00:00Out in the CFL, this isn't going to be as in-depth here, but the Riders do get a win.
00:05It wasn't pretty all the time, but they do come up with those winning plays when they
00:09need it.
00:10And some of that was penalty-aided for sure, but they come up with a couple of big plays.
00:13They are now firmly in the race for the second playoff spot out in the West, having some
00:21breathing room now on Edmonton and Calgary, not a lot but some, is really important for
00:26this team.
00:27The fact that they were finally able to get something going in the run game with Armstead,
00:31who was running like this was his last chance, and it kind of is.
00:35And so that is, while I liked Hickson, and made the mistake on the Rider happy hour saying
00:39like, oh yeah, this guy's going to go over in his run total.
00:42This was why.
00:43And this was why I was a little pissed that I couldn't find a run total for Armstead going
00:48into this game, because Calgary's run defense is dogshit.
00:51But this was such a huge breath of fresh air for Saskatchewan to have that dynamic of a
00:56playmaker, making plays in the run game, making life easy for Trevor Harris, going
01:01down to the 4th quarter he had like 18 passes, like he was, this was not a pass-heavy game,
01:07the Riders just ran it down Calgary's throats and then came up with enough big plays defensively
01:12to get the victory.
01:14For Calgary, this feels it.
01:17This feels done.
01:18I have been pretty consistently putting them at the bottom of my power rankings the last
01:22little while, I think you can see why.
01:25They get the big play on the quarterback sneak, which, like, wow, against a Riders
01:30team that has been just dominant in the run game this season.
01:34And then they were able to get a little bit there with Mills going, and he was able to
01:39actually break one of the bets that we did have, where we had him under for his total.
01:43But still, this was, yeah, the stamp's been done before it started.
01:49Toxic, that's fair.
01:50It felt like, it felt like if they were going to be undone, that this was going to be the
01:55week to do it.
01:56That this was going to be the time, Saskatchewan hadn't won since, like, June.
02:00It had been seven games, and it had been since 2001, no, 2021, since the Riders had won after
02:07Labor Day.
02:08That's insanity.
02:10But still, this was your opportunity to get back into this playoff race.
02:15And when you think to where this team was, going into the Labor Day doubleheader with
02:20Edmonton, and then this one here with Saskatchewan, with Montreal, in between there.
02:24But you had an opportunity going into that Edmonton one, where it was like, yes, no,
02:28this Edmonton thing, nice and cute, we're going to put it in the dirt.
02:31It wasn't even Trey Ford doing that against the Stamps, right?
02:35It was McLeod Bethel Thompson who was picking them apart.
02:38You had a chance to just be like, hey, this is cute, fun story, but it's going to be like
02:41last year, where it's a fun story for a last place football team, now know your place and
02:46go sit down there.
02:47Instead, Edmonton was just keeping the basement warm for Calgary, who is now, I think, firmly
02:52planted in there, and have a long way to go to get out of it.
02:55I think, again, your concerns about the quarterback are… legitimate.
03:01I don't think he's the reason they lost.
03:03But it didn't, again, didn't come up with the big plays when they needed, and this defense
03:07that was supposed to be the strength of this team this year.
03:10Doing the CFL previews and all of these things, you look at the talent they have on the defensive
03:14side of the roster.
03:15I was doing my Difference Makers this year, going into this season, all of them were on
03:20the Stamps side.
03:21Or, sorry, all of them on the Stamps side were on the defense.
03:24And that defense has been a Difference Maker, and it's why they're losing.
03:27And that is just shocking to me.
03:30Hamilton stays hot with a win over the Argos.
03:32I said before, it felt like a good matchup for Hamilton.
03:35They are playing a whole lot better, and now the Argos really have to play better if they
03:39want to get this thing into the postseason.
03:42I mean, they're going to…
03:43I don't think Hamilton's going to catch Toronto.
03:45I really don't.
03:46And honestly, I think that Saskatchewan win on Friday really does help with the crossover
03:52thing a little bit.
03:53It's going to be tough for Hamilton to get into there, but they're playing some good
03:55football.
03:56But the Argos now, I think, really have to figure things out.
03:59Again, this is a talented defensive group that has been picked apart just a few too
04:03many times this year to really believe in them going forward.
04:07For Montreal, they reestablished themselves as the best team in the league.
04:11Nice little get-back-on-track game against an Ottawa team who they do stack up really
04:15well against.
04:16And now for Ottawa, I don't think Toronto is much of an issue for you standings-wise,
04:21although still a few weeks left, like that could change for sure.
04:25But you need to figure out why you can't figure out Montreal, and what you're going
04:31to do to try to fix this now.
04:34And out in Winnipeg, they slow down Edmonton.
04:36They tried to make Trey Ford beat them with his arm.
04:38They were rushing for, and I think had two spies on him?
04:42Which is quite the thing to do in the CFL with all the receivers running around and
04:46all the space that is out there anyway.
04:47And so they did a good job in kind of limiting that.
04:50Brady Oliveira looked like a beast.
04:53I still, I don't know what it is, I still do not feel fully locked in on Winnipeg as
04:59like the clear, oh yeah, number one in this league.
05:03And in the West, more specifically.
05:04Like I still, I still think they're gettable for BC.
05:08Very much so.
05:09Like I still think, if we were playing Madden, and CFL teams were included, and you could
05:16just like, best on, like, everyone is playing at their best.
05:20Who wins?
05:21It's BC.
05:22And honestly, I don't think it's that close.
05:24But Winnipeg just keeps winning these games, and BC just can't really click it.
05:28And honestly, I even think the best version of Saskatchewan at least gives this group
05:32a run for their money.
05:33So I'm not there yet with pushing Winnipeg as the team in the West, but I will say, they
05:40keep getting results, and that whole know-how-to-win thing, they definitely do that.
05:44We'll see how that goes now in the final bit of September into October, and then November.
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