Riders well-advised to keep explosive Carter on offence
Yes, he’ll excel at cornerback but his best value is putting rival defences on edge
One veteran CFL defensive co-ordinator has found a surefire way to stop Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Duron Carter. Don’t use him on offence.
That is the stated intention of Roughriders head coach Chris Jones entering Thursday’s game against the host Ottawa Redblacks.
Carter is to move from wide receiver to cornerback to fill a void created by an injury to rookie Nick Marshall, who returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown during Friday’s 27-19 victory over the visiting Toronto Argonauts.
Memorably, Carter himself had a pick-six Oct. 20 during his first start on the corner, helping Saskatchewan defeat the host Calgary Stampeders 30-7.
In fact, that was the mostrecent regular-season touchdown for Carter, who had a team-high nine majors last season en route to being named the Roughriders’ most outstanding player. Unquestionably, he is also the team’s most versatile player — an athletic marvel who can seemingly do anything he sets his mind to on the football field.
However, it says here that there is a difference between whether Carter can play cornerback and whether he should. His talents are best suited to offence, considering the circumstances.
The Roughriders need the quick-strike capabilities he possesses, especially in light of their opening-night performance.
Offensive co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo displayed a rarely seen commitment to the run on Friday, an approach that paid huge dividends when the Roughriders needed key, clockburning yardage in the fourth quarter.
Zach Collaros, making his first regular-season start as a member of the Green and White, was sharp at the controls of a low-risk offence. He completed 18 of 25 passes for 203 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Collaros was most accurate on intermediate-range throws, completing his first seven passes that travelled between 10 and 16 yards beyond the line of scrimmage before missing his final attempt of that description. The one void? A lack of explosiveness.
How are the Roughriders to address that deficiency with Carter, their most dangerous deep threat, playing defence?
Reminder: This is someone who, in two regular-season games against Ottawa last season, caught 16 passes for 320 yards. And now he is playing defence against them? Hmmm ...
Was the Roughriders’ recruitment of defensive backs such a failure that they couldn’t uncover one person who was capable of stepping in now that Marshall is on the six-game injured list?
At a time when the offence is still trying to develop chemistry with Collaros behind centre, con- tinuity should be the emphasis.
If Carter is on offence, the Roughriders can build plays around him. Even as a decoy, he is invaluable, because opponents have to be so conscious of every step he takes. Last season, for example, Naaman Roosevelt caught two long touchdown passes on plays in which Carter’s pre-snap motion distracted the defence.
Roosevelt is a sensational talent in his own right, but why not keep Carter on offence and leave rival defensive co-ordinators screaming manically at nobody in particular?
Roosevelt and Carter should be a 2018 version of Ray Elgaard and Jeff Fairholm. Focus on one of them and watch the other guy, while salivating at the sight of single coverage, lacerate a defence.
Alas, these words are almost certainly in vain. For some reason, Jones and friends are taken with the notion of Carter as a roving presence — and this charismatic athlete certainly is a presence. But, at some point, logic has to take precedence.
Carter has the potential to excel at cornerback, a position he had not played at any level until last year. However, he is already an elite receiver, someone who can change a game in an instant.
Jones would be well-advised to change his mind just as quickly.