It's been quite the week, hasn't it?
Ah... free agency in the CFL. It's like Christmas for football bloggers. Finally we have something to write about!
I'm going to go ahead and call it... The Riders won the free agency sweepstakes. Hands down.
In the first 24 hours after free agency came into effect, the Riders signed two of the top free agents in the league - Picard and LaBatte. Shoring up our o-line. Have you see the stats on these guys. LaBatte (a Sask product) comes in at 6 foot 4, 304 lbs. Holy crap! He's like a wall! Picard is no pipsqueak either at 6 foot 2, 301 lbs.
Like wow!
Darian can do a Tim's run after the ball is snapped and still get back in time to throw the ball.
The Green and White also welcomed back another local kid by signing Paul Woldu. Nice solid signing.
So far, I'm thinking Brendan Taman is da man! He got 'er done.
But there was still one major prize left in the free agency lotto - Andy Fantuz.
Don't get me wrong, I love the guy. I loved the chemistry between him and DD. But I figured the guy's days as a Rider were over. He wanted to be close to family and who can fault a man for that?
How do I think it will affect us?
Meh.
We survived without him last year. Granted we sucked rocks, but still. It's not like the team we're assembling is the same one Andy left when he went to pursue his NFL dream with the Bears. And the reason we sucked rocks last year, was not because #83 was missing. Trust me. Andy is good, but he's not that good.
Plus he hasn't played for over a year. How will he adjust to playing to Steel Town? Instead of waiting for a precise toss from an elite quarterback safely ensconced behind a wall of an o-line, he'll be running circles waiting for the likes of Burris to get him the ball.
See? That makes you feel better, doesn't it?
In a dramatic twist the CFL sched was released today and the Roughriders will open the season playing... you guessed it... the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Won't that be an intense contest. For one thing Burris will be back in town. "Heeeeenry!" And I'm sure the crowd will start with giving Andy a well-deserved standing-O. After that... it's gloves off boys. (UPDATE: The season opener will be played in Hamilton, not Regina. The season opener at Mosaic will be against Edmonton.)
While we were busy acquiring new guys (including former Baltimore Raven wide receiver Justin Harper - interesting), we also lost a couple of good guys - Stu Foord and Cary Koch. I will miss the drone of Stuuuuu at Mosaic everytime he touched the ball, and Cary... well, I think he has some amazing years ahead of him. I am more than a little sad to see him strut his stuff in Green and Gold in Edmonton. Sigh.
And more sad news from the Riders as veteran Gene Makowsky decided to hang up his cleats. Was it expected? For sure. Was it time? Maybe. Does it make me sad? No doubt about it. I'm getting a lump in my throat just thinking about it.
Remember Grey Cup 2007? One of the most memorable images was watch Big Mak hoist the Cup. K, now I'm getting all teary...
He gave 17 years to this organization. He's in a league all his own. Class. Character. Consistency. The man is a legend. He's going to be inducted into the Plaza of Honor there is no question. I know it's time to bid farewell - Geno's got his plate full as an MLA - but it still smarts, you know? It's still a bittersweet moment. I still wanted to see him go out on a high note. And last year was anything but a high note.
We've got to move on from the losses of Foord, Koch, Makowsky (not to mention Cates and Parenteau) and yes even the mighty Fantuz. The 2012 Roughriders will be vastly different from the 2011 Roughriders. And that's a good thing, people... because remember... we weren't winning in 2011! I am excited at how this squad is shaping up so far. And I'm counting down the days to training camp.
2012. It's gonna be gooder!
So to Geno... thanks for the memories big guy! Sniff... sniff...
And to Andy... so glad you get to play "at home" now!
...
But I'm still gonna love it when we kick yer team's butt this summer!
Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!
