Friday the most important night of the season in CFL as Riders facing Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

BC clinching second takes the opportunity to move up away from Calgary who play in Saskatchewan on Saturday. A BC wins means Calgary can then play back ups because beating Saskatchewan is meaningless for the Stampeders, and they may want to keep as many starters as possible healthy for the western semi-final.

All of this is also dependent on the Riders doing something they have not done since August 26 when they beat the BC Lions who were playing their first game without phenom quarterback Nathan Rourke – winning a game.

The Riders troubles this past season have been well chronicled starting with the pylons lining up on the offensive line and then the melt-down of quarterback Cody Fajardo, to the rampant stupidity of various offensive and defensive players, topped off with questionable play-calling and abysmal scouting and free agent selections.

It is easy to point to Winnipeg and mention their team culture as a factor in their back-to-back and potentially three peat as Grey Cup champions. It is something that took time to develop but a cohesive team culture that puts the benefit of the team above personal benefits called character and that is something the Riders have yet to demonstrate this year.

Examples of this abound from the team leading the league in penalties, especially penalties that result from players reacting emotionally to situations on the field. Garret Marino and Duke Williams stand as Exhibits 1 and 1A in the stupid penalties and lack of character categories.

Heading into the 17^th game of the season the Riders have shown no indications of growth or having the ability to do what it takes to win what is undoubtedly a must win situation.

Which means it is highly unlikely the Riders will somehow find it within themselves to pull off at least one, never mind two wins to try to stay in the playoff for the right to play for the Grey Cup at home in front of their fans.

The bye week for the Riders has kicked off the discussion of what changes the team should make if they fail to make the playoffs. Everything from changing the CEO to the GM, coach, offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and hey, what about the quarterback, seems to be on the table.

The football administration salary cap which places a limit on money teams can spend on things like coaches, may limit the Riders choices. GM Jeremy O’Day and Head Coach Craig Dickenson have one year left on their contracts and if the Riders are spent up to the cap limit, they can fire people, but they have no money to hire people until they finish paying out the contracts of the people they fire.

There are other factors including the fate of offensive coordinator Jason Maas who is going to be interviewed for the head coaching jobs in Ottawa and Montreal. If Maas goes, that opens salary room to make changes but that will not be until after the Grey Cup is concluded.

So, do not expect any quick fixes coming from the Riders who are going to be looking at empty seats on Saturday night. The Riders have squandered what might have been a memorable season by not doing more to ensure their offensive line had enough talent, never mind the proper coaching to be effective.

The Riders also have a quarterback in Fajardo who is shell-shocked behind the Riders paper-mâché offensive line. Fajardo is a nice guy, but as discussed, on these pages, Fajardo may be a one trick pony whose inability to expand the parameters of his game has helped place the Riders in the slump they currently enjoy.

It is a debate like which came first, the chicken or the egg, as in, is Fajardo a bad quarterback or is the offensive line responsible for the woes of the offense?

It might be an answer that becomes definitive in the next two weeks but fixing the offensive line and making a final determination on the future of Fajardo are two things that should be utmost on the Riders to-do list.

I suspect the Riders will go the path of least resistance. If anyone is on the chopping block it is Dickenson, but an argument can be put forward that this year was just a blip in the process and if the Riders show the same patience with Dickenson the Bombers showed with O’Shea, then better days are ahead.

I’m not sure who the Riders could bring in, either as a coach or as a GM. O’Day can and should come in for a lot of criticism for not finding competent offensive linemen, never mind not mentoring them. The coaches can cook with only the ingredients the GM brings them and if they bring in chicken, uh, ship, then do not expect chicken salad.

If the Riders do nothing, then the contracts of O’Day and Dickenson will expire next season and the Riders will not have to pay them anymore nor will they have to budget for a smaller football operations budget because of paying out contracts while also trying to attract talent.

The Riders may opt for the grand approach, like bringing in Bo Levi Mitchell with the bum shoulder to be the QB. Mitchell might be better off just hanging on as a backup in Calgary instead of playing behind the Riders offensive line. No doubt there are other star quarterbacks out there that can come here, and who knows, even an offensive lineman or two.

In the meantime, the Riders will try to distract fans from the disappointing season by trying to publicize the Grey Cup, but the deficient performance by the Riders combined with the overpriced concessions will have many fans dumping their tickets simply happy to get their ticket price back.

So, Friday night Ottawa goes to Hamilton and with Bob Dyce at 1-1, this will be his shot at auditioning for the full-time job next season. If Ottawa wins their last two games, and the Riders lose their last two games, Ottawa sneaks into the playoffs and people will be saying remember 1981 when Ottawa nearly upset the Edmonton Eskimos in the Grey Cup?

A Hamilton or Saskatchewan win and Ottawa is eliminated. For a team that seemed cursed from the start of this season, Ottawa has a chance at redemption with this series against Hamilton.

For that to happen, Ottawa needs an impressive performance from its defense which should not be hard to get since it has been the better performing part of the team this season. Ottawa is fortunate it is going up against Hamilton’s offense which when it is not throwing pick sixes, manages to make the occasional big play to make up for the lack of consistency.

The Rider owner in me would love to see an Ottawa win just to give me an excuse to watch the Rider game on Saturday. An Ottawa win is conceivable, but an Ottawa sweep seems unlikely.

The game is in Hamilton and the on again, off again Tiger Cats need an excuse to rally their fans who expected so much more from their team. I would not be surprised at an Ottawa win, but not this week. Hamilton wins 34-31.

BC goes to Edmonton and the news that Cornelius Taylor will not dress makes the odds of Edmonton winning their first home game in over 1100 days not particularly good. Tre Ford and Kai Locksley will be suiting up for the Elk at QB and while Ford is athletic, Edmonton is just too inconsistent on offense to pose much of a threat to BC.

BC can clinch second with a win and that should be motivation enough for the Lions to maul the Elks and send them back into the bush for a long offseason. With Edmonton going winless at home for two seasons, the question must be asked as to Chris Jones’s second tenure with the team ending this year, but I suspect there has already been a plan for Jones to bail and not cost the team anything.

The proof of the pudding of Jones’ experiments in Edmonton will become clearer next season so Jones will have just one more season to prove he still has what Edmonton needs.

This game, and this season, belongs to BC. BC takes this one 37-20.

On Saturday Toronto goes to Montreal for a battle for first place. If Toronto wins, they clinch first if Montreal wins, all bets are off until next week. Toronto has done this on their defense with their offense doing just enough to keep the team rolling in wins.

The difference may be in the run defense. Montreal is bringing back William Stanback and if he has fully recovered, then he gives Montreal a running game in cooler weather that usually ends up in Grey Cup championships.

Both teams have suffered through bouts of inconsistency this year, but one wonders if Toronto can overcome the excitement of fan appreciation day in Montreal to post a win and earn the opportunity to rest starters next week.

Montreal has a better rushing attack, Toronto has the leading passer in the CFL, but Toronto’s run defense is not as good as Montreal. In a preview of the eastern final, Montreal should be able to get the legs going on a running game it hopes carries them to Regina for the Grey Cup.

Montreal wins this 27-24.

Finally, we get to Calgary coming to Saskatchewan, but the true indicator of how this game might go will be determined on Friday night. If BC beats Edmonton, Calgary has nothing to play for and Calgary remembers what happened in 2013 when in the last game of the regular season, Mica Johnson went out with an injury and the Riders exploited that in the western final, running up the middle of the Calgary defense.

Calgary will not be looking to repeat that experience, so if BC wins and Calgary is third, expect to see Calgary starting back ups to take the workload and potential for injury away from their starters.

That may be the what the Riders are looking for, but if Hamilton beats Ottawa, the Riders must win, or they will be eliminated. This does not mean anything in Riderville because the Riders have squandered many must win games this year.

If the season holds true to form, the Riders may lead or keep it close in the first half. If Calgary elects to start their back up players, expect to see Calgary’s running game, especially since the Stamps offensive line has had a couple of injuries.

The difference in this game is Calgary has a better running game than the Riders, so the Riders could lead at halftime, but they do not have the defensive line that can hold Calgary’s running game in check. The Riders long miserable 2022, a Grey Cup hosting year, will end with a Calgary 28-13 win.

Of course, the Riders play again next week, again against Calgary, but the Stampeders can dress a bunch of junior football players and the Riders can take whatever Junior team is not playing and come away with a win in that game.

This will fall in the category of too little too late, something the Riders can use to describe their season to their fans afterwards.

by Karen Cay

Friday the most important night of the season in CFL as Riders facing Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

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