It's been a long time since I've done a blog like this and a bit of time since I've blogged period. What can I say? Life gets busy.
1. Did you hear that the Riders are bidding on the 2020 Grey Cup?! I am thrilled! Why wouldn't we want to bring the Grey Cup to the best facility in the league? I can't think of one reason not to. Sure, that means it would have been in western stadiums 3 years in a row but I don't have a problem with that at all. If you look historically, the Grey Cup never came West in the first several years of the leagues inception. We all know that Regina and the province of Saskatchewan throws a heck of a party. A word from my witty husband - we better pray for global warming. LOL
2. What is the deal with TSN and particularly Rod Black's love affair with Johnny Manziel? TSN should be embarrassed for not only the telecast but the follow up highlight package. Guess what? The Alouettes lost! The team that won was barely mentioned. Don't go blaming Rider fans for the outrage either. CFL fans from far and wide are sick of the bias. If you say his name is good hype for the league, I'd say competitive games and successful teams garner more interest south of the border. I do recall the Riders name being hyped and mentioned during NFL broadcasts...
3. Stupid questions. If you are going to do a sideline report with a player during a game or intermission then you better be asking him good questions. Asking Tre Mason in one of his best performances of the season about his college alliances is disrespecting to the CFL game. I loved his answer - all he cared about was the Roughriders and the Alouettes game.
4. The Edmonton Eskimos fired their special teams coordinator. Why? Was he to blame for their recent losing skid? That poor man was nothing more than a scapegoat. There needed to be "consequences" and that fella was the one to pay the price. Perhaps the Eskimos need to look at their offensive and defensive schemes before throwing someone else under the bus. But don't do it this week...please wait until after Week 17 to do that.
5. Monday is Thanksgiving and the Eskimos take on the Roughriders at beautiful Mosaic Stadium. The temperature is forecasted to be zero. Most of us are wondering what happened to autumn. If you are heading to the game you might want to pull out your winter woollies and hot pockets.
6. Another head coach who should be under the microscope is Blue Bombers Mike O'Shea. He's been in the organization for 6 years now and only got 1 play off game. They might be lucky enough to be the crossover team but as we know, no western team has ever made it to the Grey Cup through the east. 1990.
7. The Riders have a bye in the last week of the season. For this reason I've decided they are far better off to finish 2nd in the West. There's no way we'd want our team to sit 2 weeks and then play in a play off game. That being said, is it possible for the Riders to win out? Is it possible for the Stamps to win out? The ending of this season is pretty exciting.
8. I am looking forward to New Era taking over the CFL merchandise. I hope their have comfortable clothing made for real CFL fans and affordably priced. I was in the Rider Store last weekend and spied a really great bunnyhug. A quick look at the price tag? $70. Why bother when a jersey is only $40 more?
9. Speaking of clothing, as long as I keep wearing my Rider shirt purchased at Giant Tiger the Riders keep winning. I'm superstitious although my husband keeps informing me that my clothing/fashion choices have no impact on how the Riders play. If that's the case, then why does Chris Jones stick with the green Diversity is Strength shirt? Maybe, just maybe, there's something to it.
10. We pvr a lot of sporting events just so we can fast forward through the commercials. It usually puts me in a tough position because I also love to follow and post on ABC Rider Fans game threads. If I don't watch it live how can I join in with the rest of the community?! This reminds me of my favourite quote from the TV show Instinct - "If I don't watch it live I have no control over it."
Happy Turkey Day Rider Fans!
Showing posts with label Skater Dude. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skater Dude. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Monday, July 24, 2017
10 Thoughts About Week 5 in the CFL
In 2010 Hubby and I holidayed in Calgary sight seeing with the week culminating in a football game at McMahon. My Roughriders versus the very dominant Stampeders. The week was fun. We went to the zoo, shopped & hung out in Hubby's old stomping grounds since he lived there for a time after high school. It was all great except for the actual football game which I don't remember much of except that Darian Durant (his 2nd year as starter) spent a lot of time admiring the Alberta skies while Ken Miller was the coach who consoled us over the '09 Grey Cup.
So flash forward to 2017...how did we do?
1) We Lost. Again. The last time the Riders won a regular season game in Calgary was 2009 but what many have forgotten including Rod Black is that the Riders won at McMahon in the West Final in 2013. It can be done. It just wasn't going to happen Saturday night.
2) The starting quarterback for our Saskatchewan Roughriders, Kevin Glenn, was sacked 3 times in less than the first quarter. There's several reasons this occurred with the biggest reason being the offensive line. I don't know if they were slow or unmotivated or unprepared but whatever it was there wasn't enough time for anyone to make a decision never mind go through reads and decide where to throw the ball. In the second half the O Line finally was able to give a few seconds more and Glenn was able to move the ball more effectively. Now I did say at halftime that maybe we should see Brandon Bridge in the second half. Before you freak out, listen to my thinking...Glenn could barely take a step back before running for his life and what we needed was to move the pocket or try some play action. When they came back in the second quarter and tried these things the Riders were able to get more first downs and move down the field. What bothers me now that I think about is - why did the Riders wait until half time to make that adjustment? Coaches need to do a better job of analyzing the issues in game and correcting throughout because no other team in the CFL will sit back waiting for us to figure it out.
Tree) Officiating * insert facepalm * We want them to throw the flag & we don't want them to throw the flag and we want them to have the knowledge to know the circumstances which warrant the difference! I've watched as the referee's look around at each other in wonderment before throwing a flag. Or better yet...is it a touchdown? Who knows? But if I look over at the other guy maybe he knows. It is beyond frustrating to watch a game for these reasons. Then if a flag wasn't thrown the coach has to use his challenge and more times than not it's for something obvious which should have been called in the first place. Or what about the fishing expeditions? You know, the ones where it should be 3rd down but someone saw a thing on the other side of the field so let's challenge that because it'll extend our drive. It's a mess. Aaaand don't get me started on the Incidental Contact rule, you know, the one where a receiver "accidentally" runs into a DB to draw a flag. * eyeroll * Do I know how to fix these things? No not really but I'd sure try hard if someone were willing to give me the job!
Turd & Tree) On second thought ~ we fix the challenge issue like this - each team is given 2 challenges but once they use them that's it. No more for the entire game. Also if a challenge takes more than 30 seconds to review it's void. Done. Kaput. I'd also make it so you can't challenge things away from the play...if that receiver wasn't the intended target then that's not challengeable.
Turd & Tree) On second thought ~ we fix the challenge issue like this - each team is given 2 challenges but once they use them that's it. No more for the entire game. Also if a challenge takes more than 30 seconds to review it's void. Done. Kaput. I'd also make it so you can't challenge things away from the play...if that receiver wasn't the intended target then that's not challengeable.
4) Darian Durant and every other ex-Rider ever seems to beat us when we play them...or at least that's the argument I've heard. Due to this argument we also should have never "gotten rid" of them. Why can't Rider Nation ever move on? I know, you - YOU * points finger * are going to accuse me of not moving on either but hear me out. The Riders cannot hold on to players forever just because people like them and they also cannot pay them the exorbitant amounts they want while still building a team. Here's the thing: most players in the CFL unless drafted have come from other teams! GASP! Bakari Grant was a Stampeder. Eddie Steele was an Eskimo. It isn't only the Riders who choose to move on from players. Every team in the CFL has players that once played elsewhere.
5) Lay off Kevin Glenn. Is Kevin Glenn a hall of famer? You bet he is. I don't know of any other man who would be willing to be a back up on every single team he's played for except the Edmonton Eskimo's. Glenn comes in and does his job and does it well in every way he can. Does it matter he doesn't have a Grey Cup ring? No and the fact that he doesn't is another reason why he should be a HOFer. A Grey Cup ring doesn't mean you are a great player...it just means you won a contest. Throwing for over 50,000 yards in your career?! That milestone is incredibly meaningful and every fan should applaud him. One other thing...instead of criticizing his age remember a 41 year old won the Grey Cup last year, Henry Burris who also was an ex-Rider.
6) When things don't go the way we want them to we always want to blame someone and Rider Nation is very good at blaming Coach Chris Jones. Fire Chris Jones! I see it all over social media. Those of you who are saying this have to really think this statement through. Chris Jones holds 4 titles so essentially you'd be firing 4 people. He's General Manager, Vice President of Personal, Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. There's little chance he'd give just one title up either. Jones came to Saskatchewan because of this opportunity and because of that you also have to consider those who followed him...his entire coaching staff. Back in 2015 when everyone was chasing Corey Chamblin out of town I did some research and I found out that in Rider history every time a coach was fired it took 2 to 3 years for the team to be viable again. I've heard this exact same stat from NFL broadcasters. If Jones was gone now, are you willing to wait another three years? Are you willing to throw out the 2017 season after week 5? A new regime will start all over building from the ground up. I refuse to have that happen again. Jones is on year two of a three year contract. This team has gotten better. Every rebuild has its ups and downs and I am one fan who wants to see this out because my loyal green heart can't start all over again. I beg you that before you grab your pitch fork that you really REALLY think this through.
7) Willie Jefferson > Weston Dressler
8) I've noticed a trend. Right before the Riders are supposed to play the Stampeders, some kind of controversy comes up. Last season it was the pre-practice squad that Bo Levi tweeted about. This year all the talk was about spies at practice and let's not forget about the chirping between Derek Dennis and Charleston Hughes. Much was also made of a skirmish between Duron Carter and Joshua Bell. The media sure loves to make Carter look bad by over reacting to this incident but I found it to be karma when Bell had to leave the game. Is all of this some kind of tactic? Let's remember this for when Calgary visits our glorious new sold out castle September 24th.
9) What is the dealio with the Redblacks schedule? I remember hearing a backlash when the CFL schedule was released but never gave it much thought because as a Rider fan I was pretty happy with ours. Who thought having the Redblacks play 3 times in 17 days was a good idea? They actually play twice in week 5. These aren't baseball players these are athletic guys who need rest from practice & game action to rehab tired muscles, bodies and injuries. If they lose it'll be blamed on the short week and if they win it'll be called overcoming adversity. At any rate, it sucks for them and has renewed calls for a tenth CFL team which would definitely help out in a myriad of ways.
10) I've been having a ton of fun creating and posting CFL Power Rankings each week. I started it because I disagreed with other rankings I was seeing and decided not only to compose my own but to have some fun with it as well. That's what watching football and following the league should be...entertaining. We are all much too serious lately. In my Week 5 edition you can look to see an all new ranking system. I hope you enjoy it as much as I love to craft it. Look for it on my twitter account @smilingsandra Tuesday.
On to week 6! Bring on the Argo's! And no matter what... Go Riders Go!
6) When things don't go the way we want them to we always want to blame someone and Rider Nation is very good at blaming Coach Chris Jones. Fire Chris Jones! I see it all over social media. Those of you who are saying this have to really think this statement through. Chris Jones holds 4 titles so essentially you'd be firing 4 people. He's General Manager, Vice President of Personal, Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. There's little chance he'd give just one title up either. Jones came to Saskatchewan because of this opportunity and because of that you also have to consider those who followed him...his entire coaching staff. Back in 2015 when everyone was chasing Corey Chamblin out of town I did some research and I found out that in Rider history every time a coach was fired it took 2 to 3 years for the team to be viable again. I've heard this exact same stat from NFL broadcasters. If Jones was gone now, are you willing to wait another three years? Are you willing to throw out the 2017 season after week 5? A new regime will start all over building from the ground up. I refuse to have that happen again. Jones is on year two of a three year contract. This team has gotten better. Every rebuild has its ups and downs and I am one fan who wants to see this out because my loyal green heart can't start all over again. I beg you that before you grab your pitch fork that you really REALLY think this through.
7) Willie Jefferson > Weston Dressler
8) I've noticed a trend. Right before the Riders are supposed to play the Stampeders, some kind of controversy comes up. Last season it was the pre-practice squad that Bo Levi tweeted about. This year all the talk was about spies at practice and let's not forget about the chirping between Derek Dennis and Charleston Hughes. Much was also made of a skirmish between Duron Carter and Joshua Bell. The media sure loves to make Carter look bad by over reacting to this incident but I found it to be karma when Bell had to leave the game. Is all of this some kind of tactic? Let's remember this for when Calgary visits our glorious new sold out castle September 24th.
9) What is the dealio with the Redblacks schedule? I remember hearing a backlash when the CFL schedule was released but never gave it much thought because as a Rider fan I was pretty happy with ours. Who thought having the Redblacks play 3 times in 17 days was a good idea? They actually play twice in week 5. These aren't baseball players these are athletic guys who need rest from practice & game action to rehab tired muscles, bodies and injuries. If they lose it'll be blamed on the short week and if they win it'll be called overcoming adversity. At any rate, it sucks for them and has renewed calls for a tenth CFL team which would definitely help out in a myriad of ways.
10) I've been having a ton of fun creating and posting CFL Power Rankings each week. I started it because I disagreed with other rankings I was seeing and decided not only to compose my own but to have some fun with it as well. That's what watching football and following the league should be...entertaining. We are all much too serious lately. In my Week 5 edition you can look to see an all new ranking system. I hope you enjoy it as much as I love to craft it. Look for it on my twitter account @smilingsandra Tuesday.
On to week 6! Bring on the Argo's! And no matter what... Go Riders Go!
Friday, November 29, 2013
66 89 07 13
From the moment the Roughriders beat the Stampeders in the western final, I was in a panic. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't think about anything but football. I think I lost 20 pounds.
I wore green all week. In fact, I realized I could probably wear Rider gear every single day for two weeks without running out, although some of it is rather ill fitting. Still.
I hung my 100 Years of Pride flag up at work. I felt awkward doing that. In 2009, I hung a Rider sign on my classroom door. We know how that turned out. Monday when I arrived at work the sign had been ripped off and tossed in the garbage. I promptly retrieved it and put it back on the door. I told people, "The Riders need us more now than ever."
Wednesday I watched the opening of Riderville streamed live on the Riderville.com website.
Thursday I started seeing pictures of the Coaches press conference. Corey Chamblin wore a suit. Kent Austin was wearing a track suit. Chamblin looked like the coach of a championship team. Austin looked like the coach of a college team. That might sound mean, but I expected more of him. It doesn't matter that he had to go out to the field right after and hold practice because Chamblin had to get on a bus and drive to Moose Jaw for practice.
I could not wait for the week to be finished. In all honesty, anything that wasn't football related is a complete and utter blur. I just felt like it was time. It was time to get the game going.
Sunday, game day, Grey Cup day was an incredibly beautiful day. Man oh man, I felt such regret. Why the heck didn't I try harder to get tickets? Oh yeah, I know there weren't hotels available and we'd have to get a dog sitter. But man. We should have been there. We went to the Co-Op for groceries instead. I bought 3 bags of Geroy Simon Super Onion & Sour Cream chips. They were 3 for $4.98. Secretly I hoped Geroy would be a huge factor in the game. I hoped that maybe he'd get 3 TD's. Little did I know that Superman had not scored a touchdown in a Grey Cup game in his career. Wow.
I wore the same outfit I'd worn for the Western Semi and the Western Final. My Celebration in Ridernation tank top which I had worn to Watrous and met Dwight Anderson, Macho Harris and Jock Sanders. I wore my grey bunnyhug. I had to wear my hair down and my watermelon earrings. Pants didn't seem to matter....as in colour/style etc. I try hard not to be superstitious, but I guess I am after all.
Finally. It was game time. BRING EM OUT. BRING EM OUT. BRING EM OUT. The Riders skipped the formality of player introductions and rushed out onto the field sending TSN into a frenzy. It was hilarious on tv because for once, Rod Black aka Skater Dude was silenced! It was exhilarating to watch the players gather and dance.
The sky shots of Taylor Field were breath taking. Seeing the Snowbirds flyby was purely amazing.
Why the heck wasn't I there?!
I don't think I actually started breathing until the 3rd quarter. It felt like Hamilton was going to make a comeback. They started to see something or get something working in the 3rd quarter. Hubby said "oh don't worry we've got this." But I'd seen it before. Then something miraculous happened. Everytime the Riders offence was on the field they scored. Let's face it. The Riders played the way we have always wanted them too. The way we have dreamt they could.
The Roughriders broke a record for points scored in the first half of a Grey Cup game. Kory Sheets broke the rushing record for a Grey Cup game. Geroy Simon got his first and second touchdowns in a Grey Cup game. Everyone got to touch the ball. The offense was spread around. George Cortez was freaking amazing with his play calling.
Then we won.
The Riders won their 4th Grey Cup in 103 years of the football club. The 101st Grey Cup held right in historic Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field. 2013. The year of the 13th man. Vindication. Redemption. What happened in 2009? I can't remember. It's been erased. Once Darian Durant grasped that cup and held it over his head in celebration.....it was all true.
That. Just. Happened.
Monday, July 15, 2013
The Story So Far
I don't think I really have to inform any Rider fan out there that the team is currently the only team in the CFL who remains undefeated. I'm pretty sure everyone knows the Roughriders are 3-0. Did you know that no CFL player has started the season with as many yards as Kory Sheets?
See?
You knew it already.
In the first game of the season we played the Edmonton Eskimo's. The score was 39-18. Lot's of people said that, well, the Eskimo's aren't a very good team and we'd have to wait and find out how the Riders play against a more worthy opponent. The high/low-light of this game was what I saw as an interfering Greg Marshall chirping at Dwayne Anderson and then saw DA get all fired up crazy and got himself a few penalties. It also caused a bit of a controversy because tons of fans were split on whether he should even remain on the team. Now, two games later.....meh, DA is an okay guy *if* he doesn't do it again. Then it turns out the real crazy is the Eskimo's coach, "Krazy" Kavis Reed who could barely contain himself after their most recent loss. My own personal opinion is.....his counting mistake caused us a Grey Cup even though I can't prove it. His contract was just extended but how could you possibly have respect for a raving lunatic of a coach? Edmonton is indeed in trouble. THERE HAS TO BE CONSEQUENCES!!!
Moving on to week two and we played the Calgary Stampeders or the Stumps as I've heard a few refer to them as. I felt a little bit bad for them because they had that horrific storm and severe flooding.....but not bad enough to let them win. The Stamps were a more worthy opponent but we still beat them 36-21. Of course we had Skater Dude aka Rod Black for a commentator. Throughout the almost the entire first half all we heard was how much in control Drew Tate was and how calm he was and blah blah blah. I shouldn't expect any less from Skater Dude. I really thought "Kernal" Jock Sanders was going to break loose and return a punt for a touchdown. I think he was just one tackle away.....and it could still happen in any game. Getzlaf seemed to recover from the dropsies which plagued him last year but ohmygawd how awesome was the play calling?! I was singing George Cortez's praises after this game. What a catch he was!
On to the most recent game against the defending 2012 Grey Cup champs, the Toronto Argonauts. You know, I googled argonaut before because I had absolutely no idea what it was. If there was ever a case for REDBLACKS, this might be it. No confusion as to what that name means. But I digress..... We beat them! 39-28 was the score. I'm not a huge stats person but who can ignore Darian Durant's performance this year?! He's thrown 8 touchdown passes already with ZERO interceptions (unless you count that one that got called back). This is a huge improvement on previous seasons. The witty Rob Vanstone told me that his previous season best was 25 TD's and he's on pace this year for 46! Well, that was until his 'lower body' ankle injury. I have complete faith in our O-line. I'm sure Drew Willy will perform just fine this week if he is called to duty. I know Kory Sheets has faith in them too because he's keeping them fed with BonBurgers just for blocking for him. It's working, and hey, burgers are a huge motivator, because Kory has rushed for an incredible 442 yards in just these three games.
So where do we go from here? This coming Sunday we meet what some people are calling the "old Riders", the Kent Austin coached, Hhheeeeennnrryyyyy Burris quarterbacked, Andy Fantuz'd Hamilton TigerCats in front of a home town crowd at Taylor Field, er Mosaic Stadium. I don't like to make predictions, but I have a feeling Cortez has a special offensive playbook just for the occasion of meeting his ex-team. After all, he is what I've coined The Quarterback Whisperer.
Let's make it 4-0. Go Riders Go!
See?
You knew it already.
 |
| Rod Pederson said Rider Nation is swinging from chandeliers. This might be the one! |
Moving on to week two and we played the Calgary Stampeders or the Stumps as I've heard a few refer to them as. I felt a little bit bad for them because they had that horrific storm and severe flooding.....but not bad enough to let them win. The Stamps were a more worthy opponent but we still beat them 36-21. Of course we had Skater Dude aka Rod Black for a commentator. Throughout the almost the entire first half all we heard was how much in control Drew Tate was and how calm he was and blah blah blah. I shouldn't expect any less from Skater Dude. I really thought "Kernal" Jock Sanders was going to break loose and return a punt for a touchdown. I think he was just one tackle away.....and it could still happen in any game. Getzlaf seemed to recover from the dropsies which plagued him last year but ohmygawd how awesome was the play calling?! I was singing George Cortez's praises after this game. What a catch he was!
On to the most recent game against the defending 2012 Grey Cup champs, the Toronto Argonauts. You know, I googled argonaut before because I had absolutely no idea what it was. If there was ever a case for REDBLACKS, this might be it. No confusion as to what that name means. But I digress..... We beat them! 39-28 was the score. I'm not a huge stats person but who can ignore Darian Durant's performance this year?! He's thrown 8 touchdown passes already with ZERO interceptions (unless you count that one that got called back). This is a huge improvement on previous seasons. The witty Rob Vanstone told me that his previous season best was 25 TD's and he's on pace this year for 46! Well, that was until his 'lower body' ankle injury. I have complete faith in our O-line. I'm sure Drew Willy will perform just fine this week if he is called to duty. I know Kory Sheets has faith in them too because he's keeping them fed with BonBurgers just for blocking for him. It's working, and hey, burgers are a huge motivator, because Kory has rushed for an incredible 442 yards in just these three games.
So where do we go from here? This coming Sunday we meet what some people are calling the "old Riders", the Kent Austin coached, Hhheeeeennnrryyyyy Burris quarterbacked, Andy Fantuz'd Hamilton TigerCats in front of a home town crowd at Taylor Field, er Mosaic Stadium. I don't like to make predictions, but I have a feeling Cortez has a special offensive playbook just for the occasion of meeting his ex-team. After all, he is what I've coined The Quarterback Whisperer.
Let's make it 4-0. Go Riders Go!
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