Kudos to Wally

Attention Earth All Rider Fans; All reports are that most Rider fans have landed safely on Earth. the Euphoria and Giddiness that was experienced in the last few weeks is now gone, and reality has set in .Kent had it right in his after game comments after beating the Stamps." There is still a lot of work to do". This guy knows as.the Lions proved on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium that they are absolutely the best team in Canada. A Grey Cup should be no problem barring serious injury.---they could likely overcome that with their depth. Our team does need some serious work on offence particularly at running back and on special teams.

The BC Lions had our number no question about that and were quietly waiting to devour the Green and White and they did that in no uncertain terms. They shut down Kerry Joseph totally as he was out of cinq and looked confused and panicky as the rush did get to him although he did contribute some great scrambling on a half a dozen broken plays and did make a couple of key first downs with some nifty running to keep drives alive. Marcus Crandell who came in to start the second half fared better as he has a connection with Matt Dominguez.

The Rider defence was on the field too long but really played well even though the score does not indicate that as if the the truth be known the final score flattered the Riders as their offence and special teams played like the Stampeders of last week.You have to hand it to Austin for making the QB change at half time as that was very refreshing and met with the overall approval of the close to 27000 fans that were in attendance.who left the Stadium grumbling and muttering about seeing this movie before.Most could not understand and accept how a team that had outscored their opponents 65-15 in their previous two games could look so completely incompetent against the Leos.

How this team responds to this loss will be their true measure. I believe as they all must be down to Earth now.There is much work to do. Many fans would love to see the team trade with Hamilton for Corey Holmes a long time Rider favourite who could solve the kick return game and running back problems in one fell swoop.However that is not likely to happen.

As far as the Lions are concerned you have to give Head Coach Wally Buono credit for having his team so well prepared and mentally up for this first place showdown battle with Saskatchewan .This is why he is the best Coach in the league at the present time and why he will soon become the winningest coach in CFL history. The Lions have but one change on their team from the personnel that played offensively and defensively for them at one time or another last year and that is defensive end Cameron Wake replacing Chris Wilson and Wake as a rookie has played spectacularly.

The Riders face the Eskimos on Friday night at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and they will be playing on grass for the first time this year against a highly motivated Eskimo crew that came up with a big 19-15 victory over the Bombers in Winnipeg last Friday and is now one point behind the Riders in the Western Division standings.in the battle for second place.

Saskatchewan has not had much of a record against the Igloo dwellers in the Alberta Capital in recent years as since the beginning of the 2000 season they have won there but twice once in regular season play and a playoff match in 2004 and overall since 1996 only Montreal has been a tougher place for the Prarie Folk to snare a victory.

Danny Maciocia appears to have made believers out of the select veterans that he retained from last year and the many newcomers he recruited in the off season and with QB Ricky Ray looking as sharp as ever the Eskimos cannot not be taken lightly.Their new Offensive Coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine has added some fine touches and a little bit of tweaking to the Eskimo offence that has them playing at a better than anticipated level.

This game will be rookie Rider Head Coach Kent Austins biggest challenge to date from both a strategic and motivational point. As a Rider QB from 1987-1993 when the chips were down Austin was at his best.Will the same be true as a Head Coach.?