The 2011 season has, some would say mercifully, come to an end for the beleaguered ‘Riders. It was a rather bumpy season filled with drastic ups and downs. Andy Fantuz returned from the NFL to much fanfare from the ‘Rider Nation but was rather subdued compared to previous years in his performance. Coach Greg Marshall was replaced by the fan-favourite Coach Ken Miller after a dismal start but the ‘Riders just could not gain traction, leading to Coach Ken’s retirement. Despite performing reasonably well against teams from the Eastern Conference, the ‘Riders just could not catch a break in the Western Conference and finished with a 0 and 10 record on their side of the league.

How are the indexes calculated?

The Overall Team Performance Index finishes out at -24.2 after the final loss to Edmonton, a drop from -6.0 after last week’s win against Hamilton. Fan hope for a great season next year also took a drop after the loss, from +52.0 to +38.2.  While this does represent a 13.8 point decline, it also shows that the ‘Rider Nation still has faith in their team and is looking forward to next season.

Approval ratings for different aspects of the team range drastically at the end of the season. Coaching (+6.72 last week vs. +5.10 this week), the quarterback (-5.97 last week vs. -7.01 this week), and the defensive line (+3.39 last week vs. +5.73 this week) only had very slight changes. The receivers (-4.03 last week vs. +12.74 this week) and Special Teams (+6.57 last week vs. +17.20 this week) both had significant increases. Alternatively, both the offensive line (-4.53 last week vs. -13.38 this week) and the running game (-5.22 last week vs. -8.28 this week) declined.

The ‘Rider Nation can best be described as cautiously optimistic about the 2012 season. Fans see a lot of rebuilding ahead for the team, and hope that the second and third strings will be given the chance to show what they’ve got as well as utilizing the first-string talent better. That being said, step one is finding someone to fill Coach Ken’s shoes.

Selected Quotes

Don’t get “locked in” on any one player at the expense of the rest of the team. I think that Durant, even though he is a top-notch quarterback, should have been benched in favor of Dinwiddie or Berquist long before the end of the season to give those guys a lot more game-day rep’s. Ryan came off big in the last games, and he could have contributed so much more if he had been given the chance.

Give serious consideration to “retiring” some of the aging veteran players, and ensure Cole Berquist gets a little playing time.

Play the back-up quarterback more so we have two good quarterbacks.

I’m not a football player or coach, just a long-time fan. I think we really need to build on our offensive line, and have consistent coaching. I believe Ken Miller is the strongest coach we’ve had, and we need to find someone with the same drive, skillset and passion to lead our boys to their best performance.

Do not let the tail wag the dog.