Riders answer the bell

It was time for the biggest and best performance of the year for the 2007 Riders and for rookie coach Kent Austin to be at his motivational and strategical best and he was as the Green Machine did what no other team has done in the last ten games the BC Lions have been involved in and that is come out on the long end of the score against them as the Saskatchewan crew came up with a superb effort to defeat the Leos 21-9 at BC place Stadium on Friday night. In addition the two home losses the Lions have sustained in the last two years are at the hands of these same green guys.

The Lions were without their first and second string quarterbacks Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce and had to rely on third string pivot Jarioius Jackson who has NFL starting experience.The Rider defenders were licking their chops at facing a backup QB however this was no ordinary backup as he had been a standout at Notre Dame and had some impressive moments with the Denver Broncos who drafted him with a view to him replacing the legendary John Elway.

The Roughriders have survived a bit of adversity this season to date and they have done it with perseverance. I think the second half of the first Edmonton game was a wake up call for this team. As of after this game The Riders have the best points for /against in the league {+71} and there is every reason to state that right now the Saskatchewan Roughriders are the best team in the Canadian Football League.

The Green Guys got a great heads up effort from everybody but their were some particular standouts like ruining back Wes Cates who was acquired early in the season in what was called a trade with Calgary for veteran offensive linemen Rob Lazeo .This could hardly be categorized as a trade as it was more like a steal as Lazeo has been a super sub for most of his career but rarely was he a starter and he is .34 years old compared to Cates who is 24 and were it not for the fact the Stampeders were in desperate need of offensive lineman this trade would not have been made. Kudos for General Manager Eric Tillman for making one of the big moves of the year as Cates has shown power and speed and it seems like just a matter of time till he breaks a long one.His ability to catch the ball fits right in with the Kent Austin type of offensive scheme as well and his blocking ability is the best we have seen from a Saskatchewan running back in years.The only reason the Calgary bunch were willing to trade him is because they felt they had a better ruining back ahead of him in Jeoffrey Reynolds.Time will tell who is the better back. The Cates tackle on special teams on the Lions Ian Smart return of a wide field goal attempt by Luca Congi t late in the fourth quarter was one of the big plays of the game as it looked like Smart was going all the way.

Matt Dominguez had another typical Matt night as he made the big tough catches when they had to be made and Kerry Joseph had another big game mixing up his plays as he ran just enough to keep the vaunted BC defence off balance. Joseph threw the ball well and did not force the issue in tight situations. .

The Rider defence under the direction of Richie Hall was a thorn in the side of Jackson all night long as the secondary consistently confused him with their different coverage schemes forcing him to give up costly interceptions to snuff out impressive drives.The inexperienced Rider secondary without veteran Eddie Davis which many felt would be suspect came up big again with Arabin Justin ,Rontariuos Robinson and Tristan Clovis making timely interceptions.

The front seven also confused Jackson as they employed a neat variety of stunting and blitzing packages which had him bewildered in several crucial situations.

All in all a great team victory which gives the Riders a four and two record and second place in the West after six games which is more than even the most optimistic Roughrider fan would probably have dared to predict going into the season. Its is amazing how not turning the ball over helps the team win the big ones.The effort was fantastic as this team did not quit -they should know that no lead is safe after theEdmonton game two weeks ago.I think they woke up on the Paris Jackson TD that tied the game in the first half and they realized they still had to play all out even if it was the Lions third string signal caller.

If Kent Austin can keep this team focused enough to beat the Argos in TO next Friday night then we are on our way to being seriuos contenders for first place in the West.