The 95th Grey Cup has come and gone and you couldn’t have asked for a better game… defensively, that is. Both teams’ defenses played a heck of a game. This year, Rider Nation can claim the CFL’s top prize. The Blue Bombers will have to wait another season.
Let’s give credit where credit is due. The Rider D-Line was effective at shutting down Charles Roberts and the running game which forced Winnipeg to go to the air. But it was the Rider’s defensive secondary won this game for their team. They played the Winnipeg receivers tight and didn’t give Quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie much to look at downfield. Three interceptions, all by James Johnson, one for a touchdown and one to end the game sealed the fate of the Bombers.
Offensively, the Riders were barely average. The Winnipeg defensive line put so much pressure on Joseph that the only weapon he had that was effective was when he slipped the pocket and took the ball downfield himself. The Bomber’s own secondary smothered the Rider receivers and left little for Joseph to find. Joseph himself was downright flat in the first half and had an okay game during the second half.
For the Bombers, the offense showed some sparks of life, but the Riders kept stomping on the flames. As a backup Quarterback thrust into the blinding spotlight of the CFL’s biggest game, Ryan Dinwiddie, to his credit, remained poised and confident under the pressure. His offensive line gave him plenty of time to make his reads and his play, while not stellar, was good enough to make you sit up and take notice. Had this been a mid-season game for his first professional start, it would have been a good first game and a good (learning) loss. He made several mistakes that turned out to be costly turnovers. However, he didn’t suffer an overall collapse that you might expect from a lesser Quarterback making his first start. He hung in there and fought all the way. Through it, you could see flashes of what he was capable of. Long throws to Stegall (42 yards) and Armstrong (50 yards for a TD) showed the strength of his arm. Unlike his counterpart, Joseph, his accuracy was fairly good. Joseph had a number of wide misses. This young Quarterback definitely has a bright future in this league.
For the most part, special teams had little impact on this game. Troy Westwood deserves mention here because he was able to give the Bombers great field position defensively whenever he had to punt or kick the ball.
All in all it was it was an exciting game to watch. Three lead changes and opportunities for both teams right down to the wire. Congratulations again to the 2007 Grey Cup Champions, The Saskatchewan Roughriders.
