What in the world was that?!
I tried to keep tabs on the score, but I was doing other things. I admit I didn't make any special effort to watch this game. I felt it was going to be an embarrassment at home. And it was.
Sigh.
What's is the deal with this team?
They have the talent. The coaches are top shelf. The guys on the field are the best we could pull together. How is it that they play like they don't know how to play football? It's like the whole scheme is all new to them each week.
This loss hurts. We are in tough. I thought this season was going to be a rebuilding year, but I forgot how painful a rebuilding year can be.
So how do we fix it?
I honestly don't know. Does Durant need to sit out a game or two and give Willy the reins and see what he can do? I'd support that. Not because I don't like Durant, but just because these need something. Some sort of home.
The frustration is mounting and we need a leader to step up and get things moving. But who will that be?
Cheer long. Cheer loud. Go GREEN!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Week 8: Post-game post
Sigh...
I have to admit I only watched the first half. It seemed the Riders were totally in it. They contained the notorious B.C. running back Harris. Superman Geroy Simon rarely saw the ball and it seemed like the defense was able to get pressure to Lulay. Something not many teams have done this year. Plus, there was the absolutely amazing third down stand on the 1-yard line. I mean I was screaming after they stuffed the Lions who were sniffing for the a TD, but came up with nadda.
Then there were the two BULL calls by the officials. At the half-time break it was Riders: 3 and the Refs: 7.
I try not to slag on the officiating on this blog, because... well... every team could complain about it every game. It's not that the refereeing is always that bad, it's that it probably is consistently going against the team you cheer for at some point in the game. It's like complaining about the weather. Nothing you can do about it, but live with it and get over it.
However, I am making an exception this time.
First there was a roughing the kicker play... which if you could have seen my face at that moment!
Where were these refs when Congi was molested two years ago? When his knee bent in ways I shudder to think about even still? Explain to me why that WASN'T worthy of the flag and not even touching Paul Can't-Miss-in-Orange MacCallum is. I was furious!
The fury only multiplied when they called the roughing the passer penalty at the end of the series. Since when is landing BESIDE the quarterback a penalty? And all the while Darian Durant gets pasted to the turf on every. Single. Play. And nothing gets called.
I mean... do they have the Lions' logo stitched onto their stupid yellow penalty flags?
But then the Riders did their own dirty work and things really started to unravel. The interceptions piled up and the offense seemed to be stuck in neutral. I'm not even sure I know the final score.
24-5. (I had to look it up.)
Yeah. That was pretty yucky. But here are my thoughts for what it's worth:
1. Our defense is solid. I mean we shut down their running back and for the most part held our own defensively against the defending Grey Cup Champs, playing in their park. Not an easy task.
2. Our offense needs help. I don't know what form that help needs to take, though. They all need a shot of lightning juice or something. And is it our play-calling? I mean... it seems like the opposition knows what we're going to do before we do it. Maybe we need some creativity. Maybe Durant needs to stay on the sidelines for a game. I don't know.
3. The sky is not falling. And anyone who thinks so can simply go ahead and cheer for Winnipeg. Those poor souls need as much cheer as the can get! As a Rider fan I am aware there will be droughts.
In fact, as a Rider fan I understand there will be times when the team will sniff out every shred of hope, kill it, stomp on it, and set it on fire.
And the sun will rise tomorrow. To a new day and a new opportunity to believe in the possibility of what could happen.
The good news is... we have a good team. They're young. And they need time to gel. Over half of the starters are new. Heaven's I follow the team and I still need to check the roster occasionally when someone makes a play.
Above all remember, this is the CFL and anything can happen. Remember the team that dropped five in a row to start the 2011 season? That's the defending Grey Cup champs, B.C. Lions.
Keep believin', Rider Nation!
Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!
I have to admit I only watched the first half. It seemed the Riders were totally in it. They contained the notorious B.C. running back Harris. Superman Geroy Simon rarely saw the ball and it seemed like the defense was able to get pressure to Lulay. Something not many teams have done this year. Plus, there was the absolutely amazing third down stand on the 1-yard line. I mean I was screaming after they stuffed the Lions who were sniffing for the a TD, but came up with nadda.
Then there were the two BULL calls by the officials. At the half-time break it was Riders: 3 and the Refs: 7.
I try not to slag on the officiating on this blog, because... well... every team could complain about it every game. It's not that the refereeing is always that bad, it's that it probably is consistently going against the team you cheer for at some point in the game. It's like complaining about the weather. Nothing you can do about it, but live with it and get over it.
However, I am making an exception this time.
First there was a roughing the kicker play... which if you could have seen my face at that moment!
Where were these refs when Congi was molested two years ago? When his knee bent in ways I shudder to think about even still? Explain to me why that WASN'T worthy of the flag and not even touching Paul Can't-Miss-in-Orange MacCallum is. I was furious!
The fury only multiplied when they called the roughing the passer penalty at the end of the series. Since when is landing BESIDE the quarterback a penalty? And all the while Darian Durant gets pasted to the turf on every. Single. Play. And nothing gets called.
I mean... do they have the Lions' logo stitched onto their stupid yellow penalty flags?
But then the Riders did their own dirty work and things really started to unravel. The interceptions piled up and the offense seemed to be stuck in neutral. I'm not even sure I know the final score.
24-5. (I had to look it up.)
Yeah. That was pretty yucky. But here are my thoughts for what it's worth:
1. Our defense is solid. I mean we shut down their running back and for the most part held our own defensively against the defending Grey Cup Champs, playing in their park. Not an easy task.
2. Our offense needs help. I don't know what form that help needs to take, though. They all need a shot of lightning juice or something. And is it our play-calling? I mean... it seems like the opposition knows what we're going to do before we do it. Maybe we need some creativity. Maybe Durant needs to stay on the sidelines for a game. I don't know.
3. The sky is not falling. And anyone who thinks so can simply go ahead and cheer for Winnipeg. Those poor souls need as much cheer as the can get! As a Rider fan I am aware there will be droughts.
In fact, as a Rider fan I understand there will be times when the team will sniff out every shred of hope, kill it, stomp on it, and set it on fire.
And the sun will rise tomorrow. To a new day and a new opportunity to believe in the possibility of what could happen.
The good news is... we have a good team. They're young. And they need time to gel. Over half of the starters are new. Heaven's I follow the team and I still need to check the roster occasionally when someone makes a play.
Above all remember, this is the CFL and anything can happen. Remember the team that dropped five in a row to start the 2011 season? That's the defending Grey Cup champs, B.C. Lions.
Keep believin', Rider Nation!
Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Week 7: Post-game post
Again I apologize. It was a weird week last week with holidays and the family getting sick. Now that I've re-joined the work-a-day world, things seemed to be getting back to a facsimile of normal. So I thought I would share my thoughts on last week's game in Edmonton.
I gotta admit, I hate it when the Riders play in Commonwealth. Pretty guarantee any schmuck behind centre wearing green and gold will light it up against the Riders no sweat.
And in fact, any schmuck did. Steven Jyles had a "career night". Seriously? Did he eat his wheaties that morning? Did they secretly fly in Anthony Cavillo from Montreal? Like what the...?
Meanwhile on our side of the ball, we had a tough time doing... well... pretty much everything. The only way to describe our team right now is a hot mess. Some parts are amazing and wonderful (like Kory Sheets) and others are like... oooookay, let's not do that again, like ever!
From the13 penalties (13!) for 90 yards worth, to the picture perfect Cary Koch catch (for Edmonton), to the very sad Dressler fumble in the fourth quarter, there's so much I'd really rather forget.
The saddest part of the game was watching Picard glumly limping off the field in obvious pain. It looks like he'll be out for the contest in Vancouver this weekend. That is worrisome. Picard has been rock solid at centre.
And receivers need to put some stick 'em on their hands. Catch the stinking balls would ya!
Yet there were a few positives.
Like Kory Sheets rushing for 78 yards and receiving 138 yards.
Nick Graham and Eddie Russ blew the drawers off with six tackles each. Odell Willis and Shomari Williams each snagged a sack.
Durant threw for 401 yards, but that included two interceptions. Sigh. Back to the turnover machine. It's gross and it's gotta stop in order for us to have any prayer of making it past regular season.
The loss leaves the Green and White at 3-3. It's not a reason to panic completely, but something needs to shift, get tweaked or changed.
I'm not smart enough to know what that is and I'm growing concerned that neither is Corey Chamblin. This is the time when I want to see the team pull together and do what we all know they can do.
Of all of our losses this season this is the one that concerns me the most. The two games against Calgary and Hamilton the team at least played well. In Edmonton, it just looked off. Bland and predictable. It might be time to switch up some of the play calling. It really seemed like Edmonton knew exactly what we were going to do before we did it.
My only other thought on the game... Kavis Reed is one angry dude. Seriously, he needs to cut back on the caffeine or something. I don't think it's necessary to freak out on the sidelines all four quarters of every game. Dial it back before you have a coronary, buddy!
But back to the Green machine, I hope they are able to reassemble the parts before Sunday. We're marching into one of the most hostile environments in the CFL at B.C. Place facing the defending Grey Cup champs. We've already beaten them once, but I don't think a win this Sunday will be as easy.
Meanwhile the rest of the league is still reeling from the release of Cory Boyd by Toronto. It's not every day that a team releases the league top rusher. Boyd was signed by Edmonton just hours later. One assumes the rest of the league took a pass. Running back is one position most teams actually have pinned down for the most part. Quarterbacks on the other hand... As bad as things are in Riderville, they could be much worse!
Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!
I gotta admit, I hate it when the Riders play in Commonwealth. Pretty guarantee any schmuck behind centre wearing green and gold will light it up against the Riders no sweat.
And in fact, any schmuck did. Steven Jyles had a "career night". Seriously? Did he eat his wheaties that morning? Did they secretly fly in Anthony Cavillo from Montreal? Like what the...?
Meanwhile on our side of the ball, we had a tough time doing... well... pretty much everything. The only way to describe our team right now is a hot mess. Some parts are amazing and wonderful (like Kory Sheets) and others are like... oooookay, let's not do that again, like ever!
From the13 penalties (13!) for 90 yards worth, to the picture perfect Cary Koch catch (for Edmonton), to the very sad Dressler fumble in the fourth quarter, there's so much I'd really rather forget.
The saddest part of the game was watching Picard glumly limping off the field in obvious pain. It looks like he'll be out for the contest in Vancouver this weekend. That is worrisome. Picard has been rock solid at centre.
And receivers need to put some stick 'em on their hands. Catch the stinking balls would ya!
Yet there were a few positives.
Like Kory Sheets rushing for 78 yards and receiving 138 yards.
Nick Graham and Eddie Russ blew the drawers off with six tackles each. Odell Willis and Shomari Williams each snagged a sack.
Durant threw for 401 yards, but that included two interceptions. Sigh. Back to the turnover machine. It's gross and it's gotta stop in order for us to have any prayer of making it past regular season.
The loss leaves the Green and White at 3-3. It's not a reason to panic completely, but something needs to shift, get tweaked or changed.
I'm not smart enough to know what that is and I'm growing concerned that neither is Corey Chamblin. This is the time when I want to see the team pull together and do what we all know they can do.
Of all of our losses this season this is the one that concerns me the most. The two games against Calgary and Hamilton the team at least played well. In Edmonton, it just looked off. Bland and predictable. It might be time to switch up some of the play calling. It really seemed like Edmonton knew exactly what we were going to do before we did it.
My only other thought on the game... Kavis Reed is one angry dude. Seriously, he needs to cut back on the caffeine or something. I don't think it's necessary to freak out on the sidelines all four quarters of every game. Dial it back before you have a coronary, buddy!
But back to the Green machine, I hope they are able to reassemble the parts before Sunday. We're marching into one of the most hostile environments in the CFL at B.C. Place facing the defending Grey Cup champs. We've already beaten them once, but I don't think a win this Sunday will be as easy.
Meanwhile the rest of the league is still reeling from the release of Cory Boyd by Toronto. It's not every day that a team releases the league top rusher. Boyd was signed by Edmonton just hours later. One assumes the rest of the league took a pass. Running back is one position most teams actually have pinned down for the most part. Quarterbacks on the other hand... As bad as things are in Riderville, they could be much worse!
Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!
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