So much can change in a week's span in Riderville. A week ago there was nothing but panic, after dropping their 4th straight game after a loss to BC on Halloween.
But what changed people's mind after Saturday's win over Edmonton. The offence looked like the unit that is capable of scoring 50 points like they did in Week 1 against Montreal. Darian Durant looked like the player who was the player of the month in July as tossed deep and with some velocity. If Durant is the better quarterback on the field in any game the Riders play, the Green and White usually have a good chance to win.
Wes Cates may have only picked up 11 carries and 42 yards on Saturday, but he did show a little bit of a jump. Personally I think the Riders will need to lean on Cates a little bit more in the playoffs, I think he's going to need 15 carries at least on Sunday, in order for the Riders to win.
The defence was bent, but it didn't break. The D has improved over the last couple of weeks, but still gave up over 150 yards to Dan Porter on Saturday. While it has shown improvements, the Riders D still has to be a shut down unit on Sunday, if the Riders are constantly giving up giving big plays, then they stand to lose the West Semi-Final.
The special teams...well besides missing 2 field goals, the special teams didn't give up any big plays, that's reason for cheer.
I think the big reason for some confidence is the fact they are playing BC. While the Lions did win on Saturday, they do feature an offence that will likely being using the pass. Travis Lulay had over 40 pass attempts in the win over Hamilton on Sat.
If the Riders play like they did early in the season, or even the team that beat Edmonton, then the Riders should win. But then again sometimes bad habits can come back again.
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