HEAD COACH D-LIVERS IN THIRD YEAR AT HELM
Jones’ defence is why Roughriders finish schedule 12-6 and have home playoff date
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ latest victory was quite a “D” feat.
Chris Jones’ dizzying, dominating defence set the tone once again as the Roughriders downed the visiting B.C. Lions 35-16 on Saturday to finish with a 12-6 record and clinch a CFL home playoff game for the first time since 2013.
The Lions were held to 180 yards of net offence as Saskatchewan sustained its once-distant hopes of finishing first in the West Division.
Although the Lions’ offence scored two touchdowns, those majors were counteracted by the Roughriders’ two defensive majors — on a fumble recovery by Zack Evans and an interception return by Ed Gainey.
It was just another day at the $278-million office for a Roughriders “D” that came through in record-setting fashion during the soon-to-be-surpassed (press smart key) most important game to date at new Mosaic Stadium.
Saskatchewan finished the game, and the regular season, with record-tying totals of 11 defensive touchdowns and 15 return TDs. The Roughriders share both standards with the 1987 Lions.
Rewinding even further, one can develop a greater appreciation for the 2018 Roughriders’ accomplishments to this point.
Saskatchewan has not won more games in a season since (get this) 1970, when Ron Lancaster, George Reed and associates went 14-2. The Roughriders subsequently posted 12-6 records in 2007, 2008 and, now, 2018.
The 2007 Roughriders, under general manager Eric Tillman and head coach Kent Austin, won a Grey Cup. The quarterback, Kerry Joseph, was named the league’s most outstanding player.
In 2008, Saskatchewan’s quarterbacking carousel — featuring Marcus Crandell, Steven Jyles, Darian Durant and Michael Bishop — spun wildly out of control. That team did secure a home playoff game, only to lose 33-12 to B.C. A dismal performance by Bishop, who was summarily released, defined the disappointment.
Again, there are questions about the quarterbacking — and the offence in general — but the Roughriders have proven throughout the season that they can withstand unexceptional signal-calling and a lack of explosiveness.
Saskatchewan’s starting quarterback, Zach Collaros, left Saturday’s game as a precaution early in the second quarter and did not return. Even so, Saskatchewan won handily.
Brandon Bridge replaced Collaros and adhered to the marching orders — which were, in essence, to avoid putting the team in a predicament.
Bridge threw the ball only nine times, with four completions for 44 yards, while at the controls of a low-low-low-low-risk offence. Compare that to the Roughriders’ 25 running plays after Collaros left the game.
The formula evoked memories of previous editions of the Roughriders — the Regina Roughriders — but it is difficult to quibble with the results. Not with that defence.
Not with a ground game that amassed 199 yards, including 134 by Cameron Marshall.
Not when the opponent, coached by a legend named Wally Buono, had won six of its previous seven games.
Not when Saturday’s victory secured the Roughriders’ seventh West Division home playoff game in a span of 42 seasons.
Roughriders fans were spoiled with five home playoff games within a period of seven seasons, beginning in 2007. That run also included a home-field Grey Cup victory in 2013.
Just when it reached a point where a home playoff game seemed to be routine, there was a return to the pre-2007 norm.
Jones was hired away from the Grey Cup-champion Edmonton Eskimos shortly after the 2015 season with the objective of turning around a team that had just gone 3-15.
Armed with a massive salary and the longest job description in franchise history (head coach, defensive co-ordinator, general manager and vice-president of football operations), Jones experienced a few hiccups before guiding the team to a transformational home-field victory over B.C.
Entering an Aug. 13, 2017 matchup with B.C., Saskatchewan was 2-4 on the season and 7-17 overall under Jones.
Then came a 41-8 victory over B.C., a game in which Gainey registered four interceptions and returned one for a major. So it was fitting, then, that Gainey revisited the end zone Saturday.
Beginning with that season-altering victory in 2017, the Jones-coached Roughriders are on a 20-10 run. They were just one defensive stop shy of advancing to last year’s Grey Cup game.
The 2018 Roughriders are much more likely to make such a defensive play, if necessary.
Jones has assembled a team that must present such a nightmare for rival offensive co-ordinators and quarterbacks.
The special teams, with Craig Dickenson coaching and Brett Lauther kicking, are also an area of strength.
The offence? With or without Collaros behind centre, the emphasis will be on the running game and an avoidance of turnovers.
Without demonstrating any inclination to push the ball downfield via the formerly fashionable aerial route, the Roughriders ran effectively — even when the Lions and all 30,091 spectators knew a handoff was coming — and moved the chains in timely, robust fashion.
All that remains is for the Roughriders, who are on a bye week, to watch and wait for the West Division standings to be finalized.
The Lions, freshly vanquished, now have the wholehearted support of Rider Nation. A B.C. victory over the visiting Calgary Stampeders next Saturday would enable Saskatchewan to finish first in the West for only the second time since 1977.
Although the Roughriders’ playoff path is up in the air, this much is certain: Jones, in Year 3 of his regime, has delivered — with a capital “D.”