THE CANADIAN PRESS
The disaster that has been the 2015 season for the Saskatchewan Roughriders is stealing headlines once again. However, Sunday’s 35-13 loss to the Ottawa REDBLACKS seems to have reignited the nationwide focus on the Riders. It was a rather embarrassing setback, specifically in the second half where Head Coach Corey Chamblin said his team played like individuals and not a team. It’s one of Chamblin’s decisions, though, that has the CFL world buzzing to start the week.
Trigger-happy
I understand the Riders are desperate and I understand they need to find any spark possible. Even knowing that, though, I don’t think Chamblin made the right call pulling Brett Smith at quarterback in the second quarter. I thought it was a head scratcher of a decision at the time, and it’s even harder to wrap my head around the next day.
I fully understand Smith made a bad call on the interception that drove him from the game. He should have thrown it away or taken a sack as opposed to giving away points on a ball thrown directly at Abdul Kanneh in the endzone. But it was still only one bad decision. Smith was actually playing decent ball prior to being replaced.
It’s not as if Smith had been incredible or anything, but he had only thrown three other incomplete passes at the time. Smith had also connected with Naaman Roosevelt on a nicely executed touchdown pass a few minutes earlier. Remember, he was on the run basically all game from an Ottawa defence that finished with 10 sacks. From my vantage point, Smith should have been given the opportunity to respond to his mistake on the next possession.
More importantly, though, the decision to yank Smith didn’t make a lot of sense from a big picture standpoint. I know getting that first win is crucial, but this team also has to be looking ahead to 2016 and beyond. Their chances of making the playoffs are slim closing on none, so developing a young quarterback has to rise up the priority list.
You also have to wonder how the decision affects Smith upstairs. He’s a young quarterback still adjusting to being a starter in the league’s most rabid market. Like we talked about a few weeks ago in this very column, Smith needs to be given the slack to make some mistakes, because misfires are inevitable in the situation he’s in.
Since his first start against the Eskimos, Smith had actually done a pretty good job of limiting mistakes, all things considered. There’s a danger that this decision could make Smith even more tense going forward knowing that any mistake could get you the hook.
The Riders are desperate, and so sometimes hasty decisions are made. I didn’t like Chamblin’s choice yesterday because it didn’t make sense in the short or long term. Tino Sunseri, Smith’s replacement, is not an upgrade and didn’t provide the spark Saskatchewan needed. In the larger scope, the decision wasn’t in the best interests of a 23-year-old quarterback whom the Riders should be hoping to develop.
Hey it’s Franklin
Even though this column was campaigning for James Franklin’s CFL starting debut a few weeks ago, I was still pleasantly surprised with what I saw on Friday night. Franklin was the focal point as Edmonton bounced back in a big way with a 38-15 thumping of the Argos.
The thing I liked most was that Franklin succeeded in a big way and he did it by playing fairly conventional football. There weren’t any gimmicks or novelties to help Franklin out in his first start. Instead, the 24-year-old Missouri product was game to stand in the pocket and deliver right from the get go.
That’s a sign of confidence, of course, but it’s also a sign of comfort and maturity. Sometimes for a young, inexperienced pivot the designed play breaks down in in his head far quicker than it does for a veteran. As such, no one would have blamed Franklin for some freelancing on the fly or balls thrown away.
Instead, though, Franklin picked up coverage mismatches down the field quickly and effectively, as Derel Walker can attest to. He stayed in the pocket to go through his progressions even if that meant taking the occasional sack. These are early signs of a fairly mature football mind.
Of course, Franklin also showed us his ability to get things done on the fly too. His touchdown pass to Walker in the fourth quarter was a thing of beauty, as was his keeper run to the endzone in the first quarter. The positive, though, is that things like that weren’t relied upon too heavily.
A quarterback bursting onto the scene but eventually settling down is a common occurrence. Rakeem Cato is this year’s perfect example of just that. But the maturity Franklin showed on Friday night leads me to believe he’ll be a pretty nice option for the Eskimos as they wait for Mike Reilly’s return.
The sleeping giant
Remember earlier in the year when we talked about how the rest of the league should be a little worried about Calgary’s 4-2 start? At the time, the Stampeders were winning games, but they were doing so by the skin of their teeth and were in need of some pretty fortunate breaks. Yet you had the sinking feeling there was a bear resting somewhere in that cave. I think hibernation is over.
In crushing the Blue Bombers 36-8 at Investors Group Field on Saturday night, the defending Grey Cup champs won their fourth straight game and also took over sole possession of top spot in the CFL at 7-2. It’s safe to say the rest of the league would have liked to take advantage of the Stamps earlier when they were a little more vulnerable.
Instead, Calgary found ways to win those games when it looked a little more normal. In doing so, the Stampeders avoided digging any type of hole in the West Division. That’s why they’re the number one team in the CFL once again, despite not necessarily looking the part the entire way.
They sure do look the part right now, though. The Stamps have scored 34 or more points in three straight games, with Bo Levi Mitchell looking far more dominant at quarterback than he did earlier in the season. On top of that, Calgary’s dominant receiving game has reemerged, led by Eric Rogers and Marquay McDaniel. Oh and let’s not forget the Stamps have been without running back Jon Cornish and, oh, basically all of their starting offensive line during this hot streak. Offensively, things look pretty rosy right now.
Things might look even better on the other side of the ball, though. For the second time in three games, Calgary allowed nothing from an opposing offence. The Bombers had absolutely no answer for the Stamps defensive unit on Saturday.
Quite honestly, what Calgary did to Winnipeg was more dominant than what it did two weeks prior to Ottawa. If you ask me, that was the most impressive defensive display all season long, and we’ve seen some gems from the likes of Hamilton and Edmonton. Winnipeg had nothing but underneath passes and short, ticky tacky runs all night long.
We all knew the Stamps were going to wake up. Teams coached by John Hufnagel aren’t allowed to be just okay for very long, regardless of what the standings might say. The alarm clock has gone, it’s been thrown against the wall, and the rest of the league is likely on notice.
Quick hits
In this week’s 3-Minute Warning we talked about the difficult task ahead for the Alouettes in Hamilton. Well, it definitely wasn’t easy, but Montreal earned its 26-23 win over the Tiger-Cats on Thursday night and finally stopped the win streak at Tim Hortons Field. Equally impressive is how the Als went about doing that.
Against the league’s most ferocious run defence, Montreal was able to move the ball effectively on the ground, much like it did the week prior against BC. With Tyrell Sutton on the shelf, it was up to Brandon Rutley to get the job done. Believe you me, the 62 yards Rutley picked up on those 17 carries were extremely well earned, but the approach paid off. I’m really starting to like Montreal’s ground game.
Sunday’s win for the REDBLACKS was a big one. As we talked about in this week’s Warning, games against bad teams like the Riders are ones that need to be taken care of. Well, Ottawa took care of business in a big way. 10 sacks and almost 400 yards of total offence were more than enough for the REDBLACKS to get back on the winning side of things and keep the possibility of an East Division crossover very much alive.
