Riders didn’t come up short in short-yardage
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ short-yardage teams have been a liability for most of the 2016 CFL season.
Those units were critical yet again in deciding the outcome when the Roughriders played host to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday. The difference this time was that the short-yardage units didn’t hurt the Roughriders, but instead contributed to their 20-18 victory.
The game came down to three critical short-yardage plays.
The first one was a first-andgoal situation on the Tiger-Cats’ one-yard line with 5:45 left in the second quarter.
Now, as a 10-year CFL offensive lineman, I’ve been a part of thousands of quarterback sneaks but never as the ball carrier. That said, I don’t imagine that turning your back (and the ball) away from the first-down marker is a favourable position for the quarterback to be in.
Yet, Mitchell Gale — who is often called upon to quarterback the Roughriders’ short-yardage team — routinely turns his back on sneaks and effectively loses a half-yard in field position. On this particular occasion, Gale had the ball ripped from his embrace. The fumble was then recovered by Hamilton’s Adrian Tracy and returned 107 yards for an apparent touchdown.
Because it was a scoring play, it was subject to video review. Kudos to the Command Centre team, which reviewed the play and determined that Gale was technically down by contact. The Riders were then given a second chance to score from the one-yard line.
In perhaps the coaching decision of the day, the Roughriders’ Chris Jones reinserted starting quarterback Darian Durant, who put his head down and followed his blocking into the end zone for a touchdown that, when converted, gave Saskatchewan a 17-10 lead. The score represented a 14-point turnaround, considering the Hamilton touchdown that was washed away, and a change of momentum.
The second short-yardage play of note was at 9:46 of the fourth quarter. With the Hamilton offence facing a thirdand-inches situation, just shy of its 35-yard line, centre Mike Filer was flagged for moving the ball forward. After a five-yard penalty was assessed, along with a 10-yard objectionable-conduct penalty, Tiger-Cats head coach Kent Austin opted to punt.
The Roughriders didn’t do anything to influence that play, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky than to be good.
The fact that Austin was willing to gamble on his team’s side of midfield, where a turnover would have put the Riders in automatic field-goal position, speaks volumes to how inefficient the Riders’ short-yardage defence has been this season.
On short-yardage scrums, centres want to almost be on top of the ball where, by alignment, they are closer to the first-down marker. They also want the ball to be closer to the quarterback’s hands, making the snap happen more quickly. Moving the ball away from him a few inches would have extended the distance of the snap, if it had come to fruition. Instead, the Tiger-Cats punted — a key play in the Riders’ third victory of the season.
The third short-yardage play that influenced the outcome of the game could have been Jeremiah Masoli’s quarterback sneak that went for a 21-yard Hamilton touchdown with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter. But, because the Riders won, let’s focus on Jones’s third-and-short gamble with 37 seconds left in the game.
Once again, Gale turned his back on the play, but the Riders’ offensive line would not be denied and got enough movement for a first down that allowed the Riders to set the table for Tyler Crapigna’s game-winning field goal — a 29-yarder that split the uprights on the final play.
Jones could have gone for a field goal with 37 seconds left and given Hamilton time to score the winning points. But the Roughriders’ head coach had other ideas. The wisdom of his decision was confirmed by the scoreboard.