Everyone knows about Dwight Anderson’s comments after the Stamps beat the Riders in Calgary a few weeks back. Add in the Sheets vs. Cornish debate once again, and this is going to be a whale of a week for Media!
IMO, This is going to be another heck of a game! The Riders are going to have to get the Cowtown Monkey off their back and win one at McMahon Stadium. Let the smack talk between these 2 rivals begin!!
Go Riders!!!
Smack didn't work last time. Keep it to ourselves and just kick butt in cowtown.
All the smack talk was during the regular season. Sheets seems to have put it all behind him and today just wanted the win instead of the attention. Anderson is Anderson and he isn't going to change, but he did back it up today with a couple of solid plays. That hit he made was just nasty but clean and it was effective. Anderson plays on the edge anyways sometimes he goes over the line but he is always is on it. That is how he is effective.
I have a good feeling about this game. I thought BC was the true test for the Riders in terms of keeping focused. Should win by 10.
The D played one of their worst games of the season against BC, at least in the first half. Not so much the players, but the really backed off secondary and non existent pass rush. Did Lulay ever really get touched other than the one "sack" where he was trying to get across the line? Hopefully this is out of the system.
The DL better look better than it did against the Lions in every aspect.
Inability to establish a run game early is a huge concern in this game.
Use Durant's legs a bit early, then use Sheets.
throw in a blitz. The backed up against the Lions and got ran over.
I hope Richie gameplans better. They got worked over for 40 minutes and I think they were fortunate they didn;t get blown out.
Two big hits by Dwight......were maybe the difference makers. The pop he laid on Arceneux was awesome. I think that got everyone going.
Defence better tackle better or it won't be close in Cowtown. Butler missed three tackles for sure. Other vets missed some as well, it can;t happen again or they are cooked. Our linebackers are light and quick. If they get muddled up by Calg O-line we have trouble. They need these guys getting to the tackle and making it, better than they did against BC.
Alex Hall....not sure how hard he was going but he didn't look overly productive. He only managed a little pressure on a few rushes. His tackle got him wide and deep and they ran through that off tackle hole many times. They are trying to use the 3 studs (Foley,Chick, Hall) and they might need to re-visit this against Stamps. Sholy and Terrious need to plug some gaps.
Rod Williams off the 9 game and in. I was surprised. Plus he played inside. He's an experienced CFLer......just a new guy to the Riders. Hopefully he got his game legs back and hopefully he can be a difference in Calg. I don't really want to talk about their stable of receivers (they have some horsepower).
A defense that has played super well most of the year....kind of was out of it but got stubborn in the last 20 minutes. I hope this outing is out of their system. They need to be at the top of their game in Calg or we're cooked.
Special teams was the quiet contributor. We gave up no big returns. Our return teams usually flipped field position for the offense. These guys dserve lots of praise, Regimbald, Tristan Black, Newman, Levi, Sanders, McHenry, Hugher, Dan Clark, etc. They were consistent all day. They were good all day.
Against Calgary, we can't get behind. The Stamps play so well when they get a lead. If we get down we can't get behind too much. So this weeks preparation are crazy. They have said Glenn gets the start so you have a pocket passer who has quick reads and quick release. They have a great O-line with a mean back that needs to be shut down. It won;t be easy.
Our offense hopefully can sustain some drives and win the possession battle. We lost this against BC even though we owned the ball during the last 20 minutes.
A better start is needed.....that is why this post is a little negative? The team has been hot and cold for 8-10 weeks and the unpredictability is scary. 60 minutes is needed this week.....20 minutes won't do it. But that BC game gives great confidence. That game experience will do wonders for what is coming up this week.
Key on Cornish ,stop him running and we win
Some great points.
I would also add that the Riders sure seemed to be trying to work Sanders into the O against BC. I hope this continues. I think it is rather important to give teams something else to think about out of the backfield…both Sanders and Hughes can do that.
And as everyone is saying, the DL needs to get some heat! If you can’t do that, well, you better stop the run…they did neither against BC…the DL should be money for the Riders!
It has been talked about many times…that tandem of Sheets/Sanders that was used last season until Sanders was hurt…Garret is capable of filling that role, so is Hughes. It would be a delight to see them dust off some of those plays this weekend, because nobody had an answer to it.
As I broke it out in another thread:
All of that said, the O looked pretty good overall against BC.
Really need to get Alex Hall out of the game on obvious rushing downs. He was targeted and picked on for big plays on the ground against BC, and we didn't seem to make any adjustments to fix it.
What seemed odd to me was that BC has some big holes on their O-line and they did a great job protecting Lulay. Calgary has a much better O-line, arguably the best in the league so that worries me a bit. On the flip side, they lost some key guys on the Dline in the loss to BC and we've gotten our Oline back to full strength. Double up on Hughes and Durant should have time.
In all fairness Depop, I believe the Lions had an excellent game plan in place to keep the Riders front 4 guessing all night. I watched the game again on PVR, and noticed the Lions did a lot of play action, a lot of quick hitters to get the ball out of Lulay’s hands quickly, and lot of QB rollouts to move the pocket. And in the instances where coverage was excellent down field, Lulay did a sneak. There were a lot of plays where Hall, Chick and Foley were forced to make a tackle on the sidelines… Far away from the backfield where the QB should be.
I think it was hats off to the BC offensive gameplan, and even more hats off to the Rider defence to make the necessary adjustments to limit the Lions in the final third of the game…
I do agree with your comments that they will have to prepare better against Calgary to make those adjustments quicker if needed. And yes, they must stop Cornish.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I totally agree. The Lions executed well, and you are right, the D didn’t adjust well until late. My point was more that you can’t back almost entirely off on the pass rush to stack the edges and cover the gaps, then still give up 200+ on the ground. This DL is better than that.
Yep… If the Riders give up 200 yards on the ground against Calgary, they will lose. I don’t think Calgary will rush the QB like BC did with Lulay. Do you think Drew Tate starts? And have Glenn ready? I would assume Hufnagel will hold nothing back…
Logic says Glenn, but with Huff…probably Bo Levi Mitchell…lol…seriously, you just don’t know with Huff. He is pretty good at mind games, and if the wind is as big of a factor as anticipated, I could easily see him going with a more mobile QB.
With all of the injury talk, I am not even sure I buy into all of these guys being hurt…you just don’t know with him!
The Stampeders have been an amazingly resilient team in the face of injury, flashing what has just been stunning depth in the jaws of injury this season. For the Riders, you know they will be game planning around some of the dings, so it will be interesting to see how they adjust when they see how given replacements are holding up.
With 2 DT out, Charleston Hughes and Law should be able to be keyed in on a lot more. That said Hughes/Law/Lemon are a really scary combination on end…clearly the best in the league. The Stamps have a couple really promising guys rolling into tackle spot, but there is no way around it, the Riders have to be thinking that if they can get even 1 of those ends to hesitate because of screens and outside runs that they should dominate the middle. Bringing in 1 newer guy at tackle is one thing, 2 is a lot to overcome. At least the Stamps have had 2 weeks to prep these guys, but this still is surely one of the key things to watch in this game.
Nik Lewis…well, big Nik says he might be back for the west final…we shall see. That would obviously be huge for the Stamps. I tend to think it is Lewis trying to get in the heads of the Riders as Huff is saying no way. Will be interesting to see the 46 man Roster roll out though for sure. Oh the head games of playoffs!
McDaniel has stepped up admirably in his absence, so if both are indeed out, what a huge blow.
Brad Sinopoli is IMO the breakout player of the year from the West and is back so that helps, but more so West…speed demon…if he is actually fully ready.
No word on Johnny Forzani, poor guy…gotta feel for him…
point being there is some serious potential that the Stamps will have some voids out there, and are seriously short at SB if both Lewis and McDaniel are indeed out. If they are, then wow…Cornish is likely going to need to have the game of his career!
Another big thing…I rarely, almost never buy into cold being an advantage, BUT, Calgary has been pretty nice, and the Riders are walking into essentially the same conditions they just played into…this is one time I do feel it could be a contributor.
Agreed. Just focus on beating the living snit out of them - and the Riders will win. :x
Riders by 7
GO Riders GO :rockin:
I think Glenn will get the start but be on a fairly short leash if he cant move the team/score points. Glenn has a better eye for reading defenses and gets the ball out quick. His weakness is arm strength. If they put in Tate for the love of God and everything holy don't bite on the pump fake, Tate has done so to the Riders in all 3 games he has played against the Riders.
Tate has a good arm and is fairly accurate too so he is the threat for the Stamps passing game. Getting pressure on Tate is more important then Glenn, as I mentioned Glenn loves the hot reads and dump screens. Pressuring Tate and he gets flustered and can easily blow his cool and could try to force things more which is what you want on defense. I don't think Lewis will be playing so that brings it down to Cornish who is more then capable of carrying the mail himself. D line must fill the gaps and not let him get a head of steam as he is very hard to bring down.
Riders of course must establish the run game and I will beg once again to see a couple of two back plays put in. We saw against the Lions having to figure out who has the ball does make the D line more hesitant. This takes pressure off Durant especially if he also pulls it down and scampers. The Stamps will be looking for the qb draw but it can be still used if disguised properly and at the right times. Play action is also needed and would it kill to use the center screen like the one time they did with Sheets that went for big yardage? I'm not a big fan or the lateral hitch pass to Dressler as they just can't seem to block out effectively enough to get him loose. Now using Sheets/Sanders on a delayed screen could produce some good results.
If the wind is a factor then I can see the quick hitters and screens being the best option mixed in with a few draws. I think the success for the Riders will be determined by time of possession. No way can they allow Calgary to dominate that department for a complete half and have success. I would like to see Sheets/ Saunders bounce it outside more and get the Calgary's D from jamming up the middle.
A tought game ahead no doubt but if the Riders can get out of the slow starts they have had all season this one is up for the taking.
First thing I believe is who ever wins this one goes on and takes the cup, I don't think either east team can beat either west team this year!! With that said, we need a great game, Sheets need to run wild, along with DD, Sanders Hughes, I think we will see Getz back and he loves playing Calgary and has great success it seems, We need TD's!
Next we have to stop Cornish, good pressure on the QB, and good coverage in the back field! I hope the D is past last week. Guess it was time they had a bad game!! I really believe the Stamps are very beatable, and I think the Riders will do just that, It will be a great game, and a close one at that, both are going to give it there all. I hope we keep the penalties low on our side, We need are best game of the season on Sunday. I think this is going to be the real Grey cup game, next week will be just sealing the deal!!
Go Riders!!
good post Jimmy
Thanks. I tend to get a bit of verbal diarrhea when I start thinking of different tactics. 
Jimmy is onto something here. It will test our defensive coaches greatly this week.
We have shown to be susceptible against good play action.
Two weeks back against the Esks…they play actioned and used a slotback to kill us. #3 Miles (he also returned the punt). They should protect that dude but I digress? But the Riders showed the world against the Esks where they are exposed.
BC came in and ran a boat full of play action. They had options galour. Two capable RB’s and a quick QB. They play actioned us and exposed us again. We figured it out with no time to spare. We did something to rattle Lulay because he made two sloppy throws down the stretch…
Calgary can play action us as well. Not so much with Glenn…but certainly with Tate and you know who, #9.
So that is Richie’s nightmare. Get ready for Glenn. But have another package ready because Huff will swap them out in a heartbeat. If Glenn isn’t on top of his game he’ll be out quick. Call it a two headed monster.
They have alot of weapons. They have very good import receivers. Guys get hurt and they just keep going. West, Fuller, etc. Fuller is a large target and so is West? Brackenridge needs to be one step faster to tip some balls or pick some passes off. I love big hits…but these receivers will take the punishment and make the grab. We need some downfield knockdowns.
Accurate tackles are needed. We did not do that well against BC. Butler missed 2-3 and needs to be better. he needs to make those plays. Cornish feeds off of getting loose and doing serious damage. If we can wrap and gang tackle him he will get frustrated…but they need to make the tackles. Calgary will put you away making these types of mistakes.
There offense is scary. They can have more dimensions than we can. A few posters have mentioned Jock Sanders and I agree on that. We saw him a little more againt the Lions. Somehow we just have to try to keep their D off balance slightly?
I am interested in seeing what Richie draws up.