They won pretty big in the last 2 visits to the Dome previous to this.
Its only game 2. After week one everyone was ready to throw the East division out of the league.
Different story week 2 and Yes Toronto is still very good and yes Ricky Ray and the rest of the Argos offense is awesome.
For whatever reason the Argos were not prepared for game one. (maybe because of low Bomber expectations this year)
For whatever reason the Riders were not prepared for this game ( maybe becuase the Bombers beat them up)
Players are professionals but are also human and sometimes you play flat or a team gets up and you cant stop them.
A wake up for the league, all teams and players, fans, and especially the media in the CFL in general that there is parity in the CFL and everyone is a pro football team with pro players
While I realize yes players are human and yes everyone has a bad day at the office what was pretty glaring yesterday was this team didn't take the Argo's seriously enough. Sure, fine you have a really odd day where even one or two players or perhaps three that are not up to par but when you basically have everyone on both sides of the ball having an off day? Nope not buying it. As mentioned these guys are pros and are suppose to recognize when one of their team mates is not going well, when that happens they can do a number of things to help out. First they can take that player aside and ask whats up, second they can step up their own game to help fill the void and if none of this works then they can get the rest of the team together and try to fix it. None of that happened and no one stepped up and took the bull by the horns early on and then once things started to snowball then it's usually too late.
Yes it was only the second game and yes plenty of time to correct things just as long as it is corrected and that starts the first time back for practice. If someone is dogging it or just going through the motions the coaches and other team mates need to nip this in the bud. Bad practices or sloppy practices usually leads to sloppy games.
I have said it many times before that if the team gives it a 100% effort win or lose I will back them all the way but when they play like they did yesterday I'm not going to sugar coat it by any means. They stunk the place out on both sides of the ball and even on special teams and for me that is not an acceptable performance. They are grey Cup champions through hard work and determination now they need to remember that and act like it.
Ive said my peace now on to the next game.
Ryan Smith I would love to see more of, I think he can become a great receiver, I would not write him off. JMO
I agree, and I am not writing him off. What I am saying is that if we wished to have 2 RBs on our roster we would have to sit 1 international player off of our depth chart. And DB and WR are the only two places we really had to spare one of our Internationals. My thoughts were that Smith would be the one to get bumped because the rest of our WR’s seem to have a place right now where as he didn’t really yet.
However this point may be made moot with the trade of Anderson. We now have an open spot for an International player on our roster which could very well be Toston or Charles.
Right now it looks like Smith and Swain are catching on very quickly to the CFL to go with Taj. Getz and Bagg are as good as you can get for a pair of Canadian receivers. In the offseason they went in search of a 3rd Canadian receiver through several avenues. Tough for a CIS rookie to adjust to the speed of the CFL and the DBS.
Focusing on finding that 3rd Canadian receiver would give them a nice 6 receiver game day roster.
Leaving McHenry to his H-Back role where he thrives
Ouch! Didn’t have a chance to watch the games this weekend, just watched it last night on PVR… It was a spanking by the Argo’s… After watching that performance, and now the Dwight Anderson deal, there are a few points that were quite obvious:
First, The receiving core is not quite up to speed yet. Depop hit the nail on the head that blitz recognition was poor. Also, you can see that DD is still trying to get comfortable with the new guys, and chemistry is not quite there yet. The inexperience of our key receiver positions, was quite obvious in the game. They have talent, but it’s going to take time…
Second, the line backers played just OK… Not exceptional, just OK. The Rider defensive game plan had no answers for the quick hitters and crossing patterns. And every fan on this forum board knew that the Argo offensive game plan was going to be just that. That is the way to eliminate pressure of the D-line
Third, the tackling was bad… This is strictly brain fart material
Fourth, the Riders looked flat. Is it a conditioning thing yet being early in the season? After a month of cool prairie weather, the team looked gassed in the southern Ontario heat and humidity!
Fifth, special teams was just average… The Riders lost a lot of field position in this aspect of the game, and Milo had a miss that was just plain bad.
Last, it looked like the team gave up towards the end of the game… Things definitely went down in the locker room, and the consequence was Dwight Anderson getting shipped out of town
From a Rider Nation perspective, I feel that this loss was the best thing possible for this team. It is early enough in the season, and was a perfect measuring stick to see where the team was at. This loss will give the coaches and management good film on where the weaknesses are, and what positions need improvement and more depth. It also brings players down to earth and makes them realize they have to work hard every practice and game to get better… The competitive nature of players is to win, and this loss shouldn’t sit well with them. So look for improvement in effort and play from the players. Lastly, Rider Nation is going to have to be patient. I bleed green as much as the next fan, but in reality, it’s not that bad so far. We have to let the new players get experience, new leaders have to emerge, and players have to get used to the play book. How many teams that have been 9 - 9 or 10 - 8 have made it to the Grey Cup? The key is seeing improvement week over week and hitting your stride towards the end of the season… With the amount of key players that left for the NFL or free agency, there is going to be a few speed bumps… I am not worried yet!
Shouldn't have kicked Madden out. I wasn't done with that pansy coward.
I’m with you!! :thup: :thup: :thup:
I"m sure there were a few of us feeling the same !