Riders deserve number one ranking

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are ranked number one in the CFL after there victory over the Toronto Argonauts 34-13 on Friday night. It is a well deserved ranking as the they have outscored their opponents 99-36 in their last three games in which their league leading defence has performed at an incredibly high level with relentless consistency and leads the league in virtually every defensive category.. Richie Hall the Riders defensive Co-ordinator it has been suggested by some fans should be considered for Coach of the year even though he is not the Head Coach here a position which he will most certainly assume somewhere in the league within the next two years because he had done such a fantastic job with Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan secondary with the loss of veteran all-Star defensive back Eddie Davis has very little experience but is playing together like a well oiled machine and has not been burned for the long pass in crucial situations and conversely the secondary has made the big interception at critical stages of the Riders five wins to date.

This team has momentum which is defined in Websters Dictionary" as a movement or force gathering energy at an unstoppable progressive rate designed to achieve a satisfactory result or goal".This all comes from the head man head Coach Kent Austin who has this team focused and prepared and in a positive frame of mind on each and every play. The veteran coaching staff with forty two years of combined CFL experience is displaying why their experience is so important and it is very simple they know this league and what it takes to win.They know the players on the other teams from either having been on their coaching staff or having played them a number of times in the past .There is no learning curve involved for this Coaching staff as there is on other CFL coaching staffs who have brought in newcomers to the CFL who may have impressive coaching records but are new to this league.

It appears that Eric Tillmans master plan is working and he has only been on the scene for a year and yet has picked up the pieces from the Barrett Shivers regime and turned everything around into a positive classy professional situation where first class performances both on and off the feild are expected.

The Riders won Friday nights game with a heads up performance and once again their ability to make the big play when it counted the most.Fridays game could have been closer ,an interception by Toronto instead of a catch by D.J. Flick deep in Toronto territory and no fumble by Bashir Levingston on the wide Luca Congi field goal attempt and we would have had a different game. But good things happen to good teams and this team is learning to win in all manners and they enjoy winning.

The off season trade that brought D.J.Flick and Wayne Smith from Hamilton here , and the acquisition of running back Wes Cates from Calgary are classic examples of Eric Tillmans shrewd ability to give up virtually nothing for difference makers. Wes Cates and Flick have been big play performers since they arrived with Cates being chosen as the TSN Gladiator of the game for the Roughriders on Friday night while Wayne Smith who has been nursing a nagging injury had his best game as a Roughrider on the offensive line showing a lot of hustle and leadership.

Quarterback Kerry Joseph again managed the game very well mixing up his passes with timely affective running on his part in tight crucial situations which kept the Argos off balance and picked up first downs to keep drives alive.

Its the Riders third win in a row and vaults them into unfamiliar territory with British Columbia at the top of the Western Division at 5-2 . The Lions are in trouble without first string Quarterback Dave Dickenson and face Calgary on Friday night at McMahon Stadium and with a Stampeder victory and a Rider win over the Eskimos on Saturday night at Moscaic Stadium the Green guys would have a record of 6-2 and be all alone in first place going into the Labour day classic with the Bombers which is a position they have not been in since 1976.