Victory over Calgary would show Riders on right path
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are excruciatingly aware that there is an “L” in “Calgary.”
The team has lost its last three games at McMahon Stadium by a combined score/snore of 117-61.
Oddsmakers expect another lopsided affair, as Calgary is favoured by 11 ½ points to defeat Saskatchewan on Saturday.
At some point, though, the Roughriders will have to experience a breakthrough in Calgary. At the very least, they’re due to make matters interesting — although moral victories are unlikely to mollify the masses in Year 2 of the Chris Jones regime.
President-CEO Craig Reynolds did not hire Jones as the head coach, general manager and vicepresident of football operations just so the Roughriders could merely compete with Calgary.
The objective is to beat Calgary, which has become the league standard for sustained success.
The Stampeders of 2017 are again an upper-echelon team, but they are not invulnerable. Calgary lost July 14, falling 30-23 to the host Montreal Alouettes. Montreal quarterback Darian Durant had previously celebrated a victory over Calgary on Nov. 17, 2013, when the Riders upset the 14-4 Stampeders 35-13 in the West Division final en route to winning a Grey Cup.
That convincing conquest in Calgary seems like eons ago. Rob Bagg, Brendon LaBatte, Dan Clark and Spencer Moore are the only members of the Roughriders who were with the 2013 edition.
A season and a half after Saskatchewan’s glorious Grey Cup victory, head coach Corey Chamblin and GM Brendan Taman were cashiered. Jones was wooed away from the Edmonton Eskimos shortly after they won the 2015 Grey Cup game.
Jones soon hired John Murphy, who played an integral role in stocking a series of splendid Calgary teams, as the assistant vice-president of football operations and player personnel.
It almost seemed like overkill. Jones AND Murphy?! Roughriders fans could justifiably salivate over the possibilities.
The new regime proceeded to tear apart the roster — not unlike what Taman did after 2011 — and there was a modest improvement (from three victories to five).
The latest edition of the Roughriders is 1-2 and optimism has been buoyed by a 37-20 squelching of the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 8.
A bye week ensued, ensuring that the atypical feel-good vibe would reverberate through Riderville for an extended period.
But now the Roughriders face the prospect of a reality check, in the form of a matchup with Bo Levi Mitchell and associates.
It is reasonable for Saskatchewan fans to view the contest with more than a measure of apprehension. However, the game could be more positively perceived as an opportunity.
What if, at long last, the Roughriders win in Calgary?
Validation in Rider Nation.