, the odds are very good he will be back before the end of the season when a physical running back can often pound the opposing team into submission.

Campbell has been seen with his arm in a sling during the game and practice this week and whether that indicates a break in his arm, or some torn muscle is not known. I would guesstimate that Campbell will be back towards the end of the season.

Schaffer-Baker was tackled during the Edmonton game and had his legs awkwardly bent by some Elk high on Ed Hervey vibes. It could be a precaution keeping him out or something more serious, but the Riders aren’t saying anything.

Last year the Riders lost Emilus and Schaffer-Baker during stretches of the season, forcing the Riders to rely on their backups to carry the load. It worked as the Rider receiving corps got a lot of experience and the injuries this season will open opportunities for others to step forward.

The receivers will benefit from Trevor Harris having a 1.6 or 1.8 second release which makes it difficult for defensive linemen to get a bead on him unless they raise their arms and tip the ball at the line. The Riders run a ball control offense and it is important for the receivers and the running backs to help block to keep Harris vertical and throwing the ball.

Dhell Duncan-Busby, Johnnie Johnson III, D’Sean Mimbs and James Burgess Jr., stepped in to take up the slack. I have been impressed with Conley since he first showed up and he hits the hole faster than Ouellette and made an amazing backwards hurdle to avoid an Edmonton tackler drunk on his own hyperbole.

One of the unpleasant sights was Keesean Johnson who was being asked to assume the number one receiver role, drop several passes. He did seem to come away at the end with more consistency but depending on how the lineup shapes up during the week, he may be asked to take a lead role in the receiving corps again this week.

Johnson III had an amazing 87 yard kick off return to spark the Rider response to Edmonton’s opening kickoff. He also had some great acrobatic catches. Johnson III has speed and apparently hands, but he will be better once he slows down and lets the game come to him.

Three players to watch are Duncan-Busby, who seems to be the elder Canadian receiver, Dylan Djete and Mimbs. Duncan-Busby has been catching more and dropping less, and his familiarity with Harris should help as he looks to poke holes in the opposing secondaries.

Djete is a draft pick from this year and saw some action and has some speed. He will also need to learn how to hang on to his catches because other teams will be trying to disrupt him. For Mimbs, this is a make or shake time where he needs to marry his speed with disciplined route running and catching the ball.

Behind these three is Daniel Wiebe who I will repeat what many are saying and calling him the next Weston Dressler. Wiebe can also return kicks and probably the one thing he will be called on to do this offseason is add to his upper body strength so he can block effectively.

Jonathon Edouard was brought onto the roster and will be filling Milligan’s spot Edouard has CFL experience and that will come in handy as the Riders are looking to plug the deep passes over the middle that have driven fans crazy. Malcolm Bell, the Riders top draft pick, will have to learn to be more disciplined in his play and not get tricked into taking stupid penalties.

The Riders are likely on their last stretch with kicker Alan Hale who missed another field goal that would have helped not make the game so close. There was talk Tuesday the Riders are looking at a Canadian kicker who played at the University of Alberta and is now in a Senior Men’s football league in Calgary. The Riders need to find a consistent kicker before the playoffs start otherwise the Riders will either just punt or go for it on third down because they have absolutely no faith in their kicker.

Derick Roberson made his appearance on the defensive line, and you can see the potential this unit could have by the end of the year. Roberson has already played a full UFL schedule so the Riders in rotating him and keeping him as fresh as possible.

This week the Riders are facing the 0-7 Ottawa Redblack who this week cut Geno Lewis at WR, fired defensive coach William Fields and replaced him with special teams and former head coach with the Bombers Jeff Reinbold.

Ottawa is coming off a 34-22 loss to Montreal that could have been closer if Ottawa had a clue what to do at the goal line. Ottawa GM/Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator Ryan Dinwiddie is wearing too many hats and botching play calls on your opponents’ goal line indicates Dinwiddie is stretched beyond his limits.

Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier is not the problem. The Ottawa running game should be better on paper and Lewis was on pace for 671 yards passing this season which at $200,000 is not cost effective for Ottawa.

Maybe Reinbold can spark the Ottawa defense, but I have seen Jeff Reinbold running shoddy defenses before and I feel better about the Riders chances on Friday night. The Riders are showing character, something that has not been seen for awhile and in the next three weeks they have a chance to make their mark in the west.

Riders win 35-24.

Calgary beat Hamilton 44-28 in a game that proved Hamilton has a defense that can win a title, but without a quarterback, they will be lucky to make the playoffs.

Calgary used a balanced attack to wear down Hamilton and put them away in the second half. Calgary may become the next flavor of the month for the TSN panel, but Calgary needs to show more consistency. They either score a lot of points, or not.

With Bo Levi Mitchell out for likely the season, Hamilton has no good options at quarterback. Jake Dolegala can stand in the pocket but has no touch with the ball. Tre Ford can run around but his arm strength and ability to read the defense is questionable. Harrison Frost is next up, but his performance against Calgary resulted in pick six work for the Stamps.

Hamilton’s defense will keep them in games, but if their offense can’t move the ball, their defense will get worn out from being on the field nearly all the time.

Hamilton goes to BC who may or may not unveil Nathan Rourke under center if his non-throwing shoulder has healed up. The Lions started Kaidon Salter, a rookie, as the starter and unveiled Zander Horvath at running back who racked up 191 yards in the Lions 35-19 win over the Stoney Mountain Blue Bombers.

If the Lions are merely teasing the return of Rourke to make Hamilton work harder in the film room, the Lions have a running game that if you can balance it off with some completions, they can break down the Hamilton defense.

This uncertainty has me looking at a 27-25 BC win. If Rourke is back, widen the point spread.

Calgary goes to Toronto for believe it or not, the Argonauts real home opener. Toronto has done a great job in going 3-4 on the road to open the season and having some certainty by playing at home may provide more consistency in Toronto’ offense and defense.

The Toronto defense is the biggest question mark. Chad Kelly can move the Toronto offense, but Calgary has the defensive line to make that a very painful process.

Toronto’s defense may be experienced, but they are also old. They need Kelly to not score too quickly so the Argos defense can get their rest and perhaps a nap on the sideline because everyone knows how seniors enjoy their naps.

Calgary can run and throw deep, but they can be prone to mistakes. Their defense is solid on the line, but throwing on them should not be too bad.

Expect a bit of a shoot out with Calgary winning 35-32.

Montreal beat Ottawa 34-22 in an embarrassing display by the Ottawa offense in the red zone and tackling that seems better suited to flag football.

Montreal used a balanced attack and Davis Alexander might not be the most outstanding player on his team because Tyson Philpot just became the fastest Canadian receiver to reach 1,000 receiving yards in a season. The biggest caveat to drawing any conclusions from this game is everyone so far has beaten Ottawa. Momtreal needs a challenge, and they get one this week from the Elk.

After their first win against the Riders, the Elk started feeling good about themselves, but the Lions had stopped Justin Rankin who was the leading candidate for most outstanding player in two games and the Riders stopped him from being effective as well.

The Elk win in Saskatchewan helped draw a crowd of 30,000, most of whom according to anecdotal evidence were first time fans attracted to a winning team. The close lose to the Riders should not dent that much unless Elk fans are extremely superficial as Alberta fans tend to be.

If the Elk can be competitive against Montreal and even beat them, although Montreal fans will suggest the Elk should not have won the first meeting between the two team, the fans will continue to come out in Edmonton. If Edmonton loses big to Montreal, the Elk may have lost their momentum to rebuilding their fan base.

Montreal has more balance and another reason why I am not high on Edmonton is they take too many stupid penalties that harm their team. Edmonton must show they are for real, but they also have to show they can play disciplined, otherwise I would get my most irritating player to give the Elk a good taunting and provoke them into making mistakes.

Montreal wins this 34-27.

by Greg Urbansoski

Good News and Bad for Riders

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