Did the Roughriders just have a bad night or are they a bad team?
Somebody was going to lose to the Edmonton Elks.
Did the Roughriders just have a bad night or are they a bad team?
Losers three times in their last four games, the 5-3 Roughriders are still tied atop the West standings with the B.C. Lions. These aren’t the 2022 or the 2023 Roughriders, who lost their final seven games of each season to finish 6-12 and miss the playoffs.
These Roughriders are different. Well, they started the season differently, with enthusiasm and a familial attitude that made them different. They’re also more talented than the earlier renditions. But that talent is being tested and their spirit has waned.
In addition to missing starting quarterback Trevor Harris with sprained knee ligaments, the Roughriders are without tailback A.J. Ouellette, slotback Kian Schaffer-Baker, offensive linemen Jermarcus Hardrick, Philip Blake and Jacob Brammer and defensive linemen Anthony Lanier II, Charbel Dabire and Christian Albright.
The absences showed in the trenches, especially while trying to protect Riders quarterback Shea Patterson or whenever Edmonton ran the football.
Patterson started slowly, despite having a 7-0 lead because Mario Alford returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. It’s obvious the Roughriders need Harris back in the lineup, perhaps as early as Thursday’s road game against the Ottawa Redblacks.
The vaunted Roughriders defence, which had surrendered a league-low 48 rushing yards per game, allowed 276 yards on 28 carries.
Ford certainly sparked the Elks, who had lost their first seven contests while fired head coach Chris Jones and his replacement, Jarious Jackson, stubbornly stuck with veteran pivot McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
The Roughriders’ failure to respond was the most disconcerting thing about Saturday’s game, other than the CFL’s “God Centre” incessantly and randomly delaying the game to over-rule or confirm calls with time-sucking video reviews.
That has failed miserably, with CFL games constantly being interrupted for ticky-tack rulings that are frequently wrong and make the on-field officials basically irrelevant.
Saturday’s game featured so many interruptions it’s futile to list them, plus Riders head coach Corey Mace requested his own video review of a potential touchdown catch by rookie receiver Ajou Ajou.
Saskatchewan had somehow gotten touchdowns from Patterson and Ajou to pull ahead 21-20 after three quarters, but after allowing Leake another untouched end-zone run the Roughriders were trailing 28-21 midway through the fourth quarter when the first-year coach requested a worthwhile but futile challenge.
Mace accepted blame for the loss, telling reporters postgame he didn’t have his team properly motivated or prepared.
“For the first time this year,” said Mace, “I did not think we looked like ourselves. That is on my shoulders.”
Mace’s players jumped to his defence, saying it was their fault for the “embarrassing” loss.
“When you lose like that, it’s not just one player, one person, one reason,” said Riders defensive tackle Micah Johnson. “It’s multiple reasons across the board.”
In addition to being listless, frayed edges are starting to show on the Roughriders.
Receivers Shawn Bane Jr. and Samuel Emilus had the dropsies while Jerreth Sterns has virtually disappeared. The play-calling has become more predictable, less effective. Patterson lost for the third time in five starts.
Linebacker C.J. Reavis took an offside penalty on a field-goal attempt, allowing the Elks to subsequently score a touchdown. And did we mention the defence couldn’t stop Edmonton’s running or passing attacks?
When the Roughriders were winning more than they were losing earlier this season, they had late-game surges and they were an enthusiastic, inspired bunch. They’re not a bad team, they just need to be like the Command Centre and go back to doing what they’re supposed to do.
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