Rewind!

He can try as many times as he likes, but Danny Barrett will have no success. He can rewind that game tape of the season opener against Toronto over and over, but one terrible thing will appear again and again. Nealon Greene is gone, perhaps for the entire season.

The Roughrider season got off to one of its roughest starts ever as the starting QB for the Riders went down only seven minutes into the game. Marking only the second series of downs for the riders in the 2004 campaign, Greene was hit on the blind side by blitzing Argonaut linebacker Michael Fletcher, when the bodies un-piled from the mass, Greene remained on the field in visible pain. After many uncomfortable and silent minutes at Skydome he was taken from the field by cart, suffering a badly broken leg.

The injury seemed to shock the Riders for the first half, Rocky Butler third on the depth chart was handed the ball. Henry Burris still recovering from a training camp ankle injury, watched from the sidelines as the third string Rider tried to recapture the excitement the team had minutes before.

The Argos found the field open for them for the first thirty minutes and took advantage of the situation. Bashir Levingson ran back a missed field goal minutes after the Greene injury to spot the Argos an early 7 point lead with the convert. Rocky Butler’s season debut was er, rocky, as his first pass was picked off for an interception by Kenny Wheaton. Two plays later Argo QB, Damon Allen found receiver Jay Soward downfield for another TD, before the half was out the Argos had added one more touchdown as Robert Baker hauled in a thirty five yard pass for a touchdown. The double blue took a 21-0 lead into the dressing room at the half, giving the over 26.000 in the stands some football to talk about during the break.

Danny Barrett found some words to reassure his charges for the second, as the Riders played with more of a purpose and made few errors in the second half. Clawing their way back onto the scoreboard, as Butler handed the ball off to Chris Szarka, who ran the ball into the end zone from the one and Paul McCallum scored a field goal to get the Riders back into the game, but not enough to take away the 21-10 win from the Argos.

It marked the first season opener victory for the double blue since 2000. The result was a welcome one for the new owners, who have rebuilt interest in the Argos after a number of years of wandering in the Toronto wilderness. The size of the crowd a positive sign for the Argos the 26,821 was the largest crowd to see an Argos game since head coach Pinball Clemons played his last game in an Argo uniform, four years ago.

While the Argos still have some work to do on their line up, they seem to have the foundation of a solid and entertaining team. The display on Tuesday should help keep the crowds coming to the Skydome.

Saskatchewan which went into the game considered the favourite to be traveling to Ottawa in November for the Grey Cup now has its first bit of adversity. It will be a test of Barrett’s coaching and people skills to see how he assists his team in getting back on track. Henry Burris has already said he’ll be ready for the next game Sunday against Calgary, and for Saskatchewan that’s a positive development.

By not rushing him into the game Tuesday, Barrett showed leadership, realizing that the season is much more than the opening game. Prior to Greene’s injury the QB situation was considered the one ace that the Riders had, three capable QB’s near equal in status, Greene got the nod to start the season, but many felt that Burris would eventually be the guy to lead the team. His chance to do just that has arrived, supporters in Saskatchewan and Rider fans across the country will be watching with interest as he takes control of the team.