Healthy Collaros at QB has Riders on the move
Offence shows steady improvement as Saskatchewan wins third straight
Second-guessing has given way to second place for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
A three-game winning streak by the Roughriders — and a secondplace standing in the CFL’S West Division — appeared unlikely a month ago.
Back then, the Riders had a 3-4 record following back-to-back losses to the Calgary Stampeders and Edmonton Eskimos.
Fast forward to Sunday ’s Labour Day Classic, when the Riders won their third consecutive game — posting a 31-23, come-from-behind win over the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Saskatchewan improved its record to 6-4, a slate that’s now good for No. 2 in the West.
The Roughriders and Eskimos (6-5) both have 12 points, but Saskatchewan now boasts a superior record thanks to Edmonton’s 2320 loss in Calgary on Monday. Calgary improved to 9-1.
On Sunday, Winnipeg’s record dipped to 5-6 following a third consecutive loss. The Riders and Bombers meet again Saturday in Winnipeg.
Quarterback Zach Collaros joked “we’re 6-and-4 now” when asked about the difference between the Riders team that lost 26-19 to the Eskimos on Aug. 2 and the one that beat the Blue Bombers on Sunday.
“I don’t know if there’s much of a difference,” Collaros said.
“Guys believe that we have the right recipe to win here. We don’t just come in here and say that to say it. Guys really believe in what we’re doing.”
Veteran receiver Naaman Roosevelt feels it’s taken time for the Riders to come together. That started to take place against the Eskimos, where Collaros made his first start since Week 2 after being sidelined with concussion and neck issues.
“We had some rookie receivers and we had Zach just coming back,” Roosevelt said about the loss to the Eskimos. “The defence was doing its job, but as an offence, we were still trying get our timing down. It took six or seven games for that to happen.”
Saskatchewan’s offence hasn’t exploded with Collaros as quarterback for the last four games, but it has improved. Collaros is healthy and that’s among the reasons the Riders have won three consecutive games against West Division opponents.
“I was excited when we acquired Zach this off-season,’’ said Riders defensive back Ed Gainey. “We finally had a quarterback that would stick and give us a chance in the playoffs to compete for the Grey Cup.
“It’s all Zach. He knows to control and run that offence. The coaches are going to make the right calls and Zach is all about putting the ball in our playmakers’ hands. We have a lot of young guys at receiver and they are all stepping up to the plate. They are handling business like men.”
That’s been especially true of rookie slotback Jordan Williamslambert, who leads the Riders in catches (40) and receptions (471).
On Sunday, Williams-lambert helped ice the win by hauling in a 39-yard pass from Collaros that set up the Riders on Winnipeg’s three-yard line. The long pass, on second-and-three, caught the Blue Bombers off guard.
That aggressive play-calling by offensive co-ordinator Stephen Mcadoo appeared to be absent while Collaros was on the sideline.
“In my opinion, it was a big-time call by Coach Mac,” said Collaros, who engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. “We knew in that situation what (the Bombers) like to do defensively, and he trusted us to make a play there.”
Three plays after Williams-lambert recorded his fourth reception of the game, Nick Marshall scored his second one-yard rushing touchdown of the day. Brett Lauther’s convert gave the Riders a 31-23 lead at 13:54 of the fourth quarter.
The Bombers’ final hopes were extinguished when Gainey, who led the CFL with 10 picks in 2017, made his first interception of this season. The Riders then ran out the clock.
“There are a lot more (interceptions) coming, trust me,” Gainey said. “A lot of people have been down on me and a lot of people saying that I’m overrated and this and that.
“I come to work every day and I try to get better. We’re all professionals and we’re not going to be perfect out there. It feels good to finally get my first (interception).”