July 6, 2016

Pedersen: The return of Chris Jones

THE CANADIAN PRESS

REGINA — From the return of Chris Jones to Edmonton to the rash of retirements hitting Riderville, Rod Pedersen has five things to keep an eye on during Friday night’s clash between the Riders and Eskimos.

1 – ALONG CAME JONES: When the Saskatchewan Roughriders visited the Edmonton Eskimos on June 18 in pre-season play, it was somewhat of a ho-hum affair. There wasn’t a ton of hype leading up to the game (that I can recall), and there was barely any mention of Chris Jones returning to the “scene of the crime”.  In just two short seasons Jones turned the doormat Eskimos into the best team in the CFL, ultimately capturing the 2016 Grey Cup with a thrilling victory over Ottawa at Winnipeg’s Investors Group Field.

This has been covered here before. When asked, anyone connected to the Eskimos said there were no hard feelings towards Jones and that they wish him well in Saskatchewan. Then, the morning of that exhibition game at Commonwealth Stadium, we started to hear word that the Green and Gold players were frothing at the mouth and treating it as “way more than a pre-season game”.  Revenge was on their mind.

A minute into the game, before a CFL pre-season-high crowd of 29,416, Esks quarterback Mike Reilly went 3-for-3 on their opening drive which included a 69-yard bomb to Derel Walker inside the Rider-10. They capped the series with a touchdown toss to former Rider Chris Getzlaf. To quote Blue Jays skipper John Gibbons, “suck on that”.  The Esks went on to win the game 25-11.

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CFL.ca

Riders pivot Darian Durant gets ready to throw during a Week 2 loss to the Argos (CFL.ca)

And now the Riders are back in the Alberta capital but this time it’s for real and the stakes are significantly higher (Friday night, 10:00 pm ET, TSN, CKRM Rider Radio Network). Both teams are 0-1 and the win is paramount. But Jones is back again too and the Eskimos have made no secret of the fact they’d like to embarrass Saskatchewan at each and every turn this season.  However the Roughriders Head Coach and GM prefers not to comment on the matter any further.

“No, no,” Jones said while shaking his head on Tuesday. “It’s our next game. It’s professional football, right? They’ve got a right to do whatever they feel is necessary to motivate their football team. We’re motivated to try to win a game and try to win a championship.”

If I were the Eskimo marketers, I’d be building this up like Hulk Hogan versus Andre the Giant in Wrestlemania 1! But no, they’d rather refer to Saskatchewanians as Horrible People and let their their feelings about being deserted by Jones bubble under the surface.

But I expect the Eskimos to do their talking on the field just like they did in the pre-season, only this time it’ll be for the entire 60 minutes rather than just the opening drive. It’s going to be a war.

2 – THE MONEYLINE:  The Las Vegas oddsmakers have a lot of faith in the Eskimos in this one. Sports Interaction has the Esks favoured by 11 points; BetDSI has them favoured by 9.5 and Oddsshark.com lists Edmonton as the favourite by as much as 11.5 points.

This, of course, doesn’t mean anything but it gives you an idea of what the football world is thinking heading into this clash which closes Week 3 in the Canadian Football League. However so far in this whacky CFL season, the oddsmakers have been completely out to lunch.

Some are saying Friday’s Calgary-at-Ottawa affair is the marquee game of the week but I beg to differ. Let’s see which game attracts the highest television ratings!

But make no mistake — the Roughriders need to win a game soon. Most fans I talk to are getting restless because the team hasn’t won consistently for two years which is an eternity in sports. Meanwhile the players, I would think, need a win for the sake of confidence. They’re young and they’re building, but they need a taste of winning because the taste of losing has lingered around here for far too long.

When will that first win come?

3 – THE X-MEN:  The rebuilding of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is coming along nicely under the management trio of Chris Jones, John Murphy and Jeremy O’Day. Maybe at times it seems to be a glacier-like pace, but the plan is coming together.

Practice this week was a great preview of what’s in store. Rookie cornerback Johnny Dixon looked to have been beat on a streak down the visitors sidelines but he looked back at the quarterback and jumped seemingly 12 feet (at least) in the air to tip the ball down into his own hands and then fall out-of-bounds.  He looked like Elastoman as observers picked their jaws back up off the ground.

» RELATED: A look at Week 3 in CFL.ca Game Notes

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Rob Bagg runs for a long gain in Riders pre-season action vs. BC (The Canadian Press)

Just a few plays later, rookie receiver Armanti Edwards made a desperation, leaping grab in the endzone for a touchdown reception that looked like a catch only Spiderman could have come up with. Jones referred to Edwards as the “smoothest” receiver the Riders have and the Appalachian State product honed those skills with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers for four years followed by stints with the Bears and the Browns.

This is what’s coming folks. This is the first time Jones has had complete control of an organization and he’s got free reign to build a Dream Team which will be dominant year after year. If you’re impatient like me, it’s an agonizing wait. However when you get glimpses from time to time of what’s in store, you get goosebumps.

Come on down to practice some time and see for yourself.

4 – SPEAKING OF BEING PATIENT:  Roughriders legend Ray Elgaard was in town for last week’s home-opener as he was saluted by the club prior to kickoff. “Harley” retired in 1996 as the CFL’s receiving king and although he settled in Las Vegas once he hung up his cleats, the Rider Nation is never far from his heart and he makes one trip annually to Regina to see his former team.

Only this time, something was different. When Elgaard popped into the CKRM broadcast booth in the second half of Thursday’s eventual 30-17 loss to Toronto, I asked him on-air his thoughts of the New Mosaic Stadium which is being built across the street from the old park.

“It’s breathtaking,” Elgaard said, his eyes wide-open in amazement. “I was coming up Saskatchewan Drive from the airport and not thinking too much about anything when all of a sudden, there it was. I couldn’t believe my eyes.  That thing is truly staggering and they’ve done a really nice job on it.”

For those outside of Regina who haven’t been able to monitor the progress of construction, you can imagine how close the facility is to completion considering the U of R Rams and U of S Huskies are scheduled to play there on Saturday, Oct. 1.  That’s only a few months away!

Meanwhile the farewell season across Elphinstone St. continues and this week the Riders announced plans to honour the 1966 Grey Cup champion team at the July 16 home game. Many members of that squad will be in attendance as they coincidentally celebrate the 50th anniversary of that title.

It’s tough not to allow your mind to drift to what lies ahead and how exciting that Roughriders’ home-opener will be in 2017. I posed that thought to Regina Mayor Michael Fougere on the SportsCage last week and his reply was a simple one.

“We just have to be patient,” Fougere advised.

5 – THE RASH OF RETIREMENTS:  It’s a fad which I fear will turn into a trend. The Rider Nation was gripped by the saga involving disgruntled defensive end Shawn Lemon which unfolded last week. Reportedly unhappy with his playing time, Lemon requested a trade the day after the Toronto game and within 24 hours, his wish was granted. Lemon was dealt to the Argonauts in a package deal which included quarterback Mitchell Gale and offensive lineman Matt Sewell coming the other way.

However on Tuesday Chris Jones confirmed that Sewell plans to retire and has subsequently been placed on the Riders’ retired list. He’s now the third player to retire this season rather than come to Saskatchewan, joining receiver Maurice Price and lineman Bruce Campbell at the retirement home. Throw in Ben Heenan’s unexpected retirement at the age of 26 this spring and it seems to be an epidemic.

What’s going on here?

None of these players have revealed why they are giving up the game in the prime of their careers but I suspect it’s a culmination of things. In almost all cases, these players have other careers or options that present better opportunities than pro football. Some were family-related decisions.

Right now it seems to only be a “Rider thing”, but it’s happening all over the continent.

Get used to it.

RP

@rodpedersen