The Saskatchewan Roughriders came as advertised in their first game under the direction of new Vice President/General Manager/Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Chris Jones.
They are a team that is much improved from last season but still has some bugs to work out before we start believing they can contend in Year One.
The Riders lost 30-17 to the Toronto Argonauts, not because they were badly out played by the Ricky Ray led Argos but because of a few miscues, including a long punt return that led the first touchdown, blown coverage that led to the second and fumbled short yardage snap that was returned for the third Argos TD.
Three mistakes, all in the first half and you have yourself a 13 point loss.
On our post-game call in show, fans were quite pleased with the effort. Maybe it’s because they saw how bad a 3-15 team was last year or maybe, like me, they realize 35 of the 44 players on the field in the loss to the Toronto Argonauts weren’t even on the team last year.
Chemistry is going to take some time.
One of the new faces, Kendial Lawrence, tweeted out after the game ‘Took em a minute to build Rome’ in reference to the team’s quest to rebuild this team into a Grey Cup contender.
No one thought the Riders were going to come out looking like a well oiled machine. And they didn’t. It was 14-0 for the Argos before the game was eight minutes old.
But as time went on, the Riders started to show the promise fans are hoping for.
Chris Jones even said after the game the Riders ‘are ahead of schedule’ when it comes to this rebuild and of course it will all start with Darian Durant.
When the clock hit zero, it officially became the first game Darian Durant has been able to start and finish since the 2014 Labour Day Classic. That’s 22 months of playing a total of two halves football.
The fact Durant threw for over 300-yards to Ricky Ray’s 180 is a sign the face of the franchise is more than ready to carry this team once more. Yes, there were a few arrant throws, some behind receivers and others that came close to being intercepted but I believe I’ve already stated why that is. Durant has a little rust to wear off.
The positives come in the form of his quick chemistry with a few receivers in the form of Naaman Roosevelt and John Chiles. The two led the way down field for Durant, who has never played a game with either in his receiving corps.
Roosevelt had 113 yards and Chiles caught Durant’s lone touchdown of the day, while adding five more catches during the night.
With Chris Getzlaf in Edmonton and Weston Dressler in Winnipeg, the Riders offence is already showing signs that they’ll be able to move on quite smoothly without the veteran receivers, who became Durant’s favourite targets on key downs.
There were some who were questioning the run game after not seeing much of Curtis Steele last year in Toronto and again this preseason. Steele proved he can easily handle the #1 job running the ball with 115 total yards from scrimmage (61-yards rushing, 54-yards receiving).
Then there is the defence for the Roughriders. It was ugly last season but the most eye popping stat is not one starter was on the team last year. Not one. In fact, with Jeff Knox Jr. being one of the two scratches, the only returning defensive player from last year was backup linebacker/defensive back Matt Webster.
Despite giving up a big play for a touchdown early in the game, they settled down and the only points they gave up were a trifecta of Lirim Hajrullahu field goals and only allowed Ricky Ray to throw for 186-yards. That’s a pretty decent effort from a new look crew.
And we saw some promising talent as well.
A.C. Leonard, the former B.C. Lions receiver, sacked Ray twice as the Riders have converted him to defensive end and because of his play in training camp has dropped Shawn Lemon down the depth chart.
At linebacker, Sam Eguavoen made a name for himself and showed why the Riders top defensive player last year Jeff Knox Jr. was a scratch and why Eguavoen may make it hard for Knox to regain his starting spot.
Greg Jones came as advertised from Toronto, leading the team with six tackles.
The secondary may need some work, but Ray’s numbers show maybe not as much as some expect.
Overall, Jones assessment of ‘ahead of schedule’ looks to be quite accurate. They were competitive in game one.
I originally thought this team may need the first six weeks or so to become a team that will start to win more than they lose.
Actually, it may only take one or two more weeks as the Riders didn’t look too far off from how every one else looked in their first game of the regular season.
