After reading the Riders News in the Leader post today in one article Kory is quoted "That's pretty much everyone's attitude around the locker room,'' Sheets said Saturday after rushing for 148 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. "They told me that they don't care that I got hurt because they are still going to get me those 2,000 yards."The defence said that I'm going to get those 2,000 yards and they are going to make a lot of plays.''
So is this an objective of the teams or is this an obsession of not only Sheets but the team? Is this contributing to the offensive issues? Has the team got so caught up that despite the defenses knowing the odds are pretty good that Sheets will get the ball on first down they just try and run it anyways?
My thought to a certain degree yes and I'm not thrilled about it. Don't get me wrong I would love to see Kory set and make his goals but not at the expense of the team or a win. This game against Calgary shouldn't have anything to do with personal records but only about getting a win,and if that means play action or abandoning the run game some what or at least not make it the focal point then so be it. Get the win first and records can be chased after or as part of the process,but it shouldn't be the main incentive here.
Calgary has a great D line and running yards will probably be at a premium unless field conditions are dicey. Their secondary while good can be exploited a bit I feel and that means throwing the ball. I want the win first, records are an afterthought. A win in Calgary gives the Riders a fair shot at finishing first and getting the home field advantage plus a bye week to give wounded players healing time. That is very important especially playing in the cold and wet this time of year.
Any thoughts ?
2000 yards would be a fantastic achievement... But I agree, that it should not become the focus. Winning is the focus. In Football, a career can be ended on any given play with a bad injury. Championships are all that matter. How many great players in the history of any sport have hall of fame numbers, but did not win a Championship? There are a lot! And I guarantee any one of them would trade career numbers for a Ring?
I wonder what Omarr Morgan and Kenton Keith would have done for a Championship?
I wonder how much of this is a smoke screen for next weeks game. If Calgary things we are going to try and get sheets a 200 yard or so game will they be more focused on stopping Sheets??
Stamps O-line might be best in the league right now. Our O-line is playing better but not up to the high level we need. If they improve some more this week that would be great timing.
Rider D-line is very good. They have added motivation to stop Cornish dead in his tracks for two reasons, the gameplan will be to koill the run and then extra motivation to help Sheets out yard Corn.
Stamps D-line very good. There gameplan will be to stop Sheets cold.
It's an awesome thing to have this element in the game. The team that establishes the line of scrimmage wins. The team that wins the trench will have the RB our-running the other guy. The team that can dominate the trench is going to win. So one of these RB's will come out on top?
I easily both RB's being taken completely out of the game. I could see both D-lines donimating.
But I like our D-line and I don;t think they want Cornish getting any press releases out on Sunday/Monday. If the stamps are going to win they need to do it without Cornish. I think the Stamps will view it the same way..........If the riders beat us it will be DD and Getz/Dressler/Taj/Geroy........not Sheets.
It will be nasty playoff football. Cold in the trenches and time for the big boys to take over a game. I think the extra coverage media on this RB challenge will amp the defences up. I don;t think either back gets 80+ yards on the ground. If they get over 100 I think their team wins big because that alone will break the spririt of the other team.
Riders D need to be hungry to ball..............just like last week. Turnover turnove turnove!
I think this little love/hate between Corn and Sheets is great..............I hope we outyard them and win and come home with 2 points!
Just so everyone knows, the original Mission 2K was not 2000 yards rushing but 2000 yards rushing and recieving combined.
So with that he has 266 yards recieving and 1556 yds rushing so only needs 178 yds to hit 2000. Definitely an achievable goal.
Billy you made a good point in the other post about riders vs stamps and that is what if the last game is meaningless (stamps win against riders) but sheets has a slight chance of breaking the 2000 yard mark against the Eskimos. Do you play Sheets and risk an injury or do you make him sit it out and save/rest him for the playoffs? What do you think the Riders would do in that scenario?
If by some miracle the Stamps have locked up 1st by our last game against the Esks I still wouldn’t completely rest Sheets. For one we don’t really have a backup running back, and for second I am not a huge proponent of playing a game like it doesn’t matter, the coompetitive nature of the guys on the field should not let them lay down and just play half assed. I want the team to go balls out and if an injury happens, so be it. I think the potential for injury is higher when you are playing less than 100% effort.
I agree Billy if a player is playing then he better to go 100% but again is it worth the risk if the chance is a long shot at reaching the m2k say like needing 175 plus yards, or just shut him down for that game and maybe even play Willy and make sure Sheets and Durant are as rested and as healthy to play the playoffs? After all if they don't get first then they have to play basically 3 playoff games where 100% must be given on every play unless it's a blow out either way. Why go 4 games at full throttle rather then 3 ? Have something left in the tank so to speak,
175 yard in 2 games is not a huge number...especially if one is saying that is net yards from scrimmage, not just rushing. He should have no need to play every down, and still achieve that. As for having some in the tank...he just had time off, so he is likely less dinged up / rested than most.IMO he needs at least 1/4 of action in the final game no matter what.
Well thats finally over and honestly I couldn't be happier. Sheets was not good in this game period and mainly I think because he was so angry at Cortez. Yes I think inside the 5 yard line he should have gotten the ball but to have a melt down on the side line put me in mind of Tate and his tantrums and thats not a good thing.
Sheets lost focus and was terrible at blocking that lead to at least 3 sacks and that isn't acceptable. It is time he gets his head out of the clouds and start realizing its not about him but the team. If the Riders don't win it all it will be interesting to see what happens with Sheets in the off season.
He's a good back but I think Cornish is a better all around back. He can either accept that or improve his blocking and catching skills to also be in that category.
How can you be good at your job if you don’t get to do it. (9 carries all game I think Cortez went into this game with no intentions of giving the ball to 1. Sheets is all the hipe and should be. Cortez proved a very big point yesterday. This team does not win without a run game. I think Cortez thought his offense could get the job done without sheets. If Halls defense would not have gotten all those turnovers the score could have been 50 to 9 in favor of the stamps. No sheets = loss in my opinion. Anybody would have been frustrated. Did sheets handle it wright no. Did Cortez play his offense to its full potential no . The riders winning relies on Cortez having the ability to lead the offense to the end zone.I thought Cortez was a Guinness at the beginning of the season now i think he got lucky. Just my two bits.
No swanny Cortez didn't call Sheets number and I can understand he may be a bit upset. Like I said not using him inside the 5 yard line on 1st down is questionable. That said you have to consider two things. One is the riders 90% of the time use Sheets on 1st so the play action wasn't a bad call I think Durant should have just kept the ball and ran it himself like he did the second time. Two, Cortez maybe thinking he wanted to give the defense something other then Sheets to worry about, get them off the line of scrimmage and then use Sheets later. Sheets melted down and instead of sucking it up like a team player, he missed several key blocks that lead to sacks. That should have got him benched,but not having anyone else they left him in.
The guy is a very good back but this whole trash talking about being better then Cornish when you are trailing him in yards by 100 plus yards makes him look self centered and foolish. There is nothing wrong with being confident in your abilities but there is something wrong with letting it get to the point that it effects your game and the team in general.
He isn't a raw rookie in pro ball so he should know better, it sure didn't show last night though.
I'm not sure that Cortez is getting along with Durant or the offense in general. A comment during the game about Cortez being asked how he would handle disagreements between him and Durant and it is reported he said "their is only one way, my way" while he is the offensive coordinator he should be open to player's input at the same time. He isn't the head coach so I have to disagree with him thinking he calls the shots.
Not sure of the #'s but i’m sure sheets has punched in more td’s than not. Talking about rookies Cortez didn’t just fall of the turnip truck. Well maybe he did. So what is his excuse? You can’t put a box in around hole no matter how hard you try. The way I see it Sheets wants to win games more than Cortez so I will back Sheets all the way. I think his play out trumps his tantrum by far. As far as having no one else to play for sheets your wrong there. I will give Cortez credit for not benching Sheets. The fans would be hunting for his head.
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