Top 5 – Things I Want to See From the Riders vs Calgary
Published: Thursday, Oct 12th 2023, 3:10pm
By Alex Dormuth (@RealAlexD)
Well, this is it. This game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders is pretty much their season. Beat the Calgary Stampeders, you make the playoffs and get a chance in the dance. Lose and, well, you still might get to the dance, but you snuck in and didn’t purchase a ticket. It sounds so simple to just say win and you’re in, but that’s exactly what it comes down to. Here’s what I want to see from the Riders tomorrow night in Cowtown
1. Play Desperate – Pull out all the stops, run trick plays, be aggressive, do literally whatever it takes to gain another yard. Find a way to win. I don’t care how. It can be ugly, it can be fluky, just win, baby. But we’ve seen no urgency so far from this team, I’m not sure why I expect to see it this week…
2. Emerging New Faces – No one really stepped up last week against Hamilton, so it’s hard to be excited about a few of the new players we saw. I’ll do a better job of paying attention this week to the new to the lineup players, but the team has to find a spark somewhere to get out of this 5 game rut and make the playoffs.
3. Dickey’s Demeanor – Every time TSN shows Dickenson on the sideline he looks confused and generally not into the game. I want to see him focused, I want to see him show some emotion for once. If a player screws up, TELL HIM, don’t just stand there and clap for him. You talk about how this season is different than last year… SHOW US! Be INVOLVED in the game.
4. KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid – I’ve said this before, but Craig Dickenson FINALLY said it last week… they need to simplify the defense for the secondary. Yeah, no kidding. This soft zone D that Jason Shivers has them playing is beyond atrocious and the only way you can do things differently now at this stage in the season is to make it entry level stuff. Switch to man. Rush 4 or 5, have your 5 or 6 DBs follow their guy and have a LB spy on the RB. It’s so basic, but yet it’ll be so much better than what they are running now.
5. Usage of the middle of the field – I’m not sure what happened to the Riders offense, but Kelly Jeffrey and Jake Dolegala refuse to use the middle of the field, instead looking for short out routes and screen passes. The middle is open and Jake has played his best games when going over the middle. USE IT!
For more on this game and everything else going on in Riderville and the CFL, check out this week’s episode of the Piffles Podcast (presented by Dairy Queen Grill & Chill)!
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