RIDERS SIMPLY DIDN’T HAVE THE HORSES
It’s unfair to saddle offensive co-ordinator Mcadoo with the blame for anemic attack
The discussion turned to the offence and, for a change, the Saskatchewan Roughriders didn’t even consider punting.
Offensive co-ordinator Stephen Mcadoo won’t get the boot, even though pitiful point production plagued the Roughriders throughout a season that ended in unsurprisingly anemic fashion on Sunday.
Two days after a 23-18 loss to the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL’S West Division semifinal, Roughriders boss Chris Jones declared that Mcadoo would “absolutely” return in 2019.
It was the correct decision, even though Mcadoo didn’t always make the right calls this past season.
On most days, the game plan was more conservative than the Fox News Network.
Mcadoo demonstrated a penchant for making the oddest personnel substitutions at illogical times. (“The offence is finally rolling under the direction of Brandon Bridge?! Well, that’s just dandy! Let’s put in David Watford at quarterback and telegraph the run to ensure that any momentum is destroyed! Hut, hut …” (Rut, rut ...)
Although the Roughriders’ arsenal was limited — something Jones and player personnel specialist John Murphy must address — Mcadoo failed to make the best use of the weapons at his disposal.
Take Marcus Thigpen, for example, whose one-year contract extension was announced by the team on Tuesday.
Thigpen’s game-breaking capability was evident on touchdown runs of 82 and 80 yards. So why, oh why, didn’t he touch the ball more frequently?
Yes, Tre Mason and Cameron Marshall performed well at tailback, so why not incorporate Thigpen and his blinding speed into the passing game?
Nitpicking aside, there’s a larger issue at play — one that constrained Mcadoo for most of the season.
The on-field personnel dedicated to the passing game was subpar. The quarterbacking was erratic (to be charitable) and the receiving corps was, to use technical parlance, blahhhhh. (Rockne, 1929.)
It was all so eerily reminiscent of 1996.
Back then, the offensive coordinator was Paul Chryst, who was in charge of a woefully onedimensional attack.
Robert Mimbs rushed for a league high 1,403 yards en route to being named the West Division’s most outstanding player. The passing game, however, was atrocious.
Shocking! The quarterbacks happened to be Warren Jones, Heath Rylance, Kevin Mason, Jimmy Kemp and Marvin
Graves. What was Chryst supposed to do?
Chryst’s acumen has been proven over time. He’s currently the fourth-year head coach of the University of Wisconsin Badgers.
Clearly, Chryst wasn’t THE problem with the Roughriders’ offence in 1996.
The same could be said of Mcadoo, in relation to the circumstances of 2018.
Asking Mcadoo to work wonders with the Roughriders’ offensive personnel was akin to demanding that Mister Ed win the Kentucky Derby.
Mcadoo just didn’t have the horses.
When furnished with an array of talent, Mcadoo has demonstrated that his system can work just fine, thank you.
In 2015, for example, Mcadoo was the Grey Cup-winning offensive co-ordinator with the Jones-coached Edmonton Eskimos. It helped matters considerably that Mike Reilly was the team’s quarterback, pitching the ball to inviting targets such as Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker.
You might retort by observing that anybody could co-ordinate an offence that includes Reilly, et al. So how about last season? With Mcadoo calling plays for Bridge and Kevin Glenn, the
2017 Roughriders led the CFL in touchdown passes with 35.
Glenn and Bridge benefited from the presence of three 1,000yard receivers — Duron Carter, Naaman Roosevelt and Bakari Grant.
Compare that to 2018, when the Roughriders’ receiving yardage leader (Shaq Evans) didn’t even score a touchdown.
Grant was released after the pre-season. Carter was cashiered in August.
Jordan Williams-lambert
— the West’s rookie of the year — was a splendid addition to the receiving corps, but there was a net loss in terms of overall talent.
The same can be said about the quarterbacking, such as it was.
Glenn was released on Jan.
4 — one day after Zach Collaros was acquired from the Hamilton Tiger-cats — and was never really replaced as the starter.
Collaros was serviceable when available, but he wasn’t always healthy. Bridge routinely sparked the offence in 2017, only to be used in robotic fashion this year. Huh?
Mcadoo should shoulder some of the blame for the paint-by-numbers quarterbacking/ offence, but the criticism must be tempered by the harsh, unavoidable reality that ultimately sunk the season.
The oft-maligned offensive co-ordinator simply wasn’t given sufficient resources.
That — as opposed to the job status of Mcadoo — needs to change. Absolutely.