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It is truly amazing to see what a series of losses can do to get the Rider Nation all lathered up demanding instantaneous change. Talk of firing Ken Miller for the Riders recent bad stretch is one of the more popular topics. Where was this talk when the football team was 6-0. Oh right it wasn’t there. Do you really think with the talent on the board this team has that unfortunately is on the doctors table right now that this team would be where they are. If you think yes, perhaps you should head down to the office and hand in your membership card.
You would all be jumping for joy if the Calgary Stampeders came in here on Friday night minus Reynolds, Lewis, Copeland, Burris and several others because they would be a weakened football team. A team not as strong as the one they would like to field but one that they have to in order to play the game.
I don’t agree with all of Miller’s moves either but you know what I didn’t agree with everything Kent Austin said and did last year and look how that turned out. In fact, I believe the Riders went into Week 14 last year with the same record they have this year---funny was there talk about firing Kent Austin then. Relax Rider Nation…..you are being forced to swallow a very bitter pill and I understand the anger and frustration. However to talk about firing coach Miller and taking potshots at Eric Tillman---a man who is doing everything he can to keep this team competitive and is 1-0 in the salary cap era when it comes to GC victories and maybe 2-0 at the end of this year---is just ludicrous. It makes me wonder if some of you would like to see Danny and Roy back. When this team gets its regulars back, I think you will owe some people a big apology.
Fire away with your responses in either agreement or disagreement.
Comments
Mitchell Blair comments
That's a great post, Mitch. Yah, the bailout artists and negative Nellies are out in full force, the vocal minority, as they say. I for one support this team win or lose, thru thick and thin--and have loved them no matter what for the past 45 years. ET, the coaches and all of the players continue to make me proud to be a Rider fan no matter what adversity befalls them and us. Our D continues to play outstanding, our O can and will improve. When we get healthy and stay healthy down the stretch, any team that underestimates the Riders will do so at their own peril.
GO RIDERS!!
Mitch last night you said
Mitch last night you said Miller is sticking with Bishop for reasons he didn't want to expand on. Can you please ask him about that? I have no proof but I think Bishop was promised he would be the starter, otherwise he would have never have came here, negotiated in his contract, pure speculation but makes you think.Plus as if MB wanted to step into another qb controversy Bishop has no clue out there and yet Miller and LaPolice stick with him.
The Riders
This is a truly officious and insulting piece by you, Mitchell. When will you reporters figure out that part of our Rider Pride is making our views known? Yes, we won the Grey Cup last year. Prior to that, we won it in 1989 and previously in 1966. None of us want to wait decades before another championship.
And while you may believe that you are uniquely qualified to understand the Riders because you are a sports reporter, you carry no special weapon that allows you to stomp on the Green Nation. You are just one more opinion.
Miller made a mistake 10 days ago when he pulled Bishop. Now, I don’t like Bishop as our starting QB. I do not think he has the field savvy that it takes to marshal a team to victory, week after week. When he is under any kind of pressure, he makes more bad decisions than good ones. He doesn’t see what is happening in front of him as he readies for the snap. That is my opinion. We should go with Durant.
However, as a coach, you make a decision on who your starting QB is going to be and then you give him the time to prove you correct. When Miller pulled Bishop so quickly he as much as told the team “I made a mistake starting Bishop.” Of course, I believe he did. However, if he didn’t have the faith in Bishop to play, he should have started Durant. Miller looked weak to the team and he looked disorganized to the fans – us, Mitchell.
Our record, considering our injuries, is very good. However, the fans have seen this before; confusion on the sidelines, and a coach that looks either fairly disinterested or really out of his depths. Tillman and Austin took an average group of players and proved that hard work and class can win you a championship. I believe they brought a consistency and value system to the team. I see this eroding, and that is not good for this year or next. We went from 1st to one game out of last in a couple of weeks. That was partially due to injuries, but out of step coaching was a factor.
I’m not saying that Miller should be fired, but I do think that Tillman better get intimately involved in the big decisions. The team deserves better and so do the fans.
Give Mitch a break
Ron Sagal, why is your opinion more valuable than Mitch's? Mitch is paid to call them as he sees them and that's what he does.
Did you ever think that maybe there were other reasons for pulling Bishop than what you saw watching the game? Remember what we see on TV on on the field of play is not by a longshot everything that is noteworthy.
Yes the team has only won 3 Grey Cups in 97 years of existance but they are the defending Grey Cup Champions and have no worse record than they did last year at this point. This is not the time to start hitting the panic button and start calling for Durant who has, what, 3 CFL starts under his belt? Bishop is still learing the offence, like it or not and for the most part has done a pretty good job considering the changes that have been made with the O-Line and a receiving core of which not a single player was a starter at the beginning of the season.
If coach Miller doesn't want to get into the reasons why he pulled Bishop, then leave it at that. For what it's worth, I think Bishop wasn't taking the calls that were being brought in from the sidelines and when he threw the interception, coach called insubordination and pulled him to remind him who is the boss. Interestingly enough, Bishop was calling his own plays just 2 games later. Maybe that was the plan all along to let him call his own plays, but not until he knew the offece well enough. Remember, this is a complex offensive system to learn, especially for the quarterback.
Miller and Tillman have earned my respect and I have learned to bite my toungue when I'm iffy on a move that gets made by either one of them becuase they usually prove my gut wrong. They do this for a living, I don't and I think 1,000,000+ other people in this province need to realise that as well. Sometimes they make mistakes, but don't we all? I only wish I could say I always make the right decision but the fact of the matter is we learn from our mistakes and coach Miller is still a rookie head coach in this league. Overall, being 9-5 at this point in the season considering the losses of Austin, Joseph, Perry and Hunt in addition to having 21 players on injured lists is pretty freaking awsome and I'm impressed.
Would we like to see the Riders win every game? Of course we would, but the reality is they won't. I do have a good feeling about November though, just like I did last year. Hopefully the result will be the same.
You are absolutely correct
You are absolutely correct Mitchell. It's funny how one Grey Cup win raises the expectations for this team to heights that are highly unattainable. Even with the regular starters, this is not an 18-0 team and nobody should expect them to win each game. I am certainly concerned with the recent trend, but the season is not yet won or lost and everyone should just relax and let the coaches and players sort their problems out. It would be nice to see another home playoff game, but the injury issues may prevent that this year and the Rider Nation will simply have to accept it.
Though Miller has made some
Though Miller has made some questionable calls, I think it would be a completely ridiculous thing to put the blame on him to the extent that people want him fired. The reality is the last three games have been lost by the offense. I am looking at individual players rather dropping ridiculously easy passes or throwing ridiculously stupid passes. I don't believe that any one should be fired, but i do believe that there performance over the last three games has been slipping. I honestly don't believe it is a physical problem with the team. It seems like the Riders offense just isn't going in with the same intensity and determination as the defense. Noone will forget the Lloyd-Pierce collision and that hit happened because our defense is going out there fired up and ready to make plays. However, then we have our offense who goes out there and isn't finishing drives or is turning the ball over. Its a shame because in the beginning, those guys who had to step in were stepping in and playing like champs, and now there are reverting to playing like they deserve to be second and third stringers.
Good commentary
I don't disagree with a single thing you said there.
Absolutely Correct. We need
Absolutely Correct. We need to get the talent of the injured list and onto the field. should be alright come play-off time, so long as we make it there.
Relax Rider Nation
I find the calls for Miller's and Tillman's heads, ludicrous. I do, however, scratch my head wondering why Bishop wasn't pulled vs. the Alouettes. Even TSN's Glen Suitor was baffled by the non-change at QB!
I agree with you mitch 100%
I am worried that the luck of the riders has run out this year,with so many injurys to are star players, but knee jerk reactions like firing coaches wont fix the problems,and could make things even worse,what will fix it is star players coming back i hope soon,relax people we will be ok,and if this is not our year,then so be it, next year we will make all those who moke rider nation eat crow. bye for now big fan of yours and Drews sports show .
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