Sandra's WK16 CFL Power Grouping

The title of this blog could be "How Sandra Avoids Putting Laundry Away" but here I am with a fresh cup of Pumpkin Vanilla coffee and the laundry can wait.  There is nothing more serious than football.

Poor Art is going to think I abandoned him as there are no Garfunkel's for a 3rd week in a row.  

Group A - Saskatchewan Roughriders, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton TigerCats

Group B - Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Montreal Alouettes, Edmonton Eskimos

Group C - BC Lions, Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks

As the snow has fallen in several parts of the country I find myself yearning for my fuzzy leggings which are stashed at the back of the closet for cool autumn days or winter which I guess it is now.  The weather people assure me that all this white stuff will melt by the weekend and we will have double digit temps for the only October Roughrider home game this month.

Did you know the Rider Store has leggings?  

We don't really need them because if there is a team that's hotter than the Roughriders I don't know who they are.  Sure some will say Hamilton but what I'm seeing happen with the Riders is special and I'm not the only one saying that because Cody "Fudge" Fajardo is saying it himself.  These guys are working for each other.  They are playing for hearts and brother hood.  It's not just the sprinkles anymore.

Hamilton might have that.  * hides yellow/grey plaid leggings bought at Walmart * I wouldn't be able to tell you for sure except that it seems something special was found in Dane Evans.  And look - any day a team beats my arch rivals aka the Bombers, it's a good day.

If the Riders have a brother hood then what I see from the Blue Bombers is the exact opposite.  I see guys who have talent and stats but care more about those individual accomplishments than the greater good of the team.  All you have to do is sit back and wait until the Bombers feel confident and then hit them with your plays because they don't respond.  Is that what I hope the Riders game plan is for Saturday?  no way but it seems to be working for a lot of teams lately.

Conversation over on ABC Rider Fans has been about the return of Jordan Williams-Lambert and who will be let go as a result of getting him on the roster.  What's lost in the scuffle is - when was the last time the Riders had this much depth?  Isn't it a wonderful thing?  Since when does someone have to be released.  It's possible the Riders will see some injuries down the stretch and when that happens we will have guys waiting in the wings.

Also, Rod Pederson, what the heck are you saying on your show about "letting the Bombers have this one".  Dude, we don't let anyone have anything.  You come into our house and you better believe we are going to defend it.  No one plays to lose.  We want to win now AND in 2020.

The Montreal Alouettes were soooo close but a last minute guffaw led to the BC Lions taking the win.  I'm betting Khari Jones will be thinking about that decision for a long time.  I'm not sold on it being a bad decision because had it been executed correctly we'd be talking about them winning right now.

Attention Argos - Chapdelaine is never going to use the run game.  Some were of the opinion that the Toronto Argonauts were shopping James Franklin on Saturday.  Why I have no idea.  It wasn't that long ago lots of Rider fans were thinking he was the quarterback ex Coach Jones wanted in Riderville but I always said that if that were true he'd have been here.  Well aren't we thanking our lucky stars?!  Another quarterback in that conversation had been Jonathon Jennings but as we've seen he's not working out for the Redblacks.

By the way, the Ottawa Redblacks are the coolest team in the league.  They don't sell leggings at all.  Coincidence?

Come to the dark side!  The bandwagon has leg room and Rider Nation is a welcoming bunch.  Plus we have the leggings for your winter wearing pleasure.  See you at the game October 5th!

Apparently we are ALL IN on this Pumpkin thing...

Sandra's WK15 CFL Power Grouping

So a weird thing happened this week.  

a) I had a birthday so there are once again no doodles to share & 

b) Teams didn't sort themselves out into 3 groups.

How dare they?  Who am I to force them into a category they don't fit into?  No one wants that.  So today for the first time ever, except for my preseason joking around, we have the teams at the top of the league and teams at the bottom of the league.

Top - Stampeders, Blue Bombers, Roughriders, TigerCats, Alouettes

Bottom - Eskimos, Argonauts, Lions, Redblacks

The theme this week seems to be "pedal to the metal".  Some of the top teams know how to surge back from an early game slumber.  Some teams know how to keep the pressure on and not let up until the final whistle.  Some teams just have a certain something special that propels them to the win when they need it most.  They find a way to win.  The Calgary Stampeders have always had this ingredient.  I've always said you can't count them out.  I don't know what it is but they just always find a way and they have always been the one team good enough to have penalties and meltdowns and find ways to overcome them to win.  Just as the Stamps have this, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers do not.  Lot's of people seem to think the Bombers were too busy thinking they won the game and let the Montreal Alouettes come back but I choose to look at it differently.  I think the Als sat back and waited until the Bombers let up on the gas and then they took full advantage of it.  My Roughriders were on bye week in Week 15 of the CFL however I believe they belong in this group as well because they've had 2 games come down to last minute winning field goals.  Some might say those games shouldn't be so close and maybe they shouldn't be but having a kicker who can come through in one game to clinch the win is cool but doing it twice is awesome.  I only saw bits of the Hamilton game so I don't feel that I can totally comment BUT I did see and hear the outrage over another Simoni Lawrence incident which I am sure *sarcasm alert* he's SO sorry for.  This player needs to be taught a lesson and it's apparent that what happened in game 1 of the season wasn't enough to do it.

It seems some Winnipeg fans and players are also upset that Vernon Adams seemingly ripped off the helmet of Adam Bighill and hit him with it.  Some even called it a weapon.  Well, you know, sometimes a player is just ticked off.  We know RTP calls are iffy at the best of times.  I know some Quarterbacks seem to get them far easier than others.  If a QB fights back then good on him.  Now, I'm not condoning what happened but I can totally see a different side of it.  Will VA get a fine for it?  Who knows.  

As I stated previously I didn't see the Hamilton/Edmonton game closely.  Some are saying Edmonton will be the cross over team and I think it all depends on who is at the helm.  Harris is still out with a hand injury and Logan Kilgore has the reigns.  At times he has flashes of Tino Sunseri and other times he's got flashes of Ricky Ray.  I did see the halftime where number 15 Ricky Ray was honoured and I thought it was really well done and maybe choked up a little when Ray did.  Whether we like him or not we can't deny the CFL legend he is.  I don't know how the Argonauts played because I was at work for that game.  They've named James Franklin Quarterback for the Saturday match up against my Riders.  The BC Lions thumped the Ottawa Redblacks in the Saturday double header.  I heard one Twitter person say their team got beat by the worst in the league.  Dude, I hate to break it to you but, the Redblacks are indeed the worst in the league.  I watched a bit of the post game show with Coach Campbell and I've never seen a coach in such a low state of mind.  They are making a QB change of their own for week 16 and going with Arndt.  Let's hope they can eek out a few more wins to make the season somewhat respectable.  

Sandra's WK14 CFL Power Grouping & Other Stuff

Week 14 is in the books and my team the Saskatchewan Roughriders are on bye week.  * sigh *  It's been reported that some members of the team are staying around Regina and the province instead of going home.  While I think it's important that they all rest up and heal up for the remainder of the season, the fan in me kind of loves it.  It harkens back to when we heard Darian Durant stayed back on a bye week.  I digress though.  You aren't here to read my rambling on about days gone bye.

No Garfunkel this week.

Group A - Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Calgary Stampeders, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Group B - Hamilton TigerCats, Montreal Alouettes, Edmonton Eskimos

Group C - Toronto Argonauts, BC Lions, Ottawa Redblacks

If I did have a doodle, Group A would most definitely be a Big Mac or Whopper or in Winnipeg's case, the Walby Burger.  The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were on bye week so I didn't feel like they deserved to be moved.  The Calgary Stampeders just always find a way to win.  No one calls their wins lucky or undeserving.  I did not see this game but as I've been told it was a close one as was the Roughrider Alouettes game at Mosaic Stadium...which is where I was Saturday.  There was no rain delay.  Once again the Riders won on the leg of kicker Brett Lauther but come Monday morning that's not what fans are caring about.  No because in Rider Nation if the Riders win you have to complain about something.  I got my drum taken away.  Curmudgeons behind me won't let me stand.  Or how about that A&W commercial.  Guys, WE WON THE GAME.  Let's talk about how the secondary needs to tighten up.  Let's talk about the moxy Cody Fajardo shows on and off the field.  Let's talk about the camaraderie the team has with coach Craig Dickenson.  How about how amazing it was to honour the 1989 Grey Cup team. But no...

Never mind that in 2018 there were several A&W social media spots with actual Roughrider players (Duron Carter one of them) trying the Beyond Meat burger.  A&W has been a game day sponsor for a long time.  There are no players in the actual commercial and just fans who happen to be wearing the logo.  Look - eat beef or don't.  We can make choices.  

Group B - Where's the Beef?  Who remembers that commercial from the 80's?  Hamilton and Montreal have the recipe but don't have the secret sauce to pull out the wins when it counts.  No one can blame the rain delay on this one!  I'm looking at you Al's fans!  I also have to say I really like Vernon Adams Jr.  Their offence is doing great things and getting Chris Williams on the roster was brilliant.  It's really hard to dislike them.  Anyone else see flashes of Darian Durant in Adams Jr?   The Eskimos were on bye week.  What will we see from their offence?  I know us Rider fans are looking down the schedule and wondering how that back to back series to finish the season will turn out.

It's Beyond Belief that Toronto got their second win only last week and the Lions did this week as they thrashed the Ottawa Redblacks.  Ottawa fans are left wondering what's going on and how far they've fallen from Grey Cup contender in 2018 to bottom of the heap in 2019.  This is my insight - management is scared of the future and success and of what's happened to the team in the past.  In an attempt to keep the team viable the don't pay large contracts and either don't re-sign players or let them go in free agency.  Where's Ernest Jackson?  That leaves them with no heart, no veteran presence and as we see also no wins.  It's like prevent defence except in this case it's preventing them from having a successful season at all.  I feel for you Redblacks fans.  Us Rider fans remember 2015 and Tino Time all too well.  Let's hope some changes happen quickly and you can be redeemed for the rest of the season.

So is Rider bye week over yet?

Sandra's WK13 CFL Power Grouping...or not.

Three seasons ago when I started doing ranking and grouping there wasn't a lot of people doing it.  The media people did ranking and of course the Nissan sponsored people did it.  Time have changed.  In 2019 EVERYONE does a power ranking.  It's the answer to not arguing over what team gets put in what spot.  Because of this, I believe, the purpose has been lost.

I put in a lot of time and effort each week into what I do.  First I need to watch every game.  Last week I wasn't able to do that.  The fall term at the music school I teach piano for started.  While I love Roughriders football, music is my profession and that's where my attention and efforts must lie.  We all have other ambitions and hobbies.  Everything competes for our attention.  Last weekend family was of the utmost of importance.  I just don't have it in me to sit and doodle for a couple hours and then edit and post and analyze while life passes me by.  I don't have it in me when it really doesn't matter to anyone anymore.  My team didn't even show up for Week 13 so why should I?

OK maybe that's a poor attitude.

Group A - Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton TigerCats*

Group B - Montreal Alouettes, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Edmonton Eskimos

Group C - Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks, BC Lions

A few weeks ago I recieved some hurtful comments on my page.  Of course she's stupid - she's a Roughriders fan...or something like that.  I've never blogged with the intention of gaining likes or follows or friends or views or clicks.  I've always done it for fun.  I think when the fun is gone perhaps it's time to move on.  Those words never bothered me but I am very much over the entire social media combative drama.  It's one major reason I started ABC Rider Fans.  I will finish this season with power grouping.  I might post Garfunkel's and I might not.  I hope that you've enjoyed what I've done so far.  Thank you for sharing with me.  

Go Riders!

Sandra's WK12 CFL Power Grouping

Well, there went summer!  Like so many, I return to my "real" job Tuesday after having summer somewhat free to indulge in football games.  So this weeks theme for power groupings is *drumroll* Back to School.

Group A - Backpack

I'm not going to lie.  I'm totally biased here.  How exciting was the Roughriders win on Sunday in beautiful sold out Mosaic Stadium?  A walk off field goal on the leg of Brett Lauther who then ran 100 yards to Pilsner Country to celebrate with Rider Nation.  It almost doesn't get better than that.  The Roughriders had no business winning that game.  Interceptions and defensive battles were on Winnipeg's side.  For me it came down to the Bombers out coaching themselves.  Had they kicked the field goal instead of faking one could have made the difference in the game.  Take the points guys!  I still think the Bombers are a good team and they should act like it.  A loss in the Labour Day classic shouldn't have you throwing things on the sidelines.  There will be more heartbreaking losses in your career than this one.  I've got the TigerCats in this group this week because I had them counted out at halftime.  I don't know what was said but the team that emerged from the dressing room for the 3rd quarter was not the same team, nor was Dane Evans the same quarterback.  They launched a comeback to win in front of what was reported to be a record attendance crowd at Tim Hortons Field.

Group B - Get Ready to Take Notes

Bo Levi Mitchell was cleared to play and the team responded by gaining a win in the Battle of Alberta.  Just like Henry Burris, fans tend to refer to Trevor Harris as hot or cold, on or off, good or bad.  Well, it seemed the cold-off-bad Harris showed up.  Everyone has a bad game, right?  Can they rebound for the rematch?  The Alouettes were on bye week but made news by signing Chris Williams who had only 2 days earlier been released by the Blue Bombers.  Injured or not, having a vet like that in the locker room will help out on this reborn Montreal team.  

Group C - Wake Up Call

It was oh so close for the Toronto Argonauts who I've found myself "pulling for" in the east.  They got the early lead against Hamilton but just couldn't keep up the momentum after half time.  McBeth as some have started calling McLeod Bethel-Thompson looked much improved over just a few weeks ago.  Whatever was going right for the Argos in that first half, they have to find a way to harness that and keep it up through 60 minutes.  Both the Redblacks and Lions were on bye week in Week 12.  The Lions did make some coaching moves.  Will that make a difference for the team in Week 13?  We will have to wait and see.