Dickenson makes right call by sitting his starting QB

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have yet to play an assuredly somniferous pre-season game and, in at least one respect, the coaching has already improved.

Craig Dickenson, the successor to Chris Jones as the CFL team’s field boss, has quickly demonstrated an aptitude for handling quarterbacks.

How novel.

Jones did many applaudable things during three seasons in Saskatchewan. But that period was also noteworthy for the lack of stability at football’s most important position.

Remember when Jones referred to the legendary Darian Durant as “moderately successful?” Remember the three quarterbacking changes in the 2017 East Division final?

In January of 2018, Jones acquired quarterback Zach Collaros from the Hamilton TigerCats. Having consummated a blockbuster deal, Jones failed to surround Collaros with a championship-calibre array of playmakers. A year ago, the Roughriders boasted what appeared to be an above-average receiving corps — one that in 2017 included 1,000yard producers Duron Carter, Bakari Grant and Naaman Roosevelt. So, naturally, Jones turned a position of strength into a glaring weakness.

Grant was released after the 2018 pre-season. Carter, the Roughriders’ most outstanding player in 2017, was mysteriously moved to cornerback early in the 2018 campaign.

Carter was finally reinserted into the offence for an Aug. 2 game against the Edmonton Eskimos. He promptly caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from Collaros. In a never-ending effort to extract all explosiveness from the Roughriders’ offence, Jones cut Carter before the Riders played another game.

Earlier, Collaros had missed four starts due to a concussion — which can be traced back to the Roughriders’ pre-season finale.

Inexplicably, Collaros was playing in the third quarter, without the benefit of a starters-only offensive line. He absorbed a crunching hit at a time when Jones was conducting a fake quarterback derby. Jones was adamant the starting job was up for grabs between Collaros and Brandon Bridge.

It was a needless sideshow. Collaros was due to make $430,000. And there he was, on the field in the third quarter of an exhibition game, shaking off cobwebs. A concussed Collaros also missed the 2018 playoff game.

Downplaying any concerns about the 30-year-old quarterback’s health, the Roughriders re-signed him Feb. 12 after unsuccessfully trying to woo Bo Levi Mitchell away from the Calgary Stampeders.

At the first opportunity, Roughriders GM Jeremy O’Day made it clear Collaros was the No. 1 quarterback. Dickenson also endorsed Collaros.

Unlike Jones, Dickenson isn’t playing any silly games. Collaros won’t play in a meaningless game — Friday’s exhibition clash with the host Stampeders — due to the need to appraise the younger pivots (Cody Fajardo, David Watford, Isaac Harker and Ty Gangi).

Much of the focus will be on Fajardo and Watford, who are battling for the No. 2 job.

With Collaros coming off a so-so season — but nonetheless being the best of the Roughriders’ quarterbacks — Dickenson needs to protect his No. 1 signal-caller and get a good look at the prospective understudies.

By handling the quarterbacks in a sensible, straightforward fashion, the Roughriders’ new head coach is already demonstrating that he is up to the task. rvanstone@postmedia.com twitter.com/robvanstone