Uh oh.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders kicked off the second half of the 2010 CFL season with a 31-2 blowout loss in Winnipeg on Sunday.
What's so wrong with that? Plenty. It's the first time since Hallowe'en of 2009 that the Riders failed to score a touchdown in a game and the Green looked downright awful against a Blue Bomber squad which had only two wins going into Banjo Bowl VII.
The game summary is simple. Former Rider QB Steven Jyles led the Blue on a touchdown drive on their first possession and the club never looked back. They had quarter leads of 10-0, 24-1 and 24-2 on the way to the romp. The only Rider points came off singles from punter Eddie Johnson and kicker Luca Congi.
Right now, things look somewhat broken for our Riders. Kick returner Dominique Dorsey muffed two returns and was replaced briefly by star receiver Weston Dressler in the second half however even Dressler failed to mount a threat. That leads one to believe that the club's special teams woes aren't solely due to Dorsey, the prized six-figure free agent signing.
And the offensive line - which I predicted would be the strength of the club this season - resembled turnstiles against the Bomber pass rushers for the second straight week. Quarterback Darian Durant won't last the season if he continues to be pounded so relentlessly to the turf.
I don't know what it's like in your town, but it's dreadful in Regina after a Rider loss. People are discouraged, grumpy, and only too willing to call up openline shows and blast the Green & White each and every day between games. Sadly after this Winnipeg match, the club is hard to defend on the radio and on my blog.
So the Riders drop to 6-4 and have lost two of their last three games against last-place clubs. They just don't seem "with it" and this Friday the 9-1 Calgary Stampeders come to town in what we'd hoped would be a first-place showdown. However the Riders are a full six points back of the Horsemen for top spot and simply need the win to solidy their grip on second-place.
With the B.C. Lions (3-7) having won back-to-back games and the Bombers starting to come off the mat, it appears we're in for a wild and woolly second half of the season.
Hold on tight to the edge of your seat!
