Post-game post week 1: All Dressler-ed up

I survived. Three days without wifi. Go me.

On to football. I listened to the game on CKRM with Rod Pedersen and Carm Cateri. As always the pair did a bang up job. It was kind of painful to watch the game online at TSN.ca once I got home. 

That was a freakin' awesome game. There just aren't many things to talk about aside from how amazing it was. I agree with TSN's Schultzy it was great to see Durant get his mojo back. He was in the groove and unstoppable.

Odell Willis made me like him and that's no small feat, since I vowed not to like him after the DUI incident in the off season that threatened to keep him training camp. But he was in the face of Henry Burris on almost every snap. And cleanly as well.

Speaking of Burris... the man looked like he was looking for his mamma by the end. He could do nothing. Hand the ball off, Rider defense picked it up and shut down the play. Toss the ball to a receiver, it was batted down, re-directed by Saskatchewan or dropped by a Ti-Cat. It was not a pretty night for the much hyped Hamilton Kitties.

Personally, I feel no pity either. They were cocky. They were full of themselves. They thought they were all that, a bag of chips and a side of slaw. Their efforts on defense were anemic at best. Durant picked it apart at the seams and Dressler found hole after hole after hole, charting up almost 190 yards and three touchdowns in the process. Dressler was a machine out there. I could rave about him all day. He was all over the place. Did Hamilton forget to cover the little guy? Double D for his part had a banner game with 390 yards in the air and four touchdowns. It was a textbook dismantling of an unprepared team.

If I were a Hamilton fan at the game, I would have asked for my money back. It was a pathetic outing by a team that said they were prepared to dominate this season.

Even shiny new Ti-Cat Andy Fantuz looked... um... well, dull and lifeless and hideously out of place. By the end he even refused to take the hand of Mike McCullough to help him off the ground. How far the mighty has fallen.

I'm certain there were a few glances from Andy to the celebratory Rider bench with a bit of wistfulness in his eyes. Sometimes you gamble and win. Sometimes you gamble and get your face pushed into the turf. Repeatedly. Such is the nature of sports. And life.

It was a very disciplined and well-managed game by the Riders. My hats off to Corey Chamblin. They looked like they knew what they were doing. And isn't that what the fans have been craving since that miserable season of 2011? We've gone from the season of misery to the season of mastery. (And I'm choking on it, but I got that line from Rod Black.)

We may not win every game from here on out, but it's comforting to know the Green and white will at least compete. And not just compete but bring excitement back to football at Mosaic.

My booyahs go to:

Darian for taking charge of this team. He looks focused, composed and mature. He even leaped into the fray when Chris Patrick got ejected from the game, hoping to get him to think about how he was hurting his team. And of course, the much-talked about Dressler catch off the turf. It was Darian who hustled his posse to the line to get the next play off before the Tiggers could throw the challenged flag. He's prepared and he's gonna tear up the field this year.

Dressler for just being Dressler. This little guy goes flat out on every down. He's consistent. He catches nearly everything that's thrown at him and I don't think he gets near enough kudos for being as amazing as he is. He's in for a banner year.

Kory Sheets. Holy Sheets! This kid is on fire and I am so glad he's in green. He looks so comfortable out there, before you know he's gone 15 yards! It's crazy. Love watching him. Can't wait to see him light it up on Sunday at Taylor Field against Edmonton.

I have to end by rubbing a little salt in the wound... my hubby is out of Rider Pep Band losers pool. He picked the Riders as the surefire losers in Week 1. (I know!) I told him it's the best $10 he's ever lost. To be fair, there weren't too many who thought Saskatchewan would come out and dominate the Tiggers quite like they did.

(For the record, I picked Winnipeg to lose and they did. So I'm still in it for week 2!)

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!

Pre-game thoughts

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's game day!

It feels so good to say that, doesn't it? It's the final countdown with kick off of the 2012 CFL season just hours away.

I don't have enough room on this blog to discuss all the changes in the line up from last years season opener. Trust me. I read a stat this week that said 24 of 42 players that dressed for the first game of 2011 are no longer in Green and White.

Wowsa!

So print out a roster so you can keep track of who's who! Yer gonna need it. [For the first several games of this season, I will include player numbers whenever I can. I apologize if this makes it cumbersome to read, but with so many roster changes it's incredibly hard to keep up.]

Darian's Posse

I am going to highlight a couple of things I think are key. The first being our O-line. Let's face it, last year our O-line was no better than a wet paper bag and Darian (4) spent far too much time running for his life. And when he wasn't running for his life he was picking snaps out of his shoe laces or performing some sort of acrobatics to keep the boggled snap from going awry. I am confident those days are behind us. His protective posse are as follows... Xavier Fulton (58), Brendon LaBatte (57), Dominic Picard (68), Ben Heenan (65) and Chris Patrick (59). (Chris Best is still nursing a foot injury so we will get our first peek at number one draft pick Ben Heenan.)

Those guys are a lot bigger than the dudes they are replacing. They are also a lot younger, which means it may take a few games before Darian can sit back in the pocket for an extended period of time.

So those are the guys who will our quarterback in the game. Now who is Double D looking at tossing to? We've got an experienced troop with one very notable exception. Wide receivers will include Rob Bagg (6) (returning after a year-long recovery from a torn knee) and new comer Justin Harper (82). Lining up at slotback is my buddy Dressler (7), plus Getzlaf (89) and Sisco (12) with Hill (80) and Moss (83) backing them up. Hughes (32) and McHenry (18) will be the fullbacks.

The notable newcomer is at running back. Keep your eyes on number 1, Kory Sheets. If I could make one prediction this year it's that Sheets is going to have a stellar year. Give him a few more games to get into the rhythm and he'll be dangerous. Seriously dangerous. The kind of dangerous where you're glad the guy is on our side. In his two pre-season showings he's already got 110 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries. This guy is the real deal.

Defense

Look for the defense to be more aggressive this year. Though last year they were about as aggressive as a pack of grandmas out there.

Probably two most notable new guys one the defensive side of the ball will be former Blue Bummer Oddell Willis (11) and a newly healthy Brent Hawkins (90) - both defensive ends. If these guys can get some pressure on Burris, it will make all the difference in the outcome of the game. Throw Henreeeeeee off his game and let our offense do the rest. Watch for number 92 Zack (Sacks) Evans. He'll be backing up Shologan (74) at defensive tackle. Evans racked up a couple of sacks in the game against Calgary last Friday.

Of course, one of my favourite Riders James Patrick (14) is set for another amazing year with his ballhawking skills. Look for him to be a menace to Burris with knock downs and interceptions.

It will be interesting to watch how Saskatchewan shuts down former Rider Nation darling Andy Fantuz. Much as I loved the guy as a Rider I hope he eats turf the whole game. And at the very least I hope he never touches the pig skin. He'll be lining up again Nick Graham (22) or Tristan Jackson (38), backed up by Paul Woldu (21) acquired from Montreal in free agency. Now once upon a time when Coach Chamblin worked as a defensive coordinator in Cow Town, one of his proteges, Brandon Browner (shudder), shut down the 'Tuz like nothing to it. I am wondering if CC has some tricks up his sleeve to keep 'Tuz from being a force tonight. We shall have to wait and see.



From what I've seen on Twitter and media interviews, this team is ready. Indeed they are hungry to get out there and make some magic happen. I haven't seen this kind of enthusiasm and passion from the Green and White in well... over a year now.

I'm not saying we'll beat the Tiggers at home with their wickedly potent receiving core, but I do believe there will be some exciting football ahead for Rider Nation. Believe. Just believe.

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!

Blog note: I can't watch the game tonight. Very sad, I know. I will try to find a way to watch it next week if I can lay my digital hands on some streaming video somewhere. However, I will listening by radio and cheering down the highway as we head for a weekend with family in Manitoba. I will not be able to update this blog with any post-game post til Tuesday. (My apologies.)

Other CFL thoughts: I expect the Lions will pick the Boo Bummers apart in the second half of the CFL double-header.

Rider thoughts: Week 1

Going to cover a lot of ground today so tomorrow's post can be all pre-game fun!

(Blog note: Be aware I will be without internet for the weekend, so there will be no post-game post from yours truly til probably Tuesday. My apologies. Follow me on Twitter @saskriderschick for some shorter thoughts during and after the game.)

Regarding the controversy surrounding Coach Chamblin's decision to ban fans from Day 2 and 3 practices at Mosaic each week.

First off, I'm not totally against the idea. Teams having some control over who watches their practices just seems prudent in my mind. Football games aren't just won on the field.

My only beef with the whole deal was the way it was dealt with. They admitted several times the information posted on fan messages boards was accurate. Well, holy flying monkeys, Batman! Don't tell the opposition that! If you're so concerned with the opposing team gaining an advantage by perusing fan observations of the Riders at practice, don't tell them the information was correct!

I do hope some sort of agreement can be reached. I, for one, have always enjoyed training camp and practice observations by fans. I know members of the media are there, but their thoughts aren't always as robust as I'd like them to be. And since I live two and a half hours away from Taylor Field, this is information I can't get anywhere else. Perhaps some sort of compromise can be worked out. After all, fans have been reporting their thoughts on practices for years without incident. (Though, until recently, the reports had maintained a general understanding of not giving away specific plays in a public forum.)

A balance is needed between giving fans what they want to know and protecting the integrity of the game plan.

Now on to the stadium talk. Wow. Are we still at this? I hate that we talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk... oh my word! Just build the stupid thing already!

Today the provincial government announced they were willing to chip in $80 million (about 30 per cent of the projected cost). They did offer loans for the balance. I'm not sure what to think. Mayor Pat Fiacco seemed pleased. Indeed, he predicted we were on the verge of a major "touchdown" in terms of getting the stadium built.

I guess it's great that they're still talking about it and they haven't decided to scrap the whole idea. But still... can we stop talking and starting digging already? What will it take to get a shovel in the ground?

Ask any fan who's been to Mosaic recently and they'll tell you: our stadium is in embarrassingly bad shape. Even without the broken seats in the north endzone. The Riders, the fans, the province all deserve a first class facility. What we have now is appalling! I've seen nicer high school stadiums in the sticks of the American Midwest.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: JUST BUILD IT ALREADY!

Let's pass the hat, work a bingo, set up a car wash, have a bake sale. Whatever it takes. We need this stadium. And we need it like yesterday. So... Dear politicians: Get on it. Get it done. Period.

[UPDATE: At a Rider press conference just after posting this, the Riders announced they would chip in some cash for the new stadium, but wouldn't say how much until July. So that's helpful. Just how helpful remains to be seen.]

I'll leave the bulk of my pre-game thoughts for tomorrow, but can I just say this quickly: can we please stop talking about Andy Fantuz? He left; we were sad. We moved on and so did he. Few fans I talk to are even remotely interested in the whole Fantuz drama - playing his old team in his (almost) hometown. Blah, blah, blah... I'm far, far more concerned about how the Riders play together as a team.

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!

The game

Well, I'm hooked!

After going to my very first Roughrider game I can say for sure... I'll be going to more.

That was wicked awesome! In part because it was the perfect night for a football game. Clear skies, warm temperatures, and barely a breeze. (I take my hat off to those fans who trek to the mighty Mosaic stadium in late November to brave sub-zero temperatures. That's just plain fanatic!)

Game highlights: 

A bat flying into the face of one of the Stampeders. Seriously!

One of the Riders colliding with one of the officials and missing what surely would have been a first down. The guy stripes really flew!

Another huge highlight was when the crowd went nuts after Rob Bagg caught his first ball in a game in well over a year. There were those who said last year at this time his CFL days were over after injuring his knee for the second time in just a few months. But he fought hard and trained hard and looks absolutely amazing out there. I predict he will do well this season.

I also loved seeing Getzlaf in fine form. Oh my gosh. If this guy doesn't crack a thousand yards this season, I'll be shocked. He's everywhere out there. Same with Dressler. Sometimes I think we forget to give the little guy his due. But he's a top shelf player. He gives everything he has on every down. He'll have another stellar year, too. Trust.

Same with Brent Hawkins. Almost every time a Calgary player got taken down, Brent was in the mix. And the dude is big.

James Patrick. Do I even need to say more? That guy is all over the place. Knocking down balls, threatening interceptions. He's a ball hawk. No question.

Absolutely, the best part of the game was the late touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game that put the Riders ahead by a point. The touchdown happened right in front of us. I'm not kidding. It was so close to us! I wish I could have taken a picture, but I was too busy standing and screaming.

Other observations: 

Kory Sheets is da man! Dude racked up 81 yards and one touchdown. 

Our backup quarterbacks rock. Both Drew Willy (number 5) and JT O'Sullivan (17) proved they belong on the roster. (Our other QB Levi Brown didn't play so I cannot comment on the quality of his play.) Willy was impressive right out of the gate finding his targets and making decisions eventually hitting 9 throws out of 11 attempts for 96 yards, including one TD toss. JT slowly improved the longer he was out there, finally hitting Bamba for that almost-but-not-quite-game-winning-TD in the dying seconds. He netted 70 yards with 5 completions out of 10 throws. Both moved the ball well and racked up the first downs. If something (heaven forbid) happens to DD I feel quite comfortable that the offense will hardly miss a step.

And speaking of Darian... I know many fans were calling for his head after the game. He seemed to take a few series to find his groove. He racked up 92 yards, plus 34 yards rushing - proving once again, he's a dangerous beast when he uses his feet. Before we panic, I say wait several games. A few things have to gel in our front line before we start freaking out and benching our quarterback.

So now come the cuts. Some of the guys played their way onto the roster on Friday night. Others didn't. Today is THE day we find out. Stay tuned. Once we nail down our roster, the real work starts.

Next game is Friday in Hamilton and it's for real this time. Pre-season is over. It's time to begin the quest for the cup. I'll be stuck in a vehicle driving to Manitoba, so I'll be listening on the radio.

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!

Thoughts on second week of pre-season

I've got to be honest. I am torn this week. I've been dying to know how Rider practice has gone this week after the disastrous debut in B.C. last Wednesday. I've gobbled up every tweet on Twitter, status on Facebook, article online from coast to coast.

The less-than-stellar showing last week was hardly surprising, really. I mean I was disappointed, but not shocked. I think any fan with a half a brain knew the team is in deep this year. We've got some great things going on, but it's going to take a while to see the seeds bear fruit if you know what I mean.

Regarding the controversy over whether or not B.C. ran the score up in the 44-10 drubbing of the Riders.

Puh-lease!

Of course they did.

I believe they have it enshrined in article number 23, section 1, subsection 3 of the B.C. Lions constitution: Always run the score up when playing the Saskatchewan Roughriders in pre-season play. 

Seriously. C'mon. Was there any doubt? B.C. was bringing five man rushes on the first series for crying out loud! Not to mention keeping in the rather effective QB Mike Reilly for several quarters of the game. I mean was that really necessary? Were the coaches blind? Surely, they had enough in one or two series to see that this guy had the goods.

And I won't even comment on their perennial habit of SAYING they are going to give their back ups and rookies a chance to play and then letting their vets play the whole stinkin' freakin' game. (Or most of it at any rate.)

Puh-lease! 

There was no doubt in my mind B.C. wanted to make a statement with that game. And they did. And whatever. I shrugged. I didn't see much of a controversy. Personally, the questionable part comes where the Lions would have the audacity to be indignant in their denials. Really? It's such a stretch to suggest they ran up the score? It's such a wild, crazy idea that they would want to rub salt in the wounds of the already battered Riders? It's such an inconceivable notion that B.C. would intentionally put up extra points just because they could? Like they haven't done it before?

Puh-lease! Don't make me laugh. They've done it before, they'll do it again. Deny it if you want to Wally, but don't be insulted at the suggestion. It's kind of your M.O.

But as I mentioned I'm torn. The players and the coaches of the Roughriders have been asking fans to be patient as things develop this season. And I agree we need to give them a chance to develop as a team - to gel and work together.

That said, I am absolutely desperate and I mean DESPERATE to watch really good football from the green and white. I am hoping the game on Friday will afford me the opportunity to see some good football. I shall be in the stands watching!

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!

Rookie primer

Okay so I said I would get this posted on Monday and I'm two days late. Please forgive me! I have sadly been down and out with a severe case of the allergies. Yuck! Why must there be living things outside? Can't we just pave it all? No pollen. No mold. No trees. My sinuses and eyeballs would be so happy.

Anywho... back to some football. Rookie camp starts today, but the new recruits won't be taking to the field. Tomorrow is the scheduled first practice.

First up, let's get the controversy out of the way... Odell Willis was popped for a DUI back wherever he's from (North Carolina? I forgot to keep track). Anyway, the court case got delayed so he's set for training camp. As much as I'd like to preach about principles, I kinda think this guy (despite the attitude) will be a starter for the Green and White. I do hope his attitude is kept in check. I really don't want all the good will this team has gained over the last few years to evaporate because some prima donna forgot his manners at home. And if I were Chamblin I would make sure Willis was never behind the of a golf cart while in Canada.

But that's just me.

Willis and Shologan (vet) will be the picks for the defensive line. Whoever else Chamblin picks I'm certain will be big and athletic. It seems to be a theme with their new picks.

Over on the O-line we've got Picard, Heenan and LaBatte. Big dudes coming off huge seasons in 2011. The key difference this year is they will be playing for the good guys - us! Darian may actually enjoy some protection this year instead of spending an inordinate amount of time during games running for his life.

Other guys to watch: Johan Asiata and Xavier Fulton.

As for running back, with Wes Cates gone (wow, that's weird to think about... no more snap the ball, give the back to Cates, go for three yards, fall down and repeat) this may turn out to be the biggest battle of training camp. Brandon West will return to the Riders camp with the rest of the vets on Saturday. In the meantime Kory Sheets, Louis Rankin, DeShawn Wynn and Demetrius Crawford will be showing off for the coaches.

West is still the youngest. Nothing the other dudes can do about that.Watch this battle for starter rights heat up big time.

As for quarterback... gosh are there other QBs in camp?

Of course there are! Some fine looking specimens too. Colt Brennan offers up an interesting story as he's come through a lot of adversity. He had a promising start in the NFL when he led all rookie QBs in the pre-season. He also smashed a bunch of records when he played for the University of Hawaii.

Now I haven't touched on the receivers at all. But seriously, I don't think anyone is too worried about having guys that can catch the ball. We've got Dressler, Bagg and Getz all returning. I'm confident between those guys and some of the newer guys there will be someone catching those perfect spirals in the end zone. I am more concerned about finding guys to protect Double D and some defensive guys who know how to make the opposition hurt.

I think we're getting there.

Pre-season doesn't last long, so lets hope these recruits can get it together fast.

Cheer long. Cheer loud! Go GREEN!

P.S. For a much more comprehensive rookie preview from someone much smarter than me, check out Jamie Nye's blog here.

It's (almost) here!

It’s here! It’s here! Well, okay, it’s almost here.

After six long months of no football in Riderville (which makes this Rider Chick very grouchy!) the fact that training camp is a mere week away is like finding well-stocked cooler in the middle of a long desert trek.

The long awaited redemption season is here.

I’m calling it redemption season because really if there was ever a team on the planet that needed a season of redemption it’s the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Let’s review, shall we?

First we win the Grey Cup for the first time since I was in junior high (no comments on my age, please!).

Then we endure in ’08 what I call the broken season. As in broken BONES. Do you remember that? I lost track of how many Riders broke limbs. At one point the sidelines at Mosaic resembled a MASH unit. I’ve never witnessed so many fractured limbs in my life and quite frankly, I’d like never to again. I was watching tackles between my fingers.

We never made it to the Grey Cup that year and really no one seemed surprised and too terribly bothered by it.

Fast forward to Grey Cup 2009: Saskatchewan has the lead in the dying seconds of the game. As time ticks down, the final play of the game of the game is a Montreal field goal attempt for the win. Everyone lines up. Everyone holds their breath. The ball is snapped and the kick goes wide. Jubilation in Rider nation was short-lived however as the men in green were tagged for too many men on the field. The play was redone and this time there was  no missing the uprights.

After the searing pain of that loss subsided (truthfully, I don’t think it ever will), the Riders picked themselves up and got it together for the next season.

After a rather lackluster season, the Riders made it to the Big Dance again. But it was clear from the start it wasn’t meant to be and Montreal ended up Grey Cup Champions two years in a row. It was hard not to relive the disaster of 2009. And even the “broken” 2008 season seemed to taunt us, as Montreal accomplished what we had longed to do: win back to back.

But things were going to get better. We told ourselves this. We congratulated our team on being in the Grey Cup three years out of four. Revenues were up and things were bright and rosy in Riderville. Or so it seemed.

New coach. A few new players sprinkled in here and there. And all the old “championship-calibre” structure still there. Papa Miller still manned the front office and given his track record as coach we were all inclined everything would continue on its winning trajectory.

Nothing could have been further from reality.

Losing the first three games of season may have been a disappointment, but falling to 1-7 caused even the most die-hard fans to cry out: something’s rotten in the state of Riderville!

After losing 24-18 to Toronto (the resident basement dwellers), Coach Greg Marshall was fired.

With prejudice.

I won’t say that Marshall caused the pile of crap that was the 2011 season. That might be giving him too much credit. Then again, two gophers driving a manure spreader could have done less damage. Crap was everywhere. It stank and it stuck to everything. By the time the playoffs started the Riders’ 2011 season was already a rotting corpse, covered with crap. There was nothing left to do but bury it and wait for the flies to leave.

Even the players seemed relieved to walk off the field and wash that stink off of them. I still stay it is the reason it took so long for Gene Makowski (Big Mak) to announce his retirement. You want your last season to be your victory lap. Not a putrid pile of poo.

We all knew there would be wholesale changes. If anyone went into the off-season expecting the Green and White to look the same as they did last year, they were delusional.

On Monday, I’ll review some of the changes the Green and White made in the off-season and who to keep your eyes on in training camp.

For now mark Wednesday, May 30^th on your calendar. That’s the day the rookies will be reporting for training camp trying to make a splash before the veterans join in the fun on Saturday, June 2.

Til then… cheer long. Cheer loud. Go GREEN!