CFL.ca/Steve Hiscock
In the end, the 101st Grey Cup didn’t have a lot of drama. The Saskatchewan Roughriders were fundamentally better in all aspects of Sunday’s 2013 championship, and Grey Cup number four is as sweet as it gets. Despite the way they won, it doesn’t take away from the story that is the 2013 version of one of the iconic franchises of this league.
Pressure? What pressure?
So much of the time, you wonder if playing in your home city for a championship game can add unwanted distractions and pressure. Now, granted, it hasn’t been much of a factor the last three years, with the BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts winning Grey Cup titles in their home cities prior to the Riders. But the 101st Grey Cup in Regina was a different story.
Let’s be honest: There’s no team that plays in a bigger fishbowl than the Roughriders, and for them to play for a title on home turn brings things to a whole new level.
If there’s one city where a home team could truly fall prey to distractions and hype, it’s the Saskatchewan capital.
Yet, if there was one team that would be fit to deal with it, it was this group of Riders.
For the longest time, the Roughriders were that team that everyone loved because they just didn’t win when it mattered. Prior to 2007, we were talking about a team that had won two Grey Cups in their entire history.
It was still a passionate group of fans, and it was still loyal as they came. But the last decade saw a heightened fever and an increased buzz in Rider Nation. With that come raised expectations, which can sometimes bring unwanted pressure.
When you look at this roster, you can’t help but notice how much tenure in Regina many of the most key contributors have. From Darian Durant, Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg, and Chris Best on the offence to Keith Shologan and John Chick defensively; some of the most important players in green are used to all that comes along with playing for the Riders, when things are good and when things are bad.
All of the aforementioned Riders have won Western Finals and have had their hearts broken in back-to-back Grey Cup games versus Montreal. They’ve played most of, if not all of their CFL for a group of fans who are hungrier for success more than most others.
They know full well what goes into playing for a title with this team, and they’re a core group as prepared as it gets for their last challenge in 2013.
So despite many that felt the whole team was a little tight in the week prior to the 101st Grey Cup, it never really struck me as a worry. If the Riders were going to lose this game, it was going to be because they were beat by a better football team.
Right from the start, it was very clear who the better team was: It was the group who could have succumbed to pressure; it was the group who could have been trumped by the moment. It was the group who didn’t let any of that faze them.
A key hire
When the Hamilton Tiger-Cats parted ways with George Cortez as Head Coach at the end of the 2013 season, we all knew it wouldn’t be long for him to find work. The Roughriders hired him to run their offence, and it didn’t take long for it to pay immediate dividends.
Cortez has had all kinds of success has his fair share of success stories at all different levels of the game. In Calgary, he helped Joffrey Reynolds run for a career best 6.4 yards per carry in his final year as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2009.
He oversaw Henry Burris’s best statistical season in 2008 (prior to the last two years), as the then Stamps quarterback completed 64.4% of his passes and threw for over 5000 yards.
Let’s not forget the two years he coached some guy named Aaron Rodgers, either. In Cortez’s two years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of California, he oversaw Rodgers turn from a little known junior college transfer into a 2004 All-Pac 10 selection.
The current Packers quarterback complete 61.6 per cent and 66.1 per cent of passes in his two years under Cortez and ended up being a first round pick at the 2005 NFL Draft.
So is it any surprise that it was a year of career seasons in Regina? Durant tied his career best for interceptions in a season under Cortez with just 12, but added 11 more touchdowns going from 20 to 31.
Durant deserves a ton of credit for improving his decision making and becoming a more dynamic passer. But it’s also no coincidence he enjoyed arguably his best season under his new OC.
Very much the same is true for running back Kory Sheets. He’s as dynamic a runner as they come, and was on pace for over 1900 yards had he played all 18 games. That said, he was made an even larger focal point under Cortez’s offence in 2013 and I don’t think there’s any coincidence the eye popping numbers followed.
Cortez has a history of getting the most out of his players, and getting the very most out of the league’s elite. He did that once again in 2013 with his new team, and that translated to Sunday’s win over Hamilton. Durant was on point start to finish (17 for 24, 245 yards, three touchdowns) while Sheets was in MVP form (197 yards on 20 carries).
Saskatchewan’s Grey Cup victory over Hamilton was a true team effort, but there’s no doubt how important a hiring Cortez was.
A season to celebrate
Had you told me, or anyone, that Hamilton would be East Division Champions in July or early August, I likely would have given you a very odd look. The Tiger-Cats opened the season on a on a rough note and it looked like Kent Austin’s return to the CFL wasn’t going to be instantly successful. Yet, as the season went along, this team improved at a rapid rate and were 100 per cent deserving to be the opposition on Sunday night.
Despite his play at Mosaic Stadium on Sunday, Burris has just concluded one of the best seasons of his career. He finished with a career best 65.8 completion percentage, despite his yards and touchdown totals down from 2012. But there’s a reason for that, and it played into Hamilton’s second half surge.
Had the season played out the way it looked like in the first half, Burris may very well have finished with even better totals than he did one year prior. However, had that been the case, it sure seems less likely they would have had a chance to win a ninth Grey Cup.
The Tiger-Cats were not a balanced offence in the earlier stages of the season, but became one thanks to the emergence of the East Divisions Most Outstanding Rookie. As C.J. Gable became more involved in the Hamilton offence, the team became a much more dynamic attack and were able to mix things up far more readily.
Gable’s all-around ability wasn’t always measured by statistics. Many describe the former USC Trojans standout as the best all-round back in the CFL, and that’s not that really an overstatement.
His blocking ability gave Hamilton an edge in protection when needed, and allowed them to utilize the short passing game much more effectively.
And Gable wasn’t the only example of progression in 2013. That was the Tiger-Cats. On the defensive side of the ball, they were a different team in October and November than they were in July and August.
The growing confidence of this team was palpable as the season went along, and it was a true pleasure to see them turn into the complete package they ended up as.
Austin may have lost his first playoff game as a CFL Head Coach, but he has laid the groundwork of a very impressive football team going forward. Can you think of a better way to open up a new stadium in 2014?
