Never-ending Training Camp for Riders Continues

There is the slightly disturbing tendency of the Riders to sign players who either have or are recovering from major injuries and hoping they can get back to their former selves. The Riders must have a spring with water flowing from the Lourdes site where any injury or aliment can be healed.

In cutting so many former players, the new regime wanted to cut ties to the past, but in cutting so many, they took away from some continuity and left some with the impression that only players from Chris Jones’ past would be acceptable.

This wouldn’t be bad if they weren’t injured like John Chiles or just plain useless like Kendal Lawrence or perhaps invisible like Curtis Steele. So the Riders cut defensive backs like Tyree Hollins who had five interceptions last year while this group of retreads may have pro experience, but are gaining more experience in running after receivers who get behind them.

I have to feel sorry for the Riders because their last big hurrah will come with the Labour Day game. If the Riders win, they manage to buy some time, but if they lose, attendance will drop for the Riders, last games at Taylor Field notwithstanding.
With that will come less money on concessions and spent in the stores. I had one amazing moment today while getting cat food when the cashier looked at my Rider practice jersey and said it’s getting pretty risky wearing one of those in public these days.

I had never heard that while out and about and since it is laundry day, the practice jersey was just the thing to throw on while I tried to recover from the Regina Folk Festival.

However, if those comments are being made more public, then I think the Riders may barely break even this year, but after the first season in the new stadium is complete, and then the rubber will hit the road as to whether the public will be prepared to invest in watching a 20 game exhibition season.

The Riders continued their trend of making roster changes on Monday by trading for national defensive tackle Gregory Alexandre from the Edmonton Eskimos in exchange for national linebacker Alex Ogbongbemiga. Alex O will be missed for having a name no one could pronounce, although I am sure his jersey will be in high demand in the Rider locker room sale with an incredible back log of game worn jerseys.

The Riders got fined for not having enough Canadians on the field against BC and have been trying to boost their Canadian content on the offense and defensive lines. Edmonton, which has been circling down the drain with three straight losses, is looking for Canadian defensive help at the linebacker position.

The Riders also flew in former Montreal Alouettes QB Brandon Bridge for a work out on Monday after he got cut by Montreal for not wanting to take a pay cut to help cover for Jim Popp’s stupidity with the Montreal salary cap. The usual discussion has erupted over whether Bridge would be a quarterback or perhaps moved to another position although Bridge wants to play QB.

The Riders are continuing their revolving door at quarter back with this move, and with no indication it will end anytime soon, makes the offense look more like the revolving door defense. There is no idea what the Riders are looking for, but if they can’t decide what kind of team they want to be, then as fans, it is no problem checking out until if or when the Riders get their act together.

Of course, this raises the inevitable question of whether the clock is ticking on Chris Jones and the neverending training camp that is the 2016 Saskatchewan Roughriders.

I don’t think Jones will be in trouble this year, or even next year as the Riders make their debut in their new stadium. But if Jones plan for world domination does not bear fruit in 2018, then the clock will likely start running on whether Jones joins his mentor Don Matthews as a much ado about nothing coach.

The Riders are kind of working an us versus the world angle with stories there is someone after the Riders in the CFL. The stories leaking about the potential negotiation listing of Greg Hardy and the fine over violating the import ratio says there is someone who is looking to kick the Riders when they are down.

This is not necessarily a smart strategy since the Riders are the biggest road draw in the CFL and their fans spend good money to prop up the bottom line of various clubs. I also doubt the stories have had much of an impact on the perception of the Riders from their fans.

No one is happy with the 1-5 record and no one is under an illusion the team will contend this year. There is more a wait and see approach to see if the Chris Jones way to build a franchise will bear fruit and if so, what kind.

There are a lot of I Told You So’s regarding the moves that haven’t worked out or the amazingly cautious play of the Riders on defense. The impression I have is the Riders have not seemed to think out all of their moves and making change for the sake of making change is sometimes not the wisest move.

The Riders can spin the injuries excuse all they want, but I have to admit a part of me suspects the Riders are being somewhat creative in using every opportunity to evaluate players. The problem is there has to be a point where evaluation ends and playing as a team begins.

So this week we have Montreal going to Edmonton where the Schmos are struggling with losing three games in a row. Wow. I blame Ed Hervey. Montreal is trying to show it’s more than a one trick pony in Duran Duran Carter and while they have a great front seven and when Kevin Glenn is in a groove, he is tough to beat. But Montreal has a refugee camp set up in their secondary and while they have the vestiges of a running game, they only have one target because Nik Lewis will get winded running one deep pattern leaving only Carter.

With Deadmonton’s problems on defense, it should be easy for them to focus on one player, instead of 12 as that seems to have blown Edmonton’s mind like a bad acid trip while listening to Jethro Tull. The reason for Edmonton’s absence is pretty clear – it was the talent going south for try outs that have gutted the Schmoes of the depth or quality starters that allowed them to roll last year.

I could say coaching, but as we see in Saskatchewan, sometimes coaching is overrated.

Montreal’s solid defensive front will keep things close because while Edmonton has a pretty good offense, Mike Reilly has become a real prima donna feeling obligated to do the grand gesture thing like bounce his helmet and berate his offense line. The Reilly Prima Donna’s break their three game losing streak, although if I lose this game, Zoey the Magnificent Himalayan Cat will feast on KFC – Call it Edmonton 26-20 over Montreal.

One of the more interesting games will be Winnipeg at Toronto where Mike O’Shea comes telling his team that they will be there in November. I want to encourage this hope and faith until a just God reminds Winnipeg they are cursed and 1990 is now the new number of the beast.

The key to the Winnipeg renaissance, or discovering flush toilets work just as good as setting a plank over a river, lies with their defense. Their offense is another story. While it could be argued and quite wisely the Bombers offensive line is filled with misfits and toothless scoundrels, their receiving corps has taken a shellacking; with Weston Dressler showing getting a regular beating at his size is never a good thing in a receiving corps without diversification.

The Bumblers signed Clarence Denmark who I thought acquitted himself well in his short time in Saskatchewan, although who knows what Chris Jones was looking for in a receiving corps besides the halt and the lame. Matt Nicholls seems to have avoided the errors that Drew Willy had been publicly vilified for, but I find it hard to accept that Matt Nicholls is anything other than a guy who breaks his leg in an exhibition game against the Riders in Fort MacMurray. Let’s also consider that Edmonton traded him out because he simply rubbed his teammates the wrong way. Of course in Winnipeg that quality is much in demand.

I rely on the Central Canadian correspondents who are Argo fans to keep us westerners updated on what is going on in the province which was once the place to go but now ranks below PEI in the fun meter. The Argos are not as bad as their fan(s) think but probably not as good as the McMaster Marauders. The absence of Ricky Ray and the inexplicable desire of Scott Milanovich to hang onto Ricky (Heart of Glass) Ray and let other QBs fade away would make you think that Toronto is screwed going into this game.

I think Toronto would be wise to invest in the new Blade Runner movie and learn the technology to make a new replicant who can fill in when Ricky Ray gets hit by a gust of wind or whatever is hurting him these days.

Toronto is sort of similar to Winnipeg in it relies on its defence to carry its offense. As Toronto gets more familiar with what the slimmed down Rich Stubler is thinking with his defense, the defense becomes more assured and that means no matter what Matt Nicholls is selling, I doubt Toronto will be buying. However, Toronto’s offense is likely prone to stupidity and so I see I close game 24-23 Toronto as Toronto’s defense makes more plays than Winnipeg.

Calgary comes to Regina on Saturday and for those of us Rider fans who went 11 years without a playoff spot, Time has Come Today as the song goes. I agree with the Commish that Bo Levi has a touch of a megalomaniac south American dictator but with his record, I suppose he is entitled to it. The Riders played a good first half, were still in it until the fourth and then folded like a cheap suit. I don’t see much of a difference this week.

The Riders are apparently treating this season as a 20 game exhibition schedule to work out everyone from Brandon Bridges to Jesse Owens. With the all the player projects Jones has, the Riders have the feel of the old John Hughes movie Weird Science and all us Rider fans are asking Jones, so what does your band of little maniacs want to do now?

The closest parallel I can recall is when Roy Shivers and Danny Barrett took over in 2000 and started an all-rookie defensive backfield. We knew we would get burned, but as the guys played together, they formed the basis of the defense and they also had Eddie Davis who is a great player coach.

This time Jones has CFL or NFL vets playing but they are still getting beat because there is no continuity on the defense or even the offense. I didn’t think the return of Dan Clark and Darian Durant would spark the Riders because they didn’t play defense and I hold to that opinion this week.

Jones and Murphy seem to think change for the sake of change may work out in the end because I can’t see why they brought in Brandon Bridge, unless they want to use him in another science project. So since it has only been a week since the last game, let’s say the Riders lead at the half, and then die in the second half as they did the last game – Calgary 34-22.

Finally we have battle of the cats – Zoey the Magnificent Himalayan versus Bruce the Grouch or BC versus Hamilton for the non-feline contestants. Zach Collaros is working out with the first unit offense and may actually start against BC in game Hamilton probably needs to climb back into contention in the East.

Collaros brings more than Jeremiah Masoli to the table, at least in terms of being able to improvise and understand what is going on. The problem is Collaros is facing the BC Lion defense which is mobile, agile and dirty. BC has its own Collaros in John Jennings who when he is good is very good and when he is bad gets replaced by Travis Lulay who is not a bad option either.

Zoey the Magnificent points out BC has a better ground game than Hamilton, which is a crucial factor when Wally Buono turns on the air conditioning to simulate Arctic conditions on the prairies.

The uncertainty at quarterback for Hamilton, combined with how they folded like a cheap suit during a rain delay in Winnipeg, makes me think BC wins this one 27-23, well, actually Zoey thinks that, but as she points out to me, either way, a cat comes out on top.

by Riderville

Never-ending Training Camp for Riders Continues

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