FRIDAY COMMENTARY – TIME TO PANIC?

(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 & Rock 98.5 FM)

YOU CAN HEAR THE ALARM BELLS RINGING IN THE WHEAT PROVINCE.

IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG AT ALL.

THE RIDERS’ 2-0 START IS A QUICK MEMORY NOW AFTER THE CLUB WAS DISMANTLED 37-13 AT MONTREAL THURSDAY NIGHT.

THEY TRAILED 23-3 AT HALFTIME AND CODY FAJARDO WAS PULLED.

FORTUNATELY THE HEAT ISN’T ON THE RIDERS’ NUMBER 7. HIS TWO INTERCEPTIONS CAME OFF TIPS AND HE WAS SACKED SEVEN TIMES. MONTREAL HAD EIGHT SACKS ON THE NIGHT.

CODY NEVER HAD A CHANCE IN THIS ONE.

AND FRANKLY, IN SOME GAMES, YOU JUST NEVER WERE GONNA WIN. THE ALOUETTES WERE A BETTER TEAM THAN THEIR 0-2 RECORD AND THEY WERE HOSTING THEIR HOME-OPENER.

THEY WANTED TO PUT ON A SHOW, AND THEY SURELY DID.

THE RIDERS WERE FAVOURED BY 3.5-POINTS GOING INTO THE GAME BY THE RP SHOW’S OFFICIAL BETTING PARTNER BET REGAL, BUT I COULDN’T GO ALONG WITH THAT.

CENTRE LOGAN BANDY WAS MAKING HIS FIRST PRO START IN PLACE OF DAN CLARK, AND HAD THE BAD FORTUNE OF GOING UP AGAINST CFL GREAT ALMONDO SEWELL.

NOW … TO QUOTE THE INFAMOUS JOHN LYNCH, “WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?”

THEY’LL BE FINE. THEY WEREN’T GOING TO GO 18-0, DESPITE EXPECTATIONS OTHERWISE.

BUT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE BUMPS THAT GO WITH PLAYING YOUNG PLAYERS. DAN CLARK HAD HIS SCRAPES AS A YOUNGSTER TOO.

ASK DARIAN DURANT.

THE RIDERS ARE A GOOD TEAM, BUT HAVE FALLEN FROM THE RANKS OF THE UNBEATEN. NOW THEY HAVE SOME WORK TO DO BEFORE THEY HOST THESE SAME ALOUETTES ON JULY 2.

NOBODY SAID IT WAS GOING TO BE EASY.

THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY

(The Rod Pedersen Show airs daily at 12 pm ET and 10 pm PT on Game+ TV across Canada and the USA. Call your cable provider for details. You can also watch on YouTube Live or listen 24/7 at RodPedersen.com/ListenLive)