Roughriders getting it done in every phase
Talk about Banjo pickin’!
The Saskatchewan Roughriders picked off five passes — returning two of them for long-distance touchdowns — on Saturday en route to defeating the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers 32-27 in the 15th Banjo Bowl.
It was one of the zaniest CFL games this prehistoric pundit can recall.
Based on how the teams were trending, only the result was predictable. The Roughriders (7-4) fattened their winning streak to four games, while the bumbling Blue Bombers (5-7) were left to lament a losing skein of the same duration.
Winnipeg has a veteran quarterback (Matt Nichols) who is attempting passes one would expect of a stage-frightened third-stringer.
His understudy, Chris Streveler, offered the only hope for the Bombers’ offence, which means head coach Mike O’Shea will experience the pure joy only a full-blown quarterback controversy can bring.
So who knows what will happen from here? Will the torch be passed from Nichols to Streveler? Or will it be intercepted?
Saskatchewan’s offence, which is capable of putting points on the board for both sides, was the superior unit even though a Zach Collaros pass was returned for a major and his subsequent fumble set the stage for Winnipeg ’s other TD.
And now, with Collaros having failed to finish a game for the second time this season after undergoing concussion protocol, there are reasons to wonder whether the Roughriders can continue to win if Brandon Bridge starts next Saturday against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks.
Mind you, perhaps the identity of the quarterback is not as crucial as would conventionally be the case.
After all, the 2018 Roughriders are a good bet to score even when the offence isn’t on the field. Consider the team’s season totals:
Offensive touchdowns: 14. Non-offensive touchdowns: 10. The latter total breaks down into six pick-sixes (tying a franchise single-season record set in 1976), two punt returns
( by Christion Jones and Kyran Moore), a fumble return (Charleston Hughes) and a blocked-punt return (Samuel Eguavoen).
Factor in the remarkably reliable Brett Lauther, whose 6-for-6 showing on Saturday improved his field-goal percentage to 92.1 (35-for-38), and the Roughriders are underlining — perhaps to a greater extent than has ever been seen by fans who bleed green — the importance of every phase of the game.
Offence garners so much of the attention and, thanks to the income of quarterbacks, devours a significant portion of the salary cap.
This is true in Saskatchewan, as the Roughriders will pay Collaros $430,000 this season. But everything else about this team is an exception.
In the reputedly wide-open CFL, it stands to reason that an offensively challenged team should struggle — especially in a division that includes quarterbacks named Bo Levi Mitchell (Calgary Stampeders) and Mike Reilly (Edmonton Eskimos).
And when a humdrum offence donates points to the opposition, as the Roughriders did on Sunday, a loss should be the anticipated outcome.
Consider, too, that all four Roughriders championship teams have been able to move the ball with considerably greater effectiveness, thanks in large part to quarterbacks Ron Lancaster (1966), Kent Austin and Tom Burgess (1989), Kerry Joseph (2007) and Darian Durant (2013).
When the Roughriders have won big, big, big, the offence has never been a concern. Now it is mediocre, on the good days, and the team is still able to pile up 30-plus points.
STELLAR PERFORMANCES
Take a bow, Willie Jefferson, after a defensive game that may be unrivalled in franchise history.
Jefferson intercepted one pass (returning it 97 yards for a touchdown) and nearly picked off another, in addition to registering a tackle for a loss and a crucial sack.
Ten years ago, another greenclad No. 7 (Weston Dressler) lit up the Bombers in a Banjo Bowl. His production as a rookie Roughrider in 2008 dwarfs that of anyone who catches passes for the current edition of the Green and White, but it doesn’t matter.
This is a club that cashiered one of the CFL’s premier playmakers, Duron Carter, in August and proceeded to win each of its next four games.
How is this possible? Because the Roughriders, under head coach Chris Jones, are the epitome of a team.
Even on a day when Jefferson leaves everyone in awe with his capabilities, there were so many other major contributors.
Eguavoen, playing his finest game as a Roughrider, had a 103yard pick-six and two tackles for a loss.
Loucheiz Purifoy, playing his finest game as a Roughrider, made two interceptions.
Tre Mason, playing his finest game as a Roughrider, rushed 20 times for 117 yards.
Matt Elam, a factor every week, added two tackles for a loss.
Hughes, despite not extending his quarterback sack streak to nine games, was in the process of hauling down Streveler when he forced a pass that Mike Edem intercepted (naturally) in the fourth quarter.
Bridge, in relief of Collaros, moved the ball smartly in the fourth quarter and did not exacerbate any of the team’s offensive woes.
As it turned out, Bridge distinguished himself by being the only quarterback not to be intercepted. And on Saturday, that’s all it took.