End of an Era

Reed paired with quarterback Ron Lancaster to define the first great era in Rider history, resulting in the Rider’s first ever Grey Cup in 1966, Cup appearances in ’67, ’69, ’72.

Reed broke the professional football rushing record of Jim Brown, and won a most outstanding player.

He was tough, relentless and a gentleman.

After his retirement Reed went to work in business and then got involved with Special Olympics, helping to raise money and awareness.

Reed and Lancaster defined to my generation what it meant to be Riders, and one of the great thrills I had was meeting Reed for the first time, getting his jersey autographed, and getting my picture taken with him.

I must have sounded like I had a stroke, so star struck I was at meeting my hero. Reed was polite, cracked a joke or two, and had the ability to make people around him feel comfortable.

Reed still attended Rider games and one of the few moments guaranteed to get applause was a shot of Reed sitting outside watching the Riders.

The Riders play on Saturday against Hamilton and the big theme of the evening was the induction of the 2013 Grey Cup champion team into the Plaza of Honor.

The death of Reed adds another element to the game with memories going back to when Lancaster passed away. The Riders issued hats with #23 on them and also marked the 23^rd yard line in memory of Lancaster.

I can imagine the Riders kicking off from the #34-yard line and the question of whether this would interfere with the induction of the 2013 team. I don’t think so, but it certainly brings back to the fans that once upon a time, the Riders could and did play winning football.

The Riders are currently in freefall following their latest loss to the Lions, but thanks to the unbelievable ineptitude of the Stampeders and the Elk, the Riders may end up in third place at the end of the season.

This will likely result in a one and done for the Riders, but never bet against their capacity for surprise. The Riders started the season with question marks on their offense and while the offense has been moving to the category of competent, the defense has seemingly forgot how to cover and tackle.

Jake Dolegala has been hot and cold at quarterback, able to rifle a pass downfield, but sometimes has problems when you need to throw a touch pass. He picked up yardage, but a lot of that was in garbage time when BC allowed the Riders to complete short passes and eat up yardage and time in trying to come back.

The offensive line has appeared to have made progress, but the line has forgotten to run block effectively, throwing the entire onus on the passing game and their ability to move the ball.

The Riders would probably be better without Tevin Jones at receiver and Nic Marshall at cornerback with both players suffering either massive brain cramps or perhaps they have already mentally checked out of this season.

The Rider-BC game followed the Argonaut-Blue Bomber Grey Cup matchup that had missing quarterback Chad Kelly. Kelly was sat out by Argo Head Coach Ryan Dinwiddie as the Argos have already clinched first and are in the fortunate position of being able to rest starters and keep them fresh for the playoffs.

Bomber fans, heavy breathers that they are, whined Kelly was scared to face the Bombers but the Argos with a bunch of backups lead for most of the game before the Bombers prevailed 31-21.

The Bombers might be wondering if they are now seeing a new team threaten to win their second Grey Cup in a row. The Argos are in the enviable position of getting their back up players meaningful game action in case they have to come off the bench in the playoffs like Kelly did in last year’s Grey Cup.

The Bombers might have won, but the Argos twisted the knife by putting in their third string quarterback and the Bombers still had problems with the Argos running and their defense.

Saskatchewan is blessed in that has no such problems, or even things like a running game and defense. Which brings up this week’s games.

Edmonton goes to Toronto and expect the Argos to continue to rotate their back ups throughout the lineup to give their vets a break and give the back ups experience. Toronto has a chance to give their depth invaluable experience which will help in the event of injuries.

Regardless of who Toronto starts, they have enough talent to make things difficult for a 4-11 team just trying to build enough momentum to exit the year on a hopeful note.

Toronto will give Edmonton some brief hope, before beating them 30-21.

Winnipeg goes to BC for what should the game of the week, if not the year, as both teams battle for sole possession of first place.

Winnipeg is disciplined but slow and ponderous. Their preferred route to victory is to pound and then pick their spots with deep passes. However, age is catching up to the Bombers offensive line who can be taken advantage by younger and quicker defensive linemen.

BC has a great deep strike ability with their receiving corps, but BC quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. sometimes has problems with forcing the ball into situations where he shouldn’t. BC can spread Winnipeg deep but Adams does run hot and cold and a good defensive scheme can throw him off and he then throws interceptions.

This game could mark the changing of the guard at the top of the western standings with a BC win. Both teams have sometime to prove and I suspect Winnipeg proves more with a 27-24 win.

On Saturday Ottawa goes to Montreal and while Rider fans loved to bash Cody Fajardo and Jason Maas with the Riders last year, this year they have Montreal on the verge of finishing second with a winning record.

Montreal hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record, but has been fortunate in the new CFL unbalanced schedule in finding eastern patsies to help it build a winning record.

Ottawa is one of gutsiest teams who lost their starting quarterback, went through a second and now has a quarterback in Dustin Crum who might be worth building a team around.

Ottawa has good coaches, but their depth has been sorely tested and Ottawa Head Coach Bob Dyce has made some questionable football calls on the field.

Montreal would prefer to play Hamilton at home in the eastern semi final as opposed to go to Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton. Montreal plays competent football, and so they will win 27-24.

Finally, we have the Riders hosting Hamilton in a game that will be emotional for Rider fans since it is the first game since the death of George Reed. I will be wearing my Reed jersey and while it will be nice to see the 2013 members including Darian Durant, the presence of the 2013 team and the death of Reed will make it an emotional occasion for fans.

Originally, I thought the Riders would be lucky to get 18,000 for the game, but I think the communal need to commemorate the death of one of the greatest Riders will boost attendance.

The Riders don’t have a good track record with games of this nature, but while Hamilton has been playing better than the Riders and appears to have recovered from their stumbles in the first part of the season, if there was ever a game where the fans will make a difference in willing the team to victory, it will be this one.

This game means more to the fans than it probably will to the players, but considering how emotionally fragile they are, they may be inspired by the energy.

This game features a lot of intangibles and while I would have pegged Hamilton as a two point favorite, I think the Riders will tap into the energy of the 2013 team, who won a Grey Cup despite their coach, and of Reed, who was the Greatest of All Time and will win this one 27-24.

by Greg Urbanoski

End of an Era

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