As Advertised: Riders D-line menacing in 2018 debut

Jamie Nye

CFL.ca

@jamienye

First impressions can mean so much. The Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive line were impressive in their debut.

We didn’t get to see Charleston Hughes and Willie Jefferson at all in the pre-season so we were left to wonder just how good they could be.

And it was impressions of those defensive linemen that were being left on Ricky Ray throughout their debut.

We knew they would be good.

When you see the top two ranked defensive ends on TSN’s Top 50 CFL Player list on the same team, warnings should be handed out to all quarterbacks about this duo and Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray will tell you that they are everything you’d expect. They are nearly unstoppable.

The Roughriders opened the season with a hat trick of sacks by Charleston Hughes and 11 quarterback pressures, including four more of those by Hughes.

Willie Jefferson didn’t hit the stat sheet in sacks but pressured Ray and got his hands on a few throws from Ray near the line of scrimmage.

As I analyzed the Roughriders defence it kept on coming back to how to block them up front. Do you double team Hughes or double team Jefferson? What about free agent defensive tackle Zack Evans?

It boiled down to a simple fact, pick your poison. The Argonauts appeared to still put a lot of attention on Willie Jefferson, which left Hughes in one on one more often and the cagey veteran has more than enough set ups, moves and spins to get to the quarterback.

When you have a dynamic defensive line, makes everything else look better. The Roughriders lost some linebackers in the off-season and when the offensive linemen are tied up trying to block a strong front four, the linebackers can run free and make plays. Derrick Moncrief and Sam Eguavoen were able to do that. Moncrief had eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a knockdown. Eguavoen finished with five tackles and held James Wilder Jr. to just 16-yards rushing and under 100-yards total offence. Wilder’s biggest play that gave him nearly half of his yards was actually a mismatch against Jefferson one one one down the sideline.

So maybe there is something these defensive ends can’t do. But don’t expect Jefferson to have to cover one on one downfield very often.

The linebackers aren’t the only ones that find the benefit of the pressure the Roughriders defensive line was able to provide. The defensive backs are happy to.

Charleston Hughes collected three sacks in the first half of his Roughriders debut last week (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)

Crezdon Butler told me they can definitely be more aggressive against their receiver knowing the ball is going to have to be thrown quickly. When that pressure is not there the defensive backs can be left feeling very vulnerable, especially during scramble plays from the opposition.

But Ray had to get rid of it well before he wanted to or had to throw it away or take the sack. In fact, Roughriders head coach Chris Jones mused before the game if you get Ray patting the ball and hesitation, ‘you know you have him.’

Jones should have been smiling ear to ear after that first half with Toronto sitting at just three first downs.

The Riders are likely a little disappointed that they didn’t get more turnovers out of a game they got to the quarterback. One interception, a turnover on downs and a late fumble. But because of the pressure up front they also got five knockdowns in the game.

I’m certain the Roughriders are well on their way to leading the league in sacks with their quartet up front.

But it’s not just Jefferson and Hughes, who get all the headlines. Tobi Antigha can get after the quarterback in his second year and newcomers Eric Striker and Chad Geter showed they also like to get their licks in on the opposition in their debut.

If the Roughriders were wondering what their identity was going to be, I think they found it in the first week. They have a defence that will get after you early and won’t let up until the final whistle sounds.

Chris Jones finally has the defence we were all promised in December of 2015 when he arrived from Edmonton and it will be the two all-star defensive ends stirring the drink and rattling quarterbacks all year long.

Trevor Harris, you’re next.

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