Riders Romp, Stamps Stomped
One wag said the weather wasn’t as bad as the game, a Stamp fan describing her team’s 30-7 loss to the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders, its first home field loss in seventeen games. It’s true. The tilt wasn’t a classic but a win is a win. The Riders hadn’t won a regular season contest at McMahon Stadium since August 1, 2009 when they crushed the home team, 24-23. The Stamps clinched first place anyway when Winnipeg lost to Toronto. But at this stage of the season, the Roughriders are proving they can beat anybody while the Cowboys are trending in the opposite direction.
When Green and White boss Chris Jones announced he would start man/child Duron Carter on defence, most people thought he was joking. The joke was on them when Carter returned an errant Bo Levi Mitchell throw for a touchdown. Replacing cornerback Kacy Rodgers, Carter stayed on that side of the line the entire cold, rainy night. He didn’t look out of place. He didn’t go both ways, either, recording no plays on offence. Hats off to him but I still don’t like his antics.
Although neither starting quarterbacks on either team recorded a touchdown, all majors set up by turnovers, the difference maker was Brandon Bridge. Kevin Glenn started. Two series, two sacks, the old vet was given the hook. Truth be known, the game was won by Saskatchewan’s defence and special teams but it would have been lost if Glenn had stayed in. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Bridge was good on nine of 19 passes for 133 yards, two interceptions. He also kept drives alive by running on four occasions for 40 yards. He got the job done. Still, stubborn as a Tennessee mule, when the coach was asked who would be behind centre Saturday night against Montreal at Mosaic, Jones admonished, “Kevin Glenn is our starter and don’t start speculating about all that.”
I’m not sure Jones sees or wants Bridge as his starter next year, preferring instead Eskimo backup James Franklin who will be the pick of the free agent litter next February. That doesn’t mean Jones won’t do everything possible to win games now but Franklin was with him in Edmonton when they won the Grey Cup. At any rate, Jones showed in Calgary that Glenn is on a short leash. Falter early and he’s gone.
After clinching first place near the end of the season, most teams rest their starters. Calgary can’t do that. Their offence is misfiring on almost all cylinders. This is because there has been a revolving door at the receiver positions due to injuries. One comes back, another gets hurt. Mitchell is playing with a bad shoulder. Friday, everything went wrong. He said, “We kept stabbing ourselves in the foot”. He couldn’t even get the old saying right.
Give Jones credit. He sure knows how to defence the Stampeders. They haven’t scored a touchdown on the underrated Rider D in 2 games. Calgary hopes Saskatchewan is the crossover team.
The six playoff participants have been determined. Still undecided is who will finish first in the East Division. Toronto has 16 points, Ottawa 15. An example of ridiculous CFL scheduling, Ottawa had their first bye last week. They host the Aaron Crawford/Connor McGough Ti-Cats Friday and then finish the regular season with their second bye. The Redblacks and Hamilton have split their series. The Argos are on holidays, returning to action November 4 in Vancouver where the Lions snatched defeat from the jaws of victory for the seventh time, blowing a 29-13 lead in the last two minutes before losing in overtime to the Eskimos. Either Ottawa or Toronto will meet the fourth place team from the West.
Right now that would be Saskatchewan. They host the woe-be-gone Alouettes and Edmonton. The Eskimos are home to Calgary Saturday. A Rider win and Edmonton loss would move the Green into a tie for third, meaning the crossover spot would be determined Nov. 4, the “loser” going down east.
Edmonton can still finish second if they beat Calgary and Saskatchewan while Winnipeg loses to B.C. and Calgary. The Bombers won the season series against the Riders so the best the Roughies can do is place third.