No Place Like It

I act on occasion at the RCMP Training Depot and tell the cadets who come from all around Canada to treat themselves and their troopmates to game to experience something they probably haven’t come across.

Their reactions after going to a game are amazing. They were enthused and even one cadet from Edmonton said he was switching his allegiance from the Elk to the Riders because the Riders were more passionate.

This year was even more intriguing with the Bombers coming off a demolition of Montreal, considered the best in the league. The Bombers were physical and seemed more focused on using running back Brady Olivera as the centerpiece of their offense.

The Rider defense shut down the Bomber running game and made their offensive line look old and geriatric. The Rider defense also had their own brain cramps as they were burned down the middle for some long passes.

The game was closer than it needed to be thanks to kicker Alan Hale who shanked two field goals although he did get a single off of it.

The Rider offense has been operating with recent draft picks playing because of injuries to starters like Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker, AJ Ouellette and Trevaughn Campbell on defense. The results have not been as smooth with the new players coming in, but you can see progress and what quarterback Trevor Harris has been doing to establish the same timing with the new receivers as with those injured, is going to pay off in the crucial final third of the season.

The Riders are getting a running game with Quali Conley who ran aggressively against the Bombers. One of the highlights from the running game came when Jermarcus Hardrick got into a tussle with Willie Jefferson ending up with the two on the ground wrestling while the play moved on from them.

The Riders did more than beat the Bombers, they also survived the refs whose interpretation of the rules apparently varies from person to person. One call came in the fourth when the Riders were called for roughing the passer which seemed to involve someone’s hand brushing Collaros’ head like a boy stroking a baby sheep.

The Riders only public practice came with a walk-through at Leibel Field where Ouellette was out and running plays, but with a brace still on his leg, he won’t be back until after the Labor Day rematch and the bye week which follows. Schaffer-Baker was dressed and came out for a bit before going back inside. The return of these two would help the Riders when they come back after their bye week and have games remaining against BC, Calgary, a home, and home with Montreal and concluding against Edmonton.

I would imagine the Riders will have their eye on the big picture and not bring anyone back before they are fully ready. The current lineup handled the Bombers physically but expect the Princess Otto crowd to be full of homeless hobos cheering their hearts out and the Bombers would take the energy and try to be really physical when they come out.

I have a healthy respect for the difficulty in winning in Stoney Mountain stadium, but the fact is this year the Bombers are not a good or consistent team. The Bombers have a laudable loyalty to the vets who took them to five consecutive Grey Cups , winning the first two but losing the last three in a row, but this loyalty has prevented the Bombers from replacing the players whose skills are not what they used to be and the Bombers are a team getting older and unable to impose their will like they used to be.

Expect to see another close game much like last year in the Labor Day rematch but the Riders now have a definite edge to them and the opportunity to return to the stadium where they won the Grey Cup last year, beat the Bombers and put distance between the two in the standings is too good to pass up. Riders win this one 30-27.

There are four games on Saturday including the Rider-Bomber game and Ottawa goes to Toronto, Calgary goes to Edmonton and Montreal goes to BC.

When it came to Ottawa, who let former Rider Habbakuk Baldanodo go this week, and the Riders re-signed him on Thursday are trying what old time CFL fans would refer to as an airlift of players to try to rebuild a competitive team. This week they are going to Toronto who are building a solid case for finishing second behind Montreal and coming off a 37-22 win over Hamilton.

Toronto will be facing the situation all teams facing Ottawa will face for the rest of the season. No one wants to be first team to lose to Ottawa and Toronto has been a manic-type team varying from offensive powerhouse to interception prone dumpster fire. Toronto gets a potential two points on a platter, but they will have to ensure they do not take Ottawa lightly.

It would be cruel to call this game slightly above a controlled scrimmage, but this is essentially what it is for Toronto. Ottawa may be churning through players to build a winning team, but these are players looking to land jobs and that is an intangible to be taken into consideration.

The last point spread I saw for this game is Toronto by 10 points but the final score should be 34-26 Toronto over Ottawa.

Calgary goes to Edmonton to wrap up their Labor Day series and Calgary must be wondering how did they lose to Edmonton 38-28 at home? For Calgary the sense of urgency is growing because if they continue to lose ground to their competitors, they will fall out of contention for the cross over playoff spot and considering the weakness of the Eastern Division.

Vernon Adams Jr. did not look like himself during that game and considering he was pulled from a prior game due to a concussion it is reasonable to speculate Adams may not be fully recovered from his last concussion on Monday’s game and that played a factor in the loss.

With the venue shifting from Calgary to Edmonton, Edmonton is fighting for first and needs to stay ahead of the Riders who they face in the final game of the regular season. Edmonton has been relying on their defense and a more balanced offence, but Edmonton is trying the consistency that comes from stacking wins at this point of the season.

If Adams did not fully recover from that concussion, I doubt Calgary will pick it up in Edmonton. They will make it close though with Edmonton winning 31-30.

Finally, the day concludes in BC where Montreal travels west to face the Lions after beating them at home 37-30 in a close and well-played game. The big surprise was the struggle of Nathan Rourke with BC coming off a five-game winning streak.

A lot of credit must go to the Montreal offense who when they are not showboating, have been pretty good about closing opposing defenses. Montreal lost running back Travis Theis who was placed on the six-game injury list although Montreal head coach Jason Maas says he could return early.

Add to this it has been 10 years since Montreal has lost in BC, and you might think the cards are stacked against Montreal. The problem is BC performed a lot of self-inflicted harm on themselves and maybe BC was reading a few too many of their headlines.

Montreal QB Davis Alexander is being touted as the winner of the Most Outstanding Player and the battles between Rourke and Alexander may be the marque3 event for the next 10 years. Alexander will look at Montreal’s lack of success over the last 20 years and may decide it is time for a change.

Montreal wins this 32-28

by Greg Urbanoski

No Place Like It

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