Rob Vanstone tips his hat to Chris Jones
Jones’ vision of Roughriders bearing fruit as Green and White in thick of playoff fray
Last season at this juncture, the predominantly black wardrobe of Chris Jones was in tune with the times — considering the mournful mood that surrounded the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The Roughriders had a 1-10 record and the games that remained in the CFL team’s 2016 schedule were strictly for show.
The atmosphere is markedly different this year at the 11-game mark.
A 6-5 record places the Green and White in the thick of the playoff race. A 4-1 surge has salvaged a season that, six games in, was beginning to resemble 2015 (3-15) and 2016 (5-13).
The Roughriders have already exceeded their victory total from Year 1 under Jones.
A winning record is a distinct possibility, considering that four of the Roughriders’ final seven regular-season games are against flotsam from the B Pool (a.k.a. East Division).
At long last, there is a discernible buzz around how far the Roughriders might go.
Save for the perennially powerful Calgary Stampeders, who occupy a different tier, the Roughriders are the league’s hottest team.
So give credit to Jones, who was repeatedly maligned over his first 11/3 seasons in green and white ... and black.
The Roughriders’ field boss is living up to the plaudits that were dispensed when he was wooed away from the Edmonton Eskimos shortly after they won the 2015 Grey Cup game.
Thanks to a revamped offence, Saskatchewan is averaging more than 30 points per game.
Defensively, the Roughriders have become game-changers after being reliably pliable in the early stages of this season.
During the Roughriders’ resurgence, you can see Jones’ grand plan — which at times had seemed to be written in chalk — coming to fruition.
He cited a presence for lanky receivers and, well, look at the seasons that Duron Carter and Bakari Grant are enjoying.
Jones made it clear that athleticism was a prerequisite for a defensive end. Willie Jefferson, a six-foot-six marvel, is a dominant presence. Two converted receivers — Tobi Antigha and A.C. Leonard — are also conspicuous along the defensive line.
Ed Gainey, who in 2016 was among Jones’ first free-agent signings, has eight interceptions — twice as many as anyone else in the league this season. All of Gainey’s picks have been made during the 4-1 surge.
Gainey and linebacker Otha Foster were the only major contributors among the free agents Jones signed leading up to his first season in Saskatchewan.
Over the past calendar year, by contrast, Jones has had a green thumb when it comes to player acquisition.
Jefferson and middle linebacker Henoc Muamba signed with Saskatchewan during the latter half of the 2016 season.
Naaman Roosevelt subsequently re-upped before he could test free agency. He is about to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the second successive season.
Jones took a chance on the controversial Carter and has been rewarded with a leaguehigh eight touchdown catches.
CFL veterans such as Grant, offensive linemen Derek Dennis and Peter Dyakowski, running back Cameron Marshall and cornerback Jovon Johnson have also contributed to the Riders’ revival. And then there is Kevin Glenn. Available to any CFL team during the off-season, Glenn has thrown 21 TD passes in 10 starts this year.
Glenn had the unenviable assignment of succeeding Darian Durant as Saskatchewan’s starting quarterback. Jones acrimoniously parted ways with Durant, who quarterbacked the Roughriders to three Grey Cup berths and one championshipgame victory, after their unproductive alliance of 2016.
In the absence of Durant, quarterbacking has not been an issue. Glenn, at 38, is enjoying a renaissance. Brandon Bridge, who started on Friday while Glenn was nursing a bruised right thumb, threw three touchdown passes in a 27-19 victory over the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Jones has repeatedly professed his confidence in all the Roughriders’ quarterbacks and, based on Friday’s showing, it is clear that the team does possess some depth at football’s most important position.
(Whatever happened to Vince Young, anyway?)
There have been missteps along the way as Jones has transformed the team into a playoff contender. The Roughriders have incurred some fines and, at times, the wrath of the fans and media. But Jones and associates have endured the rigours of a meandering road back to respectability.
Now that the Roughriders are once again a factor, Jones deserves considerable credit for the integral role he has played in resuscitating the local CFL team.
End of column. Fade to black ...