Riders tip hat to Bombers on 97-yard runback
Craig Dickenson reiterated Tuesday that special teams can be a game of cat-and-mouse.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ special-teams co-ordinator was responding to inquiries about the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ punt return for a touchdown in Saturday’s 48-28 victory over the Green and White.
Winnipeg’s Maurice Leggett returned Josh Bartel’s punt 97 yards when most of the Riders’ special teamers bit on Kevin Fogg’s fake that the ball was headed to the right side of the field. The razzledazzle left the Riders with only four players, including Bartel, to stop Leggett on the opposite side.
“They did a great job of selling the ball the other way and our guys took the cheese,’’ Dickenson said after Tuesday’s closed practice. “You have to give them credit where credit is due because it was a nice play.’’
A similar version of the play was executed on Oct. 19, 2014 in an NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams. The Rams’ Stanley Bryant returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown when most of Seattle’s specialteams unit was tricked into chasing down Tavon Austin, who was signalling for a fair catch on the other side of the field.
“As soon as I saw the ball go left and all of our guys go right, I had flashbacks of the return when the Rams ran it against Seattle,’’ Dickenson said.
Saturday’s play started off when Bartel kicked the ball to the left side of the field, which was the direction that had been called in the huddle. Despite being aware where the ball was to be kicked, many of the Riders’ special-teamers followed Fogg on the right side. Winnipeg added to the ruse when some Blue Bombers pointed to the right.
That coverage allowed Leggett to return the punt for a relatively easy touchdown. The Blue Bombers never trailed after that touchdown put them ahead 13-7 late in the first quarter.
“(Bartel) kicked it to the right spot,’’ said Riders special-teams captain Spencer Moore. “They got us on that one and they sold it like it was kind of a wild kick. We went with the coverage on that and they (scored) with it on us, which is never good.’’
Dickenson said he reminded the Riders to trust teammates when breaking down what transpired.
“We tell them if the ball is going left or right,’’ Dickenson said. “They just got lost up in the stuff happening in front of them.’’
Dickenson added that Bartel has never shanked the ball in a completely opposite direction from the one that was called.
“It’s easy with a (TV remote) to sit back and say what should have happened,’’ Dickenson said. “You just have to put yourself in their shoes a little bit and realize they are playing against guys who are trying to hit them and disrupt them during a game. They have to trust their eyes and their eyes told them it was going right in spite of everything that they heard in the huddle.’’
The Riders attempted some trickery of their own on special teams with an onside kickoff and an on-side punt. Winnipeg recovered the ball on both plays.
“It was that type of game,’’ Moore said. “We reached into our bag of tricks and it didn’t matter what we were doing, they had an answer for us. We can’t dwell on it too much.’’
The Riders are to visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.