Everything is coming up Milhouse in Riderville!

I was talking to a guy Saturday night at the Rider game who offered up an interesting theory.

The lack of passing yardage (89 yards) by Winnipeg was intentional due to the game plan.

Edmonton `s pass rush, which apparently leads the CFL in sacks, was dialled in to try to disrupt Winnipeg quarterback Chris Streveler. So the Bombers knowing the rush was coming used their running game to frustrate the Eskimos.

Normally one would thing 573 yards in total offense should win you a game. But Edmonton again demonstrated their lack of discipline, which runs downhill from Head Coach Jason Maas, and while Trevor Harris when he is a groove is pretty good, he tends to go for low hanging fruit when picking targets and so while his stats are impressive, Edmonton is now 6-4 and a half game behind the Riders in the west.

The news that Harris lost his appeal and was now suspended for two games had some interesting effects amongst CFL observers. The stage is now set for the Bombers`mid-season swoon and the timing couldn`t be any more perfect for the Riders.

However, the Bombers will likely start John Santiago at running back since they play with one more Canadian starter t than required so inserting an American running back is no big deal. The Bombers also have Johnny Augustine in their fold as well and the Canadian running back who impressed in drills three years ago at the CFL combine but apparently blowing his interviews, is certainly physically capable of stepping in for Harris when needed.

When injuries or suspensions take place, a good team adapts with the next man up. Helping Winnipeg this week is Streveler getting some game experience against Edmonton and now having one or two running backs with hardly any film on them.

This is going to pose some problems for the Riders because with no real idea of what these backs can do in the Winnipeg offensive schemes, Winnipeg has an advantage in how they deploy these backs. The Riders defense may decide to play a wait and see game just to see how Winnipeg uses its running game and how to adjust to it.

To give the guy I talked to credit for suggesting Winnipeg`s offense against Edmonton was understandable, the other question is whether Chris Streveler can do better than 89 yards passing. Streveler`s legs will keep him in the game, but watching Winnipeg play Edmonton, I was kind of reminded of Brandon Bridge who ran first unless his first read was open and he could one hop or overthrow a receiver.

Nic Demski is now the big offensive catching weapon for the Bombers and Streveler will likely resort to the same kind of game package as used against Edmonton. The Bombers will try to keep the ball on the ground and run the clock against the Riders whilst looking for turnovers to hopefully give their offense a short field since there is no reasonable expectation of a passing game kicking in.

The Hamilton-BC game that Hamilton won 14-10 was painful to watch. You could say Hamilton QB Dane Evans did a reasonable impersonation of a game manager while BC seems to have internalized they are now in next year country.

While the outcome was mostly expected, although eastern teams have found the late western swing to BC to be tough to handle, it does point out some story lines to watch for the rest of the season. BC attendance is slowly slithering down the charts as David Braley is looking for a new owner for the team. The lack of production from the Lions, combined with blaming everyone but the guys at the top, means BC is probably hanging their hopes on some NFL final cuts coming this week.

There have been suggestions about firing offensive coordinator Jarious Jackson, but with the CFL football administration cap, that is a limited option because who would they bring in at this point in the season. Mike Reilly must have PTSD because he is holding on the ball for a long time, looking for receivers to break open their patterns, and then getting whallopped for five sacks by the Tiger-Cats.

The real dolt at the heart of this mess is Lions GM Ed Hervey, the smartest man in Canada next to Kavis Reed. Yeah trading for and signing Reilly for a $700.000 contract was a nice PR move in the off-season, but in this Moneyball world of salary cap management, if you don`t have the money to surround Reilly with decent players, then don`t be surprised when he takes a beating.

The Lions also have players who rarely show up for games, like Duron Carter who had one catch for one yard. Carter is now moving in the direction of what in the movie Bull Durham called “a million dollar arm and a 10 cent head“ as a talented player who doesn`t really add value to a team but is good for social media.

For Hamilton, winning in BC is not exactly a guarantee and so the Tiger-Cats have to be commended for keeping disciplined and staying in the game doing enough to win. However Hamilton with Evans at quarterback does not have a guy who can effectively push the ball downfield.

That leaves the pressure on the defense and raises the question of what would happen in the Eastern Final if Montreal faces Hamilton. If Vernon Adams Jr. stays healthy and continues to mature in the starter`s role, Montreal`s and Hamilton`s defense are about even, but you could give the edge to Montreal on offense.

Montreal back in the Grey Cup this year would be a comeback story of the year and somewhere Kavis Reed is depositing his cheques and preparing for his next interview where he will point to the pain he suffered to help put the pieces in for a winning team in Montreal this season.

The Riders got a great start against Ottawa with three interceptions on the first three Ottawa possessions that led the Riders to a 17-0 win. The Riders did a few interesting things like Manny Arceneaux getting a Big Play Chain for the players to pass around after they made a big play.

This is something you see in the NCAA and probably NFL and what it does is help build and bond a team together. The Riders stumbled out of the chute to begin the season with Zach Collaros going down but this team in transition went to Cody Fajardo who demonstrated some his college ability to scramble.

Fajardo`s passing stats where not any great shakes, but he threw for a touchdown and ran one in without committing a turnover. You could say Fajardo is just a game manager like Matt Nichols, but Fajardo has managed to push the ball downfield and use his legs to create opportunities.

What the Riders need to address before Labour Day and the Cheater Winnipeg Blue Bombers is the question of discipline. The Riders took 16 penalties for 185 yards for really stupid reasons like Nick Marshall throwing a running back out of bounds when a simple push would do and defensive back LJ McCray being tossed for punching an Ottawa player.

The Riders will be facing the best defense they have faced all season in Winnipeg. They do not need to make Winnipeg`s job easier by taking retaliation penalties.

For Ottawa it seems the rolling of the dice on Dominique Davis may have come to an end. Davis was kept as the heir apparent to Trevor Harris who took his streakiness to Edmonton.

In his first game he was not all that impressive but he led Ottawa to a win against Edmonton. Then against the Riders he played the best game of his career making deep passes with ease as Ottawa won a shootout 44-41.

Since then it has been ugly as Ottawa has has trouble scoring touchdowns and their defense has been on the field for way too long. Ottawa pulled Davis after the third interception and brought in Jonathon Jennings who did not bad and got Ottawa a touchdown, but while Jennings was competent, he was not transcendent which is what a young club like Ottawa needs.

Ottawa has a bye this week to try to figure out where they are going with their offense. Jennings might get the ball again, but as Rider fans know all too well, Joe Paopao tends to favor a lot of hitch passes which might make completion average look good but does not move the ball up the field consistently.

Finally Montreal beat Toronto 28-22 in what was an interesting Touchdown Atlantic game. I really hesitate to wonder about the state of the proposed CFL franchise in the Maritimes and where they would play, but at least for one game there seemed to be some progress towards a new club.

For Montreal the game continues the development of Adams while Montreal on Monday announced it had signed Matt Shiltz to a one year extension. Montreal has noticed that teams without competent backups do not do well.

Montreal has now moved to a 5-4 record and is looking good in second place in the East and perhaps could launch a run at the Tiger-Cats. While Montreal will probably not catch Hamilton, if the teams respective trajectories stay consistent, Montreal can beat Hamilton in the playoffs.

So the Labour Day weekend marks the start of what people might call the real football season. The CFL for the most part has pitted west against east for the first half of the season – now the divisional rivalries take hold and teams are facing a real challenge in their jockeying for playoff position.

So let`s start in Regina where on Sunday the Bombers come to town to face the Riders. The loss of Nichols a couple of weeks ago, now followed by the loss of Harris, makes Winnipeg a big question mark for this game.

Will the Riders blitz like Edmonton tried to do and Winnipeg counter swith Streveler scrambling and running players to little known players like Santiago and Augustine? That is a good question and as previously mentioned, if Winnipeg has something up its sleeve, and they usually do, so expect to see it on Sunday.

The Riders offense will be trying to balance running and passing and with Winnipeg’s defense, ball safety will be the first priority. Winnipeg should expect to get some early success running the ball unless the Riders can figure out what Winnipeg is doing and how to stop it.

Winnipeg has become the 2018 Riders with a great defense and special teams and no great shakes on offense. Whether Winnipeg can get by with its two main cogs on offense gone is the big question and while Streveler will not be making his first visit to Mosaic Stadium, the crowd will be in his ear trying to disrupt his timing, which means I would bet on Winnipeg again having more running yards than passing.

If the Riders can control Winnipeg’s offense, the question will then turn to the Riders offense against Winnipeg’s defense. The Riders depended a lot on timing patterns, some out patterns thrown to the receivers outer shoulder to try to reduce the potential for interceptions and slant patterns that relied on the receivers speed to get open quick enough for a quick pass.

With Willie Jefferson coming back to Mosaic and having upped his level of play in the last week, the Riders may choose to go away from wherever he lines up to avoid thepotential for his long arms to knock down or intercept passes. I would think the Riders will try to run a ball control offense to keep Winnipeg’s defense on the field for as long as possible with the aim of wearing them down by the fourth quarter.

The same could be said of Winnipeg to try to keep their offense on the field with various run pass option plays to wear the Riders defense out. Defensive tackle Micah Johnson might come off the one game injury list to help bolster the middle and the Riders outside linebackers Derrick Moncrief and Cameron Judge should be aware they will be targets of the Winnipeg running game.

This will be an interesting game. If Winnipeg wins, they get to pad their lead on top of the west and get more separation between them and the rest of the pack. The Riders with a sweep move into first place, which Bomber fans will scoff at saying the Riders have been riding a lucky streak.

Well, so has Winnipeg and Winnipeg’s Grey Cup wins in June and July will not help them here. Riders win a close one 27-24 to move within a game of first place.

Toronto goes to Hamilton where a sold out stadium will provide Toronto Argonauts with an idea of what a full house looks like. The Argos were in the game against Montreal in Touchdown Atlantic but not very well thought out coaching decisions led to their last ditch efforts to win going out to see like sewage in the St. Lawrence from Montreal.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson has been playing good the last three games, but has not been helped by his team. To their credit, the Argos still have some fight, but being competitive really does nothing without some wins and in Toronto, the slogan appears to be Just Win Baby.

This game will feature Toronto’s offense against Hamilton’s defense and Toronto hopefully hasn’t forgotten the spanking they took from Hamilton by a 64-14 score. I doubt that will happen again as Masoli is not quarterbacking Hamilton and Evans continues in his role as game manager for the Cats.

It will be up to Hamilton’s defence to do what needs to be done to take the Argos out of the game. The Argos have been moving the ball, they haven’t been converting and Bethel-Thompson needs to get the Argos into the end zone with touchdowns than field goals.

It won’t be a blowout, but it will be a Hamilton win 32-18.

Finally we have Edmonton at Calgary where the Eskimos are fuming over officiating in their game against Winnipeg, but maybe they should think how they could outgain Winnipeg by 300 yards on total offense (573-278 over Winnipeg) and yet lose the game.

The answer is lack of discipline and when Winnipeg threw Trevor Harris off his game, he could not convert down in the Winnipeg end of the field and the Bombers were more efficient. The Bombers last drive against Edmonton showed the patience of their game plan and broke Edmonton’s spirit of resistance.

Calgary is coming off a bye and finds themselves in fourth place. Calgary needs a win to climb into a tie for third with the Eskimos because I don’t think the crossover team wants to face a new and improved Montreal team.

If Edmonton wins, it will be because they showed enough discipline to avoid the stupid penalties that come with that club. However Nick Arbuckle has been another solid game manager who gave the Stampeders the confidence to rest Bo Levi Mitchell for another six games on the injury list.

The Stamps have usually won this game, but the absence of Mitchell combined with a slight possibility Edmonton will look at the film and correct their own mistakes instead of blaming the ref has me thing Edmonton will win this one 25-24.

Keep an eye this week for NFL cuts and the potential of former CFL players to return to Canada from NFL tryouts. Former Edmonton Draft pick and University of Regina Ram Stefan Charles has signed with the Atlanta Falcons, but for the Riders, it will be interesting to see if Jordan Williams-Lambert will stick in Chicago or come back to Saskatchewan.

Rider fans can write off Sam Equavoen who seems to have made it to the first unit of the Miami defense. There are other players, some of whom may be on negotiation lists who will find their way to Canada. The teams that have managed their salary cap well should be able to benefit, but as the league heads into its stretch run, it is another variable that will make for an interesting final few months.

by Greg Urbanoski

Everything is coming up Milhouse in Riderville!

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