Jamie Nye
CFL.ca
You can sum up free agency across the Canadian Football League as the following: you win some, you lose some.
And that’s why it is so hard to analyze just how well the Roughriders did after the first week of CFL free agency. They won big by solidifying their offensive line with Brendon LaBatte and Dominic Picard ready to serve and protect for quarterback Darian Durant.
The Riders should also be happy with the re-signing of Tristan Jackson. He’s a rarity at the age of 25 to have four years under his belt.
While the Roughriders won those battles, did they lose the war?
Andy Fantuz is a big loss for an offence that missed his reliability in 2011.
Durant and Fantuz became one of the best quarterback/receiver duos in the CFL in 2010. Fantuz was among the league leaders in catches, while Durant led the league in passing yards.
Without Fantuz, who took off to the NFL for the first two months of 2011, the Roughriders second down efficiency dropped significantly. In turn, Durant’s numbers took a hit and the Roughriders went from top to bottom in the league standings.
Now, you can’t put that all on Fantuz not being around. Even #83 will say he doesn’t have that much impact on the team.
That’s why the Roughriders went hard after LaBatte and Picard. Durant’s numbers also took a hit because the offensive line wasn’t up to the standard the Green and White have been used to.
With LaBatte and Picard upgrading both the centre and left guard spot, Durant should be able to keep his eyes on the receivers instead of looking out for the oncoming pressure in 2012.
The bottom line is this:
General Manager Brendan Taman, Assistant GM Jeremy O’Day and new head coach Corey Chamblin weren’t shy their #1 priority was the offensive line. So they get an A+ for that.
But they may have allowed smaller holes on the roster become caverns.
The eight rush ends to rotate at the defensive end spot last year never established themselves as a group that put the fear in the opposing offence. Tearrius George, Kenny Rowe, Shomari Williams and Brent Hawkins should feel heat from any rookies Taman and company bring in from the U.S.
The losses of their entire starting linebacking corps is also of concern. Maurice Lloyd, Mike McCullough, Kye Stewart and up and comer Chris Graham are a capable group but there was a reason they didn’t start ahead of Jerrell Freeman, Barrin Simpson and Sean Lucas last season.
The running back spot is a wide open race with Wes Cates no longer in Saskatchewan. Sophomore Brandon West will lead the depth chart at the start of training camp but he’s not guaranteed to hold that spot come the end of June. The Riders will have a lengthy list of young tailbacks in what will be the most wide open battle in camp.
And now we get back to Fantuz.
Who will haul in those big time passes for Darian Durant? The much heralded ‘Canadian Air Force’ has been grounded now that Fantuz is off to Hamilton.
Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf both went over 1,000 yards last year and that’s a decent start but the Riders were missing the third threat that makes things so difficult for opposing secondaries.
Management hopes they’ve countered the loss of Fantuz by giving Durant more time to throw by the moves along the offensive line.
But LaBatte and Picard can’t catch and need to find someone who can.
Whether the Roughriders won or lost in free agency will only be judged by the wins and losses in 2012.
Right now it’s all up to your perspective.
Some believe football is won and lost along the line of scrimmage, if so, the Riders are clearly the big winner.
Others believe it’s all about getting the best player available, which was Andy Fantuz.
The analysis of a very interesting offseason in Saskatchewan will continue as the games are played.
One thing is for sure, Tiger-Cats vs. Roughriders in the first week of the 2012 season can’t come soon enough!
