Back at Mosaic – a Look at last night’s Preseason game

Back at Mosaic – a Look at last night’s Preseason game

Published: Wednesday, Jun 1st 2022, 6:06pm

By: Stephen Safinuk (@Safimod)

It was good to be back at Mosaic Stadium for the first preseason game since 2019, where we watched the Riders fall to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-16. Let’s take a look at some of the positives and negatives from that game

Positives:

• Both Jake Dolegala and Mason Fine did well enough with the time they had. Mason Fine will go into the season as the #2 QB, but there is no question to me that Dolegala will push him all season. Having said that, let’s hope Cody Fajardo stays healthy, as I’m not sure either guy is ready to step in at #1 yet
• Both Frankie Hickson and Jamal Morrow looked good at RB. Could see them being a solid 1-2 punch this season
• DeMarcus Christmas got some decent push from an otherwise “meh” defensive line. Hopefully we will see more of him on Friday.
• Dieuly Aristilde Jr, Samuel Emilius and Tevin Jones (after his fumble) and Jester Weah all looked solid when given an opportunity. You can never have too much depth in the receiving corps, but the Riders will have a few tough decisions to make on who to keep. Will this be the end of Paul McRoberts in Saskatchewan?

Negatives:

• The line play on both sides of the ball was suspect at best. The good thing is, none of these guys will be in the starting lineup on June 11^th.
• Defense looked shaky to say the least. Gave up almost 200 yards on the ground and another 300 through the air. Once again, its important to note that very few (if any) of these guys will be on the starting defensive unit, but it makes you question the depth the team has going in to the 2022 season.
• Kian Schaffer-Baker saw far more of the field than I would have liked in a meaningless preseason game. You know he’s got his spot locked up, don’t put him out there with the 2s and 3s.

In the end, the Riders streak of losing in the preseason will continue for at least another game, as the green and white have gone winless since 2014.