Riderville.com
The whirlwind week for the Roughriders is well underway as the team transitions from their intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday in Saskatoon, to a move to Regina on Sunday, to a game on Tuesday, to a flight to Vancouver on Thursday before their pre-season finale on Friday and then back home for cut down day on Saturday.
Don’t blink. You might miss something.
So what did we learn on Tuesday night against the Bombers?
I think we saw a team that hadn’t played a pre-season game yet, against a team that has.
The Roughriders showcased your typical inexperienced play early with a tipped pass going for an interception, a fumble and then a misplay on a punt.
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Early in the game Winnipeg, who got their jitters out last week, was time and time again in scoring range only to be unsuccessful on three attempts to convert inside the five yard line.
But as the second half continued, the Roughriders confidence grew and we started to see some of the playmakers who have been talked about in training camp show up for the green and white.
The big questions going into the game were would anybody take control of the back-up quarterback job and will a running back step up with the departure of William Powell in the off-season?
Let’s start with the quarterbacks as they were all efficient with the ball. Troy Williams was the first quarterback to get the team into scoring range, only to have that drive end with a missed field goal.
In the fourth quarter, the incumbent backup Mason Fine was able to lead the team to their first touchdown of the game with an 11-play, 78-yard drive that ended with a great catch by newcomer Jester Weah.
And then there is the most talked about quarterback from training camp, Jake Dolegala. The six-foot-seven ‘tall drink of water’ as described by Craig Dickenson, showed off a few crisp passed on the next drive with a touchdown pass of his own to Dieuly Aristilde Jr.
Dolegala was also the quarterback with the most glaring mistake late the game with an overthrow that ended in an interception that allowed the Bombers to kill the clock and take the 25-16 win.
Overall, Dickenson says he’d like to take all three quarterbacks into the final game against the BC Lions before possibly making a decision.
Personally, I’d like to see all these quarterbacks get another chance in the final pre-season game to see if they can carry some of the late-game momentum into a second game, like we saw from Dru Brown and Dakota Prukop of the Bombers. The Winnipeg quarterbacks showed a much more calm, collected demeanour in their second game. Especially for Prukop, who made two mistakes in the first contest.
Yes, Cody Fajardo will take some snaps on Friday but there is no reason he should play much into the second quarter, allowing the others to have two or three series on their own.
Keep in mind, the Roughriders did keep four quarterbacks around last year with Fajardo, Fine, Isaac Harker and Paxton Lynch.
Mason Fine threw for 114 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Tuesday night’s game (Riderville.com)
As for the running backs, both the incumbent Jamal Morrow and newcomer Frankie Hickson averaged an impressive 7.5 yards per carry. Hickson received more carries as the Riders wanted to see him a little more, since they already knew what Morrow can do after his playing time last year in spot duty with Powell.
Veteran running back Shaq Cooper also didn’t get a lot of snaps, while Troymaine Pope had an unfortunate fumble on a punt return as his most notable play of the night.
Other things that stick out for me from the Riders first pre-season game begins with the receiving depth.
Aristilde Jr., Weah, Tevin Jones, and first round pick Samuel Emilus were all able to showcase their playmaking abilities. And while you may not see a lot of room to find playing time, you at least have to believe if they can’t crack the game day roster, the Roughriders will do their finest to keep them on board in a practice roster spot to make sure they keep this tremendous depth in the receiving corps.
Defensively the Roughriders will again have some difficult decisions to make. What will be interesting to see is how they’re evaluated after this pre-season game as a few players made a play here and there but there wasn’t a defensive player who jumped out at you as having an extremely great evening.
The depth comes along the defensive line. Like the receivers, general manager Jeremy O’Day and Dickenson are going to have some debates on how they try to keep as many of the talented players they have.
Overall, wins and losses don’t matter in the pre-season but it helps to confirm that you’ve found the depth necessary to win a championship. The Roughriders should be happy with what they have, although now they’ll want to see some improvement on Friday night before knowing for sure.
