Rod Pedersen
CFL.ca
“Calgary didn’t win it. The Riders lost it.”
That was a quote from a CIS football coach whom I respect greatly, regarding the Calgary Stampeders’ 22-18 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders Saturday night at a sold out Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
The same notion certainly ran through my mind leaving while Canada’s football shrine after the game.
However, I didn’t dare voice it; for fear of not giving the Stamps their due credit.
I also hate when teams say that about the Riders.
However looking at both the stat sheet and scoring summary, the following thought definitely crossed my mind: “Calgary only had one touchdown? Where the heck did they get all their points?”
They got them by virtue of four field goals, and as such, the Rider defence should be commended for keeping Calgary out of the end zone for most of the night.
Saskatchewan’s special teams were solid as well as their totals included a 52-yard punt return by rookie Brandon West and a 44.6-yard punting average by Eddie Johnson (including a 64-yarder).
So where does the criticism lie after this one? It has to be on the offence. A time count violation late in the second quarter cost the Riders a down, a subsequent safety and then three more points against, as Calgary nailed a field goal just before the break.
A five point swing. A four point loss. A 1-4 record.
It’s not clear who’s to blame between quarterback Darian Durant and coordinator Doug Berry but it appears they’re not on the same page as we near the one-third mark of the season.
Head coach Greg Marshall said he considered calling a timeout at that juncture in the game, but trusted his offence would get the play off in time.
His trust was not rewarded. So what does that mean? Is he losing faith in Berry? That’s doubtful, but the fans that are accustomed to far superior play than this are calling for Berry’s firing.
The realists say ‘you could fire Berry but who would you replace him with?”
Logic would indicate that it would be Ken Miller, who can’t be pleased while watching this all unfold from his perch as Vice President of Football Operations.
But hang on, for a second fans, no one is getting fired. There is evidence of improvement, albeit it’s a very minor one, and Marshall seems satisfied with that.
He just isn’t satisfied with the results.
“I think we played well the past two weeks but unfortunately we’re 1-1 (in that time),” Marshall said after the game.
“We need to play better in certain areas. I like the way they worked and competed and we’ll be better. I know people are frustrated but no more so than us. It’s a long season and I stress that a lot. We can’t panic. I see us getting better.”
The opening third of the season will officially close for the Riders Friday night in Vancouver against the 0-5 Lions. The team will be either 2-4 in the opening six games or 1-5. Either way, both records are woefully shy of expectations.
And it’s getting kind of late to be saying it’s still early.
