The Riders won and the province is happy for a week.
Last Friday, Sept. 17, with lots of empty seats at Mosaic Stadium, a considerable number of the 25,883 ticket holders did not attend, the Riders defeated the Argos 30-16. While not a cardiac game, the Argos were in the contest until late in the fourth quarter. It appears to be a Rider season where game after game will be close unless Winnipeg is involved.
At the Labour Day Classic, Cody Fajardo said he was out of sync with his receivers. It was no better in the Banjo Bowl. Against the Argos he was back in sync. He completed 67.7 per cent of his passes and had four passes not been dropped would have had an 80 per cent completion. Coach Craig Dickenson said they cut down on some of what they were doing on offence and modified some things. He said Coach Jason Maas made adjustments.
A significant change was a major commitment to the running game. The Riders lined up a lot with two tight ends and ran directly at the Argos. Running back William Powell, who had 122 rushing yards on the evening, said they have inside and outside running plays for every game but stayed inside for good reason. Adding in 72 yards from Cody and short runs by Kenan Lafrance and Kyran Moore and subtracting losses, the Riders netted 182 yards on the ground.
Instead of running outside, the Riders ran multiple successful dump passes to the outside. Powell described them as extended runs which further aided the inside running game.
The passing game was focused on Rider Canadian receivers. Out of the 21 completions during the game 16 were to Canadians. While premature to consider Kian Schaffer-Baker, Mitchell Picton and Brayden Lenius a new Rider Canadian Air Force I was reminded of those days a decade ago when the Riders had Andy Fantuz, Chris Getzlaf and Rob Bagg giving the Riders a formidable set of receivers.
Of the group, Schaffer-Baker is swiftly developing into a fine receiver. His touchdown pass of 24 yards in which he spent 22 yards bouncing and twisting and breaking tackles will be a highlight play for the rest of his life. Catching nine passes he had six more receptions than any other Rider. Powell said they already knew Schaffer-Baker could break tackles and predicted he was going to be a great receiver.
Lenius was on his way to a dismal night with three dropped passes in the first quarter when he redeemed his game by running a nice curl route deep in Argo territory and catching a touchdown pass.
Dickenson said Lenius is still young and his drops were mistakes of concentration. He said Lenius is learning to dial up his focus.
Dickenson went on to say that the young Canadian receivers will have highs and lows. He hopes there will not be too many lows but asked fans not to be too down when they are bad.
While the defence gave up almost 400 yards (82 rushing and 309 passing) they made a pair of big stops that were decisive. Coincidentally, each came with three minutes to go in the second quarter and fourth quarter respectively.
In the first half the Riders stopped the Argos twice from the one yard line. Each play saw the Argos going inside. On the first Nick Arbuckle tried a quarterback sneak while the second was John White driving forward from a shotgun snap. On both plays the Riders were not moved backward. Micah Johnson said you just have to undercut your guy. Watching replays, it was the Rider line that surged against the Argo line. In the end Johnson said it is all about will at the goal line.
Former Rider Head Coach Chris Jones, after the Riders had struggled with quarterback sneaks on 3rd and 1 said we are going to keep running the play for a CFL line has to be able to drive for a yard. On Cody’s touchdown sneak on Friday night, the Rider offensive line drove the Argos into the end zone.
In the fourth quarter the Argos needed to score twice and had driven to the Rider 51 with just over three minutes remaining in the game. On consecutive plays Arbuckle had passes go awry. His first was dropped and the second was overthrown. On the third down, the Riders sent a blitz instead of managing the play by trying to force a short completion and tackle before the receiver could get a first down. It was a great call. Arbuckle had one look and no escape routes and was sacked.
The blitz had real risks as the Riders had already given up passes of 59 yards, 27 yards and 22 yards with the Argos enjoying success against cornerback Christian Campbell. On Friday fellow corner Blace Brown was conspicuous by not being picked on. As winning teams do, when the game is on the line, the Riders made a big play.
The Argos have lost two defensive coaches for non-public personal reasons. Toronto Sun reporter Frank Zicarelli and other members of the media have said that it is expected that the Argos will hire Chris Jones to shape up the Argo defence. Jones had been coaching high school football in Tennessee. Zicarelli said he has resigned, “effective immediately”. If hired, Jones will deal promptly with the Argos' poor tackling.
