Riders failed to pressure Argos QB
Argos QB carved up Saskatchewan defence when facing just the basic four-man rush
The year’s final Leader-PostMortem — please hold your applause — is dedicated to TSN’s Derek Taylor.
Throughout the 2017 CFL season, Taylor was kind enough to share his splendid statistical breakdowns with this numbers nerd.
Most recently, I messaged him after Sunday’s East Division final, in which the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 25-21 at BMO Field. As usual, I was craving information about the Roughriders’ passrushing tendencies.
According to Taylor’s data, Roughriders head coach/defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones sent four men 57.5 per cent of the time — in 23 of 40 pass rush situations.
Toronto’s Ricky Ray rarely missed when faced with four rushers. He completed 20 of 22 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked just once.
When Jones brought more pressure, Ray’s numbers cratered. When Saskatchewan sent five or more in the blitz, Ray went 3 for 10 for 22 yards and an interception.
The rushes by numbers:
Three men: 5-for-7, 55 yards. Four men: See above. Five men: 1-for-4, one yard. Six men: 0-for-2.
Seven men: 1 for 3, six yards, one interception.
Eight men: 1 for 1, 15 yards.
On the Argonauts’ final drive, which was punctuated by a gamewinning touchdown, Ray was 7 for 8 for 67 yards.
Jones sent three or four men all but once — the lone incompletion coming when six attackers were aimed at Ray.
Here is a play-by-play breakdown of the game-winning march: (1) First and 10, Argonauts’ 42yard line: In the face of pressure from defensive end Willie Jefferson, Ray finds DeVier Posey for 13 yards. Jones rushes four against seven blockers.
(2) First and 10, midfield: Ray connects with James Wilder Jr. for seven yards. Rush: Four against six. (3) Second and three, Riders’ 48: Ray to Anthony Coombs for three yards. Rush: Four against five.
(4) First and 10, Riders’ 45: Ray to Wilder for no gain. Rush: Four against five. (5) Second and 10, Riders’ 45:
Ray to Coombs for five yards. Rush: Four against seven. (6) Third and five, Riders’ 40: Ray
to Wilder for 22 yards. Rush: Three against six. (Had Wilder not caught that pass while isolated against linebacker Samuel Eguavoen, Saskatchewan would be representing the East in the Grey Cup.) (7) First and 10, Riders’ 18:
Ray’s pass to Armanti Edwards is knocked down at the line of scrimmage by Jefferson. Rush: Six against six. (8) Second and 10, Riders’ 18: Ray to Edwards for 17 yards. Rush: Four against six.
Cody Fajardo, the short-yardage quarterback, then replaced Ray. Fajardo sneaked into the end zone for the winning TD from a yard out at 14:37 of the fourth quarter.
John Chaput — a former Leader-Poster who memorably coined the “J.J. Barnagel” nickname for quarterbacks John Hufnagel and Joe Barnes — contributed some Argos pass rushing stats:
“Toronto blitzed like crazy: 33 times out of 40, or 82.5 per cent of the time,” Chaput said.
“The Argos never rushed three men, and sent four men on seven occasions. There were 22 fiveman blitzes, four six-man, six seven-man and one eight-man charge.”
Chaput also provided a breakdown of how the Riders’ quarterbacks fared:
“Kevin Glenn, on 14 dropbacks, ■ was sacked once, hit three other times, hurried four times and had one pass batted down. There were five plays when he wasn’t under significant pressure.”
“Brandon Bridge, on 28 dropbacks,
■ was sacked three times, took two other hits and had eight hurries. There were 15 occasions when he wasn’t under significant pressure.”
Profuse thanks to Derek Taylor and John Chaput for their integral contributions.
DRIVE DATA
Some notes about the Argonauts’ touchdown drives:
Both of them were against a
■ wind blowing 54 kilometres per hour. Toronto’s offence managed a rouge on a missed field goal attempt with the wind. (Two of Glenn’s three interceptions were thrown with the wind.)
Toronto’s first TD drive could ■ have, and should have, ended after two plays. On first down, Wilder was trapped for a loss of three by Rakim Cox. Ray then found Posey for nine meaningless yards, but Jeff Knox Jr., was flagged for tackling too hard ... er, unnecessary roughness. Five plays later, Ray hit Posey for a 17-yard touchdown.
The final drive began after
■ a 34-yard kickoff return by Qudarius Ford, who set the table for the offence quite nicely.
PUNT, PUNT, PUNT ...
Lost amid all the talk about the Roughriders’ anemic first-half offence is the fact that the game actually began auspiciously for Glenn and associates.
Glenn moved the offence 73 yards in five plays — including completions of 28 yards to Duron Carter and 24 yards to Naaman Roosevelt.
Just like that, Saskatchewan was first and goal from Toronto’s eight-yard line, with a chance to make an emphatic statement right out of the chute.
The opportunity wasn’t seized. Glenn twice looked for Carter in the end zone. Neither play was well-executed. The Roughriders settled for a field goal.
Cue the power outage. The Roughriders’ next 13 possessions concluded as follows: Punt, interception (pick-six), punt, punt, punt, punt, interception, interception, second-down incompletion (end of first half ), punt, punt, punt, punt.
DISCOVERING DURON
Mr. Chaput also offered his thoughts on the de-emphasis of Carter — the Roughriders’ most talented receiver — for a considerable portion of Sunday’s game.
“On the Riders’ first drive, Carter caught Glenn’s first two passes (total 36 yards), then was unable to catch either of two fairly sloppy fades in the end zone,” Chaput wrote.
“On the next 12 drives — not plays, DRIVES — Carter was targeted only once, on that horrible pick deep in Rider territory with a minute left in the first half.”
Chaput added that it also took a while for Bridge to begin throwing to Carter. But when the ultra-talented No. 89 was rediscovered, he registered a reception all four times he was targeted, producing 63 yards and one touchdown.
From this standpoint, the utilization of Carter was a concern during the 2017 season.
Yes, Carter caught 73 passes (on a team-high 120 targets) for 1,043 yards, but he could have been used even more profitably.
Consider that Sunday’s TD reception was Carter’s first since Sept. 9, when he collaborated with Glenn on an 88-yarder in a 48-28 loss to the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Get this ... Carter was tied with Roosevelt for the team lead in TD receptions (eight) despite not reaching the end zone on offence in any of the final eight regularseason games.
Carter’s only major over those eight contests was a 43-yard pick-six on Oct. 20, when he started at cornerback in a 30-7 victory over the host Calgary Stampeders.
One week earlier, Carter was targeted 14 times in a 33-32 loss to the visiting Ottawa Redblacks. He caught 11 passes for 231 yards.
But over the next four games in which Carter played receiver, he made only 12 receptions (on 18 targets) for 156 yards.
Carter has the ability to catch 100-plus passes and, moreover, to threaten the Roughriders’ single-season receiving yardage record — 1,715, set by Joey Walters in 1981.
All 91 completions to Walters were thrown by ... wait for it ... J.J. Barnagel!