Lions at Riders GDT Sat 600PM CT

[TecnoGenius]

Watching Rourke on the sidelines... I don't think he really cares.  There's no fire there.  He's not really talking with anyone.  Does anyone there like him?  Is everyone miffed?

Does BC start VAJ in the WSF?  What's important, stroking Rourke or winning?

[TecnoGenius]

This game is exactly what we were supposed to do to TOR last night.  This is what the team owed the fans.  Announcing the home WDF in style and earning 4 weeks off.

Why did SSK come out fired up and ready and we came out flat?  We had 32k fans there, SSK clearly had maybe 20k (I don't care what the sales # was, it was half empty).

And we still had the game in our hands with 2:00 left and 3 downs to get there.

It's sad.  I don't know where the morale and fire went, but they need to get it back pronto.  It's starting to look like we'll have to fight 3 teams super hard to get to the cup now.  Lame.

[northof30]

"Hyperbole"

No exaggeration whatsoever.

[bomb squad]

This game is exactly what we were supposed to do to TOR last night.  This is what the team owed the fans.  Announcing the home WDF in style and earning 4 weeks off.

Why did SSK come out fired up and ready and we came out flat?  We had 32k fans there, SSK clearly had maybe 20k (I don't care what the sales # was, it was half empty).

And we still had the game in our hands with 2:00 left and 3 downs to get there.

It's sad.  I don't know where the morale and fire went, but they need to get it back pronto.  It's starting to look like we'll have to fight 3 teams super hard to get to the cup now.  Lame.

Or maybe even 4 teams.

[northof30]

This game is exactly what we were supposed to do to TOR last night.  This is what the team owed the fans.  Announcing the home WDF in style and earning 4 weeks off.

Why did SSK come out fired up and ready and we came out flat?  We had 32k fans there, SSK clearly had maybe 20k (I don't care what the sales # was, it was half empty).

Totally agree. The effort and performance in this game was a slap in the face of a sellout crowd. The play calling was abysmal. How do you try to score from the 2 or 3 yard line on 2nd and 3rd down and not give the ball to Olivera?

And we still had the game in our hands with 2:00 left and 3 downs to get there.

It's sad.  I don't know where the morale and fire went, but they need to get it back pronto.  It's starting to look like we'll have to fight 3 teams super hard to get to the cup now.  Lame.

[TecnoGenius]

Or maybe even 4 teams.

I said get to the cup, so 3.  To get the cup, ya 4.

The stupid thing is, if we try our hardest to beat MTL who says they are going to try also (i.e. start the A team), it's basically a mini-GC and we may have to pull out all the new plays & wrinkles we were saving up to win the cup.

So in that sense, do we blow our wad in our final game when it may be very hard or impossible to win and we have to show our hand?  Keep in mind this will be played in MTL.  Do we risk big injuries to important starters?  It's a thought...

If we host the WSF instead, we should have a cakewalk beating an astoundingly bad BC team here in WPG in the cold we know they can't handle.  I actually like our odds playing SSK in New Mosaic, because we're still the only team to win a playoff game there, right?

We should have blown our wad vs TOR with all the advantages we had at the time.  Dumb.

I hope all the players are at home doing some soul searching right about now.  And I hope the braintrust gets zero time off and is putting in 14 hour days coming up with solutions.

Retaining Ford & Holm (and many O players) will be that much harder if we can't make it out of the WSF or WDF...

[J5V]

Pretending BC and Toronto are on the same level is absurd. The Riders had an easy game against a weak BC team and a moron head coach who got outcoached by a rookie. We had a tough game against a good, highly motivated Toronto team. We narrowly lost. Do you really think we weren't trying? Give your head a shake. They wanted nothing more than to win that game for their fans and feel awful about losing but it's hard to win every game. They had just won 8 in a row! To hear some fans booing the Bombers last night really pisses me off. After all the changes and injuries our team has been through I think they've done an amazing job. I never would have imagined just a few weeks ago that we'd be able to still finish first in the West. That's incredible.

[Go_Big_D]

the way the bombers played when first place on the line, not a good sign, certainly not of a cup winning team

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

the way the bombers played when first place on the line, not a good sign, certainly not of a cup winning team

Don't agree, they may have been outplayed in certain areas such as the O-line but there's little doubt they were playing to the best of their abilities with the intent to win, and with great play of the defence still had the opportunity to do so.  Sometimes the effort is there but it comes down to having more talented athletes in certain positions or the better game plan.

There is a difference between careless errors and forced errors, and in this game most were forced by the Argos D, either rushed decisions, escape lanes cut off or throwing motion being interrupted by a rusher. Be it Zach fumbling the ball or Wilson failing on the 3rd down attempt at the goaline, great plays by the Argo D forced those errors. Unfortunately the same does not apply to Sergio's missed FG's, for which there's no legitimate excuse, other than kicking a FG from 40+ yards is not an easy task.

[blue_or_die]

the way the bombers played when first place on the line, not a good sign, certainly not of a cup winning team

Hi Rider fan. Welcome to our forum.

We see what you're doing.

[dd]

Oh my gosh, we lose a close one to the argos—a game we should have won had our kicker showed up, and everyone is in crisis mode

Toronto is a very good football team that has been without their #1 qb for half the season. To me, they are just as good as Montreal and I predict they ll return the favour to Montreal this year in the playoffs and beat them at home with all those bogus horns blowing

Bombers are fine, bc s a joke, riders are the team to beat in the west and we ll get that done when the time comes


Montreal has nothing to play for in the upcoming game this and we need the win for home field and first place. I think we beat them at home watch sask beat bc in playoffs and then we take the riders out and it's am Argos vs bomber grey cup and we re due to beat them then

[Go_Big_D]

Hi Rider fan. Welcome to our forum.

We see what you're doing.

lol....my gawd u r the one always wearing green...."we" have no clue what anybody is doing

[northof30]

Don't agree, they may have been outplayed in certain areas such as the O-line but there's little doubt they were playing to the best of their abilities with the intent to win, and with great play of the defence still had the opportunity to do so.  Sometimes the effort is there but it comes down to having more talented athletes in certain positions or the better game plan.

There is a difference between careless errors and forced errors, and in this game most were forced by the Argos D, either rushed decisions, escape lanes cut off or throwing motion being interrupted by a rusher. Be it Zach fumbling the ball or Wilson failing on the 3rd down attempt at the goaline, great plays by the Argo D forced those errors. Unfortunately the same does not apply to Sergio's missed FG's, for which there's no legitimate excuse, other than kicking a FG from 40+ yards is not an easy task.

Have to somewhat disagree. I don't think they were "playing to the best of their abilities". They did with an 8-0 run, and were playing against some equally good defences, but not that game. Zack and the O-line were off but so was the play calling. Certainly hind-sight is 20/20 but on the 2nd and third down at the Toronto 3 yard line I was screaming at the TV to give the ball to Olivera! Once Toronto jammed them on 2nd down I could see it coming.

[TecnoGenius]

Pretending BC and Toronto are on the same level is absurd. The Riders had an easy game against a weak BC team and a moron head coach who got outcoached by a rookie. We had a tough game against a good, highly motivated Toronto team. We narrowly lost. Do you really think we weren't trying? Give your head a shake. They wanted nothing more than to win that game for their fans and feel awful about losing but it's hard to win every game. They had just won 8 in a row!

Yes, I think the braintrust and the O did not "try" to the level they could have.  They clearly underestimated the level of play TOR was going to bring.  There was a severe lack of planning and foresight.  There was a severe lack of effort by the OL in the 1st H.

The proof that they could have done better was that the O actually started doing ok in the 2nd H after they adjusted and they got the message from the coaches and leaders that they had to snap out of it and win.  The OL actually started blocking their guys!  If they had been better prepared they would have played that way out of the gate.  It's not like we don't have film on TOR.

After all the changes and injuries our team has been through I think they've done an amazing job. I never would have imagined just a few weeks ago that we'd be able to still finish first in the West. That's incredible.

Ya, on D.  Last night we had 2 relative noobs slotting in at important D positions and thus the D had an excuse to suck.  So what do they do?  The D does what it's done most of the year and perform exceptionally well.  That wasn't the problem...

The O with the entire desired starting OL, QB, RB, FB, and 3 of 5 RECs came out and stunk horribly.  What's their excuse?  It's been the story all season except maybe 2-3 games.

If that's the level of play we can expect from the O, then we won't even beat SSK to get to the cup, let alone beat clearly dominant MTL or TOR.

Ironic, seeing as how 2/3rds of our SMS is blown on the O, eh?

Say what you want about BC, but SSK came out to win in their home barn, major intensity from the warm-up onward.  Where was that on our team?  I watched the entire warmup with my binoculars and only 2 people were hyped up: Adams and Willie.  That's a recipe for failure.

[TecnoGenius]

Don't agree, they may have been outplayed in certain areas such as the O-line but there's little doubt they were playing to the best of their abilities with the intent to win, and with great play of the defence still had the opportunity to do so.  Sometimes the effort is there but it comes down to having more talented athletes in certain positions or the better game plan.

If what you write is true, then we're in a heap of trouble.  Our sieve OL, fumbly/timid QB, and dropsie not-open RECs may not even beat BC in a WSF, let alone riding-high Greenies or the dominant (soon to be determined) East Champion.

I like my theory better: where the team was on coast mode and didn't plan and didn't try (until the 2nd H).  I don't even blame the players that much: this type of defeat is usually down to braintrust braintoots and lack of leadership to address morale/energy.  At least my theory gives us a chance to go deep in the playoffs and have a shot at the cup.

There is a difference between careless errors and forced errors, and in this game most were forced by the Argos D, either rushed decisions, escape lanes cut off or throwing motion being interrupted by a rusher.

You bet.  TOR came here with a GC attitude and it showed.  They made the extra plays for those extra inches with that extra effort and they got the 1st downs, D stops and won.  Just like they did to us in the '22 GC.  And just like the GC we sat there taking it.

Did you see Kelly making a completion on 2nd down when he's being tackled, falling backwards, and the great catch by their REC?  Ya, that's the type of team that's going to the cup, not our quarter-late and foot-short shambles.

I maintain we are better than what we saw.  They need to figure out this issue now or we're going to be even more disappointed than we were in '22 and '23.