Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
The 2011 CFL season has gotten off to a disastrous and unexpected start for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
And last week’s loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats has only made things worse.
In a battle of 0-2 teams at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the Riders weren’t able to muster anything positive on the field, allowing the Ticats to build up a 23-0 lead at halftime. Hamilton went on to wax the Riders 33-3, sending the club back home with a 0-3 start.
It was the first time the Riders had been shutout in a half of football since, coincidentally, October of 2009 in Hamilton.
Prior to kickoff, the question surrounding the Riders was: should they lose, are they to be considered a bad football team?
It may be too early to hang that label on them, but they certainly played like one in Week 3. Quite frankly, it resembled the type of performance fans were accustomed to seeing during the dreadful 3-15 season of 1999.
Dropped passes, missed tackles and bad penalties all ganged up to doom the team from the start. The Riders committed six turnovers on the day including three interceptions thrown by Darian Durant before he was relieved of his passing duties by backup Ryan Dinwiddie.
The reason I’m hesitant to characterize this team as “bad” is because there’s more talent here than the record indicates.
However the scrappy, never-say-die, fight tooth-and-nail up and down the field nature of the Saskatchewan Roughriders is gone.
Kaput.
So how do they get it back? That’s the task facing first-year head coach Greg Marshall, as the current hole he’s in keeps getting deeper.
“I’m not a Knute Rockne speech-making kind of guy,” Marshall said after the game. “If these guys need a pre-game speech from me to get them ready to play, they’re mistaken.”
That was the hallmark of Marshall’s predecessor Ken Miller. He wasn’t big on details but his pre-game addresses to the team had them frothing at the mouth and ready to run through a wall.
Instead, Marshall’s approach is far different and apparently it’s taking longer than expected for the club to adjust.
Fans may not yet be howling for Marshall’s head (no, they’re saving that for coordinators Richie Hall and Doug Berry), but many are predicting a coaching change before Labour Day weekend if this horrid display continues.
However the much-decorated career assistant has enough supporters whom are patient enough to let this team find its identity.
“Greg Marshall is not our problem,” stated Rider GM Brendan Taman just before the Hamilton game ,and it’s doubtful his chance has changed since.
Nope, there is no quick fix to what ails this franchise right now and everyone’s in it for the long haul, for better or for worse.
But how do you get a team to care?
I’ve never seen a handbook on that topic and it’s not included in a playbook either.
Right now that’s the most pressing issue facing the coach of the Riders.
