RIDERS’ PRE-SEASON FINALE BELONGED IN A DUMPSTER
During the obligatory fourth quarter of Friday’s somniferous CFL pre-season finale, TSN aired a commercial for the Bagster — the Dumpster in a bag! — and viewers who remained were urged to “be ready for the mess.”
The advertisement should have been aired, in cautionary fashion, as a lead-in to the game.
Mind you, the ad’s placement in garbage time was also timely, considering that the Saskatchewan Roughriders absorbed a 42-10 evisceration at the hands (paws?) of the host B.C. Lions.
It was a relief for Roughriders fans that it was a meaningless game. The result did not count.
It was easy to count the visiting team’s first downs — six — on a night when the Roughriders’ only hope was to bore the opposition into unconsciousness.
A rare cause for celebration was Bryan Bennett’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Josh Stanford, who scored at 7:09 of the fourth quarter.
Stanford’s major enabled the Roughriders to register a first down for the first time in (get this) 38 minutes 31 seconds.
The offence went into hibernation after Kevin Glenn found Naaman Roosevelt and Duron Carter for nice gains near the end of the first quarter.
Canadian-born pivot Brandon Bridge then received an extended audition and, improbably, could not guide the Roughriders’ offence to a single first down.
Bridge didn’t receive much help, if any, because of the Roughriders’ proclivity for penalties, tendency toward turnovers, and reprises of last season’s matador pass protection. One of Saskatchewan’s 13 two-and-outs featured backto-back sacks. The Roughriders also erupted for a one-and-out, courtesy of a Jenson Stoshak fumble. (The Lions responded with a one-play possession of their own, a 33-yard scoring pass from Jonathon Jennings to Marco Iannuzzi.)
Another Saskatchewan fumble, by Thomas Mayo, was returned for a touchdown. It wasn’t sufficient for the Lions’ defence to simply hold the Mayo. The ball was also jarred loose and the Lions soon widened the spread.
It was that kind of night, a frightful Friday that evoked too many images of a Roughriders team that has been a predictable pushover for the past 2½ years.
Yes, it was an exhibition game, but after one year of retooling under football-operations supremo Chris Jones, it was reasonable to expect a semblance of competitive football during the final tune-up for Thursday’s regular-season opener against Darian Durant and the host Montreal Alouettes.
It was that kind of night, a frightful Friday that evoked too many images of a Roughriders team that has been a predictable pushover for the past 2½ years.
Durant threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter during his pre-season debut with Montreal. The Roughriders, by comparison, eked out two first downs over the first 52 minutes of Friday’s, er, game.
Along the way, there were recurrent penalties, including the offside and illegal-procedure infractions that dogged a 5-13 team last season.
Saskatchewan’s alleged secondary was sliced and diced as the Lions piled up four aerial touchdowns, including Jennings’ three second-quarter scoring connections in just under 10 minutes. A fifth aerial major was averted when a wide-open Douglas McNeill III dropped the ball near the goal-line. (This is what the Roughriders call “pass defence.”)
Let’s just say that Friday’s effort (?) did not alleviate any concerns about the Roughriders’ defensive backfield.
Nor did the game provide clarity regarding the state of the running game, whatever that is. The Roughriders handed off the ball four times. Their leading rusher was Anthony Allen, who rushed once for six yards. Upon being released on Saturday, Allen signed on to Twitter and let his frustration be known. These are joyous times.
On a more positive note ... Allen averaged six yards per
■ carry!
Carter made a spectacular,
■
41-yard catch between two defenders.
Ricky Collins Jr., had a
■ highlight-reel catch of his own, producing a 48-yard gain that set up a Desmond Reece fumble.
The Roughriders registered five ■ quarterback sacks — one more than they permitted — with rookie Davis Tull felling the opposing passer on two occasions.
The picturesque payoff pitch by ■
Bennett was a nice demonstration of his talents, which were not as evident on June 10 during a 25-25 pre-season tie with the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a game in which Bridge had sparkled. Bennett was rewarded for generating Friday’s only touchdown by being released the following day. So was Vince Young, whose comeback was only marginally more successful than that of David Hasselhoff. (See: Baywatch, the movie. Better yet, don’t.)
No. 8 jerseys, bearing Young’s
■ surname, are now available at a discount. Act now.
Stanford looks more promising
■ than an eighth-round draft choice would ordinarily be.
TSN showed compelling
■ slow-motion replays of several Roughriders kickoff returns. (Hold on. That was live action? Gulp.)
The Roughriders’ execution
■ was flawless during back-to-back quarterback kneeldowns that mercifully ended the first half, this despite seldom having to take a knee during a 10-35 run that dates back to mid-September of 2014.
The final cuts were not as challenging ■ as originally thought.
All hope is not extinguished.
■
Take it from Jones, who told CKRM’s Luc Mullinder after the game that “we’re not as bad as the score indicates.”
Rider Nation, rejoice!