WHY THE ROUGHRIDERS ARE GREY CUP-BOUND
Guarantee: The Ottawa dateline will also appear with this column — which, as always, is suitable for framing — throughout Grey Cup week.
After an abbreviated but productive side trip to Toronto, where the Roughriders will defeat the Argonauts in Sunday’s East Division final, the Green and White will return to the nation’s capital to prepare for the CFL’s championship game.
And why is that? The key word is “athleticism,” which is applicable on both sides of the ball.
The Roughriders’ front seven is capable of bothering the Argonauts’ offensive line and, by extension, quarterback Ricky Ray.
In terms of pass protection, the Argos are more reliant on scheme than talent.
They have a future Hall of
Fame quarterback in 38-yearold Ray, who is enjoying one of his finest seasons. However, his mobility at this advanced stage of his career rivals that of an end table.
Recognizing this, Argonauts head coach and offensive guru Marc Trestman will do anything possible to afford Ray sufficient time in the pocket.
This often requires the deployment of extra men — a tight end, or a second running back — to maximize the chances of Ray remaining upright.
With satisfactory protection, Ray is capable of lacerating defences. He is uncannily accurate and has few peers as a diagnostician.
The Roughriders, however, boast the type of players who can be disruptive to an offence such as that of Toronto.
Take the defensive line, for example.
Willie Jefferson, a West Division all-star, is an athletic marvel. Fellow defensive ends A.C. Leonard and Tobi Antigha are converted receivers who are typically used on a rotational basis.
Leonard’s skills are such that, as a member of the B.C. Lions, he once caught two touchdown passes in a game against Saskatchewan. Antigha, the Roughriders’ rookie of the year, can exert pressure or drop back and bolster the pass coverage.
Roughriders linebackers Henoc Muamba, Derrick Moncrief and Samuel Eguavoen also possess the speed and savvy that are prerequisites for a component of a Chris Jones-coached defence. Eguavoen made a massive interception against Ottawa.
Jones, the Roughriders’ head coach and general manager, moonlights as the defensive co-ordinator. He arrived in Saskatchewan in December of 2015 with the reputation as someone who favours all-out blitzes, all the time.
In Saskatchewan, however, Jones has demonstrated a preference for rushing with only three or four men, assigning everyone else coverage responsibilities.
According to analytics provided by TSN’s Derek Taylor, the 2017 Roughriders have rushed the passer with five or more men only 17.3 per cent of the time.
Jones banks on the pass rushers he does send applying enough pressure to prevent the quarterback from having too much time in which to consider his primary, secondary and tertiary options.
Against a team that is apt to provide extra pass-blocking support, Jones relishes a situation in which the defenders greatly outnumber the receiving targets.
The Roughriders’ field boss is also counting on his team being able to wrap up the receivers for short gains. That sure tackling was on display Sunday as Saskatchewan defeated the host Ottawa Redblacks 31-20 in the East semifinal.
Ray is typically content to go with short, high-percentage throws. On Oct. 7, for example, only two of his 39 pass attempts travelled 20-plus yards downfield in a 27-24 loss to the visiting Roughriders. He hit S.J. Green for completions that were 23 and 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
Moreover, Ray’s throws averaged a meagre 6.47 yards during that October meeting. Only 34 per cent of his passes travelled 10-plus yards.
Given those tendencies, the onus is on the Roughriders to limit the yards after the catch, as they did so effectively against Ottawa.
Bet on the Roughriders’ mirroring Toronto’s approach to pass protection.
Like Toronto, Saskatchewan has a 38-year-old quarterback (Kevin Glenn) whose mobility is limited.
Glenn was not sacked once against Ottawa, which sent five or six pass rushers nearly 40 per cent of the time on Sunday (thanks again, Derek Taylor) but rarely disrupted the quarterback’s timing.
Toronto presents a more formidable challenge, considering its personnel on defence, but the Argonauts must contend with a variety of weapons.
Duron Carter and Marcus Thigpen are particularly explosive. Carter, Naaman Roosevelt and Bakari Grant each exceeded 1,000 receiving yards. Thigpen is coming off a 169-yard rushing game that included a 75-yard
TD.
Ultimately, the Roughriders’ premier playmakers on offence and defence — the likes of Jefferson, Carter, Roosevelt and Thigpen — will be the difference.
Roughriders 31, Argonauts 28.