RIDERS OUT TO END SKID
Team looks to snap three-game losing streak on Sunday in Montreal.
For the members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defence, their recent struggles against young quarterbacks is getting old.
One might think that the veteran-laden defence wouldn’t have too many issues dealing with some of the fresh-faced quarterbacks in the CFL. That hasn’t been the case as the Roughriders have been beaten during their three-game losing streak by Justin Goltz of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Zach Collaros of the Toronto Argonauts and Thomas DeMarco of the B.C. Lions.
Goltz has since lost his starting job as the struggling Blue Bombers limp through their season. Collaros is filling in for Ricky Ray, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury. DeMarco made his first CFL start on Sunday for Travis Lulay, who is also nursing an injured shoulder. DeMarco engineered a late drive that led to Paul McCallum’s game-winning field goal in the Lions’ 24-22 victory.
An unfamiliarity with the aforementioned trio of quarterbacks has contributed to the Riders’ slump and their 8-4 record heading into Sunday’s game (11 a.m., TSN, CKRM) in Montreal against the Alouettes (4-8).
“Veteran quarterbacks stick to the book,’’ Riders defensive end Ricky Foley said in advance of Sunday’s contest. “You know what they’re going to do, you know their progressions (and) their reads and they’re probably go to stay in the pocket a little bit longer and go through their first and second read progression. These young guys, it’s kind of like they just freestyle and make plays out of nowhere.”
Sunday’s game features another unheralded quarterback in Josh Neiswander, who is expected to make his third start with the Alouettes. He’s filling in for Anthony Calvillo, who has been sidelined since suffering a concussion after a tackle by Foley in the Riders’ 24-21 win over the visiting Alouettes on Aug. 17.
Neiswander is similar to the other young quarterbacks in that his body of work is limited. He has completed 53 of 92 passes for 597 yards along with four touchdowns and five interceptions.
“You study whatever film you do have of him,’’ said Tyron Brackenridge, who is expected to move from safety to outside linebacker with starter Weldon Brown sidelined with a knee injury. “When you get out on the field, you see if what you saw on film plays out. You just have to adjust accordingly.’’
There are even times when making the right adjustments don’t work. Foley felt that’s what happened when DeMarco completed a 15-yard sideline pass to Courtney Taylor while facing third-and-10 on Saskatchewan’s 50-yard line. Two plays later, McCallum split the uprights for the gamewinning field goal.
“(It was a) mistake by him drifting out of the pocket to me, but (it was like) rookie machismo or something,’’ Foley said. “He was unfazed by it, stuck in there, took the hit and completed the pass.
“I shouldn’t be laughing about it, but I don’t know what else to do at this point when you’ve got rookie quarterbacks beating us.”
Riders defensive coordinator Richie Hall has devised defensive schemes against veteran and rookie quarterbacks during his 20-year CFL coaching career. Hall still believes most offensive systems remain intact, with the possibility of some tweaks, regardless of the quarterback’s experience.
“Ricky Ray and Travis Lulay make their adjustments, but the system remains the same,’’ Hall said. “B.C. didn’t show us anything different than what we anticipated seeing. I don’t expect Montreal to show us anything different. That is who they are and it’s what they do. It’s about us executing at a high level for 60-plus minutes.’’
The Riders are familiar with Neiswander because he took over when Calvillo was injured in the earlier meeting at Mosaic Stadium. Neiswander completed 12 of 30 pass attempts for 147 yards and was intercepted twice.
Hall feels the Riders still have to play their style of game regardless of Neiswander’s lack of experience.
“If the team likes to throw the ball, they are going to throw the ball,’’ Hall said. “We still have to rush the passer and cover their receivers. The only advantage we might have is there is an inexperienced quarterback.
“That’s not always an advantage because we don’t have a lot of information on him. They still have a vast amount of information and knowledge about us.’’