After a very disappointing loss to the 2-6 Eskimos, the Riders have to regroup for a showdown with the arch-rival Bombers.  The Riders defense has played well over the last three games and has to be ready to carry the load if the Sask offense sputters again.  The defense continues to improve and will have to be on top of their game for the rest of the season if this team has any hopes of first place in the West and make another Grey Cup appearance.  

This week’s game against the Bombers will be a stiff test for the Riders defense.  The Bombers offense has been inconsistent so far this year, but when they are on they have the ability to throw deep, roll out of the pocket and run on any given play or down.  Fred Reid is among the league leaders in rushing and is a threat to break a big run on every play.  The Riders need to focus on him to start the game to try to force the Bombers to pass the ball.  Barrin Simpson will be looking to have a big game against his former team who let him go in the off-season.  Simpson in the middle will be the key for the Riders to stop the run.

In the passing game, the Riders have to be worried about Terrence Edwards on the deep pass.  Edwards has had big play touchdowns all year and can torch any stingy secondary at any point of the game.  The best way to protect against the deep ball is to get quick pressure on the quarterback.  Etcheverry’s unique blitzing packages will be needed to help the Riders keep the Bombers to a low score.

At quarterback for the Bombers will most likely be Buck Pierce.  Pierce only plays limited games every season because of injuries, but when healthy, he is very dangerous.  Rider fans remember many games from when Pierce was a Lion where he carved up the Rider defense.  The plan with Pierce for the Riders is to make him a pocket passer.  Pierce is best at making plays when he breaks the pocket and makes plays with his feet.  Hawkins and Mullinder on the defensive ends for the Riders have to keep contain all game to keep Pierce between the tackles.
The odds of the Rider offense having a game as bad as last week again are pretty low.  As long as the Riders defense plays near the form they played at last week the team will win more games than not.  The Riders are on the right track and with a few minor adjustments this team could be very tough come November.  As for now, we’re worried about a home and home with the hated Bombers.  The Riders need to gain some momentum through this series to get back on track for the rest of this season… LETS GO RIDERS!

Bleeding Green,
Matt

The Riders defense seems have found their stride.  After a very valiant effort two weeks ago against the powerhouse Alouettes, the Riders defense dominated the B.C lions last week.  The defense only allowed two field goals and one touchdown in the blowout win over the Lions.  Only a few short weeks ago the Riders defense was last in points allowed, but the team has played much better lately and has now moved up to fourth in the league in that category.   

Coach Etcheverry seems to have found a system that suits this group of players.  The team has dialed down their blitzing just a little bit and relied on four or five rushers instead of the regular six or seven guys that were being sent during the first few games of the season.  Brent Hawkins hasn’t been as dominant on the defensive end as Stevie Baggs or John Chick was last year, but he does tend provide consistent pressure and is tough against the run.  On the other end, Luc Mullinder has played better than anyone could have expected as a first year starter after six seasons as a back-up.  Mullinder is very important to the Riders because he is a ratio buster as both him and Keith Shologan are non-imports on the defensive line.  Also, guys like Jerrell Freeman and Mike McCullough have contributed to the Riders group effort of creating pressure on the quarterbacks.  The Riders use everyone on the defense at different times to cause pressure and it seems to be working as they are still near the top of the league in sacks.

The Riders secondary, who also struggled at the start of the season, is starting to reap the benefits of a renewed pass rush.  Both Lance Frazier and James Patrick have taken advantage of quarterbacks having to get rid of the ball quickly under pressure as they are tied for second in the league with three interceptions apiece.  Over the past two games, Tad Kornegay has been moved back to half-back, while his weak-side linebacker spot has been filled by Daniel Francis.  Through these last few games the defense has looked better than at any other point during this season.  The only issue with the current personnel setup is that with Donovan Alexander out, the Riders lose a Canadian starter on the defense.  Kornegay has played really well in the injured Alexander’s spot, but it would be tough for the Riders to sit out a talented Canadian every game.

Bleeding Green,
Matt

After getting beat up in the first half against the Alouettes, the defense and coordinator Gary Etcheverry had a half time meeting and changed the defensive plan.  With these changes in the second half of the game, the Riders defense allowed only three points and a dismal one first down in a losing effort to the second best offense in the league (best being the Riders offense).  Through the entire game the Riders only allowed 256 yards passing and 44 yards rushing.  The defense was unbelievable in the second half even though team didn’t win. 

It seemed in the final two quarters the Riders decided to play coverage with less blitzes.  Its not the first time this season the Riders have tried to leave more players in coverage and blitz less, but this was the first time that it was really effective.  The difference in this game was that the front four of the Riders was able to create pressure on their own.  Mullinder, Adams and Hawkins were all able to get a sack and even more importantly, the front four was able to get consistent pressure even when they weren’t recording sacks.  The pressure was so relentless that they even knocked Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo out of the game late in the fourth quarter.  If the Riders defense can build on the momentum from the Alouettes game, this defense could get back to the form they were in at the end of last season.  The better this defense gets, the closer this team will be to getting back to the Grey Cup.  Now all we need is some special teams!

Week seven brings the Lions to Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field.  The Riders have to be very careful to not overlook this game.  They blew out the Lions with ease in week two and are now playing them the day before a bye week.  If the Riders decide not to prepare hard for this game and just look forward to the week off, then they will probably be on a two game losing streak.  The Lions have lost five straight games and will be desperate for a win.  Jarious Jackson will get the start in this one at quarterback for the Lions and will be determined to take back the starting job.  Jackson will be playing his best, so the Riders secondary better be ready to play.  Geroy Simon at slot back is always dangerous for a big play at any place on the field and has to be respected deep all game.  The Riders have to once again take advantage of B.C’s weak offensive line by sending lots of confusing blitzes to create havoc in the Lions backfield.  The Riders should be able to get lots of pressure in this one and as long as the team brings their “A game” they should be able to bank on a win!... LETS GO RIDERS!

Bleeding Green,
Matt

After five games have passed in the regular season, the Riders defense is not producing any great stats.  The team is last in passing yards against and last in points allowed.  Those stats are making the defense seem on paper to be sub-par, but you can’t argue with the team’s record.  At four wins and just one loss, the Riders defense has obviously done enough to help the team win.

There is no arguing that the Riders are a team built around offense.  This means that the defense isn’t expected to carry the team every game.  The Riders defense is giving up big yards to opposing offenses, but they are still contributing.  In the game this last week against Hamilton, the Riders gave up over four hundred yards through the air, but they forced turnovers that helped turn the game in the Riders favour.  Two interceptions one by Luc Mullinder and the other by Lance Frazier set the Riders offense up deep in Hamilton territory.  The defense only allowed 24 points in the game as well.  Keeping any team under 25 points is what should be expected from this defense and if they achieve that goal it should translate into many victories for this offensively talented team. The Riders defense will probably not be a top rated defense at the end of the season, but they won’t care if the team keeps winning.  Stats can only tell so much of the story, while at the end of the day the only thing that really matters is winning football games.

The defense definitely has some problems to clean up to help this team to keep winning.  They can not continue to allow a single receiver on the opposition to get more than two hundred yards in a game.  Fred Stamps’ 212 yards in week three and Arland Bruce’s 272 yards last week are big problems to fix in the secondary.  Also, the Riders are not tackling very well right now.  Calgary in week four broke a lot of Rider would be tackles and the problem continued into last week as Hamilton receivers gained too many extra yards off of broken tackles.  Leaders on the defense like Barron Simpson and Mike McCoullough need to make the other defensive players focus on the importance of breaking down and making good tackles to limit the gains by the opposition.  

Up next for the Riders is the toughest test of the season as they travel east to play the defending Grey Cup Champion Montreal Alouettes.  The Riders got their revenge in week one for the Grey Cup loss last season and now the Als will be looking for their own revenge from the season opener.  The Riders defense will definitely be in tough as they will look to recover from the 51 points the Alouettes put up on them in week one.  The main battle in this game will be between Als quarterback Anthony Calvillo and Riders defensive coordinator Gary Etcheverry.  Etch loves to send heavy blitzes, but Calvillo has the quickest release in the league and can render a blitz ineffective with three step drops that get the pass off in two seconds or less.  Etcheverry will have his hands full game planning a defense that can confuse Calvillo and not allow him to get a good pre-snap read on the defense.  Unique formations are a specialty of Etcheverry’s and he’ll need to pull out his whole play book to make things tough on the Als future Hall of Famer quarterback.  Etch definitely has the knowledge and the tools to get the Riders defense prepared for this game.  The Alouettes have the advantage with two extra days rest and playing at home, but the Riders are a determined and persistent team and will not go down without a fight... LETS GO RIDERS!

Bleeding Green,
Matt

Well it seems to be back to square one for the Riders defense.  After keeping back to back opponents to no more than 20 points, Calgary torched the Riders defense for 40 points on Saturday night.  The Rider defense isn’t all at fault as they didn’t have much help from their offense as Calgary was set up with great field position all day.  Even without help from the offense there is no excuse for the defense to allow 250 rushing yards in any one game.

The Riders defense held their own for the first three quarters, but could not continue that success in the final frame.  Calgary scored 21 points in the fourth led by their stellar rushing attack.  It seemed late in the game that the Riders defense wasn’t playing with 100% effort to end the game and it was a real disappointment.  On Romby Bryant’s second touchdown of the game Omarr Morgan had him wrapped up at the ten, but then lost his hold, while Tad Kornegay stood beside him and watched as Bryant scampered into the end zone.  Another questionable effort came when Calgary backup quarterback Drew Tate rushed for 45 yards on a second and short and when he was close to the sidelines, Morgan just ran by him instead of trying to make a tackle and allowed Tate an extra twenty yards on the run.  I’m not saying the Riders gave up in this game because I’m sure the team has more character than that, but I do think Calgary was a much more motivated team in this one.  One deserved “shout out” goes to Riders safety James Patrick who definitely didn’t show a lack of effort as he had two interceptions and led the team with 8 tackles.

The major problem for the Riders defense on Saturday evening was the fact that they could not establish a consistent pass rush.  Burris usually had lots of time in the pocket and could look to his third and sometimes even fourth reads.  The Calgary offensive line was suppose to be a weak point the Riders could target, but instead they protected Burris very well.  Even when the Riders blitzed they normally could not get to Burris fast enough to interrupt the play.  Blitzing in this game was actually a weakness for Saskatchewan as the Calgary line picked up the blitzes quickly and gave Burris time to beat a defense that had less guys in coverage.  When a quarterback has this much time it is almost impossible for the defensive backs to hold their coverage through the entire play.  

Bleeding Green,
Matt

After the 51 points allowed in week 1, the Riders defense has played a lot better in the following two weeks allowing only 18 and 20 points, respectively.  The players seem to have a better grasp of Coach Etch’s system.  Etcheverry did a great job against Edmonton in adjusting through the game from starting with blitz packages to playing coverage late in the game.  When the defense allows twenty or less in any game with the offense the Riders have, I don’t think the team loses any of those games.

Early in Saturday’s game, Edmonton was running quick swing passes, end arounds and short hook routes all designed to eliminate the effectiveness of the Riders blitz.  After allowing 14 points in the first half, Etch decided to alter his defensive game plan for the rest of the game.  He allowed his front four to do most of the pass rushing and try to create pressure without blitzing.  Even though the pressure wasn’t consistently there on every play, the strategy ended effectively.  The Riders only allowed 6 points in the second half and ended the game with a respectable 3 sacks (from McCoullough, Adams and Mullinder).  I have to give credit to the Rider front four (Mullinder, Adams, Shologan and Hawkins) for giving their all and even when they didn’t get early pressure, they kept battling in the trenches to make Ricky Ray fight to get every pass off.  Coach Etcheverry loves his crazy blitz packages, but he is also smart enough to drop his defense into coverage when the blitzing isn’t working.   

The biggest difference maker caused by the defense was the timely turnovers.  Fred Stamps (as usual) lit up the defense for big numbers, but he didn’t get any touchdowns.  Stamps had 213 receiving yards and one late game fumble in Roughrider territory.  The fumble was caused by a great effort from Tad Kornegay punching the ball out from Stamps as he was fighting for extra yards down the field.  Also, another big fourth quarter turnover was created inside the Rider ten yard line when Sean Lucas stripped the ball from Eskimo runningback Calvin McCarty.  These two turnovers were definitely big plays in the game that helped turn the outcome in the Riders favour.

Bleeding Green,
Matt

Game two of the season went much better for the Roughrider defense than game one.  The defense cut their points allowed down from 51 in game one to 18 in the second game.  Coach Etcheverry’s defense is starting to figure out the unique schemes he runs and it is translating to better performances on the field.  B.C has a weaker offense than many other teams in the league, but it was good to see the Riders defense step up.

Riders defensive co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry’s high pressure defense is starting to work for the Riders.  Etch is constantly putting six or seven players on the line of scrimmage and making the defense guess which ones are blitzing.  Sometimes Etch sends all seven and sometimes he only sends three.  Etch is also gaining mismatches by lining up all four defensive lineman inside the offensive guards.  Doing this also helps in the running game by plugging up all the inside holes on the defense.  Etcheverry’s revolutionary schemes are continuously confusing the offensive pass block and allowing Rider blitzers to get quick pressure on the quarterback.  Etch’s efforts were rewarded last game with four sacks, two forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown as a result of the pressure generated on the quarterback.   

One man definitely benefitting from Coach Etcheverry’s “organized chaos” is new-comer Brent Hawkins.  Hawk made a name for himself on Saturday with two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble return for a touchdown.  No one player on this defense had more pressure on them coming into the season as Hawk did trying to replace departed All-stars John Chick and Stevie Baggs playing the defensive ends.  It’s only been two games, but Hawkins is starting to look like a young Fred Perry.  He is very quick to read and react to where the ball is going on any particular play and is able to hunt down a ball carrier at any point on the field.  It’s early in the season, but Brent Hawkins has a chance to be the answer on defensive end that the Riders were looking for.

The next test for Gary Etcheverry and the Roughrider defense is Ricky Ray and the Edmonton Eskimos.  The Eskimos have struggled to score points early in the season, but that only means they will be hungrier on Saturday when they visit Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field.  Receivers Kelly Campbell and Fred Stamps are two of the fastest players in the league and pose the threat of being able to score from any point on the field, no matter the situation.  Those two will be the Riders main focus.  The best way to eliminate the deep threat is to get quick pressure on Ray.  Edmonton has a much more experienced and talented offensive line than B.C did last week, but they do have weaknesses.  One is Patrick Kabongo at right tackle.  The Riders need to blitz his side heavy as he tends to take holding penalties under pressure.  The most crucial part of the Riders blitzing in this game will be to cover their blitz.  Ray loves to throw the ball quick to the spot where blitzing linebackers just vacated.  Etcheverry needs to confuse Ray by sending overload blitzes from one side and sending coverage in behind the blitzers.  The Rider offense should be able to put up some points on a weak Eskimos secondary, so all Sask’s defense needs to do is execute coach Etcheverry’s game plan and the team should do just fine... LETS GO RIDERS!

It wasn’t pretty on the defensive side of the ball, but the Riders did find a way to win the season opener.  The defense had some blown coverages and times with lack of pressure. The defense didn’t win the game for the Riders, that is for sure, but after allowing 51 points, they can only get better as the season goes on.

Alouette quarterback Anthony Calvillo found some holes early in the game in the Riders secondary that led to some big touchdown plays.  Defensive back Donovan Alexandre definitely had a game to forget as he was picked on all day and fell victim to many great passes from Calvillo.  Even when Alexandre had good coverage, Calvillo would make a pass that only his receiver could catch with back shoulder passes and throws behind the receiver to give him the better chance to adjust to the ball. The biggest reason Calvillo had success was because of the time he had in the pocket.  The Riders struggled to generate a consistent pass rush without blitzing.  That being said, the Riders did manage to get four sacks with timely blitzes and made Calvillo somewhat uncomfortable in the pocket which caused him to be a little less accurate as the game went on.

The Riders defense looked like they were still trying to figure out their own defense for the most part of this game.  The players weren’t always on the same page as defensive co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry, but they did play hard.  There weren’t many missed tackles by Roughrider defenders and when the Green and White crowd really started roaring in the fourth quarter the defense held their own on the grid iron.  The defense was only held accountable for seven points in the second half until the eleven points in overtime.  The special teams of the Riders put the defense in some tough situations with weak punts and even a blocked punt.  The defense has many new faces and will be tough to play against as the year progresses.  To be realistic, this Rider team isn’t built to win on the backs of their defense.  That is evidenced by the dedication to offense in the off-season as the Riders replaced defensive all-stars Chick, Baggs, Davis and Williams with offensive stars Dorsey, Goodspeed, and Rodriguez.  The defense isn’t expected to win the game for the Riders, but they are expected to keep teams at least under 51 points.

Week two for the Riders brings a very different quarterback challenge.  The B.C Lions are led by Casey Printers.  Printers is a scrambling quarterback as compared to Als quarterback Calvillo who is a pocket passer.  The Riders defensive ends, Brent Hawkins and Luc Mullinder have to keep contain.  Printers is best when he has time to improvise on an extended play by getting outside the pocket and throwing the ball deep.  Printers isn’t the only worry for the Riders though.  Jamal Robertson is a force at running back as he started off the season with 168 yards rushing.  Barrin Simpson was brought in this off-season to shore up the run defense and he will be tested in this game.  Etcheverry’s defense has been noted to being weak against the run in the past, but the Riders brass is hoping Simpson can be the difference maker in that department this year.  If the defense hopes to do well this week they will need to eliminate the big plays that hurt them last week.  Geroy Simon and Paris Jackson live for the deep ball and the Riders will need to pay extra attention to the deep ball this week.  If the offense plays like it did last week, then the defense may not even need to show up for this game, but that kind of support can’t be expected every game and thus the defense needs to step up now... LETS GO RIDERS!