WAS THE COST WORTH IT?
Vanstone looks back on 2013
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are coming off a three-win season — the antithesis of their threewin post-season of 2013.
Today’s second anniversary of the Roughriders’ landmark home-field Grey Cup victory does provide cause to marvel at the then and now — and to ponder the question: Was it worth it?
The Roughriders were “all in,” by their own description, for the 2013 CFL season. A number of high-profile, high-salaried free agents were signed. The teambuilding process did not emphasize the aftermath of Nov. 24, 2013, and understandably so.
The Green and White had to win that game — the final championship contest to be played on Taylor Field. They could not afford to spare any expense in an effort to construct the best possible team.
But there was an eventual cost to be borne.
Then-Roughriders general manager and vice-president of football operations Brendan Taman performed some contractual contortions in order to avoid a flagrant violation of the league’s $4.4-million salary cap. As it was, he contravened the cap by a nominal amount — $17,975.
A dollar-for-dollar fine levied by the CFL was a minuscule price to pay for what turned out to be a massive reward. However, the nature of the negotiations did have some longer-term ramifications.
Consider, for example, the salaries of defensive end John Chick and slotback Chris Getzlaf. They played for less than market value in 2013, with the understanding that there would be compensatory salaries in years to come. Hence, Chick commanded a reported $200,000 this past season while Getzlaf earned $225,000.
What choice did Taman have? He would have been rightfully excoriated by many inhabitants of the Rider Nation if every possible option had not been exhausted.
In Chick’s case, he was released by the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and became a free agent shortly before the 2013 training camp, when it appeared that most of the Roughriders’ money had been spent. Yet Taman found a way to land Chick — the solution being to backload his contract.
Chick had two sacks in the 2013 Grey Cup to help the Roughriders defeat the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23.
Geroy Simon, who received a reported $170,000 from the Roughriders during a season in which he turned 38, caught the final two touchdown passes of his illustrious career in that game.
Simon was a part of an 11-7 Roughriders team that finished second to the Calgary Stampeders (14-4) in the regular-season standings.
Quarterback Darian Durant then rallied Saskatchewan from a 25-16 fourth-quarter deficit and willed his team to a 29-25 homefield victory over the B.C. Lions in the West Division semifinal. The Roughriders proceeded to dominate the host Stampeders 35-13 in the division final. Another rout ensued in the Grey Cup.
Since then, however, the Roughriders have won only 13 of 37 regular-season and playoff games. The record is considerably worse (5-21) during games in which Durant, who has suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries, has not started.
Durant’s misfortunes are not the only reason for the Riders’ slide. The talent base diminished, especially with regard to Canadians, and some veterans crossed the fine line between “experienced” and “old.”
The Roughriders tried to replicate the phenomenally successful formula of 2013 — leaning on seasoned, accomplished pros — but instead became a team in decline.
They began the 2014 season with an 8-2-0 record, but were doomed after Durant suffered a torn tendon in his right (throwing) elbow. They finished the regular season at 10-8 before falling 18-10 to the host Edmonton Eskimos in the West semifinal.
Durant was back for the 2015 regular-season opener, only to be felled by a ruptured left Achilles tendon near halftime. Cue a 3-150 season.
Only the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who were 1-14-1 in 1964, had an uglier record two years after winning a Grey Cup. So it could be worse, although that is small solace indeed to Roughriders fans after a seemingly interminable 2015 season.
It was a pronounced contrast to, and a partially a consequence of, the Roughriders’ all-out effort to produce a championship-worthy team in 2013.
So, we ask once again, was it worth it?
The past season was excruciating, to be certain, but the Roughriders have been doormats at various points in their history. Only once, however, have they celebrated a Grey Cup at home.
Although it was an expensive party, and a blip in time, it more than justified the considerable cost.