Wray Morrison: What Was That?

The Rider Nation is reeling following Saturday’s beatdown at the hands of Winnipeg.

Many things contributed to the Bomber dominance and the Rider demise.

Every team has to deal with a week and a kickoff time that isn’t ideal. A 12 p.m. Saskatchewan time start combined with just five days off between games favoured the Bombers.

Winnipeg’s coaches had time to implement a defensive scheme that was effective against a Rider offense that didn’t practice as much as they would in a normal week.

Injuries have hurt Saskatchewan. In my mind, the biggest injury is to centre Dan Clark. Brendon Labatte is an admirable fill-in, but Labatte was missed at guard. Adam Bighill and the other Bomber defenders had a field day.

Injuries should never be an excuse, but the “next man up” theory didn’t pan out on Saturday.

Finally, the 9-7 Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a good football team. Based on that theory, so are the Saskatchewan Roughriders with a 10-6 record.

It’s time to look ahead to the Stampeders.