(photo courtesy Canadian Press)
The Riders found the endzone, but they still lost the game dropping a 25-13 decision to the Stampeders Friday night meaning the team is now 4-12 on the season. Like the game last Sunday at Mosaic, it was a good effort from the guys with the "S" on their helmet, but it wasn't good enough. Just some early thoughts on what I saw.
--Brandon West is a keeper. He will get blamed for letting Mobley go on the hit that ended Durant's night, but he did take one blitzing Stampeder on the play.
--That has to be it for Darian Durant. You simply can't risk his status anymore. If he has a concussion, even if its a minor one, shut him down for the season even if he tells you he wants to play. No good can come of it now.
--The Henry Burris era in Calgary is over as Drew Tate has shown he is more than adequate as a starter.
--Tackling has been a problem all year and it continues
--If the Riders had 46 players who played like Weston Dressler did, they would be 12-4 and not 4-12. You can say all you want about Andy Fantuz, but I would rather have Dressler than Fantuz if I could only keep one.
--Will Cole Bergquist ever get some meaningful snaps? He should have replaced Durant.
--Will there be 25-thousand in attendance next Saturday? I hope so, but I wonder.
--That's all I have with the exception of this game that was played by a Seattle radio duo this week which I found to be humorous. Thanks to "anonymous" who sent it knowing I'm a Seahawk and a Rider fan. Roddie, if you're reading this, lets do this on the Cage this week for tickets to the home finale.
22 comments:
I am becoming less and less of a Durant fan. That throw on the Hughes interception is just the sign of someone who is brain-dead. If Huf can yank Burris, why can't old man Miller yank Durant, especially when there is nothing to play for. Another frustrating night.
Dwight
Why did we get rid of Drew Tate? Was it because of Durant or was it something else?
Just anothrt in a long line of reasons to get ris of Miller. If he's back there is no hope for the future. The man is clueless. Tate is what he is thanks to the coaching of Huff, Dickenson and watching Burris. He never would have developed here, much like Durant has stopped progressing.
Drew Tate left as a free agent. On the pregame show Taman said that he would like to see Cole play, but he isn't the coach. He also said that it would be good to evaluate the new players because "whoever is in charge next year will have an idea of what they have". Interesting. I wonder if Montreal or Edmonton were in the Riders' shoes would they be playing Calvillo or Ray? Strange comment from Miller this week when he said winning these last 3 games were important to HIM. Hmmmm.
Sideline staff tweet "DD doesn't know where he is" yet after the game Ken MIller says DD is fine.
I HAVE LOST ALL CONFIDENCE IN MILLER.
He destroyed his legacy!!!!!
Tate looked good but then anyone could have looked good playing against Richie's famous no pressure big cushion defence.
Veeseven
Eric Tillman is a great GM but he did not have a crystal ball with regard to Drew Tate.
I certainly agree with your Dressler/Fantuz comment. I think Fantuz has been a big distraction all year and I'm sick of hearing about the selfish so and so.
Miller stated that they have to show loyalty to the roster players by allowing them to continue to stay on the roster and play in the remaining games. How about some loyalty to the PR players who have worked hard all year for a miniscule salary in the hopes of getting on the roster this season? They should be rewarded for their patience and effort too. Give them a chance to show what they can do. It takes tremendous dedication to be on the PR all season, especially for what they are being paid.
That radio bit was hilarious.
KC
Get lost Dinwiddie. I have no use for him whatsoever. Let's see Berquist next week. DD needs to be healthy next year. I always liked Cates but I agree Brandon West should be our starter next year. BTW Effrem Hill needs to be way more aggressive when the ball is in the air. He really reminds me of Prechae Rodriquez
How did Ken Miller go from taking this team to the GC and being a coach of the year finalist to being a dodo. Why? The talent level has eroded greatly. Who is to blame for that? Brendan Taman!! Who signed Goodspeed? Who signed Gauthier? Brendan Taman! Who let Rey Williams go to Hamilton? Brendan Taman! Who can't find a pair of decent rush ends? Brendan Taman! If the talent is there, the wins will be there. We don't have the talent. End of story!
Murray
I agree totally with the lack of talent. I hate to bring up his name again, but Eric Tillman had no problems finding a DE in his short time in Edmonton. Marcus Howard is a young unknown who is fast, cheap and promising. We have had a revolving door at this position, no up and coming players like Howard. Tillman proved that it can't be that hard!
A Cleveland Brown or a Saskatchewan Roughrider. That bit is outstanding!
Hey Mitch. I found out who the loser is that goes under the name "Bingo Arms" on RF.com. He's a roofer whose name is Darren and he's exactly what you would think he is. LOOOOOOOOOOOOO-ZERRRRR!!!
To those ragging on Taman, we must remember that "the coach/pres" probably has final say so maybe its not all Taman. Both should go but Miller for sure.
Marshall suggested this wasn't the same team as previous years. What he was really saying was the talent level wasn't up to snuff. Miller fired him to prove the guys he and Taman brought in were the real deal. Ya right! They are worse under him than they were under Marshall. Clearly the wrong two guys were fired.
The best indicator of future performance is past performance. Taman had a 39-50-1 record in his five years as the Bombers GM. Only once in five years was the team above .500 He has taken a talented group and frittered us down to a second rate team. Please Mr. Hopson don't let him exact a five year plan on us. He cant find talent and his man Smith is woefully inadequate. Two years after turfing him the Bombers under Mack are a serious contender. They look to be good for a while.
Miller has proven everything is about him. He had no managerial experience yet they made him VP of Football. Geez that was brain fart. They put him in charge of Taman the GM. What does that say about the confidence they had in Taman's ability to take over completely? He had to show leadership and sit DD out last night. Instead he wanted to stroke his ego by trying to win a meaningless game. That one hit could have ended DD's career. It was irresponsible and short sighted. That is not the kind of man we need in charge of football ops.
Send both Taman and Miller packing. Hire one competent guy to be the GM and truly run the team. Have that guy hire the proper coach to go forward. Mack was unknown but not anymore. Popp was unknown but not anymore. There are great football guys out there, certainly much much better than what we have. Joe Womack is certainly stocking the Ti-Cats. It would have been nice if he were stocking the Riders. It's time for the CEO to clean house and one can't go without the other. How can a GM clean house when he was responsible for bringing in the people that will have to shown the door. This Miller/Taman experiment has failed. Start fresh!
Miller did not forget how to coach overnight. If he had a decent o-line, an average pair of defensive ends, and a big tall Canadian receiver that got his itty bitty little ego punctured this year, this team would be in the playoffs.
Miller can come back to coach, but Taman has to go with someone who can bring in players taking his place.
Aaron
I don't know who free agents are, but out of the current day starters, this is who can go.
On offense, Cates (too old), Hill (too passive), Gauthier, Goodspeed, Parenteau (do I need to explain)
On defense, Romero(idiot), Lucas (too passive), MacKenzie (too passive).
We have lots of trade bait (Baker, Koch, Parenteau, Mitchell). We need someone who can carefully put the pieces together to make this team better. Hopson needs to tell Taman thanks for the service and find someone who can do it. Tom Higgins? Joe Womack? Glen Suitor? Jeremy O'Day? Yes, I admit the last two are a stretch, but I know those guys would be welcomed to the fold.
I was waiting for the "Why didn't we keep Drew Tate" comment. As soon as someone flourishes elsewhere and he didn't here, its all the fault of coaches and management (see Marcus Thigpen). Some of you people really need to take a dose of reality.
"if Miller had an O-line etc etc" Who do you think was primarily responsible for the one he has here? It certainly wasn't the GM, because the real GM has been, is, and remains Ken Miller. Do you really think a "REAL GM" who demands control would keep the meddling Mr. Miller? Do you think Miller would like to take his direction from a competent GM? Sorry but Miller is as guilty as Taman and maybe moreso. They both got to go!
I predict that the final game will be sold out.
That being said your prediction of 25,000 in attendance will probably be accurate - especially if the temperature is below zero. A lot of season ticket holders will stay at home and watch the game on TV where snacks and booze prices aren't through the roof! This is a meaningless game, with the Riders most probably treating this as a pre-season game for next season.
However... that being said, I will be there to see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats play (this is their only visit to Mosaic) and see how play-off ready they are.
Post a Comment