Questions abound as Riders face undefeated Stampeders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders hope the 44th man will make all the difference.
When the Roughriders last took part in a CFL game, they were one player and one converted touchdown short, falling 26-19 to the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium on Aug. 2.
Following an extended, eventful bye week — in which the Roughriders auditioned 44-yearold hopeful Terrell Owens and dumped another talented pass-catcher, Duron Carter — the Green and White is to return to action Sunday against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.
Considering everything that has already happened to the Roughriders during a mindbending 2018 season, there are far more questions than answers as Sunday’s game looms. For example ...
Will the Roughriders correctly fill out the game-participation sheet and dress a full complement of 44 players?
They were limited to 43 in Edmonton after linebacker Derrick Moncrief ’s name was somehow listed on the roster. That must have been news to Moncrief, who was already on the six-game injured list.
Matt Elam, who was to make his second successive start in place of Moncrief, was forced to sit out the game due to erroneous paperwork.
Who knows? The submission of a correct roster sheet on Sunday may be the TSN Turning Point.
Can the Roughriders prosper in their first game since the unfolding of a major story involving Carter?
Last year, leading up to an
Oct. 20 game in Calgary, Carter was involved in a fight during practice with the unforgettable Sam ... uh ... Wilson? ... nope ... Waterston? ... nope .... Williams! (Nailed it.)
There were initial spasms of fake news, reporting that Carter was on his way out of town. As it turned out, he was controversially moved to cornerback. Swirling skepticism resulted, as did the duelling quotes from Carter and Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell.
The last laugh belonged to Carter, who intercepted Mitchell and scored a touchdown from 43 — or was it supposed to be 44? — yards away as the Roughriders won 30-7 at Mcmahon Stadium.
Now, with Carter completely out of the equation, how will the Roughriders fare?
Do the Roughriders have the best receiving corps in Saskatchewan?
How are the University of Regina Rams and University of Saskatchewan Huskies looking, anyway?
Sans Carter, the Roughriders have removed an elite playmaker from an arsenal that is not exactly replete with players of that calibre.
The positives: Naaman Roosevelt is a superlative, albeit under-utilized, player. Jordan Williams-lambert keeps improving.
The negatives: Caleb Holley, who is to start in place of Carter on Sunday, has yet to register a touchdown catch this season. Ditto for the starting wideouts, Joshua Stanford and Shaq
Evans. Rhett Dawson, we miss thee.
Oh, and the 3-4 Roughriders are poised to face a 7-0 Calgary team that has allowed only six offensive touchdowns this season. Gulp.
Can the Roughriders reprise 1997?
Around Labour Day, nearly 21 years ago, the Roughriders were in utter turmoil. Linebackers K.D. Williams and Lamar Mcgriggs had said inflammatory things about the team to Marty York, then of The Globe & Mail.
Upon publication, a full-blown crisis was in effect. Mcgriggs claimed, most unconvincingly, that his words were “misconscrewed.” (Nobody had thought of “fake news” back then.)
The firestorm did not abate. Williams and Mcgriggs were summarily released, an imperative cultural change that left the team with a patchwork linebacking corps.
Fans and pundits wondered how the defence, which was already leaking, could get by without two skilled linebackers?
The situation was so dire, in fact, that the Roughriders proceeded to defeat the visiting B.C. Lions 46-12.
It was one step toward Saskatchewan’s eventual, unexpected trip to the 1997 Grey Cup.
With that precedent in mind, maybe — just maybe — the Roughriders can also move on from Duron. Some of the requisite pieces are in place.
They can win a championship with that defence. But they can miss the playoffs with that offence.
Overall, though, the cashstrapped Riders had far less talent in 1997, and remember what happened back then.
K.D. Williams, by the way, wore that lucky number — 43.