10 THINGS I THINK I THINK

10 Things I Think I Think

1 – The Riders’ performance in Saturday’s 30-15 loss at BC is indefensible. To not show up in back-to-back road games in the West is mind-boggling to say the least. The Rider Nation is outraged and fans of other teams are using the Riders as a punchline. That hurts but until they prove otherwise, they’ll have to endure the abuse. Perhaps they’ll be mad enough to take it out on the Lions on Sunday at New Mosaic Stadium.

2 – Online fan polls have Brandon Bridge as the runaway favourite to start next Sunday’s home game against BC. Stop it. He threw two almost uncontested TD’s in garbage time against the bored Lions. Right now, Kevin Glenn still represents this team’s best chance to win and therefore he will start against BC at Mosaic Stadium.

3 – Oldtimers were grumbling on Twitter that “How DARE you compare Kevin Glenn to Ron Lancaster!” after KG passed the Little General for #6 all-time in CFL passing yards on Saturday night. Hey, the numbers are the numbers dude.

4 – 2-4 is hardly catastrophic. In reality, the record should be reversed and although it isn’t, we still believe the Riders are good enough to compete in the West. I’ve heard the term “mental block” bantied about. We’ve said many times a rebuild takes 1 1/2 years to complete in the CFL and the Riders are on schedule to potentially be a juggernaut by Labour Day. And if they wind up 4th in the West with a crossover playoff berth, we’d all gladly accept that.

5 – Hats off to both Edmonton and Winnipeg. NOBODY saw this coming. The Esks are off to their best start in 56 years and the Bombers are proving to be a ballsy, guts-out team. But we’ll remind you that it’s August. Early August, at that. Lots can and will change. However those two teams have made it a tough time to be rebuilding in the West.

6 – The Buzz In The League: The Eskimos WILL trade back-up QB James Franklin knowing full well they likely won’t be able to sign him in free agency next winter. But they won’t likely trade him within the West and probably won’t do it soon unless the Argos make an offer they can’t refuse.

7 – False Buzz: There was a rumour the Riders’ Chris Jones is now being represented by agent Leigh “Show Me The Money” Steinberg. Jones tells me that rumour is FALSE, and he’s still being represented by the same agent he always has. #FakeNews

8 – The attendance for Saturday’s game was 23,415; a season high for the Lions. 10 years ago, the Riders and Lions attracted 55,000 for regular season games at BC Place! And crowds of 35,000 against other western opponents were routine back then.

The footprint for the CFL in the Lower Mainland is there. It simply needs to be marketed better.

Because let’s be honest: the CFL spanks MLS in terms of the on-field product.

9 – An article on a blog which covers the Texas A&M Aggies reported today former NFL bad boy Johnny Manziel would like to get into coaching. The column said Johnny Manziel considered a comeback in the CFL this winter but declined when some NFL teams showed interest. None of it ever materialized. The disturbing thing about the column is that it didn’t say if Manziel is sober or not, and it’s his addictions issues which cost him his playing career.