Tuesday Takes – October 24, 2017

Tuesday Takes – October 24, 2017

Published: Tuesday, Oct 24th 2017, 2:10pm

by Alex Dormuth (@RealAlexD)

I gave Bo Levi Mitchell props for trolling Rider fans on Twitter earlier this year. Well, the tables got turned thanks to Duron Carter and his pick-6 on Mitchell this past Friday night. Kudos to the Rider fans for their tweets right back at Mitchell. And kudos to the Riders for controlling that entire game and beating the Calgary Stampeders. If you would have told me the score would be 30-7, 100 times out of 100 I would have picked Calgary to win by that score.

Speaking of that pick-6, has anyone been more determined to score this season than Carter? Once he got that INT, he was going to find the endzone no matter what. Carter apparently graded out at an 89 playing DB last week. Not bad for a guy that no one really took seriously as a starting DB. He’ll play on D again against Montreal on Friday night against his former team and I see another great performance from Carter.

And how about the tackle he made on Jerome Messam?? Not only was he not afraid to get in on the tackle, he was smart enough to go low on Messam and not try to arm tackle him (which we know doesn’t work). Carter may be a problem at times, but I’m glad he’s our problem. I’d be backup up the Brinks truck for him right now.

As I mention backing up the money truck, Brendon LaBatte re-upped for 4 more years! A 4 year deal in the CFL is pretty much unheard of, but it locks up our best O-Lineman for basically the rest of his career. Great move by Chris Jones.

There better be another extension soon with Chris Jones’ signature on it… his. Jones has completely turned this team around in a short time and they are now legitimate Grey Cup contenders. Yet, some fans still want him gone because John Chick and Weston Dressler aren’t here anymore…

I’ve been critical of the Riders defense looking like a bend but don’t break unit, but they’ve really been fantastic, especially the last month. Ever since I called out the team for looking like they didn’t care after their 30-15 loss in BC, August 5, they’ve gone 7-3. I continue to eat my crow and I couldn’t be happier.

The Riders officially clinched a playoff spot with their win over Calgary, their first playoff berth since 2014. They are the one team that I wouldn’t want to play in the postseason. The way the D/ST are playing keeps them in every game and that’s dangerous. If the O gets rolling, they will be playing in Ottawa on November 26^th.

Looking at the rest of the CFL, Bo Levi Mitchell is hurt. There’s no way the Stamps can hide it any more. His shoulder isn’t right and he doesn’t look like himself. Calgary is ripe for the picking in the playoffs and I don’t see them getting to the Grey Cup.

Edmonton is a team of highs and lows this year and that happens in game too. Jason Maas really needs to cool it a bit, it won’t be long until his team tunes him out. Remember when Kent Austin was in a foul mood and yelling all the time? That’s nothing compared to Maas. He looks like a child who needs a time out.

Winnipeg’s injuries may be too much for them to overcome. Combined that with Justin Medlock looking terrible lately, Winnipeg is definitely a beatable team in the playoffs.

Please Toronto Argonauts, win in your final game. If not, the first place team in the East will be below .500 and that’s just a joke. 4 teams in the West will finish above .500 and 2 of them will have to travel.

Does anyone else not feel bad for Montreal? The zero planning of the post-AC era has caught up and these are the consequences of hiring Kavis Reed as GM (and Head Coach). I hope this isn’t a trap game for the Riders against the Als this weekend, but if the Riders don’t win by 30 I’ll be disappointed.

Too bad Hamilton’s 0-8 start will keep them out of the playoffs, because they would be fun to watch in the postseason. But it just goes to show that games in July mean as much in the standings as they do in October.

Taylor Field’s west grandstand is coming down Friday afternoon at 1pm and I’ll be there and will Periscope the “controlled tip over” on our Twitter account @PifflesPod, so if you can’t make it, have a box of kleenex nearby and let’s say (one more) goodbye to the stadium together.

We will discuss the Riders 30-7 dominating win on this week’s Piffles Podcast and also look ahead to their upcoming game against Darian Durant and the Montreal Alouettes. We will also have our Coney Island Poutine Cafe Piffles Player Profile featuring Riders LB Derrick Moncreif and much more, so be sure to have a listen to the show Wednesday.

In the mean time, give us a follow on Twitter @PifflesPod and like us on Facebook! Give us any and all feedback and let us know what players from the Riders you’d like to hear from!

Go Riders!