Riders Running

Well, the Riders are running strong this year (as are most of their main competition in the CFL West. This is nice to see. There are some things that are concerning to myself as a fan of the Riders. The first thing is the lack of the long game. We have been short passing and running roughshod over everyone, but have not been able to complete a long pass to stretch the defense of our opponents.

The second thing (which may already be fixed) is the kicking game. I don't condone what happened to McCallum after the west final last year, but he has not performed to his abilities this year. Hopefully that is not going to be the case any more this year.

The third point is the penalty situation. What I have seen of the Rider's penalties at the end of the game makes me think that someone has it in for the team. The penalty calls were at best weak. I don't know if that is always the case, but the Winnipeg game last week had a blown call as the Bomber who intercepted the ball at the tail end of the game was never touched when he was down. My understanding of the rules is that he should have been able to run the ball out of the endzone for a return. That would have altered the game as more time would have come off of the clock and the Bombers legitimately would have had a better chance to win.