SCRUFFY’S THIS ‘N THAT

1 – ROADKILL:  Your Saskatchewan Roughriders are not in a good spot right now.  They are in Vancouver tonight to meet the Lions and one has to think BC should come away with the two points. All you have to do is look at the last four road games the green-and-white have played which have ended with one-sided losses. The grand total is 159-59 with the latest loss being last week’s embarrassing 2^ndhalf effort in Ottawa. If it wasn’t for Mario Alford, it would have been a lot worse.  

The last minute of the first half turned out to be a precursor to what was a nightmarish 2^nd half as the REDBLACKS rolled to victory despite making it tough on themselves at the end. Craig Dickenson can make excuse after excuse after excuse for his team’s road performance but you are what your record shows you are and the reality is this team is not a good road team, and let’s be honest, they are average at home. After the game, Dickenson told Rider Nation to “stick with us”. I will just let you decide whether to do that or not.

2 – WHAT’S NEXT?:  Riders GM Jeremy O’Day didn’t want to talk about his job security as he spoke with reporters on Wednesday. Can you blame him? Did anyone expect him to say yeah, I’m going to finish off these last few games and then clean out my office? At this time, many believe O’Day will be relieved of his duties while others think he will stay. That decision will be made and will likely be made before Grey Cup week unless the Riders are involved and if they are, he will be back. End of story.

3 – GET DOLEGALA TO SIGN THE DOTTED LINE:  Great article by the Leader-Post’s Taylor Shire on Jake Dolegala and his future. This is the last year of his contract meaning the 26-year-old can head elsewhere or look for employment south of the border next season   Dolegala tells Shire that he is going to look for an opportunity in the NFL now that he has game experience under his belt. Dolegala adds he would love to re-sign here and that to me is priority number 1. In fact, get it done before this season ends or before the CFL season ends. To me, Dolegala is the future and we know the Riders have had an inability to develop a quarterback over the years. I think the smart play is to let Trevor Harris come back to 1) finish off his two-year contract and 2) help in Dolegala’s development so that he can be the guy in 2025 if not sooner.

4 – C’MON TORONTO:  The buzz surrounding this week’s game between the Argos and Bombers is Winnipeg went down big-time when it was revealed Toronto, who knows they are hosting the Eastern Final, will not dress Chad Kelly. The Argos can do what they want, but I would think they would want Kelly out there against the Bombers in what many think will be a Grey Cup preview. With the Argos hosting their 150^th anniversary game the week after and many of the team’s greats in attendance, I can understand the move as Ryan Dinwiddie can rest some regulars down the stretch, but it takes a lot away from a game that CFL fans and I am guessing the league were waiting to see.  I’m also guessing TSN would like to see Kelly playing as eyeballs that would have been on this game will likely transfer over to the Blue Jays on Sportsnet as Toronto inches closer to a possible playoff spot.

5 – THE DENVER BRONCOS: I wonder if Sean Payton had some mustard and some salt and pepper to make that s##t sandwich that he consumed in Miami go down a little better.  This is the same Sean Payton who said Nathaniel Hackett might have had one of the worst coaching jobs as Broncos coach last season in the history of the NFL. This is the same Sean Payton who watched his team get 70 hung up on them by Miami. This is the same Sean Payton that has been the biggest beneficiary of having Drew Brees as his quarterback in New Orleans.

Giving up 70 points, which really would have likely been an NFL record 73 had Miami coach Mike McDaniel decided to take a knee instead of kicking a field goal, is just an embarrassment.  This isn’t college football Sean! Did the Broncos even have their defence on the field? Several of Miami’s TD’s were TD’s that would be TD’s in one hand touch. I wasn’t watching that game, but I had Sunday Ticket going on my laptop and every time I looked, Scott Hanson was showing me a Miami highlight.  The Dolphins racked up over 700 yards of offence and Jaylen Waddle didn’t play.  The only team that might be worse than Denver is Chicago and oh goody, the Broncos and Bears meet on Sunday.

6 – ENOUGH KAEPERNICK TALK:  The sports-talk cycle was dominated by Colin Kaepernick on Wednesday after it was revealed he wrote a letter to the New York Jets asking for a spot on the practice squad. This story might have been relevant in 2018 or 2019, but the reality is Kaepernick hasn’t played in a game since 2016. I’m sorry Colin, but your best before date is long past.  For me, it has nothing to do with your beliefs or the colour of your skin, it has to do with how long you have been out of the game. Yes, you were blackballed by the NFL, but you had an opportunity to come north of the border and you said no. That tells me you didn’t really want to play the game. You can try to revive a career that has basically been dead for years, but there are many others who are ahead of you in line so move aside.

7 – NFL WEEK 4:  Speaking of the Dolphins, they go into their game against Buffalo having recorded 1,651 yards of total offence. If they can get 349 yards against the Bills, they will become the third team in league history to have 2000 yards after four games.  Other things to watch this weekend include

• ·         Patriots coach Bill Belichick sits at 299 career wins going into Sunday’s game at Dallas. When Belichick hits 300, he will join Don Shula (328) and George Halas (318) as NFL head coaches to reach the 300 win mark
• ·         Patrick Mahomes is one TD pass away from 200 career. With a TD pass Sunday night against the Jets, he will become the fastest QB to hit 200 as he will have done it in 84 games.  Dan Marino has the record at 89.

8 – THE ANIMATED NFL:  I refuse to buy TSN+ so I won’t be able to see it, but if I could there is no doubt I would tune in for a quarter to see the Atlanta Falcons/Jacksonville Jaguars being played in Andy’s bedroom as the NFL and Pixar bring what should be a pretty cool event and one that will draw kids in which is what the league wants. While the adults (or those that think they are one) will be watching at 7:30 when the game begins in London, many kids will watch for an animated presentation of the game with all of those from Toy Story apparently being in attendance. I don’t know how they are going to replicate this, but I do look forward to seeing a Calvin Ridley TD reception or a Bijan Robinson TD run in animation on my social media feeds.

The CFL doesn’t have the $$$$ to do this, but what a great way to get the younger generation involved.  Imagine a late Saturday morning/early Saturday afternoon game or a Friday night game featuring the Riders at an Eastern Division opponent where the game is animated.  One can dream.

9 – LET THE HYPE BEGIN:  I think Connor Bedard will be just fine in Chicago. Two assists in his first pre-season game including a nifty little helper on the OT winner against St. Louis.  Methinks this kid will live up to the expectations being placed on him. Should those of us who watched him do his thing in a Pats uniform expect anything different?

10 – THANK YOU CTV:  I have watched the show before so I know how Ted met his wife, but I was pleasantly surprised to see CTV Regina start airing “How I Met Your Mother” in the afternoon. “Friends” was the show of our generation and “HIMYM” took the torch from them. It is a great show with some great lines and classic skits with Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) being an iconic character.  It also reminds me how much I loved Alyson Hannigan back in the day. The Canadian references are also outstanding.

That’s all I got.  Have a great weekend.