By Greg Urbanoski

Riderville

Riders not much of a factor as playoffs draw near

Sep 29, 2022 | 9:57 AM

“The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Pattison Media and this site.”

On Friday night the Saskatchewan Roughriders go into Winnipeg for another beating,

Even though they are coming off a bye week, the Riders, as usual, had no problems with staying in the headlines as backup quarterback Jake Dolegala was arrested for driving under the influence and suspended for one game.

It’s stupid but not unusual, especially when you consider the number of Saskatchewan people who drive under the influence on a regular basis. The Riders like to position themselves as a vehicle for good in the community, but when the team is losing, getting physically dominated and there is little to no chance of being a legitimate Grey Cup contender in a game your home city is hosting in uh, 55 days, there is not much else to do but drink in your bye week.

Dolegala is not going to be a factor in this game, but what will be a factor is a lack of running attack that will allow Winnipeg to tee off and bomb Rider QB Cody Fajardo at will. If the Riders had any common sense, they would start Mason Fine and bring in someone off the practice roster to be the sacrificial lambs for this game.

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The Riders will not have Frankie Hickson at running back, which might have given them a shot. They will not have Jamal Morrow. They may have Dan Clark back at canter, but that does not help the offensive line, especially the right tackle position.

The Riders may have Duke Williams back at receiver, but again, Williams does not block defensive linemen and his mouth and ability to sometimes drop the ball has hurt the Riders enough this year. Winnipeg in theory could put out a lineup made of the Winnipeg Rifles junior football team, and they would give the Riders a run for their money.

The only good of this might be the Riders and Bombers are going to wear orange practice jerseys which they will auction after the game. The Bombers will auction their orange practice jerseys on their website while the Riders will likely auction them off, but who knows since the Riders have lost their ability to market, The orange practice jerseys are to mark the Truth and Reconciliation Day and are part of the CFL’s efforts to expand their fan base.

The Bombers are also coming off a bye and well, the one thing they want to do is avoid injuries before the western final and their fight against the Calgary Stampeders, their probable opponents. The Riders will be without even the pretense of a running game, so all Winnipeg must do is put their arms up in the air to knock down Cody Fajardo’s passes.

As I am writing, I see the latest injury report from the Riders has their new running back out with a groin injury. Dedicated Rider fans may be saying well, the world is against us, the team will discover themselves in midst of this adversity, but that avoids addressing the issue of the Riders demonstrating no character whatsoever this year.

Their defense has been great at times but is forced to carry the load for the team since the offense is truly offensive. The offensive line has sucked since last year, but our coaching is not good enough to make up for their shortcomings.

The Grey Cup is officially sold out but expect a tide of tickets coming available from Rider fans looking to cut their losses and get something out of this season. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and have Grey Cup week off, so my expectations are not high heading into Friday’s game.

After last weekend, I thought the most merciful thing was for either Edmonton or one of the eastern teams to back into the playoffs. That may still happen to spare Rider fans the shame of being wiped out in the eastern semifinal.

Friday’s game will be nothing but a scrimmage for Winnipeg’s practice squad. The Bombers can run at will on the Riders and their defense will have the Riders going two and out on every possession.

If the Riders get a punt return for a touchdown or something like that, there might be a few minutes of hope, but the Riders lack the talent and the character to be competitive for long. The Bombers win this game 37-11.

Last week Hamilton had a chance to make a move to the playoffs but fell 23-16 to Montreal. Hamilton has a bye this week, and Montreal goes to Edmonton. Edmonton has not won at home in over 1,000 days (about 2 and a half years) but considering they are coming off a bye week and signed their quarterback Cornelius Taylor to a partially guaranteed contract, should give them hope they will come out like gangbusters.

Montreal can be good, but they can be also inconsistent and prone to their own brand of stupidity. Montreal might be getting Thomas Stanback back at running back, but probably not until the playoffs. So, this game could very well be a preview of the eastern semifinal with Edmonton snagging the crossover spot.

Edmonton must feel good about beating the Riders in Mosaic and Chris Jones’ endless training camp seems to have uncovered a running back, a receiver or two and a defense that could keep the Elk from getting into trouble.

The law of averages also enters this at some point. It takes an act of an unmerciful god to keep a team from winning at home for over 1,000 days. While I would not be surprised to see Montreal win this, I think sooner, or later Edmonton must get its collective crap together and prove to their fans they are worth supporting with a win.

Chris Jones did something interesting, but not expected when the Elk played the Riders. He rushed only three down linemen while dropping everyone into coverage and forcing the untalented Riders to try finding an open receiver.

Montreal has better receivers, but their quarterback is a guy who gets into a groove early and if he does not, it is a long night for their team. If the Elk get Harris off his game, the Elk finally win at home, 34-28.

Ottawa blew a chance to get into the eastern playoff race with a 45-15 ship kicking by the Argos, and they take their debacle to BC to where Vernon Adams waits for redemption after losing to Calgary. It’s an interesting question if Paul La Police can hang onto his job in Ottawa and he has a challenge in taking his team out to BC for a late game.

This means that Ottawa will be playing when it is midnight their time, and if you think your body clocks can handle that, well, the record of eastern teams going to BC suggests otherwise. Adams goes big or goes home with his arm and legs and that gives BC a bit of a better shot at winning.

BC has a better supporting case than Ottawa. BC wins 27-13.

Finally, Toronto goes to Calgary, and you would think this would be the best game available on the CFL schedule this week.

Toronto as mentioned is coming off their 45-15 win over Ottawa while Calgary beat BC 25-11 to position themselves in second place in the west. Calgary also rewarded their quarterback Jake Maier with an extension that is partially guaranteed and that means Bo Levi Mitchell either retires at the end of this season or starts off fresh in say, Saskatchewan (that is a terrible idea to me, but that idea is out there).

Toronto has been saved by their defense making timely interceptions off Dane Evans and Cody Fajardo, but this will come down to whether Toronto can stop Calgary’s running attack. Calgary has quietly put together a combination that can go into Winnipeg and win the western final and then come into Regina and take the Grey Cup.

A solid running game in November will usually win you a Grey Cup and this could well be a Grey Cup preview. Since it is in Calgary, let’s say the Stamps win this 28-24.