OFFENCE MISSING IN ACTION
Riders founder against Redblacks
The Saskatchewan Roughriders served up the worst possible combination — losing, and in ugly fashion — while providing bountiful fodder for the latest Leader-post-mortem.
So here, without further preamble, is a dissection of Saturday’s 30-25 CFL loss to the visiting Ottawa Redblacks.
PUTTING THE ‘O’ IN OFFENCE
The Roughriders’ microscopic offensive totals prompted a search for precedents, along the lines of “when was the last time that ...?”
The research wasn’t as exhaustive as anticipated, due to the offence’s consistent ineptitude this season.
For example, Saskatchewan earned 12 first downs on Saturday. One needed to rewind only to July 5, when the Hamilton Tiger-cats fell 18-13 at Mosaic Stadium, to find another instance of the Roughriders moving the chains so infrequently. The Roughriders had 12 first downs in that game, as well.
Saturday’s passing yardage total of (cough) 162 wasn’t even the Roughriders’ lowest figure of the season. Saskatchewan eked out 147 aerial yards on July 28 in a 34-22 loss to the visiting Calgary Stampeders.
How about Saturday’s total of 240 yards of net offence? The Roughriders had 239 in the aforementioned July 28 game.
(Interjection: Duron Carter, by himself, amassed 231 yards — on 11 receptions — during last year’s home game against Ottawa.)
It was necessary to rewind a few years to find the last time Saskatchewan managed only 10 completions, as was the case Saturday when Riders QB Zach Collaros was 10 for 27 passing.
The Roughriders hadn’t connected so infrequently since Nov. 8, 2014, when the troika of Kerry Joseph, Tino Sunseri and Seth Doege went 8 for 21 in a 24-17 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos on Taylor Field.
SMART STRATEGY
The Redblacks established a template on how to counteract the pressure that’s often exerted by the Roughriders’ defence.
Ottawa quarterback Trevor Harris routinely released the ball in rapid fashion on Saturday, preventing the Riders from getting to him in the backfield.
Harris released 44.1 per cent of his passes within two seconds of accepting the snap. The average release time: 2.35 seconds.
Compare that to Collaros, whose average release time was 2.79 seconds. Only 17.2 per cent of his passes were delivered in under two seconds.
(Collaros did have the quickest throw of the day — 0.89 seconds — on another doomed hitch screen pass.)
Ottawa also kept Saskatchewan’s defence off-balance by effectively mixing the run and the pass. Harris threw for 344 yards in addition to handing off 18 times to William Powell, who rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns.
On play action, Harris was 8 for 9 for 82 yards.
Add it all together and the Roughriders’ defence, which has been such a force this season, never knew what was coming.
For the most part, Ottawa played it safe. The Redblacks’ average pass travelled just
7.52 yards beyond the line of scrimmage (compared to the Roughriders’ unusually high figure of 15.7).
The key to executing such a scheme is for the quarterback to throw with a high degree of accuracy. One miscue and a punt is quite likely to ensue.
But on a night when Harris went 27 for 34 — throwing with awe-inspiring precision and touch — the Roughriders were helpless.
It didn’t matter how many pass rushers Saskatchewan sent, as evidenced by data compiled and generously shared by TSN’S Derek Taylor.
Ottawa’s passing stats against the various pressures were as follows:
Versus a three-man rush: 8-for10, 111 yards, plus a five-yard scramble.
Four-man: 13-15, 94 yards. Five-man: 4-7, 119 yards, one TD.
Six-man: 1-1, four yards, one TD.
Seven-man: 1-2, six yards.
HOLE IN THE STRATEGY
Powell scored his first touchdown, a 19-yarder, on a firstand-15 scamper.
The Roughriders basically invited the Redblacks to run the ball exactly where they did, to the right of centre Alex Mateas.
When Saskatchewan lined up, there was a huge gap between defensive end Willie Jefferson and defensive tackle Zack Evans. The Roughriders might have well held up a “Run The Ball Here
And Win A Prize” sign.
Hut! Mateas took care of
Evans. The right offensive tackle, Jason Lauzon- Seguin, eliminated Jefferson. The right guard, Nolan Macmillan, was greeted by linebacker Cameron Judge. Macmillan, enjoying a 60-pound weight advantage, bulldozed Judge out of the way. Powell took it from there.
Lauzon- Seguin and Macmillan also played key roles in Powell’s 69-yard, fourth-quarter scoring sprint. They pulled from right to left and helped Ottawa create a crease that was accessed by Powell.
As was the case with Judge, a Roughriders linebacker — Sam Hurl — attempted to confront the ball carrier, only to be engulfed by an offensive lineman (Sirvincent Rogers Sr., in the latter example).
In no time, Powell was in the secondary. Defensive halfback Ed Gainey, the only defender who had a chance to catch the Ottawa tailback, attempted to strip the ball and was unsuccessful. Touchdown.
It wasn’t a banner evening for Gainey, who earlier had been beaten by Diontae Spencer for a 64-yard gain (that set up Powell’s 19-yard TD) and a four-yard score.
MAJOR RETURNS
Marcus Thigpen (with a 97-yard kickoff return) and
Kyran Moore (an 89-yard punt return) scored special teams majors for Saskatchewan on Saturday.
On Thigpen’s touchdown, especially, a number of Roughriders made key blocks — Spencer Moore, Alexandre Gagne, Chad Geter, Brian Jones, Curt Maggitt and Micha Teitz.
On Moore’s TD return, Thigpen eliminated Ottawa’s first man downfield. Judge, Loucheiz Purifoy and Samuel Eguavoen also helped to clear a path for Moore, who had his second punt return TD in a span of three games.
Killjoy time: Moore’s major shouldn’t have counted. Jefferson flagrantly shoved the punter, Richie Leone, from behind with two hands. An official was nearby. How was a penalty not called?
FOUR-THOUGHT
The Redbacks rarely deviated from a four-man rush, which they employed 79 per cent of the time, according to Taylor.
His stats show that Collaros was 6-for-22 for 82 yards while being rushed by four defenders.
On one occasion when Ottawa sent the house, Collaros made them pay.
With just under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and Saskatchewan scrimmaging from Ottawa’s 34-yard line, Ottawa brought seven bodies on first-and-10.
Nobody covered receiver Naaman Roosevelt. Collaros released the ball in 1.38 seconds and Roosevelt completed the play by jogging into the end zone.
The Redblacks also sent a seven-man rush back on June 21, when Saskatchewan lost 40-17 in Ottawa, and an interception ensued.
You win some, you lose some.
More numerical nuggets from Taylor:
The Redblacks threw a different look at the Roughriders, significantly altering the strategy that was employed on June 21.
That night, Ottawa blitzed 53 per cent of the time, as compared to Saturday’s game plan of 21 per cent blitzes.
On the season, Ottawa has blitzed 30 per cent of the time.