The stats would say that the Riders are set to face a bad passer. The Riders themselves say different.
The Bombers Chris Streveler was 7/17 for 89 yards in a win over Edmonton last week. He was accurate on only 50% of his pass attempts. Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson says he doesn’t think that’s reflective of what Streveler can do.
“I don’t think he’s inaccurate,” says Dickenson. “I think he had an inaccurate game. I think he’s plenty good as a quarterback. You can’t consistently win by not throwing the ball accurately. But I think you’ll see an improved Chris Streveler this game.”
Last season Streveler was last in the league in accuracy on short passes (1-9 yards downfield). And he was last on intermediate passes (10-19 yards downfield). His saving grace was tremendous success on his deep balls (8 TDs on 22 attempts).
On a small number of throws this season (33), his accuracy hasn’t improved.
Safety Mike Edem didn’t say he agrees with the assertion that Streveler is inaccurate. He says the Bombers are a real threat to win even if that was to be the case.
“When they’re running for 160 (yards), yeah. You run for 160 and your special teams are giving you two touchdowns, on average, a game and your defense is scoring points, taking the ball away, yeah you can.
“There’d been critics on how Matt Nichols played before he got hurt,” adds Edem. “And the offense being able to score points and move the ball. So they’ve been winning with that formula, regardless of who’s playing quarterback.”
Whatever Streveler is as a passer, there’s no question he’s an incredibly effective runner. He put up 95 yards and a touchdown against Edmonton.
Asked if reasonable to think Streveler might be the most-dangerous runner in the league, linebacker Cam Judge says: “Yeah, I’d definitely put him up there. He had his share of runs against us last year. Definitely, containing him is going to be a priority.”
