RIDERS QB A BIG TEST FOR REDBLACKS
Fajardo's passing arm, fleet feet make him double threat against Ottawa defence
Back in 2018, when Micah Awe was doing the football thing in Vancouver, he had a front-row seat and an early look at what Cody Fajardo, then a backup quarterback with the B.C. Lions, might become.
And now, tonight in Regina, Awe and his Ottawa Redblacks teammates are going to have to stop Fajardo from doing what he does so well — use his legs to eat up big chunks of yardage. The ability to run serves as a distraction from his ability to throw the ball downfield and eat up more real estate with big passing plays.
Fajardo is the total package — he sure seems to possess the “It Factor.” The Redblacks, under defensive co-ordinator Mike Benevides, have put together a scheme to try to minimize the damage the galloping QB can do Saturday.
“What I noticed about him was, no matter if he was thirdstring or second-string, he was always focused,” said Awe. “I knew when he finally got the chance to start, he was going to go all in because he’d been waiting for that moment so long. He’s a playmaker, he’s a tough player. If you watch his college highlights, he runs the ball like he’s a running back who can also throw the ball very well. He reminds me of another teammate, Baker Mayfield (at Texas Tech). If everything breaks down in the pocket, he’s still trying to make the play downfield. We’re going to do some things to contain him. He’s going to make his plays, but we’re going to make our plays, too.”
Even though Saskatchewan’s top receiver Shaq Evans is injured and won’t play, there are plenty of other weapons in the Riders’ arsenal. Everything funnels through Fajardo.
“Cody’s a guy in college that was a 1,000-yard rusher and he threw for (nearly) 3,000 yards so that’s a huge challenge for us,” said Benevides. “(A quarterback who can run) is a dynamic in our league that’s really an advantage for the offence. You want to take away his feet, you want to minimize how much he hurts you. We’re going to have to corral him. I think the defensive line is up to the challenge. The thing about Cody and the system he’s playing in, he has answers for everything and he’s able to make throws to different guys. The thing (offensive co-ordinator) Jason (Maas) and that offence will do, they’ll spread the ball around so everybody’s going to get the ball.
“Whether it’s 19 (Brayden Lenius), 17 (Jordan Williams-Lambert) or 85 (Kyran Moore), it doesn’t matter.”
The Redblacks will have their hands full in Regina in what will be a noisy Mosaic Stadium. Veteran guard Nolan MacMillan (calf ) is out of Ottawa’s lineup, going on the one-game injured list. He’ll be replaced by Juwann Bushell-Beatty. What could be another significant change: Former Carleton Ravens defensive back Justin Howell is listed as a starter on the depth chart, ahead of Abdul Kanneh (hamstring), who had limited reps in practice this week. With a Canadian (MacMillan) being replaced by an American, the Redblacks have decided to shift the extra starting Canadian body to the defensive side of the ball. It wouldn’t be surprising if Adam Auclair gets some reps at linebacker as well. Also missing will be receiver Anthony Coombs, who goes on the injured list, with Nate Behar starting. Speedy Michael Klukas has been added to the depth chart as a backup receiver.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” said Awe, the Redblacks weakside linebacker.
“I mean they’re a really good team, all around. There are no real, like, weaknesses. It’s going to be a good, old-school football game.”
Ottawa is coming off a 16-12 season-opening win over the Edmonton Elks, while the Roughriders have a pair of wins — against B.C. and Hamilton. Ottawa’s defence was very good in big situations against the Elks, with three huge interceptions, one of them turning into a 102yard touchdown by Kanneh. Awe had four defensive tackles and a sack, but he says he needs to be much better in the games and weeks ahead.
“We had a good game, but if I were to rate myself, it’d be like a C-minus, C-plus. I don’t think I played, not even close to, as well as I could have. There were a lot of plays where I could have been a lot more physical, maybe I could have got an interception on a couple. Overall, I just didn’t like it. I mean, I have high standards for myself — really, it was like a C-minus for me.”
Awe, who made 44 defensive tackles in 10 games with the Toronto Argos in 2019, is trying to get back into full form after the CFL’s cancelled 2020 season.
Said Awe: “This weird question I had was like, ‘Am I still going to be good?’ A whole year of not playing football professionally, you come back you’re kind of doubting yourself. What I always fall back on is going hard in practice because when you go hard and full speed in practice, in the game you’re going to resort back to that — I have to have the same mentality and same mindset.”
SO MUCH NOISE: Roughriders fans are rarely short on enthusiasm. So, yeah, it’ll be noisy inside of Mosaic Stadium on Saturday. “We certainly want to make sure we stay on the field and eliminate the crowd noise, make sure it’s not an issue for us,” said Redblacks head coach Paul LaPolice. “You can’t get that crowd of 30,000 people fired up, you have to quiet them. The guys have had a ton of reps with crowd noise (at TD Place in practice this week). (The fan noise is) a very good advantage for (the Roughriders) defence. If you watch the film from the first two games when the crowd’s really going, they do a great job defensively. The offences can’t hear (their signals) and take penalties. Playing at home for the Riders is certainly as good an advantage as there is anywhere in the league.” Said Redblacks starting quarterback Matt Nichols: “They have passionate fans, it’s a loud place. More than anything, it’s about not giving them too much to cheer about early. It’s your job as the visiting team to go in and try to take some of that away early and settle into the game. It’s a fun place to play, you look forward to the challenge.”
THE END AROUND: Missing tonight’s game will be star special-teamers RB Brendan Gillanders (foot) and DL Nigel Romick (hamstring). Both are on the six-game injured list. Getting into the lineup are LB Brad Cowan, DL Reshaan Davis and Ese Mrabure ... The Saskatchewan Health Authority has confirmed nine COVID-19 cases connected to the Riders’ home opener ... Asked about former Redblacks running back William Powell, the starter for the Roughriders, LaPolice said: “He’s just a talented back, he finds a small crease and can take it for big yards. He always seems to avoid negative yardage plays. They’re not afraid to feature him. They’ve done a good job of running the ball both games. They can throw it, they can pass it, we have to be prepared.” LaPolice was the receivers coach in Saskatchewan in 2007, then was the team’s offensive co-ordinator in 2008-09 and he has some terrific memories. The team won a Grey Cup in 2007. Another terrific memory of his time in Regina: His daughter, Payton, who celebrated her 14th birthday earlier this week, was born on a Day 3 in training camp in 2007. Said LaPolice: “There were like 11 Grey Cup babies born that year. It was just an amazing experience going there and having the opportunity — I think we were their first home playoff game in 20 years. The environment and the people were so nice. It’s amazing how knowledgeable they were, what great fans they were.”