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First and Goal

The road to the Grey Cup took a dramatic detour for Canada's Team following the horrific 42-5 loss to the B.C. Lions on Saturday at Mosaic stadium.



The road to the Grey Cup took a dramatic detour for Canada's Team following the horrific 42-5 loss to the B.C. Lions on Saturday at Mosaic stadium. The loss finds the Saskatchewan Roughriders two games back of the Lions for the last playoff spot in the west with only six games to go.

Cooler Heads Prevail! The Riders played quite possibly their most undisciplined game to date under the Ken Miller regime. Major fouls, an ejection from the game and a inexcusable number of return yards called back because of penalties killed the Green and White. Add in half a dozen turnovers and it's not hard to put your finger on what went wrong.Discipline and Focus that's what went wrong!

Rough Day at the Office! Darian Durant had a tough day versus the Lions. He looked uncomfortable behind center and often stepped up in the pocket only to fire the ball out of bounds. When your leader is struggling it is contagious, so why not get him out of there? It seems to go against some kind of code of ethics to even consider pulling your starting QB. Tell me what's wrong with pulling the starting pivot at some point in the game? Let him have a look from the sidelines at what is developing on the field and then slide him back in after a few series. I am still a fan of Durant and he is our guy, but everybody has a bad day. It just so happens that Durant had a bad day in a very crucial game and a change should have been made earlier.

Cagy Veterans! Experienced players bring something extra when they are on the field. They play the part of on-field coach, and in the defensive secondary this is especially key. We go back through recent years where the Riders had Omar Morgan and Eddie Davis directing traffic in the secondary. In Saturday's loss the Riders were missing that leadership and the Lions took full advantage. Lance Frazier was a scratch late in the week with a leg injury. Frazier is not only a solid defensive half back, he's the Defensive Captain, he's a coach on the field, and he's injured. Without Frazier there to keep the secondary on track, poor coverage and undisciplined play allowed Travis Lulay to pick them apart.

Exit Stage Right! The road to the playoffs may take a big detour if the Riders can pull it together. As the Green and White make their playoff bid they need to focus their sights not only on their western opponents, but on the Hamilton Ticats as well. The Ticats are also two games up on the Riders and should the Beasts from the East falter the Riders could make it to the playoffs via an eastern swing. However to have any hope they need to put the B.C. game behind them and right the ship as they battle through a very tough last six games. Those last six games do include one game versus the Ticats and the other five against tough western opponents. The Riders have to string together some wins and hope all the cards play out in their favour or their season could be done early.

Be Loud and Proud!

Odog

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