Needless to say, yesterday's game was a painful one for the 'Riders. Of course Saskatchewan managed a remarkable comeback after seeming to have no answers for the Edmonton offence in the first half. But curiously, the team seemed to figure that it could coast through the latter half of the fourth quarter once it had both the lead and the wind - and while the Eskimos' route to a game-winning touchdown may have been surprising, it shouldn't have been a shock to anybody that they rediscovered their ability to score points when they needed to.
As a result, the obvious priority going into next week's rematch has to be figuring out some way to stop the Esks' offence - and preferably without relying on receivers to drop catchable passes.
Most of the season, opponents have had their greatest success both pressuring Ricky Ray and tipping passes at the line. And while the former wasn't much of option given how quickly Ray was getting rid of the ball yesterday, the 'Riders weren't far away from getting their hands on enough passes to cause problems for the Esks. Which means that the key may simply be a matter of figuring out how the angles in Kevin Strasser's offensive scheme might differ from those under Rick Worman.
And of course, while the 'Riders managed to force one key fumble yesterday, they'll almost certainly need to up the turnover count - which shouldn't seem all that unrealistic considering how much trouble most of the Eskimos' skill players have had in hanging onto the ball.
Meanwhile, the 'Riders' offence was roughly on par with expectations. Wes Cates was shut down a bit more than usual, but that was counterbalanced by some effective running from Durant as well as an effective distribution of passes (five different receivers posted 35+ yards, with four of those catching 5 passes in the process).
As for the special teams, the main issue yesterday was one of strategy rather than execution. Counting Jamie Boreham's successful fake punt, the 'Riders chose three times to punt from well within Edmonton's zone with a brisk wind at their back in the fourth quarter - the last two with a three-point lead. And while one wouldn't want to count on Luca Congi being a lock to convert from 50+ yards, the value of even a single point in that situation would seem to have offered reason to let him test his range.
Having once again found a way to lose on their home turf, the 'Riders will face plenty of pressure to repay the Eskimos' favour next week in order to avoid falling to the back of the West standings. And while all aspects of the game seem to be functioning well enough to keep the 'Riders competitive against anybody, it has to be cause for concern that they've had trouble building and holding a lead against any team other than the Bombers.
No comments:
Post a Comment