THROWIN’ ELBOWS WITH BRENDAN MCGUIRE

1.ROUGHRIDERS GREY CUP OBSTACLE HASN’T CHANGED: If the labour day classic taught us anything about this year’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, it’s that the green and white are very much still where they were at the end of last season. Unable to crack the code of the Richie Hall defence from Winnipeg. In the 22 games in which Cody Fajardo has started at quarterback for Saskatchewan, the Riders have failed to score a touchdown only twice. And it just so happened to occur in each game Cody hit the crossbar against Winnipeg. This is the Riders coup de gras and will be until they climb this mountain.   

2.VALIDATION OF JASON MAAS HIRE STILL ELUDES RIDERS: The Roughriders have looked great on offence and cruised through much of the season so far. The same thing happened in 2019. Replacing Stephen McAdoo with Jason Maas to run the offence and call plays was supposed to be the final piece to Jeremy O’Day and Craig Dickenson’s championship puzzle. If Sunday’s loss was any indication, they’re still a ways away from clearing that final hurdle. And until they do so, the hire of Jason Maas won’t be a viewed as a success.    

3.RICHIE HALL DESERVES HEAD COACHING JOB: There is nobody who deserves to get the CFL’s next head coaching job more than Richie Hall. Not only his defensive schematics, ability to relate to players having been one himself, but it really is Richie’s experience and classy demeanor that separates him from all the rest.  

4.SHORT WEEK HELPS RIDERS: Don’t expect the Blue Bombers to change much of what they’re doing on defence in a short week after so much of what they tried in the labour day classic, worked. The Riders know they need to make changes and will do just that. Saskatchewan has the benefit, here.   

5.DID YOU KNOW: The Roughrider-Blue Bomber home and home hasn’t been swept by the road team in 32 years. The last time it happened, in 1989, the Riders won the Grey Cup. A good omen if Saskatchewan can pull out a win on Saturday.  

6.THIS WEEK I’M JEALOUS OF: Winnipeg defensive end Willie Jefferson. Guy runs his mouth and backs it up. How many of us can ever say we’ve done that? I’m not jealous of Winnipeg running back Andrew Harris and never will be. He’s been caught cheating once before and will always view him with suspicion. Besides, the Blue Bombers could survive just fine without Harris. I don’t think the same could be said about Winnipeg if they ever lost Willie Jefferson.  

7.ANTI-VAX CFL PLAYERS: Glen Suitor says they should be given “an apple and a roadmap.” I’m Suits on this one. Personal choice? Baloney! It’s a personal choice as long as it doesn’t impact others and their ability to earn a living. Not getting vaccinated as a CFL player right now, clearly DOES impact others and their ability to earn a living.   

8.FOR STAMPS, LOSS A BLESSING IN DISGUISE: Bo doesn’t have to worry about any quarterback controversy in Cowtown. When he’s ready to play again, maybe next weekend, he’ll be welcomed back with open arms.  

9.NFL FANTASY DRAFT: I did mine last week and out of the 8 teams in my draft, Yahoo gave me a report card of….8th. Ouch! Enjoy your fantasy drafts and other NFL gambling this fall. Just make sure you set a boundary line for how deep you’ll go with it and don’t ever cross that boundary.   

10.TIME CHANGES PERSPECTIVE: “Turning Point” on Netflix is one I’ve gotten into lately and it’s a mini-series all about the 9/11 disaster that will be talked about in the days ahead as we inch closer to Saturday’s 20-year-anniversary of that awful moment we all remember where we are. Or at least those of us old enough to remember that day. I, like many others, ridiculed George W Bush for sitting in a first-graders classroom to read My Pet Goat, and not leaping into action, after being told the second tower had been hit. I now realize that we’re all allowed at least 60 seconds to process big news when we get it and most of us, including U.S. presidents, aren’t being monitored on camera when we give our reactions. None of us, including Bush, asked for 9/11. So as the war in Afghanistan has wound down, let’s try to put this chapter in all of our lives behind as a valuable lesson to spend more time appreciating what we do have and less time whining and bickering about what we don’t.      

(Follow Brendan on Twitter at @brendanhowardmc)