Riders facing tough times ahead
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are 1-and-11 and, to everyone but the dreamers, 1-and-done.
This is hardly stop-thepresses material. The Roughriders’ 2015 season was effectively over long before Saturday’s 30-27 CFL loss to the visiting Ottawa Redblacks.
However, the Roughriders’ latest setback did provide some stop-the-clock material. Just when it seemed that they had found every conceivable way to unravel in the fourth quarter, then came the final minute of a home date with Ottawa.
With 36 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and the clock frozen until the Redblacks were to snap the ball, the Roughriders called a timeout. Really.
There was shock. There was incredulity. There was a simultaneous smacking of foreheads as Saskatchewan fans, accustomed as they were to fourth-quarter follies, wondered what could have prompted veteran linebacker Tyron Brackenridge to call a timeout.
It was, in the words of interim head coach Bob Dyce, a “miscommunication.” Or a mystery. How can a professional football team make a mess of such a simple process with the game on the line?
How can signals be crossed between Dyce, defensive co-ordinator Greg Quick, and Brackenridge? How can a veteran player — a 31-year-old with NFL and CFL experience on his impressive resume — follow through on signalling for a timeout when the clock is already stopped?
The mental miscue occurred after Redblacks running back Jeremiah Johnson had gained two yards on first-and-goal from the Roughriders’ seven-yard line, with the score tied 2727.
Johnson was tackled with 55 seconds left. The Redblacks allowed the clock to run down to 36 seconds before their quarterback, Henry Burris, called a timeout. By design, Burris had allowed most of the 20-second clock to expire.
After the Redblacks discussed their strategy and lined up for the second-down play, Brackenridge signalled for a timeout — to the obvious exasperation of Dyce, who exclaimed “no!” on the sideline. The plan had been to call the timeout after the second-down play. Instead, there was miscommunication in the Rider Nation.
When play resumed, Johnson was trapped for a loss of two with 29 seconds left. Their timeout being spent, the Riders could only watch helplessly as precious seconds elapsed before the ball was snapped and erstwhile Saskatchewan kicker Chris Milo booted a game-winning, 14-yard field goal.
The Roughriders were left with a mere six seconds and the ball on their 35-yard line. Saskatchewan quarterback Kevin Glenn — who should have had another 20 seconds at his disposal — had time for one desperation pass, which was picked off.
The fans, meanwhile, were ticked off. Who could blame them?
It is one thing to lose, which the Roughriders do in chronic fashion. But when the team cannot master the basics of calling a timeout, the cause seems especially hopeless.
I f nothing else, the Roughriders found a new way to lose. And that is saying something.
Everything else looked familiar. Should we go through the checklist?
The defence faltered as the Roughriders gassed a fourthquarter lead. (Check.)
Missed tackles were problematic. (Check.)
The Roughriders did not run the football often enough. (Check.)
Saskatchewan’s lack of team speed was glaring. (Check.)
The Saskatchewan offence showed signs of potency, but could not cash in when it mattered. (Check.)
Some solace could be derived from the realization that Saturday’s game didn’t matter, really. When 1-and10 turns to 1-and-11, is the difference especially noticeable?
Perhaps an inability to correctly stop the clock isn’t the problem. Instead, the lack of a “fast forward” button is a cause for chagrin. End this season. Please. Yes, the Roughriders have the slimmest mathematical chance of making the CFL playoffs. And, theoretically, Adam Sandler can win an Academy Award by virtue of having appeared in Blended.
Speaking of bombs, there was a 53-yard pass from Burris to Ernest Jackson, whose long-gainer put Ottawa in position for the gamewinning points.
That completion gave Burris an eye-popping total of 477 yards passing, 295 of which were amassed in the second half. Glenn, by contrast, had 153 aerial yards at halftime but only 74 thereafter.
At one point, it was a battle of the ages — featuring Burris, 40, and Glenn, 36. In the first half, it appeared that the two classy veterans were going to treat the fans to a 60-minute shootout.
So much for expectations. When the game reached its culmination, the Roughriders were left to shoot themselves in both feet. (Check.)
The most egregious error was the botched timeout. But, in reality, this lost season timed out long before Saturday’s short-circuit.