Columnist says the Riders still have some weak spots
REGINA The gloomy Leader-postmortem label still fits — at least to a degree — even though the Saskatchewan Roughriders are coming off a victory.
The response to Thursday’s 18-13 CFL conquest of the visiting Hamilton Tiger-cats was still mournful in some circles, as Roughriders rooters lamented the sickly state of the offence.
We will begin there during our weekly dissection of the Roughriders’ most recent game.
FOUR-THOUGHT
The Roughriders have scored only four offensive touchdowns over their first four games of the 2018 CFL season.
The offence is consistent, mind you, having produced one major per week. Please hold your applause.
In an attempt to put the touchdown total in historical perspective, we contacted the CFL’S head statistician, Steve Daniel. Steve, as always, provided some numerical gems.
The Roughriders have scored their fewest offensive touchdowns at the four-game mark since 1995, when they had three such majors.
In fact, this is only the fourth time Saskatchewan has scored four or fewer offensive TDS through four games. The Roughriders had three touchdowns in 1960 and 1963, and four in 1962.
More impressively, Saskatchewan has already scored three defensive touchdowns — courtesy of two interception returns ( by Duron Carter and Nick Marshall) and a fumble return (Charleston Hughes).
BLOCK PARTY
Smelling salts were administered to members of the Roughriders’ offence at a most opportune time Thursday.
Saskatchewan capped a fourplay, 77-yard drive with a 34-yard TD run by Marcus Thigpen, who crossed the goal line with 1:29 remaining in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the winning points.
Thigpen received plenty of help from his friends during a run in which his patience and speed were on display.
Fullback Spencer Moore made a key block to prevent defensive end Justin Capicciotti from crashing the backfield and quickly blowing up the play.
Left tackle Terran Vaughn impeded defensive lineman Julian Howsare just enough to render him an unsuccessful pursuer.
Centre Dan Clark and left guard Brendon Labatte doubleteamed defensive tackle Jason Neill. Labatte moved on to the second level and eliminated linebacker Larry Dean.
Saskatchewan also received important blocks from receivers Naaman Roosevelt (on defensive back Frankie Williams) and Joshua Stanford (Jumal Rolle).
All that being done, Thigpen found an alley on the left side and turned on the afterburners.
On the previous play, Stanford had made a spectacular, 29-yard catch of a Brandon Bridge bullet.
BLITZ BITS
Chris Jones arrived in Saskatchewan with the reputation of being an inveterate blitzer.
For the most part, however, the Roughriders’ head coach/defensive co-ordinator/et cetera has been conservative when it comes to sending extra rushers.
Not so on Thursday. According to TSN’S Derek Taylor, Jones rushed with more than four men on 51 per cent of the pass snaps.
That is Jones’ highest percentage, by far, since Taylor began recording pass-rush data last season. Jones’ previous peak blitzing frequency was 36 per cent, registered Oct. 13 when the Ottawa Redblacks won 33-32 at Mosaic Stadium.
Derek’s pass-rushing stats from Thursday break down as follows:
Rushing with three men: Hamilton quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was 4-for-9 for 54 yards.
Four men: 7-12, 130 yards; one scramble for 14 yards.
Five men: 5-10, 66 yards, with one interception and one sack.
Six men: 2-4, 25 yards; threeyard scramble.
Seven men: 4-5, 28 yards. Eight men: 1-3, 30 yards.
TOBI OR NOT TOBI?
That is the question the Tigercats should have been asking Thursday, when they were never quite sure where to find Tobi Antigha.
On one occasion, Jones blitzed Antigha — who is listed as a defensive end — after he had lined up at cornerback.
Antigha flattened Masoli shortly after Hughes knocked the ball loose, plucked it from the air, and returned the fumble 57 yards for a touchdown.
Later, Antigha lined up at safety and registered his first CFL interception.
CLOSE CALLS
Both sides nearly scored an over-the-top TD.
Masoli went deep for Mike Jones on a second-quarter play that could have resulted in a 60-yard major. However, Jones hesitated ever so slightly during the route and was consequently overthrown.
Sixteen plays later, Carter — making a rare appearance on offence — was open down the left sideline for what should have been a 29-yard TD.
However, Bridge stared down the receiver and then unfurled a pass that safety Michael Daly was able to knock down near the goal line.
Daly covered plenty of ground, moving to his right, to avert what initially appeared to be an easy score.
SECOND GUESSING
Both sides struggled in supposedly advantageous second-and-two situations.
Most notably, the Tiger-cats got too cute on the final play from scrimmage of their opening possession.
After Mercer Timmis ran for eight yards on first down, the Tiger-cats opted to throw from Saskatchewan’s four-yard line. A short toss, intended for Jalen Saunders, fell incomplete. Hamilton then settled for an 11-yard field goal by Lirim Hajrullahu.
Why pass on second-and-two? Saskatchewan was unable to neutralize Hamilton’s ground game during a first quarter in which the Tiger-cats gained 85 of their 96 rushing yards.
Comparably, the Roughriders gassed a second-and-two situation on the game’s first offensive series.
After Bridge found Shaq Evans for an eight-yard gain on the first play, Thigpen was stopped for no gain. Punt.
Why, oh why, was Jerome Messam not in the game in that situation?
At six-foot-three and 230 pounds, Messam is tailor-made for short-yardage situations. Yet, he was on the sideline (again) as Thigpen was trapped by an unblocked Howsare.
RIDERS’ ROTATIONS
Thigpen was the Roughriders’ busiest tailback Thursday. He was in the game for 19 plays. Tre Mason was next in line with 15 plays, one more than Messam.
(Why was Messam in the game when the Riders called an option play that required him to run to the outside? Square peg, round hole.)
And then, of course, there was the quarterback carousel, which featured a total of eight changes.
The rotation went as follows: Bridge (six plays), David Watford (seven), Bridge (15), Watford (one; short-yardage situation), Bridge (two), Watford (seven), Bridge (three), Watford (three; entered game in short-yardage situation and also ran the following two plays) and Bridge (seven, including two kneel-downs).
Yes, kneel-downs — on a night in which the Roughriders registered a paltry 12 first downs (including six over the first three quarters).
Total plays (kneel-downs excluded): Bridge 31, Watford 18.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Roughriders kicker Brett Lauther’s 52-yard field goal was impressive. So, too, was the fact that the ball landed near the back of the end zone. That kick likely would have been good from 60-plus yards.
On the play before Hughes’ touchdown, he had fought off offensive lineman Darius Ciraco and toppled Timmis for a fiveyard loss.
Carter played a fine game in the secondary. But his presence would mean much more on offence, considering the team’s struggles in that facet of the game. The only possible snag: Would the Riders move him to quarterback?