Another anatomy of a train wreck

 sportsnet.ca

While Tim does a good job below of trying to understand how the Riders find themselves winless heading into Week 4 of the 2011 CFL season, I wanted to add my two cents.

It appears to me that responsibility for the situation so far lies with 3 people - General Manager Brendan Taman, Director of Player of Personnel Craig Smith, and Vice-President of Football Operations Ken Miller. Why? They are in charge of the people on the field. (Though I'm not entirely sure of Coach K's role in the organization. It's an enigma to me and I think most of the fan base. What does his title even mean? Has anyone ever questioned this? Was this a golden-landing/retirement gift kind of thing? Does anyone know what the job description actually is?)

The writing was on the wall for the Riders back in 2009 when Eric Tillman ran into legal difficulties. Taman was brought in to help out in the office, and appeared to be the heir apparent should there be a worst-case scenario. Taman was the local boy after all, and it would be a feel-good story. Well, we all know how it turned out. Fortunately last year Joe Womack agreed to stay on as Director of U.S Scouting despite being passed over for the G.M. job. Womack left this off-season to become the assistant G.M. to the 71 year-old Bob O'Billovich in Hamilton, with the idea being he would take over when Obie finally retires. The departures of these two people marked the start of the Riders' gradual decline to mediocrity (or should that be depravity?) These two men have solid reputations and track records for being extremely well-connected in U.S. collegiate circles. Success in the CFL depends on not only having the best Canadians, but the best Americans as well. The loss of Tillman and Womack meant that the Riders would be cut off from a steady supply of talented players. Look no further than the turnaround in Edmonton. Over half the roster was turned over, and suddenly Edmonton has joined Montreal as a team no one wants to play.

Is this an indictment of Taman? It's not clear yet. It's only Week 4, but the proof is in the pudding. To be fair, Taman does have his own connections and abilities. His 2007 Bombers did get to the Grey Cup and he was responsible for bringing in some key players to the league. I can only hope though that Taman and Smith are doing more behind the scenes than hold free-agent camps with 59 year-olds. I have a few examples of questionable decision-making this past off-season to consider:

• The defensive line. Not much has been done to replace Chick and Baggs following the 2009 season. One of the replacements was supposed to be Brent Hawkins, who played in a limited number of games last year because of a shoulder injury, and registered only 3 sacks all year. Going into Week 4 in 2011, the Riders have 3 sacks in total. Even at this time last year, the Riders had 8 through 3 games! So, improving the d-line should have been a priority in the off-season. What happened? An aging Dario Romero was let go by Edmonton for being too expensive, and was picked up the Riders to stop the run. But pass-rushing? That hope appears to have been pinned on a healthy Hawkins, who subsequently re-injured his shoulder and is now on the 9-game injury list. Plan B consisted of Remond Willis, a training camp cut of the Bombers, thrust into a starting role in Week 2. Really? This was it? 6 months of off-season to find players and this is the best we could do?
• Offensive line. It's no secret that the Riders have the honour of owning the league's oldest offensive line. The off-season solution to rejuvenate the line? Bring in Alex Gauthier who turns 35 in December.
• Drafting. This is offensive line-related and deals with the Riders' first pick in the 2011 draft Matt O'Donnell. O'Donnell has aspirations of playing in the NBA despite not even playing basketball at the CIS level. He did not report to camp, and held out. Whether this was over money, or more chances at the NBA, no one seems to know. Now, I don't really care what O'Donnell ends up doing (if he's the next Shaq, great), but did the Riders not talk to him or his agent before he was drafted? Did they really not know this was a real possibility? It seems like the NBA thing came out of left field for them. It's an embarrassment that this was allowed to happen and was a complete waste of a first-round pick, if in fact O'Donnell never dons a Rider jersey.

So what are the real solutions here? Many point to the labour problem related to the NFL lockout. Undrafted Americans who might otherwise come north are still waiting for an NFL shot. I don't buy this as an excuse because every team in the league has had to deal with this. Again, look at Edmonton. Didn't seem to hamper them. Also, now that the UFL is all but dead (barring a last minute purchase by the NFL), many players from that league ought to be interested in a real pay cheque. The Riders need to be pro-active and identify people who aren't getting the job done, and bring in others who may be able to. Lots of teams are bringing in new bodies - Hamilton, Winnipeg, Calgary, so it should reason that Saskatchewan could too. 

I could go on and on, but I'm going to stop here. More later.