Jamie Nye
CFL.ca
REGINA — They have been the words most often uttered in the province of Saskatchewan over the last two months, “What’s wrong with the Saskatchewan Roughriders?”
The response from the team, especially, head coach Greg Marshall has been a mix of ‘If I knew that we would have fixed it by now’ to ‘If I knew that I’d be a rich man’ or even ‘Well if you find out let me know.’
So, to answer that original question, if they don’t know, how do you expect me to?
One thing is for sure, they are no longer the great football team that placed them near the top of the list of the most popular and profitable franchises in sports.
Heading into their final game before the bye week jobs are on the line.
Coaches, players and football operations will be evaluated during the break, but in the meantime they still have a game to play.
In this game against the Toronto Argonauts it’s up to the players to make a good last impression before they head to wherever they decide to spend their week off. Meanwhile, the coaches, GM Brendan Taman and VP of Football Operations Ken Miller will hunker down in their offices at Mosaic Stadium and map out the plan for the final 10 weeks of the season.
Wins are at a premium and the team needs to head into the second half of the year with players who aren’t shooting the team in the foot.
Too often in this past three game losing streak dropped passes, penalties, missed tackles, blown assignments, etc. have cost the team points.
Last week it was a 117-yard interception return for a touchdown by Calgary’s Keon Raymond that stands out as the one play that had nearly all of the above.
Blown assignments (a rub route that was lacking the most key component – the rub), missed tackles (a player who lacked the effort shown by Darian Durant and Weston Dressler to put a stop to Raymond), and a poor throw (Durant overthrowing the intended receiver).
And it will be the players who are most at risk of losing jobs because of their play.
Coaching changes mid-season are rare and the Roughriders don’t have an Orlondo Steinauer on staff like Toronto who you believe will do a better job than the coach they may replace. Going outside the organization and bringing in a new philosophy in mid-season on offence or defence would put the team back at least a month and likely right out of the playoff picture.
As Greg Marshall said this week, “You just got to get in the playoffs. Whether it’s first, second or third, whatever it takes to get in, get in. After that, you let the chips fall.”
Plus, there are more positives in this last three game losing streak than their previous one this season. However, there have not been enough positives that staying status quo over the bye week will do.
That’s why Thursday’s game is so important for the players who want to continue to get a pay cheque from the Roughriders.
They need to prove to the organization that the team is making the right decision by having them on the football field.
But even then, Thursday’s result should be indicative of how severe the changes will be.
A win: The team can see the light at the end of the tunnel with many of the players and coaches they have.
A close loss: Changes are on the horizon.
A loss similar to the 33-3 defeat suffered in Hamilton in week 3: Anything and everything should be considered, and the toughest decisions may be the best ones to make.
Rider Nation will now sit back and watch, preferring to see if a glimmer of hope in the 2011 season can be salvaged from what appears to be rock bottom.
