Well, I thought I would take a few weeks before I posted my thoughts on the 2011 Riders. I'm glad I did because all I would have done was complained about the turnover prone quarterback, terrible coaching decisions both on offence - no imagination and defense - poor coverage and no pass rush, no field goal kicker....but that was then and this is now....
Going to the cup!!!
OK, not really but after 4 games this season it is pretty clear that the Riders need to bring everything they have game in and game out to have a chance to win. At this point, they do not have the talent nor the high level coaching ability of a Mark Trestman to carry them through on off nights.
I will say that the game against Montreal was very encouraging. The defense played hard and tight on Montreal's dynamic offence. There was consistent pressure on AC which forced numerous 2 and outs in the first half. The offence and in particular, DD, played very well. I was most impressed with his decisions regarding running the ball himself. He did this numerous times and created first downs. Doug Berry called some strong plays that allowed DD to roll out and get away from Montreal's pash rush. It is too bad that it took him 3 games to figure that out. Regardless, DD made good decisions which led to 0 turnovers. I won't ruin a good thing by mentioning the fumble by Charles in the last minute.
After AC went down, the offence seemed to get too comfortable and really didn't move the ball too much. If MacPherson or the Als got rolling, the Rides would have gone down. This is why it is so important that the Riders have the pedal to the metal 100% of the time. They cannot do that and expect to win...case in point - losing the last 2 Grey Cups because they didn't play 60 minutes.
Right now, being the only team in the league to beat the best team in the league is encouraging. And hopefully this is something they can build on.
The good news...we have a playoff spot!
