Game 1 @ Montreal

Some good news on day one of practice
LaBatte...practicing and should be playing on the weekend
JSJ...practicing and should be playing on the weekend
LaFrance practicing, Sam Eguavoen practicing...both will be evaluated on game condition seeing as camp was missed...thinking one back would be a win...hoping Eguavoen
Judge also getting his feet wet and is likely on the 46 (guessing he doesn't dress)

The OL is already better by not having King there and incomparable by taking Campbell out of it lol...if LaBatte and JSJ go it is a big boost

I agree that not having King in is good but what concerns me is Blue has been nicked up a lot this preseason and I have to wonder if he is going to make it through the season. If he can't then things may get interesting but not in a good way.

Talking to him he said he was fine to play both game last but they decided to pass. They had a very good group of young guys that needed tested…not saying they are ready now but the fact they found room for them all (for now) says a lot…promising group for the future…premature, but I would say this draft looks to have been nailed. Anywho…he had a minor knick but said it was nothing that would have stopped him…they decided to rest him as opposed to letting it nag…he showed little to no rust in camp. Biggest thing now is getting chemistry going…but he knows Clark and playing beside the league MOL should ease that.

I have the same fear…but he pretty much giggled it off

Well...my hopes are way way down after seeing the depth chart...

  • Moore is on it...I figured he was a soon to be cut once healthy situation
  • Moncrief is not on it...that sucks.
  • Williams is in at SAM...major major concern for me
  • nothing for depth in the secondary...not even Campbell. Dubuisson or Dargan would likely have to rotate back there.
  • Both SamE and LaFrance are out...which is not a total shjock for week one

Not liking the game one roster

This loss is on Jones!! DD - 1 Jones - 0

Tough loss but still a loss. Now Darian vs Glenn was a toss up. Yeah Glenn was statically better but realistically no majors(that ball was clearly out of Grants control before crossing the line.) to Darian's 2 plus Glenn had the one pick compared to Darian having a clean game. I give the nod to Darian but barely.

Now for the game itself it was closer then I thought it would be and the areas that I had concerns about for the most part were really not. Yes a couple of breakdowns in the secondary but really only one big one on the first major. The O line did a very good job of keeping Glenn clean for the most part(scary when Glenn went down for a moment on the Hebert blitz) and really he had a fair amount of time to have a look at his second and even third targets. The run D was a lot better then against BC but honestly Montreal didn't try running the ball nearly as often as I thought they would so still questions there.

Now what disappointed me is putting Bridge in cold in the red zone and asking him to make a fade to the corner of the end zone pass. Of course if he makes it is a gutsy call but it wasn't really even close so Jones come out of it looking stupid.

Still bad time management by Jones that cost us at least one more play before having to attempt the field goal. Really this has to stop and now. It cost us at least one win last year and it cost us again in game one.

Now Demski had a very good game except for that one play where he bubbles out to the side instead of plowing straight ahead, he does that and more then likely he gets the first down. Still some bad penalties that have to stop if the team expects to have a chance against better teams.

Yeah the loss sucks but I actually had a more positive view of the team after this game. The thing is can the clean up the things that cost them a win in this one or do they go backwards and make even more mistakes? I'm hoping that it is the first one or we most likely will be 0-2 in a hurry. I really think though at home we have a shot to get back to 500 with a win over the bombers but we will see.

YEah...QBing was close. Glenn had the issues you mention plus his long ball was not on...he hits Carter with 5 more yards air that is a huge TD instead of a great D breakup. There were a few he was simply off on...hoping that is just getting in tune with everyone...if it is not better next game then it is time to try someone else, because that is a critical part of the O with these big receivers. I also didn't like that he tried forcing stuff with Carter early. The INT...another under thrown one. Underneath he was great though...and that is where the gap closes some. When DD made deep throws he was accurate but his short stuff was an issue.

That First TD is on Edem...will be good film study. It was a zone D and he had to watch if Cunningham came inside or stayed wide. He read it really well...waited to see if there was a cut, then took off. Problem was that he went straight to the sideline and when you do that it is easy to get out of position. You should always be hitting the sidelines at at least a 15 degree angle...he didn't and was burned. you take the angel because if the Wr posts on you and you are going straight horizontal you have no chance of adjusting, and if he gets to your backside and the ball there is nobody there to help once you start moving in.

Montreal definitely had some AC style O influence in this one.

The Bridge call is interesting and I am torn. Tough to ask that of a cold QB...at the same time nobody expect that play and he was wide open. That will stick in teams heads. I probably wouldn't do it...but I get it.

Hollins and Mincy were fabulous. Glenn had chances with Carter but was off...Carter also had his worst game ever likely. The attention he an Roosevelt really opened things up for others....that was nice to see...unfortunately later in the game it seemed like the Als relied more on Hollins and Mincy going more alone on those 2 and while Roosevelt took advantage of it Carter continued to struggle...had he been able to step up it is likely a different game because he either makes a huge play or gets extra attention back on him. I thought Carter might have head issues fame one in Montreal...hopefully it doesn't stick but he was melting down a bit on the sideline...mainly on himself. Jones and Glenn could be seen talking to him but what really seemed to help was giving him that kick return. I thought it was a pretty smart idea....they gave him something that could free his mind up from concentrating on his less that par play and he turned it into a positive and seemed to be better after that.

I don't think the time thing was not Jones...that was either MacAdoo crapping the bed or the headset kicking out...I think it kicked out. Wish Glenn had just called a gut-shot hand off.

Penalties though...issue.

Another positive...rushing...Marshall did well. I don't think he rushed more than once or twice in the first half but that early rush in the 3rd seemed to give the O a lot more confidence in the ground game and he put up good numbers in probably 8 or 10 caries in the second half...hopefully that parlays into more balance...an OC will be more prone to use it once it pays off, and it showed well....really really concerning fumble aside.

the pass rush was not great...but when they did apply it it seemed effective. Guess one should have expected a more backed off approach in week one when testing the secondary. I would like to see more Tull and less ACL.

As far as the replay...thems the breaks...happens all season. I thought it was out but perhaps they figured it was loose but not out...if it had been ruled a fumble it likely doesn't get overturned either. The other fumble they recovered was iffy to...that one I agreed it looked like there was potential he landed on a leg, not the ground...kinda a crappy deal for him but it is technically not wrong...didn't seem like there was an angle that could definitely say either way...so play stands. He definitely had control when his arm hit whatever it hit...but what did it hit?

At the end of the day these were two teams that need work and are finding chemistry on O still (especially the Riders IMO)...the Riders put themselves in a fair position to walk off with a win....didn't get it but we will see how it goes moving forward I guess.

I will admit the Riders exceeded my expectations. Yes there were some questionable personnel and play calls, but overall, a well played game. As with last season, I will not get worked up over a game where we were within a score of winning. With a little more time to gel, both the O and D will be forces to be reckoned with.

Hope we can convince the guy that played the 4th quarter in BC to stick around. Looks to me like he could be the "next Durant" we've been looking for. Showed very Durant-like form fighting through a tackle to successfully deliver a pass at one point. With a season or 2 of development, I see our next franchise qb.

Agreed. It could have been a lot worse with the travel / practice with pads time. The Riders never do well playing in Montreal. I have not looked ahead in the schedule to see if they travel across the country in 5 days again or not. I sure hope not.

Go Riders Go

yeah...not an excuse, but playing the last game of PS and then the first of the regular season while traveling half way across the country 2 times and cutting your roster down is a less than ideal situation...could have looked a lot worse than what was out there for sure.

With the new stadium I thought they might start on the road for a few weeks...but don't really have much of a 'road leg' this year...unfortunate in the sense that if you stay on the road a few weeks you often see a team bond and chemistry improve. The closest to that they have is Ottawa / Toronto late in the season.

I don’t blame Bridge on that throw, I blame Jones for putting in a back-up cold off the bench, he should of had Glenn stay in, that is a mistake by Jones, no one else, the last Field goal attempt, some you make some you miss at the distance… he missed. The only one who will not learn from his mistakes is ego Jones!! Never wanted him here, still don’t.
This team needs time to gel, it will come lets hope injury free this season, last year was a nightmare in that area!!

But wasn't the whole point of the Bridge sub to fake Montreal out, because nobody would expect the stone-cold young backup QB to throw a fade to the end zone? You leave Glenn in and that play is going to be anticipated by the enemy defense. I think Jones goofed on the play selection, but if you agree that the fade was an appropriate call, then putting in the backup makes some sense.