Carter impressed before Roughriders regressed
My previous column less than presciently questioned the wisdom of the Saskatchewan Roughriders using Duron Carter on defence.
It was a reprise of a theme that had been inflicted upon the valued reader(s) last year, when Riders head coach Chris Jones first decided to deploy Carter — one of the CFL’S elite receivers — at cornerback.
So, naturally, Carter responded by intercepting the Stampeders’ Bo Levi Mitchell and finding the end zone to help Saskatchewan win 30-7 on Oct. 20 at Mcmahon Stadium.
Surely, the pick-six was an aberration. With that in mind, the notion was again advanced that it would be a mistake to use Carter in the secondary — this time during Thursday’s game against the host Ottawa Redblacks (who won 40-17, but we’ll get to that later).
It was such a monumental mistake, in fact, that Carter made a brilliant play on a pass by Trevor Harris, registered an interception, and AGAIN found the end zone.
Two career starts on the corner. Two career picks. Two career pick-sixes. Rider Nation hasn’t seen this since specialization rendered the 60-minute player obsolete. Sure, the Roughriders have had the occasional player who has recorded an interception and a touchdown reception in the same season (Dale West, 1962 and 1963; Joey Walters, 1977; Paul Williams, 1978) but Carter defies convention.
On offence, Carter has 1,500yard potential, but his talent is such that he can switch sides and still hit the scoreboard.
In a first half that included numerous huge plays on both sides of the ball, Carter took centre stage. While a TSN camera zoomed in on Carter after his stunner, he jokingly asked the audience how many fantasy points the pick-six was worth.
But then came the second half, when Harris took over.
In the third quarter, Harris unfurled a picture-perfect bomb to Diontae Spencer, who got behind Carter en route to scoring a 55-yard major. Carter could only wave at the football in vain.
Suddenly, TSN was zeroing in on the Ottawa bench, with the Redblacks leading 33-14.
It got worse.
On the ensuing possession, Brandon Bridge — in at quarterback for Saskatchewan after starter Zach Collaros underwent concussion protocol — marched his team into Ottawa territory before being intercepted in the end zone by Rico Murray. Earlier, Collaros had been intercepted in the end zone (notice a theme here?) by Loucheiz Purifoy.
Oh, and the Riders’ first pick (also served up by Collaros) was a pick-six by Jonathan Rose, who has registered all three of his CFL interceptions at Saskatchewan’s expense.
Harris recovered nicely from his pick-six, dissecting a Saskatchewan defence that was supposedly a meat grinder.
In the fourth quarter, Carter was assessed two penalties — defensive pass interference, followed by illegal contact — on the same possession before Harris found William Powell in the end zone to help his team conclude the scoring. Cue garbage time.
In the final analysis, the night belonged to the Redblacks. The Riders could only fade to black. Roll credits ...