Eddie Johnson Early Frontrunner For Riders Player of the Month

Saskatchewan Roughriders punter Eddie Johnson is the odds-on favourite to win the team's prestigious Player of the Month award for the month of September. Johnson has thoroughly outkicked his counterparts in the last two games and has provided much of the team's scoring with his ability to get key rouges. CFL statistician Lee Moulder explained, "Sometimes a player can have inflated statistics, such as a punting average, because of a small sample size. This is not the case with Johnson. He has punted a lot." Some of Johnson's teammates and coaches have expressed concern that he might "kick himself out" and not be fresh for the playoffs. Former Rider punter Louie Sakoda has been contacted to perhaps spell Johnson for a game or two so he can rest up and regain strength in his weary leg. As for Johnson he is putting on a brave face, "When the Riders contacted me about the punting position I was glad for the opportunity. I was maybe a bit surprised by how many opportunities that turned into."

Week 11: Blue Bombers Blast Riders, 31-2

Hey you. Yeah, you in the picture. What are you smiling about? Your team just played one of the worst football games in the history of the franchise. The Saskatchewan Roughriders looked completely unprepared for exactly what they knew they were going to get. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were going to run Fred Reid and throw short, ball-control passes. On defence they would rely on their front four to generate pressure. Well, the Bombers were who we thought they were. And we let them off the hook! You wanna crown them, then crown their asses! Apologies to Dennis Green.

As expected the call-in shows featured many a rant, and more than their usual share of idiots. I heard one guy call for the Riders to bring back Kerry Joseph. The media is beginning to sense blood in the water with regards to Dominique Dorsey and the play of the offensive tackles. Ken Miller was noncomittal when pressed about Dorsey and said that he never discusses personnel issues before looking at the game film. What is interesting about this response is that he did not defend Dorsey as he has so often done in the past, and he did not preclude making any changes. He even mentioned that Hugh Charles is finally healthy, although it is up in the air whether he was injured in the first place. If Charles is "injured" then it makes trotting Dorsey out for another game a bit more palatable to the fans and media.

I thought the Riders hit rock bottom two weeks ago when we narrowly lost to a 1-6 Edmonton team. Well, this game we were thoroughly outplayed in every department by a 2-7 team, and suffered a humiliating, lopsided loss. That is what you get when you let your message manager pick up your wakeup call. After the game Darian Durant said it was just one game and the team had to put it behind them and focus on the next game. Of course similar sentiments were expressed after the loss to Edmonton. I am not sure if this is the correct strategy. Clearly it is not "just one game". It is a disturbing trend and the causes of it have to be found and adressed. If it is personnel issues then bring in some personnel. We have won six games, so we have the talent to compete. Is it the gameplans? The offense seems stagnant. We have about 50 yards rushing in the last two games, combined! We have not thrown a touchdown pass in almost a month. The coaches are going to have to look long and hard at their preparations for the games because lately the team is coming out really flat. I could go on and on but I would just keep getting more and more angry.

Up to this point in the season I had been looking forward to Rider games. Now I'm kind of dreading our next game. Calgary can pretty much lock up the Western Division and several weeks of gloating with a win, and despite the fact that we're playing at home I just don't know about this one. What I do know is that if the Stamps do win, they are going to be unsufferable. Even more so than usual. Strap yourselves in Rider fans, it's going to be an interesting week.