Look I know we are still in first and it was just one game but seriously we are walking into Calgary where Burris is on fire and with our sorry excuse for a secondary the last little while we could be in some big time trouble.
If Dominguez is seriosuly injured our season is done. Everyone wanted Armstead out and if Dominguez is done then I hope you are all happy. Flick can only catch half the time, Grant and Fantuz are hot and cold. I'm sorry but Corey Holmes can not catch a football past 5 yards so you can rule him out as a potential threat for a reciever. Even if Yo Murphy coems back soon, he sure in heck is not the answer.
I sure hope Matt is alright and we use this game as a wake up call and Richie Hall learns you cant play 10 yards off recievers every play because you will get eaten up underneath like we have been the last 3 games with crossing routes and quick slants.
Next week will determine what kind of football team we have, plain and simple.
I do agree with you on many things. Yes losing, if he is gone, will be horrible. But I'm still okay with Armstead being gone. We have a good receiving corps still and we just picked up Parker who played for Toronto.
Yeah Dominguez has been our best receiver this year, but we still don't need armstead.
But that was definitely a gut check for the Riders and they better come out and show something in the next game again Henry
U guys will bounce back hopefully. I want a riders bombers gc. You guys simply got outplayed today and pulled one out last week against a very strong opponent in the blue and gold. i hope 88 can still play for you. All the best against the stamps.
I agree that Matt's health is huge but don't be so quick to rule out Fantuz. He seems to have recovered well from the dropsees. But what the heck was up with the refs. I was at the game and Bomber fans.... were booing some of the calls. 2 5 yard off side calls against the peg and 5 huge came turning calls of which many were questionable against the green machine. I know there are going to be the usual "riders whiners" responses but were you there to see Fantuz make the catch on the 10 yard line bring it in take three steps be stripped of the ball, recover it and they call it an incomplete pass!!!!!! OR the pass interference also right in front of our section where the Bomber and rider were fighting for position and both players had a hand on each other and it goes as pass interference. When the contact ended before the ball got there and the Bomber just couldn't dive under the ball. Then Grant is fighting for a catch makes it and gets called for offensive interference on a very similar grappling. I couldn't tell if the catch on the 3rd down gamble was clean or not but once they challenged it you knew it was getting overturned even before he went under the hood. Yes the Bombers dominated in every aspect of the game... Don't get me wrong their special teams woke up for the first time in a while and they manhandled the riders on the line of scrimage. But it would have been nice to see it go both ways on the calls.
I think the key for the game was the line of scrimmage (I always think that is the key though!). we beat you there today, but you guys have a very good O & D line. Open up the holes for your running game against the Stamps and you should be OK.
I'll be routing for you guys , that is untill November!
The defence needs to step it up, the last 3 games I have not been impressed with our D. They aren't getting any pressure on the QB, and the secondary is downright horrible, way too many open receivers. If the D keeps playing the way they have, and the O can't sustain any drives, it could be a long second half of the season.
With all that said, I know that KA and crew will right the ship and get this team back on track. The game against Calgary is a huge one to determine if we have a team that can bounce back from a horrible game and go on another 5 game winning streak.
Let's not be fairweather fans. We had a tough game. The Bombers were on fire. There were definitely some questionable calls. We just won 5 in a row...6 would have been great but the streak had to end some time. I have confidence that we will be back in fine form for Calgary.
The riders can not be expected to win every game, it is not realistic. Infact long streaks scare me, cause they have a habit of breaking when you least want them to, like at the Grey Cup. This is still a great team playing with a lot of heart. If 88 isn't hurt then we will be fine, if he is we adjust.
Look, blaming the refs is stupid. Besides, Fantuz's "catch" was not a catch, and Flick's third down "catch" hit the turf...so despite the other mind-farts by the refs, they got those two right.
The larger issue is two things - one, we are getting creamed on both sides of the line of scrimmage; and two, our secondary has shown itself to be very susceptible to teams who throw short, quick passes.
My question is whether our secondary problems are personnel, scheme or execution.
Calgary just game off two extremely sloppy wins against the Eskimos, both games they fell behind early and had to have big second halfs.
I would hesitate to call them or Henry Burris on fire, although they are at least winning.
This is a big test for the Riders, coming off a big loss and now Calgary is slowly appearing in the rear view mirror. I don’t think the environment will be nearly as hostile as Canad Inns was, but they still need to get going early in this game and control the time of possession.
I will say this, if the Stamps come out as slow and sloppy as they’ve done in their previous two games, they won’t win, but the Riders need to come out motivated and angry coming off the loss.
With MD out, this may be what Fantuz needs to get over his “dropsies”. Knowing that KJ has to rely on everyone, Fantuz may rediscover the confidence he had at Western. Remember Jeff Bentrim in 1989? Even though he was the 3rd QB, he played slot, and his play helped us get to the GC. Maybe this will be the break Fantuz needs to become our other “Go to” guy!
You respond with a huge win at home is what you do, you play a solid 60 minutes and dominate on offense, defense and special teams to show everyone you're for real.
