Thanks to an impressive offensive display, the Saskatchewan Roughriders have their first win of the 2017 season. It was a big win for the Riders and a nice aerial display led by quarterback Kevin Glenn. Knowing how much he’s bounced around the last few years, I like watching Glenn having success, regardless of what colours he’s wearing. And more importantly, he keeps on getting the job done.
He’s still got it
It’s important to point out before we get started that Glenn is what he is at this point. I’m not going to proclaim Glenn as a future hall of famer or anything of the sort. But I do appreciate how he continues to give teams a chance to win on annual basis, regardless of where he’s playing.
Since Glenn’s lengthiest CFL stint in Winnipeg ended after the 2008 season, he’s gone through Hamilton, Calgary, Ottawa (kind of), BC, Saskatchewan, Montreal, Winnipeg again, and now back to the Riders. And in most of those stops, Glenn has had to step in and start multiple games, and more often than not, he’s gotten the job done, even if it’s not always spectacular.
Fast-forward to where we are now and nothing has changed. Despite Saskatchewan’s 1-2 record, they’ve been in a position to win all three of their games and Glenn has been a big part of that. Not only has he performed well, but Glenn has also been relied upon heavily thus far.
The Riders have relied heavily on the pass game to this point, and Glenn has thrown 40+ passes in all three of his games this season. He’s been productive in the process; Glenn has thrown seven touchdowns and well over 300 yards per game. Yes, he’d like his interceptions down a little bit (he’s thrown four), but by and large, Glenn has done all Saskatchewan has asked of him and more.
I get why it’s been difficult for Glenn to stick long term over the last number of seasons. Because of his age, he’s never been the ideal quarterback to build around. Instead, he’s been the annual “desired backup plan” really since his time with the Stampeders.
Remember, for instance, despite starting the year as Drew Tate’s backup, it was Glenn leading Calgary to a Grey Cup appearance in 2012. He had his moments in 2015 and 2016 starting games for the Riders and Alouettes, and now back in Regina, he’s playing some good football again.
More than anything else, it’s really easy to cheer for Glenn. In most of his recent seasons, he’s entered training camp number two on the depth chart and has started games due to an injury ahead of him. But everyone who’s coached or played with Glenn talk about him as a dynamite teammate who embraces whatever role he plays.
Glenn is the ultimate journeyman. Other than Edmonton, he’s technically been a member of every team in this league (he never played as a member of the REDBLACKS or Argonauts). Glenn works hard, he is reliable when called upon, and does it all as the consummate pro. To see him enjoying success with the Riders in 2017 isn’t hard to watch at all.
Taking offence
While Glenn has been a nice story leading a decent attack for Saskatchewan, there are a couple of offences having some pronounced challenges right now. It’s very early and there’s plenty of time for things to improve, but through five games combined, Hamilton and Montreal have been pedestrian at best. That surprises me a little bit.
For the Tiger-Cats, the biggest surprise has been the play of quarterback Zach Collaros. One of the most dynamic and explosive pivots in the league, he’s been average at best in Hamilton’s two losses. In their 37-20 setback to the Riders on Saturday, the Ticats couldn’t seem to find any rhythm whatsoever and Collaros was as ineffective as I’ve seen him in quite some time.
Alouettes QB Darian Durant is still trying to find his footing in a Montreal offence that has yet to take off thus far in 2017.
Collaros is usually a pretty accurate quarterback, so to see him clicking about six percent lower than his career average is strange. I know we’ve seen some offensive turnover in Hamilton and that’s likely playing a part right now, but to see Collaros missing like he has so far is out of character.
Knowing how highly I think of him, though, I’m still fairly confident we’ll see Collaros return to his dynamic form shortly.
Then there’s 1-2 Montreal who could be 0-3 had it not been for a Saskatchewan missed field goal in week one. New general manager Kavis Reed went out and reshaped the Alouettes’ offence this offseason, and so far, it has yet to see returns.
Again, let’s give some benefit of the doubt and have some patience. With a new quarterback, left tackle, and turnover at receiver, it’s not unusual to see things take a while to click. But, despite some nice weapons, new quarterback Darian Durant hasn’t gone over 250 yards so far while Ernest Jackson has rarely been a factor.
In Montreal’s case, I had really high expectations heading into the season knowing how aggressively they revamped their offence this winter. As for Hamilton, my surprise comes from how good Collaros has been when healthy over the last few seasons. In both cases, though, we’re talking about the very early stages of the season with ample time to come around.
On the other hand
We’re talking a lot about offences in this week’s column, so I’d be remiss without mentioning the Toronto Argonauts. While the two teams we talked about previously have been surprisingly ineffective, the Argos have been a pleasant surprise with how exciting they’ve been with the ball.
We’ve talked a few times this season about how good Ricky Ray has been. Well, he was at it again in Toronto’s comeback 26-25 win over Ottawa on Saturday. Ray threw for 366 more yards against the REDBLACKS and leads the league with 1199 yards; he hasn’t gone under 300 yards thus far.
But it’s not just Ray jumping off the page. This group of receivers has been dynamite so far, and I don’t think anyone saw it coming.
Ricky Ray is averaging 400 passing yards per game and in Saturday’s win over Ottawa, recorded his 300th career touchdown pass.
S.J. Green was a huge question mark coming into the season after he missed the lion’s share of the 2016 season with a knee injury. While, he’s been an absolute beast so far and was as dominant as ever with 210 yards and a touchdown against Ottawa. I love watching Green play, because when he’s dialed in like he is right now, he’s the most physical and imposing receiver in the league.
Additionally, Diontae Spencer and Kenny Shaw left the Argos for the aforementioned REDBLACKS this winter, Green was the team’s biggest name receiver entering the season. Well, the way a couple relatively unknown players have performed so far is changing that.
In last week’s Berg vs. Ferg debate, I pushed Armanti Edwards as my early breakout player and he’s been a really nice story so far. With Green getting most of the touches on Saturday, Edwards less of a factor against Ottawa, but with his work ethic and athleticism, I expect him to be a favorite target of Ray’s all year long.
DeVier Posey deservers some love, too. With 62 yards and a touchdown over the weekend, Posey continues to be a dangerous part of Toronto’s attack. Posey has seen numerous targets this season and that’s not something that was necessarily a given entering the season, either. With just 13 catches in four games last season, Posey is a nice surprise, too.
Ray looks revitalized and as good as he has in years. If he stays healthy, I don’t see that trend changing. As such, I think this Argos offence is going to be a handful for the remainder of the season. Knowing how fun they’ve been to watch through three games, I’m all for that.
