I didn’t catch the full game…only bits when I could, but imagine that…the Riders move that ball a bit, give the D a rest, and the D plays okay! Shocker shocker. A win woulda been kool, but I believe the Riders ironed out a lot of the kinks they wanted to going into this game. They were not playing with a #1 goal of winning, they were playing with the intent of trying a few things out, and for the most part that worked. I would have like to see more involvement from Charles…beyond that, I am actually fine with this outcome…OH…but Daley is a joke. They treated this like an exhibition game…straight up. They will beat the Esks next week.
Haha what a great game once again we lost. Not surprised at all. Offense can't hold the line for Durant to throw the ball, Durant cant do his job if he is always on the run and never covered. Doug Berry was the stupidest idea, first off why do you take someone from Winnipeg in the first place. GET RID OF HIM!!! Offensive plays have gone out the window since this moron has been here. If Durant could only get the coverage he needs he can be great and so can his recievers, but no coverage and the stupid plays doesnt make any sense at all. Defense seems to be the only thing holding up the team, but when they are playing most of the game they are tired and cant keep going strong through the whole game. Something big needs to happen or else the grey cup is going to be a huge joke.
Wow! You think just like the Rider BoD and Taman. As long as we play half assed, we’re ok???
There were times today that Durant actually had a lot of time. He needed to run around because there were no open receivers. I'm not saying the offensive line was great but they weren't terrible. I think there were some positives in this game and the turnovers are what ended up killing the Riders. The special teams obviously aren't going to change this year so there's not point in continously talking about them.
Don't get me wrong...I am not pleased with the way we have been playing, and haven't been since week 4 or 5. I was calling for heads at that time, and I still feel that way. Daley is pathetic...truly and utterly. If he is still around next year I will be extremely pissed and contemplate getting rid of my season tickets. The offensive coordination is bad to. I have liked it a bit more the passed 2 weeks...it has improved...ain't sayin it is good...saying it looks a little better. The D played pretty well overall...I was fairly pleased with them. Going into this season the Riders had a prolific offense being carried over from last year, and that has been disgraced by the play calling...Berry wants an offensive that fits his ideal, instead of working to suit the talent he has. He is the wrong OC for this team.
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the key change in offense was the hiring of Berry, therefore I believe he is the number 1 issue. He refuses to roll DD and generally has no hot routes on blitz...highschool coordinators develop that.
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special teams was not great last year, but they are a joke now. The only team I can think of that may have had a somewhat comparably bad special teams was the 88 lions...but I still think ours is worse. what...6 returns against? We have had 5 or more too many men, I think 6 blocks....it is a joke. It rips the momentum from the team as a whole. Nothing will tear your guts out like watching a kick get returned.
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the D...well, we lost a lot of talent. I expected it to struggle this year. It has had a hard time stopping the run (much improved tonight), but I attribute that to the fact that they hav been left on the field far too much and are getting tired...again, that goes back to an ineffective O-C not calling a goo game.
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At the end of the day, Miller should have grown a set at some point this year, and fired Daley, and possibly Berry. Both should be gone at the end of the year.
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Tanam...well, I don't know...is he not making moves or is Miller not approving them as he is Tanam's boss? we don't know. If he is not making moves, then he should probably be replaced. If Miller is overiding him, then there is no trust / faith. Miller didn't bring in Tanam, the board did. Then, I think they got nervous about that decision and made Miller head of operations...a balance and check if you will. What that has done is put Miller between a rock and a hard place. The board brought these people in, and I believe that he is tentative about pulling the trigger during the season because of that...hoping they would, as the ones who made the mistake, make the suggestion to remedy THEIR mistake.
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All of this makes for a crappy working relationship. That is filtering its way down.
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DD looks pissed at the play calling...you can see it in his face. He will want out if there is another season of this.
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the defense just looks tired all the time...hands on hips by mid way through 2nd every week.
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The receivers look fed up because they know that 50% of the time they run the wrong routes.
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The o-line often looks confused...they have a mobile QB, and feel they should be blocking for roll outs, not holding a pocket.
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Cates is a good RB, but he blocks so much he looks tired when he gets touches
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They should rotate him out a bit...give Charles some touches...make the D protect against 2 different styles of run here and there...keep them off balance a bit.
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You have an amazing core of slots...run a split back or I-form now and then...imagine...amazing slots, a solid wideout, a RB that can pound it up the middle, and Charles who has a break away speed...THAT gives the D too many things to concentrate on. They are going to give up some big plays...you can account for 2 or 3 aspects, not 4...it would work (not every play, but again, keep the D off balance.
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DD needs to run 5-8 times per game, including 2-3 times in the 1st to keep the D concerned early.
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stop running so many hitches and curls...the DBs are jumping them.
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when was the last time we ran a screen?
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they should have picked up an NFL castoff on the D-line...someone big. Not necessarily fast...but someone who can push the line.
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We used to pass over the middle 12-15 yards deep. That is why Cates was getting run up the 0 and 1 hole (off center)...to draw the ILBs to the line. Why do we keep running him up the gut if we are not going to pass over the middle?
I could go on, but you get my point.
NO...I am not at all satisfied with the coaching staff...mostly the offensive play calling. but did I see things that I consider improvements today? Yes.
- the D showed blitz, as they did a tiny bit last week, but had not for about 6 weeks before that.
- the offense ran some hot routes when blitz was being shown.
- DD spread the ball around (love Koch)
- the O-line played not too bad (not superb, but not too bad) for the 2nd straight week. DD is getting reasonable time. 3 seconds is reasonable on 3-5 step drops, 5 seconds for shotgun and roll outs,
- The offense moved the ball...sustained some drives...gave the D a breather...the D played bete because of it. the simply turned i over too much with good field position, but at least they took a step in the right direction.
---I feel these are things to build on. They can create momentum. If the special teams can stop sucking the life out of them, and they play like this, minus a couple turnovers, they will do better. Not the time of the year to be making these fundamental improvements...staff should have figured this out by mid-season. I have no faith in the staff though, so I will have to take small victories. I dont care if the team turns stuff around and makes it to the west final, the grey cup, or even wins the grey cup...the staff needs to be reworked. But I accepted about 4 or 5 weeks ago that that wont happen until post season if at all...This team is capable of winning, of forming a decade of a dynasty...much like Montreal, but NOT with the coaching staff in place. If we can hold the bulk of this team together, add a D-lineman, maybe an O-lineman or 2 (this is supposed to be a lineman rich draft), and get some better coaching, this will be a great team. As for this season, I will savor the home playoff game (I can still count the number of home playoff games we have had in my lifetime on one hand, so I will savor it and be the loudest fan there), and hope we can miraculously pull out 3 wins in a row. As another side note, this was a win the Riders wanted, it was a win the Lions needed...no excuse, but you can not deny that their are 2 entirely different levels of desire at play.
My hope is that next year:
- Miller, as head of football operations, convinces the board to fire Tanam.
- Miller moves upstairs as interim GM then hires Tillman
s old assistant who is still there (dont recall his name at the moment) as permanent GM. - Dave Dickenson (there are a few candidates, he is one consideration, but they need young blood!) is hired as Head coach
- Dave (new HC) bounces Daley, replacing him with a college level coach...the Rider`s have had teams issues for a few years now, it is time to bring in a coach who is used to starting from scratch every year
- Dave (or other new HC) fires Berry and replaces him with a rubber chicken. I am sure there are candidates...that is something they would have to decide on. However, I would hope that Miller would step in as temporary Offensive adviser until about week 6 to make the transaction easier. Miller was a fabulous OC. His offense made sense, and he play called to the teams strengths).
- Etch has done enough to come back. He deserves another shot.
- Love Crandal, but I wonder if bringing in a guy like Tracey Hamm to guide DD would be a better fit...a mobile QB being coached by a pocket passer makes no sense.
THAT is the way I see it. There are big issues in Riderville. WAY too late to truly fix them this year, but the season is not a total write off. They can pull it off...long shot, but possible...I still bleed green, and as long as they are in contention, I still hold hope. The steps made the last 2 weeks were not leaps, but it was progress...and that is about all we can hope for at this point.
»Congrats if you read all that.
LadyGreen - yes, we should be vocal about the discontent for Daley. If it is screamed loud enough perhaps it will be heard.
2 points I missed in pointing out his ineptness:
- Have we run a fake this year
- It was HIS decision for
the punt
I will give him credit for ONE thing. The few onside kicks we have attempted this year have looked very good. Perhaps he should spend less time on those though.
Super Simple: I believe we shall get rid of every rider coach or gm with the words "Winnipeg Bluebombers" printed on their resume.
Boom! 95% of the team problems solved