Saskatchewan Roughriders

Yes, you read that headline correctly, third string quarterback Darian Durant lead the Saskatchewan Rough Riders to a 26-16 victory and put them in sole possession of first place with a 2-0 record.

Despite the win, the Riders suffered from some huge losses. Starting quarterback Marcus Crandell left the game with a hamstring injury, although he did not return, the injury does not appear to be to serious and he should be back next game.

Unfortunately for DJ Flick, last years leader in touchdown receptions, the news was not so good. Late in the second quarter, Flick went up for a pass and caught his spike in the turf on the way down. If you haven't seen the replay yet I suggest you don't. The way his ankle snapped even made me sick to my stomach and he should be out for a long time.

With Flicks injury in mind the second quarter was even worse for the Riders as backup quarter back Stephen Jyles threw two interceptions to go with his touchdown pass to Andy Fantuz and the Lions led 14-10 going into halftime on two touchdown runs from Joe Smith.

Things looked very bleak for the Riders coming into the third quarter with third string quarterback Darian Durant coming in to replace the struggling Stephen Jyles. The Riders would only manage a field goal, a 41 yarder from kicker Luca Congi. The Lions would get two points of there own on a safety.

Going into the fourth quarter down three points and two key players, the Riders seemed to be all but out of it at that point and thats when running back Wes Cates took things into his own hands.

Cates would lead the Riders charge down the field to begin the fourth quarter and it ended with Luca Congi tying the game with a 32 yard field goal. After the defence forced the Lions to punt after just two plays, the Riders once again charged down field with Wes Cates leading the charge like last time.

The key play of the drive was when Durant hooked up with Cates on a second and long screen pass that went for 15 yards and a first down. Wes Cates continued his strong play, busting through the Lions defensive line for a 15 yard touchdown run, staking the Riders to a 23-16 lead.

After Lance Frazier intercepted Jarius Jackson during the Lions next possession, Luca Congi would put the game away with a 27 yard field goal. The Riders would keep the ball on the ground the rest of the way as Cates would be brilliant in running out the clock.

Final score was 26 – 16 Riders. The victory improves the team to 2 – 0 on the year and puts them atop the Western Conference.

NOTES:- Flicks injury looked very serious and it looks probable that he will be out for the remainder of the season. Crandells injury didn't appear to be to bad and he could hopefully be back next game nut no reports have yet been made.

- The O-Line looked like they were missing Wayne Smith tonight as they give up six sacks.

- The Riders won despite totaling only 196 yards.

I was hoping for the Roughriders to win, but I did not expect this.

Following the 2007 season, I expected the Roughriders to cross over to the East and finish third there. I thought the Eskimos would finish ahead of the Riders—well, I think now I am wrong.

I change my opinion. I think the same teams will make the playoffs, but the Eskimos to cross-over to the East and the Riders to finish second or third in the West. I know it is only one game, but it was quite lopsided. I was there and I experienced it first-hand.

Marcus Crandell wasn't great at QB for Saskatchewan, but he was better than I expected. He had a good game but he just forced too many passes. He went 19-29 with two interceptions, but also through for two touchdown passes—one to DJ Flick and one to newcomer Adarius Bowman.

Wes Cates also had a very good game, rushing 14 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

On the other side of the field, Ricky Ray completed 29 of his 35 passes with one interception. Edmonton did not score a touchdown.

The Eskimos offence wasn't bad, but they could not get it done in the Red Zone. Every time they got there the Riders held them to a field goal. Considering I am a Rider fan, it was a great sight to watch.

One player on the defense who really stood out in the game was James Johnson. He caught two interceptions while running one of them back for a touchdown. I think he is our new star defensive back instead of Eddie Davis.

Although I did not think this at all at the beginning of the season, I think the Riders may finish up to second place in the Western conference now.

For this to happen, fragile Buck Pierce would have to get hurt, which really seems like a possibility after last game.

Last season the BC Lions finished first in the Western conference in the regular season, but this is not because of Jarious Jackson, this was in spite of Jarious Jackson. They had a great team but he was keeping the other team in games. They are now one year older and will finish third in the East unless Pierce stays healthy.

Ok, well this scenario is kind of a long shot, but it is definitely possible. The Roughriders look like they are going to have some problems this season with quarterbacking and just winning as a whole. But I have conjured up a possible scenario to solve their problems.

For it to happen, it will require a lot of luck on the behalf of the Riders.

First off, it will require former CFL Superstar Kenton Keith to get cut from the Indianapolis Colts. This may happen if you take into account his inability to hold on to the ball last year, but more importantly his trouble with the law down in the NFL. The Roughriders still have the rights to Kenton Keith therefore if he was cut he would come down and play with the Riders. One of the fastest players in the league when he played down here, with the muscle he put on in the States Keith would be near unstoppable.

Secondly, it would require injury prone Jesse Lumsden of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to come down with another injury that would end his season. Now, I don't want to wish injury on a player but it would, in my scenario help the Roughriders drive to success.

With the Roughriders now having two runningbacks, and the Tiger-Cats in need of one, a trade would be needed. Considering how good Keith would be, the Riders would no longer need runningback Wes Cates, therefore he is how the trade would go down.

To Hamilton: Wes Cates, Marcus Crandell or Stephen Jyles and 2 Second Round picks in 2009 and 2010

To Saskatchewan: Richie Williams, Terry Caulley and a 4th Round Pick

That is a trade I think both teams would accept and it would also benefit both teams now wouldn't it?

Last season with the Ti-Cats, Richie Williams started 2 games and completed 80 out of 130 passes for 852 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also carried the ball 32 times for 169 yards.

In my mind, he would be a step up from Marcus Crandell or anything the Riders have, maybe add a couple of draft picks to the Ti-Cats if they wouldn't accept that and there you go a good trade to benefit both teams and to help the Roughriders repeat for the title.

I'd like to start by saying congrats to Kerry Joseph to winning last years Most Outstanding Player award and winning the Grey Cup. But now, a new season is on the rise and therefore there will be a new MOP.

Here is a list of what is going to be each teams choice for their teams MOP:

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Jesse Lumsden - Lumsden finally has a season that isn't injury plagued. He has a fantastic season but doesn't get much recognition because his team didn't make the playoffs.

Montreal Allouettes: Ben Cahoon - Cahoon has a great season this year as he co-leads the league in receiving touchdowns. Unfortunately, he also does not get much recognition due to the lack of his teams success.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Kevin Glenn - Glenn has another good season this year, but not quite as good as last. Although it wasn't as good, he still receives a lot of recognition due to his great year.

Toronto Argonautes: Kerry Joseph - Joseph has a great season but his stats aren't quite as good as last year due to the fact that he has to share minutes with Michael Bishop.

East Finalist: Kevin Glenn

Saskatchewan Roughriders: Andy Fantuz - Fantuz co-leads the league in touchdown receptions with Ben Cahoon and has a great year, similar to last year but without the dropping every pass stint like last season.

Edmonton Eskimos: Ricky Ray - Ray has a fantastic year leading his Eskimos back into the playoffs after missing them the past two seasons. He leads the league in passing touchdowns and has a great year.

BC Lions: Joe Smith - Leading the league in overall touchdowns, Joe Smith has a great year. He completes this feat in only 14 games as he misses some do to knee problems.

Calgary Stampeders: Henry Buris - The comfort of having Dave Dickenson behind him calms smilin' Hank down as he leads the league in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, leads the league in passing yards and comes second in passing touchdowns as he leads his team to the leagues best record.

West Finalist: Henry Buris

Kevin Glenn makes it to the finals for the second straight year in this award. Unfortunately, he comes up short again. Henry Buris has a fantastic year putting up the best stats of his life while leading the Stamps to a 13-5 record and making a Grey Cup appearance but later losing to the Argos.

Winner: Henry Buris

If you haven't yet bought your plasma HDTV, you might want to do it before tomorrow night.  Why, you ask?  That's when the 2008 CFL season kicks off with the Montreal Alouettes marching into Ivor Wynne Stadium to take on the Hamilton Tiger Cats at 7 PM ET.

Just to let you know, the game will be on TSN HD.

After the match at Ivor Wynne, the scene shifts to the second part of the opening night double header in Calgary where the BC Lions play the Stampeders at 9 PM ET.

Finishing out Week 1 of CFL play are the Toronto Argonauts playing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium while the Edmonton Eskimos march into Regina to take on the defending Grey Cup Champion Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Yet this will be an entirely different Roughrider squad that took home the Grey Cup last season.  With the loss of QB Kerry Joseph, the Riders are looking to Marcus Crandell to lead the offensive charge.

Compared to many seasons previous, the 2008 CFL season boasts many top name quarterbacks that could help the league's overall scoring to go up during the 2008 campaign.  With veterans Anthony Calvillo and Ricky Ray back, along with Winnipeg's Kevin Glenn and Toronto's two-pronged QB attack with Michael Bishop and Kerry Joseph, the CFL could be looking at an offensive outburst this season.

Despite many proven quarterbacks playing, the BC Lions hopes rest on the arm of Buck Pierce.  After passing Jarius Jackson on the depth chart list during training camp and the pre-season, Pierce has earned the recognition of legendary head coach Wally Buono after the departure of Dave Dickenson.

The kicking drama in Winnipeg continues to grow with the injury to punter Duncan O'Mahony.  While getting up in the middle of the night in his house, O'Mahony stubbed his toe and broke it.  Rookie Alexis Serna will take the role of both punter and field goal kicker against Toronto on Friday.

To get more info on the going-ons in the CFL, check out Kelly Bundle's "CFL Quick Fix".

For CFL This Week, I'm Matt Eichel

Sources:

www.cfl.ca

www.bluebombers.com

www.riderville.ca

Grab your seeds, seat cushions, and tune your voices folks!  The Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders kickoff the 2008 season at odds with one another.  This edition promises to be a brutally physical contest with players on both sides, still trying to earn the respect of teammates and coaches.  The contest commences Saturday night at 5:30 CST, on Taylor Field at Mosaic Stadium, in Regina.  The days forecasted high is 28 degrees celsius.  Sorry fans, no power outage likely. 

Here's how these teams stack up entering the contest:

Defensive Line: The defensive lines do not actually stack up against one another. Otherwise the Eskimos would be the best.  But the Saskatchewan D-line manhandled the Eskimo O-line at times in pre-season action last week, minus two starters.  The Eskimos starting D-line also fared well against the Rider O-line, but the Rider O-line was also short three starters.  All said and done,ADVANTAGE RIDERS.

Linebackers & Defensive Backfield: The Eskimos might be the class of the league in these two facets of the game, though their lack of depth at linebacker may come into question at some point in an 18 game season.  Of note, the Eskimos added Jordan Younger in the off-season, who while currently on top of his game, isn't getting any younger.  The Riders are an unproven entity here.  Major changes may mean major issues occasionally. With the continuity factor of Ritchie Hall still coaching and solid play from Anton McKenzie, Airabin Justin and Omarr Morgan this team could improve.  It's tight, ADVANTAGE ESKIMOS.  

Offense: The Eskimos looked pretty darn good last week.  As they should have. They started incumbent QB Ricky Ray, their projected starting tailback Damien Anderson and each of their starting receivers saw action.  The Riders did not. The most production in the Rider offense last week was from Regina Thunder(CJFL)grad Stu Foorde, who will not likely take the field this week in favor of last years starter, Wes Cates.  This will be the first of many tests for Marcus Crandell, as patient head coach Ken Miller said, "he's not likely to get the hook at any time in this game."  Despite a noticeable difference at receiver in Saskatchewan's favor, I'll say it's close again, ADVANTAGE ESKIMOS.

Special Teams: A lot of Canadians play on the special teams units.  The squad with the best Canadian players traditionally wins this battle.  I'd love to say that honor goes to the Eskimos to end the debate and score it 3-1 Esks'.  I can't do that.  I would be lying, not only to myself, but you. You deserve to know that the club deemed with the best Canadian talent prior to seasons kickoff, will typically make the strongest push for, and often win, the Grey Cup.  No need to even mention who they are, ADVANTAGE RIDERS.   

X-FACTORS: Edmonton, CB J. Buhl   Riders, DL/LB Kitwana Jones.

Wherever you are in Canada, watch our uniquely Canadian institution this weekend with friends and family. Enjoy!!!

- Kelly Bundle

Now that part one is finished, I will go on to part 2, the defense.

The Riders' defensive line won't be as good as last season. It isn't even a gamble saying that. They don't have Fred Perry who was their best lineman last year, and they don't have Reggie Hunt to take any of the attention off them. My hypothese on who will be on their line is as follows. On the ends, we have John Chick and Michael Stadnyk. In the middle I am expecting our defensive leader Scott Shultz and Keith Shologan. We have a proven veteran, a guy who had a fantastic year last year, and two rookies. It will hopefully turn out well.

Edmontons line isn't quite as all-star packed as BC's is, but they are still very deep. They have 7 players who are more then capable of starting with Montez Murphy, Adam Braidwood, Brandon Guillery, Fred Perry, Adrian Baird, Jim Davis and Dario Romero. Thats a pretty stacked lineup.

Advantage: Eskimos

The Linebacking core of the Roughriders is another part of the team that should be worse then last season. Although it's not going to be AS good, it is still a good core with starters being anyones guess considering you have Kitwana Jones, Yannick Carter, Maurice Lloyd, Sean Lucas, Antawn McKenzie and Mike McColough. Thats more stacked then Edmonton's defensive line. Even with the loss of Reggie Hunt they should be fine.

Edmonton on the other hand is not quite as stacked. All they really have for starters are Shabazz, Garret and Barrenechea. They aren't quite as powerful.

Advantage: Roughriders

Now we move onto the secondary. The Roughriders are stronger then they were last year with the readdition of Omarr Morgan. Your probably looking at an Omarr Morgan, Eddie Davis, James Johnson, Lance Frazier and when he gets healthy Arabin Justin combination with Clovis and Gordan switching off at safety.

Edmonton also has a good secondary but with probably less rotation consisting of mainly Jordan Younger, Jason Goss, Kenny Williams and Jonte Buhl with William Loftus at the saftey position.

Advantage: Roughriders

It seems like the Riders have most of the advantages, but the Eskimos have perhaps the two most important in the quarterback and the defensive line.

On the kicking side of things, the Riders go with a sepereate kicker and punter because we all know their kicker Luca Congi cannot punt. Therefore, returning from last year we have Jamie Boreham one of the best punters in the league. For Edmonton, the go with a one kicker strategy. They go with someone who had a bad year for him, but is still one of the best kickers and punters in the CFL. Noel Prefontaine. Prefontaine is a good kicker and brings physicalness to the field, we all know Prefontaines tackling ability.

Advantage: =

For who is going to with this game, to me it is a complete tossup.

Another season is almost underway and both Western match-ups promise to be great ones. Being a Rider fan, I love to argue and bicker about points for and against them. We yet to know whether they will win the game or not, but we CAN take a closer look.

Offense

In my mind, the Eskies clearly have the quarterback advantage. Being one of the best QB's in the league, Ricky Ray is obviously listed as their starter. They have Lefors as backup and Maas at 3rd but I can't see it staying that way because we have all seen what a healthy Maas does in Edmonton. The Riders' QB's aren't quite as strong. Listed as our number one as of now, we have over the hill former Grey Cup MVP Marcus Crandell at them helm, but I would expect Darian Durant to takeover in the near future. Also filling the third spot for an injured Drew Date is Stephen Jyles.

Advantage: Eskimos

When it comes to RBs and WRs, the Roughridersare a little banged up. Although they have many receivers, top dog Matt Dominguez and contributer Mike Washington are both on the disabled list. Also injured, are running backs Henri Childs and Stu Ford. It is safe to say that last years starter Wes Cates will be the main back for the Roughriders on Saturday. On the receiving end, although to key receivers are injured, the Riders still have many great ones. I would expect Andy Fantuz to lead the charge also with DJ Flick, Corey Grant and Michael Palmer starting along side him.

Import running back Damien Anderson is expected to be the back starting for the. Anderson played in 30 games with the Arizona Cardinals and had 45 carries for 142 yards, 9 receptions for 72 yards and 15 kickoff returns for 265 yards. On the receiving end, I would expect a balanced lineup to with Jason Tucker, Brock Ralph, Kamau Peterson and Fred Stamps leading the charge.

Advantage: Roughriders

Although I know they are very important, I do not know much about the O-Lineman on these teams and therefore cannot push very many arguments on them. But I do know that the Riders have experience. I would expect the starters to be veterans Gene Mackowski, Jeremy O'Day, Wayne Smith, Mike Abou-Mechrek and Glenn January. This expirienced and farely stacked line should fair well this season and against the Eskimoes. Speaking of the Eskimoes, their line is also very good with the Comisky brothers and massive Patrick Kobongo leading the charge.

Advantage: Roughriders

So their is my analysis on the offence of these two teams. Part 2, the defense should be up shortly.

Get your season tickets, grab your beers, and hold on to your hats crazy Riders fans because the 2008 CFL Season is about to get interesting.

Already, many have made their picks on the outcome of the coming CFL season as has BR CFL Columnist TJ Zwarych in his 2008 CFL breakdown.

As expected, pre-season action has been lackluster but only to provide coaches and upper management with the views they want of their prospective teams coming into this season.

In Montreal, Alouettes GM Jim Popp announced a coaching change last December bringing in Marc Trestman as head coach.  Trestman's resume is impressive, including many stops in the NFL as offensive/quarterback coach with the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, San Fransisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins from 1985-2004.

The hiring of Trestman is in the hopes that the Alouettes can rise to the top of the East Division after a sudden drop from their perennial first place finishes, which included a 2002 Grey Cup victory.

In Toronto, with the departure of former head coach Michael "Pinball" Clemons, Rich Stubler steps into the role of Argos coach.  Stubler inherits an offensively potent team that just got a little more potent with the arrival of 2007 CFL Player of the Year QB Kerry Joseph from the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Along with QB Michael Bishop, the Argos are poised to be one of the top teams in the East.

After the release of K Troy Westwood, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers seem to have solved their kicker situation after signing K Duncan O'Mahony.  Along with rookies Alexis Serna and Brian Monroe, the Bombers have a healthy group of talented kickers vying for the top job as CFL BR Reporter Chris Allen explains the Bombers kicking situation.

In BC, after the departure of QB Dave Dickenson to Calgary, Wally Buono's Lions are set in the QB position with both Jarius Jackson and Buck Pierce vying for top spot.  With great wide receivers such as Geroy Simon, the Lions are a potent threat in any situation.

After an impressive finish with a Grey Cup victory last season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are feeling the pangs of the salary cap, having lost star QB Kerry Joseph and having to rebuild only a year after winning it all.  Most of their defensive line still remains intact, yet the Riders are predicted to fall in the standings this coming season.  TJ Zwarych has more on the Riders upcoming season.

In Hamilton, there is not much hope from many that the Tigercats will do much more than they have for the last few seasons, even with QB Casey Printers at the helm.  Hopefully, head coach Charlie Taaffe will be able to rebuild the Tigercats back into perennial competitors.

Finally, in Alberta, both the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos are in the middle of the pack.  In Edmonton, head coach Danny Maciocia hopes to repeat with Ricky Ray at the helm of their 2005 Grey Cup championship.  Along with WR Keith Stokes now in the Eskies lineup, the Esks are looking to make some noise in the West.

In Calgary, there are always rumblings that the Stampeders are due for a breakout season.  Without a Grey Cup championship since 2001 (third longest drought besides Hamilton [1999] and Winnipeg [1990]), the Stampeders with QB Henry Burris are looking for answers are more than a few mediocre seasons.  With outstanding wide receivers such as Jermaine Copeland and Ryan Thelwell, the Stamps are poised to take a run at first spot in the West.

For the CFL This Week, I'm Matt Eichel.

Sources:

www.cfl.ca

www.tsn.ca/cfl

I usually like to start my article with big introductions, but I really can't think of how this one could start with one.  Here is how I think the standings in the 2008 regular season and playoffs will go down.

Western Conference:

1st Place: Calgary Stampeders: 13-5

Losses: BCx2, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg

The Combination of Dickenson and Burris works well. It pushes Burris to do better without having to worry about losing many games because he knows he has Dickenson behind him.  Dickenson, being the season veteran, coaches while calming down Burris so he can lead them to first place in the league.

2nd Place: BC Lions: 10-8

Losses: Calgaryx2, Winnepegx2, Edmonton, Torontox2, Saskatchewan

Buck Pierce is going to stay healthy this year and have a fantastic season. Unfortunately Joe Smith will get injured for 7 games and they will fall short of Calgary.

3rd Place: Edmonton Eskimos: 9-9

Losses: Calgaryx3, BCx3, Saskatchewanx2, Toronto

Ricky Ray will have a full season until the last 3 games. He will suffer a broken right hand. Except for this time, Jason Maas will be backing him up. In the last 3 games Maas will go 3-0 to lead them to the playoffs.

Eastern Conference:

1st: Toronto Argonauts: 13-5

Losses: Calgaryx2, Edmonton, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg

The one-two punch of their to fast cannon arm quarterbacks in Joseph and Bishop works phenomenal. They lead them to first place in the east both playing one half every game.

2nd: Winnipeg Blue Bombers: 9-9

Torontox3, Edmontonx2, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Montreal, Hamilton

Kevin Glenn has another great year, not quite as good as the last but great none the less.  Charles Roberts legs start to run out as he starts to have injury problems but they still receive home field advantage.

3rd: Saskatchewan RoughRiders: 8-10

Losses: Calgaryx3, BCx2, Edmontonx2, Toronto, Winnipeg, Hamilton

Marcus Crandell goes 1-3 in his first four games and they switch quarterbacks to Darian Durant. Durant has a very good season and takes the RoughRiders to the playoffs in a cross-over with a 7-7 record.

West Playoffs:

Edmonton beats BC 27-21

Calgary beats Edmonton 19-14

East Playoffs:

Saskatchewan beats Winnipeg 30-24

Toronto beats Saskatchewan 31-17

Grey Cup:

Toronto beats Calgary 22-17

Mike Vanderjagt Grey Cup MVP (5-5)

So there you have it. That is my prediction for the 2008 CFL regular season and playoffs.