2018 ROUGHRIDERS ARE HOPING TO REPEAT HISTORY
Previous years suggest that the team can bounce back hard from playoff letdown
The Saskatchewan Roughriders were denied a 2017 Grey Cup appearance due to a last-minute touchdown by the unforgettable ... er, what is his name again? ... Cody Fajardo!
Fajardo, whom the Toronto Argonauts deployed as their short-yardage quarterback in last year’s CFL East Division final, scored on a one-yard sneak with 23 seconds as his team rallied for a 25-21 victory at BMO Field.
Now, Fajardo’s name will not go down in Roughriders infamy like that of Tony Gabriel or the 13th man, but rest assured that incumbents with the 2018 edition of the Green and White remember the ex-Argo (now with the B.C. Lions) all too vividly.
After all, the Roughriders were so close to a Grey Cup berth that they could taste it.
They were one play away from punching their ticket to the big game, only to have the Argos — with future Hall of Famer Ricky Ray calling the signals — convert a third-and-five situation. Fajardo scored four plays later.
The sight of the Argos at
Mosaic Stadium on Friday will assuredly evoke reminders of the Roughriders’ flirtation with the league final.
The pain of Nov. 19 can be used constructively. If the Roughriders need any more fuel for the looming regular-season opener, all they need to do is look at the double blue and remember how blue they felt during the penultimate weekend of the 2017 season.
Could this be a good omen for the Roughriders?
History demonstrates that the Roughriders have tended to rebound from playoff disappointment — devastation, even — in robust fashion.
In fact, all four championship teams in franchise history endured a letdown (or worse) the previous November. Let’s review:
1965: The Roughriders lost 15-9 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Conference semifinal. In the waning minutes, Roughriders tight end Jim Worden got behind a defender in the end zone. CLANG! Ron Lancaster’s pass hit an upright. “I guess I should have aimed at the upright,” Lancaster said. “Then I would have missed it.” There was no missing the following year, when Saskatchewan won its first Grey Cup.
1988: After 11 consecutive seasons out of the playoffs, the Roughriders finally snapped the protracted drought — only to lose 42-18 to the visiting Lions in the West semifinal. “We got taught a lesson that day,” remembered slotback James Ellingson, one of many contributors to Saskatchewan’s Grey Cup victory in 1989.
2006: The Roughriders upset the host Calgary Stampeders 30-21 in the West semifinal before losing 48-15 in Vancouver. The Danny Barrett-coached Saskatchewan side was woefully unprepared for the noise at B.C. Place. Quarterback Kerry Joseph, in particular, thirsted for a do-over. The following year, under head coach Kent Austin, the Roughriders defeated the host Lions 26-17 en route to winning the Grey Cup one week later.
2012: Darian Durant’s fourth touchdown pass of the West semifinal helped Saskatchewan assume a 30-29 lead with 52 seconds left in Calgary. Thirty-two seconds later, Drew Tate found Romby Bryant for a 68-yard TD and Calgary won, 36-30. “Going into 2013, we felt like we had it,” Durant recalled. “That playoff game in Calgary that we lost in 2012, we knew that was a game we should have won.” The Riders made amends the following year.
2017: See: Fajardo, Cody. During that game, the Roughriders’ deficiencies along the offensive line were exposed. As well, uncertainty reigned at quarterback, as head coach Chris Jones made three quarterbacking switches — twice going from Kevin Glenn to Brandon Bridge.
Fast forward to 2018. As the season opener approaches, Jones has yet to declare a starting quarterback ( bet heavily on Collaros) and nobody is sure that the Roughriders’ pass protection will be reliable.
If the Roughriders are to repeat history by emulating the teams of 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013, there cannot be a reprise of what led to last year’s demise.