Roughriders had good season, can’t cannibalize over one game

Kyran Moore celebrates a punt return touchdown for the Roughriders.

    Sheer panic gripped Rider Nation way back in just Week 3 of the CFL season.

    On June 30, the Saskatchewan Roughriders fell to 1-2 dropping a 23-17 decision to the lowly Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium. With that win, the Alouettes halted a 13 game losing streak that dated back to the previous season.

    That was also the Roughriders “Humboldt Strong” game, where the green and white were honouring the junior A Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

The Roughriders defence played tough in 2018.

    The CFL contest was part of the various efforts to rally and support the Broncos in the wake of an April 6 team bus crash that resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team officials and injuries to 13 other players on the team.

    There was a vocal contingent of Roughriders fans that wondered what type of team they were cheering for. A consensus existed in the fan base that 2018 would be a non-playoff year.

    Fast forward five months and the Roughriders finished second overall in the CFL regular season and the West Division with a 12-6 mark. Had they won just one more game, they would have beat out the Calgary Stampeders for top spot overall in the league and first in the West Division.

Special teams ace Jordan Reaves emerged as a fan favourite.

    If any member of Rider Nation was told that would be the type of regular season the Roughriders would have, they would all likely sign up to take it.

    Unfortunately, the overall memory of the Roughriders in 2018 comes from their last game. In the West Division semifinal just seven days ago on Nov. 11, they dropped a 23-18 decision to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

    In the aftermath of that clash, there was a huge uproar over an unpenalized helmet-to-helmet shot hit delivered by Bombers defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat to Roughriders quarterback Brandon Bridge in the second last play of the game. That hit knocked Bridge out of the game.

    To add further insult to the Roughriders and their fans, the team lost starting quarterback Zach Collaros in the club’s final regular season game on Oct. 27, when he was hit helmet to helmet by British Columbia Lions defensive lineman Odell Willis in a 35-16 Saskatchewan victory.

QB Zach Collaros missed five total games due to injury in 2018.

    The uncontrollable aspects of the game mounted against the Roughriders at the end of their 2018 campaign.

    Still, they were likely two changed plays away from winning the playoff encounter against Winnipeg.

    In an idealistic world, it would be cool to see most of the roster return to see if they can improve on where they left off. Due to the realities of professional sports, there will likely be medium sized turnover at least.

    The Roughriders defence played strong in 2018. Players like defensive backs Jovon Johnson and Nick Marshall, defensive tackle Zack Evans, linebacker Samuel Eguavoen, and defensive ends Willie Jefferson and Charleston Hughes, despite his legal troubles with charges from an alleged diving under the influence incident that are before the courts, all had outstanding years.

Roughriders DB Jovon Johnson, second from left, was out in the community.

    All were great at dealing with the fans, and in the case of Johnson and Jefferson, getting out into the community.

    Brett Lauther, who was the team’s 28-year-old kicker, played a full CFL season for the first time in his life, and he made 54-of-60 field goal attempts with his long coming from 56 yards out. The Truno, N.S., product played well enough to earn a look from an NFL team. He deserves that chance to come his way.

    Special teams ace Jordan Reaves grew into a fan favourite with his hustle and the fact he got his nose dirty doing unglamourous work like blowing up blocks.

    On offence, the Roughriders bit the bullet and decided to go with a younger group of receivers, and they steadily improved as they gained experience as the campaign moved on. You pass catchers like Jordan Williams-Lambert and Kyran Moore were fun to watch.

Jordan Williams-Lambert, left, became a key receiver for the Roughriders.

    The ground game was in the capable hands of Tre Mason, Marcus Thigpen and Cameron Marshall.

    The offensive line had some ups and downs, but always had a steady base anchored by Brendon LaBatte and Dan Clark.

    If the Roughriders had more consistent play at quarterback, they would have placed first overall in the league. Bridge seemed to regress, which was unfortunate. Bridge is a phenomenal person who is easy to cheer for.

    Collaros appeared in 14 of the Roughriders regular season games and missed four regular season games and the club’s playoff contest due to injury. He was good at reading defences and had a good command of the offence.

HC and GM Chris Jones did a great job guiding the 2018 Roughriders.

    The Steubenville, Ohio, product seemed to struggle throwing the ball deep and throwing wide side outs. There were times opposing defences gave him those options and focused on defending short and intermediate routes expecting him to struggle with deep and wide side out throws.

    Seeing those physical flaws, a few Roughriders fans have gone public with a dream that the team might be able to sign soon to be free agent Edmonton Eskimos star quarterback Mike Reilly.

    Head coach and general manager Chris Jones often takes criticism from the fans. He has always been a great coach, and he is improving in the general manager’s role. Looking at the Roughriders over the past three seasons, Jones is proving to be a good hire by the club.

Rider Nation is always ready to back their team.

    An incoming football operations salary cap next season will mean Jones will be releasing some coaching staff and other football operations staff.

    In 2018, it seemed like the expectations for the Roughriders by the fans increased as the team’s win total grew larger.
    When a loss did happened, it seemed fan criticism went more overboard than normal, which is part of life being with the Roughriders.

    Overall, the campaign was a good one for the Roughriders, and it created a lot of excitement for the fans.

The Roughriders celebrated victory on 12 occasions in 2018.

    The good did overshadow the bad for the green and white in 2018.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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The curious case of the Saskatchewan Roughriders

CFL team’s season could go in many directions

QB Brandon Bridge (#16) calls a play in the huddle for the Roughriders.

    REGINA - The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a 3-3 middle of the pack team like their record says.

    Over their first six outings, they have often been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of squad being at their best and at their worst in the same game regardless if they win or lose. Saturday’s 34-22 setback to the 6-0 Calgary Stampeders at Mosaic Stadium proved to be another example of that trend for the Green and White.

    The Roughriders were at their best on the defensive side of the ball. They limited the powerful Stampeders offence to just 242 total yards for the entire game.

Terry Williams, left, celebrates a punt return TD with Richard Sindani.

    Veteran star defensive end Charleston Hughes, who spent his first 10 CFL campaigns with the Stampeders, is still a beast at age 34. He recorded two sacks for the Roughriders and leads the entire CFL with eight sacks.

    Defensive lineman Tobi Antigha, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 223 pounds, proved he is a heck of an athlete. Dropping into pass coverage, he collected his second interception of the season in the second quarter of Saturday’s game. This time, he returned the ball back 52 yards to the end zone for a pick-six.

    On defence, a myriad of players proved they can continually get the job done like Samuel Eguavoen, Ed Gainey, Mike Edem, Eddie Steele, Zach Evans, Jovon Johnson and Willie Jefferson. Duron Carter, who is normally a receiver on offence, is improving each game since being inserted at defensive back full time in Week 2.

Eric Rogers (#15) reacts to scoring a touchdown for the Stampeders.

    Place kicker Brett Lauther had a monster game on Saturday hitting all five of his field goal attempts including a monster shot from 56 yards out shortly before the end of the first half. The Truno, N.S., product also connected from 35, 48, 32 and 47 yards out.

    The Roughriders were at their worst in the first quarter of Saturday’s game making a bunch of gaffs to fall behind 24-0.

    The surge started early in that frame, when Roughriders running back Marcus Thigpen fumbled the ball away. It took the Stampeders just one play to score, when star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell hit receiver Marken Michel on a deep corner route for a 41-yard touchdown pass.

The Roughriders celebrate Tobi Antigha’s pick-six.

    After Rene Paredes booted a 52-yard field goal to put the Stampeders up 10-0, the visitors went ahead 17-0 when Terry Williams returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown.

    The bleeding didn’t stop there for the Roughriders. Running back Jerome Messam fumbled the ball away, and the Stampeders recovered it at the Saskatchewan 40.

    Calgary drove that distance in four plays to score another touchdown, when Mitchell hit receiver Eric Rogers with a 15-yard scoring toss.

    The Roughriders offence was not a pretty sight gaining just 247 yards on the night, fumbling the ball away a total of four times and turning the ball over on downs once.

Charleston Hughes hit the big screen with a couple of sack celebrations.

    Thanks to a defensive score and four field goals, the Roughriders were able to trim the Stampeders lead to 24-19 with 5:20 to play in the third quarter. One of those field goals came after Williams fumbled away a punt return.

    Saskatchewan’s offence couldn’t sustain any drives or make any big plays to create some much needed major scores. Running back Tre Mason had the longest play from scrimmage for the Roughriders with an 18-yard run.

    Roughriders quarterback Brandon Bridge fulfilled the role of game manager completing 19-of-29 passes for 147 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, and he wasn’t responsible for any of Saskatchewan’s four fumbles. The Saskatchewan coaching staff didn’t call any plays which would allow Bridge to stretch the field.

Rider Nation signals a first down for the hosts at Mosaic Stadium.

    The breaks didn’t go the Roughriders way either. With the Stampeders holding a 24-19 lead, the Roughriders had an interception from defensive back Crezdon Butler negated by a tough illegal contact on the receiver penalty on Johnson that could have gone either way.

    On the ensuing play after Butler’s interception was taken away, Mitchell hit receiver DeVaris Daniels with a 15-yard touchdown toss to put the Stampeders up 31-19.

    To make things worse on Saturday, the Roughriders couldn’t deliver a win before a sellout crowd of 33,350 – most of whom wanted to see the host side defeat one of their biggest rivals outside of a few pockets of Stampeders supporters.

Mascot “Gainer the Gopher” circles the field.

    Over the first third of their regular season schedule, the Roughriders have hit equal parts of the spectrum of being good and bad. Despite their inconsistencies, they could possibly be 5-1.

    Back on June 30, the Roughriders dropped a 23-17 decision to the Montreal Alouettes, who are 1-5 on the campaign. That was a game that slipped away.

    On Saturday, the Stampeders did not look indestructible like they have at points in the past decade and appeared very beatable. That contest in the end was another that got away from Saskatchewan.

    The Roughriders defence has found its groove. The Roughriders offence looks to be hurt by the fact the deck might have been shuffled too much from last season.

    Bakari Grant, Rob Bagg and Nic Demski, who missed a lengthy stretch due to injury, were all regular receivers last season, and all are no longer with the team. Carter, who had 1,043 yards receiving last season for the Roughriders, has been used sparingly on offence.

    The Roughriders offensive line has had struggles but is getting better. Saskatchewan could draw from the steady influence of veteran quarterback Kevin Glenn last season, but he is now with the Edmonton Eskimos.

QB Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stampeders were opportunistic.

    On the injury front, the Roughriders are due to get defensive back Nick Marshall back off the six-game injured list after he sits out one more contest. Starting quarterback Zach Collaros has spent four contests on the six-game injured list with a concussion.

    When both return, the Roughrider deck will be shuffled in a way that might help the offence. Both will be missing, when the Roughriders travel to Edmonton to face the Eskimos (4-2) this coming Thursday.

    At the moment, the Roughriders are an average team in the CFL. They still can potentially be really good, really bad or finish out the regular season at 9-9.

    They are at a crossroads, and no one can predict with certainty how they will finish.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Roughriders’ Bridge is still the great Canadian QB hope

Brandon Bridge (#16) fires a pass downfield for the Roughriders.

    If you’re a Canadian quarterback, you likely have your figures crossed for Brandon Bridge.

    The 26-year-old Toronto, Ont., product is still the biggest hope of proving to management and coaches in the CFL that a Canadian can be the starting quarterback in the league. Since the legendary Russ Jackson led the Ottawa Rough Riders to a Grey Cup title in his final game in 1969, the CFL has been looking for the next great Canadian star starting quarterback.

    Bridge came into the 2018 campaign riding a lot of momentum from his performance with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the 2017 season.

    Last season, Bridge won his one start and came off the bench in numerous other contests completing 92-of-138 passes for 1,236 yards, 10 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He also ran the ball 20 times for 127 yards and scored one major.

    During last year’s 25-21 Eastern Final loss to the eventual Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, Bridge came off the bench for the Roughriders completing 11-of-21 passes for 141 yards and one touchdown.

    Last December, Bridge signed a one-year contract to remain with the Roughriders. At the time, it appeared he might be the favourite to be the club’s starting quarterback.

Brandon Bridge (#16) calls a play in the huddle.

    That changed in early January when the Roughriders made a trade with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to acquire veteran starter Zach Collaros and signed him to a restructured contract.

    Collaros guided the Roughriders to a 27-19 victory in their regular season opener on June 15 against the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium. In a 40-17 drubbing in Week 2 at the hands of the Redblacks in Ottawa on June 21, Collaros was lost after sustaining a concussion injury and was placed on the six-game injured list.

    Due to that development, Bridge gained the opportunity to lead the Roughriders as the starting quarterback over a sizable sustained period of time.

    In the three games that followed, Bridge did indeed start each contest, but he was often rotated with another young signal caller in David Watford, who is a 25-year-old product from Hampton, Virginia.

    The results for Bridge were mixed. He showed brilliance at times, but his inexperience also came to the surface as well.

    So far in 2018, Bridge has completed 49-of-75 passes for 522 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. On the ground, he has carried the ball 16 times for 79 yards.

Brandon Bridge (#16) calls signals at the line of scrimmage.

    The Roughriders fell in Bridge’s first start of the season 23-17 to the lowly Montreal Alouettes at Mosaic Stadium on June 30. Saskatchewan proceeded to pull out an 18-13 win in Bridge’s second start on July 5 at Mosaic Stadium against the Tiger-Cats.

    Those two clubs went at it again on July 19 in Hamilton, and the Roughriders pulled out a 31-20 victory in Bridge’s third start of the campaign.

    Adding difficulty to the evaluation of Bridge is the fact the Roughriders offensive line has been suspect for most of the first five games. There is a fear things could really go down in that department if Canadian veterans in guard Brendon LaBatte or centre Dan Clark are ever lost to injury.

    Evaluation of Bridge also has to take into account he is working with some new receivers. Rob Bagg and Bakari Grant were both regular receivers in 2017 and are no longer with the Roughriders this season. Star receiver Duron Carter has mainly been employed by the Roughriders on defence due to injuries and lack of personnel in the defensive backfield.

    Still, there are signs Bridge is finding his groove. He guided the game-winning 77-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter that allowed the Roughriders to beat the Tiger-Cats by five points on July 5.

    During Saskatchewan’s win in Hamilton on July 19, Bridge took the bulk of the snaps under centre completing 17-of-22 passes for 165 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He ran the ball five times for 17 yards.

    These are the signs of growth you want to see from the young inexperience quarterback.

    Tonight, Bridge faces his biggest test. He leads the 3-2 Roughriders against the undefeated 5-0 Calgary Stampeders, who have won 10 or more games a season since the start of the 2008 campaign. 

The Roughriders need to protect Brandon Bridge (#16) in the pocket.

    The two sides go at it at 7 p.m. local time at a sold out Mosaic Stadium.

    The Roughriders defence has played lights out, and that has bought the club’s offensive time to get on track.

    Bridge will have an opportunity to make another step forward. If the Roughriders stumble, he will likely have to more chances to guide the team after the Saturday’s clash with the Stampeders before Collaros is scheduled to come off the injured list.

    The CFL may still get its Canadian star quarterback, but the path in that journey will have its bumps.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Cheering for the Roughriders is not a joyride

Roughriders DB Ed Gainey defends a pass in the end zone.

    REGINA – It was one of those nights you sat in the stands at Mosaic Stadium and asked yourself, “Why do I cheer for this team?”

    The question is asked with both dismay and amusement after the host Saskatchewan Roughriders dropped a 23-17 decision to the Montreal Alouettes in a CFL regular season clash on Saturday. Both sides sport 1-2 records following the contest.

    Going into the game, you thought it was a contest the Roughriders couldn’t lose. The Alouettes had lost 13 straight regular season games dating back to last season and seemed poised to go a full calendar year without a win.

Signs supporting the Humboldt Broncos were all over Mosaic Stadium.

    Saturday was also the “Humboldt Strong” game, where the Roughriders were honouring the junior A Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

    Back on April 6, the bus carrying the Broncos team was involved in a collision with a semitrailer about 30 kilometres north of Tisdale. The Broncos were on their way to Nipawin for an SJHL playoff game against the Hawks.

    The crash resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team officials and injuries to 13 other players from the team.

    The Roughriders played host to the Broncos immediate and billet family members, officials from the Broncos organization, the community of Humboldt and first responders who helped the victims on the day of the crash. Numerous “Humboldt Strong” signs were displayed throughout the stadium and ribbons were painted on the turf at the 29 yard line to represent the 29 people who were on board the Broncos bus.

DL Eddie Steele leads the Roughriders on to the field.

    During the pre-game ceremonies, a rousing video tribute was shown for the Broncos and people involved with the team were brought to the field.

    Defensive lineman Eddie Steele led the Roughriders on to the field and the near sellout crowd of 33,308 listed on the CFL website roared in huge appreciation. Surviving Broncos players took part in the coin toss, which was performed with a Broncos puck, and Steele told the Broncos players the Roughriders were playing for them.

    As a fan, the feeling at that moment was, “We are going to roll the Montreal Alouettes. We are going to make the Montreal Alouettes wish they were never born.”

    On the Roughriders first offensive play, quarterback Brandon Bridge fired a deep pass to wide open running back Marcus Thigpen, who let the ball fall through his hands. Had Thigpen caught the ball, he was in the clear to sail home on a possible 76-yard touchdown reception.

Roughriders DL Eddie Steele (#97) charges to the field.

    It felt like the air was let out of the stadium.

    For Roughriders fans, this was a “here we go again” bad omen.

    From that point, a defensive slugfest ensued that was aided by some really bad offence by both sides. Montreal finished with 287 yards of total offence, while Saskatchewan had 279 yards.

    The Roughriders never led in the game. Montreal held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter, and Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther hit a 39-yard field goal with 4:42 to play in the second quarter to force a 3-3 tie.

    The Alouettes went into halftime scoring 10 straight points to go ahead 13-3 on a 79-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Drew Willie to receiver Chris Williams and a 32-yard field goal from kicker Boris Bede.

Humboldt Broncos players take part in the “puck” toss.

    Williams was the only one that a good night offensively hauling in three passes for 130 yards.

Still as a fan, you are trying to convince yourself the “real Roughriders” would come out in the second half and put the boots to the Alouettes. For a moment, you try to believe what you are seeing isn’t real.

    At the start of the second half, the Roughriders insert 25-year-old David Watford into the game for his first action ever as a CFL quarterback. As a fan, you think this is an act of desperation with the Roughriders coaches stretching to look for a spark.

Members of the Humboldt Broncos watch game action from the sidelines.

    The game grinds into the fourth quarter with the Alouettes holding a 17-6 edge.

    Early in the fourth quarter, there was finally a spark, when Roughriders kick returner Christion Jones bought a punt back 53 yards to the Montreal 17 yard line. Just two plays later, Watford hit Roughriders star receiver Naaman Roosevelt for a five-yard touchdown pass to cut the gap to 17-12. The two point conversion failed but there was life.

    On the ensuing Montreal possession, Alouettes running back Tyrell Sutton fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Roughriders defensive end Willie Jefferson at the Montreal 33 yard line.

QB David Watford, top centre, throws a pass for the Roughriders.

    This was the time the Roughriders were finally going to go ahead. Instead, a pass by Watford to open Roughriders receiver Caleb Holley in the end zone deflected off the upright. The hosts settled for a 25-yard field goal from Lauther to cut the Alouettes edge to 17-15.

    Bede booted two more field goals for the Alouettes before conceding a safety with one second left on the clock to leave the Alouettes holding a 23-17 lead.

    The Roughriders attempted to pull the “Stanford Marching Band” play making a number of laterals in a desperate final kickoff return to score. It appeared Roosevelt found a crease, and he was going to score. He was stopped after a 40-yard gain.

Roughriders DL Zach Evans (#92) looks to get past a blocker.

    As a fan, you come away thinking “typical Roughriders.”

    While you remember great times cheering for the team like Grey Cup wins in 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013, you are well aware of a history of bad times.

    Roughriders’ fans know the term “Reign of Error” to describe the club’s plight of missing the CFL post-season for 11-consecutive years from 1977 to 1987. You remember hapless stretches like missing the playoffs for four straight years from 1998 to 2001 and a 3-15 campaign as recently as 2015.

    Even Grey Cup appearances can bring back bad memories. Just mention “Too Many Men Game,” and Roughriders fans think of the 28-27 Grey Cup loss to the Alouettes in 2009.

Roughriders kick returner Christion Jones (#22) looks to lateral the ball.

    After Saturday’s game finished and even on radio post-game shows, fans sent criticism the Roughriders way. I found the rage aspect to be subdued this time around in the immediate aftermath compared to the Roughriders 40-17 loss on June 21 to the Redblacks in Ottawa.

    It seemed like there was more quiet disappointment and the acceptance of the possibility that this could be a bad Roughriders season. Too many of the team’s followers have seen this script before.

    With that said, there are still loud voices on social media looking to get their disappointment across.

    On the bright side, it was nice to wake up on Sunday morning and see social media posts from people connected to Humboldt and the SJHL Broncos that they had a great time at Saturday’s Roughriders game despite the final outcome.

The Humboldt Broncos supporters had fun at Saturday’s game.

    It seemed the night out with the larger Saskatchewan community was another step in the healing process. Being out with others in public was important.

    That reaction put into perspective that the Roughriders and Alouettes were just playing a game.

    As a fan, you are reminded of the fact the Roughriders play through lots of downs and ups in the past, and they will play through those in the future.

    Even during a down game on the field, it is still a nice distraction from regular life.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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Roughriders exceed predictions in 2017, best may still come

Duron Carter has made a tonne of huge plays for the Roughriders.

    Remember when it seemed like the Saskatchewan Roughriders 2017 season was appearing to go off the rails?

    Actually, there were two distinct points, when it looked like that was going to happen. Way back on July 1, the Roughriders played their first regular season game at new Mosaic Stadium and dropped a 43-40 double overtime heartbreaker to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to fall to 0-2.

    Saskatchewan opened the regular season going on the road and falling 17-16 to the Alouettes in Montreal on June 22.
    Having missed the playoffs in 2015 and 2016 going a combined 8-28 over those two campaigns, it seemed like the Roughriders were going to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

    After pulling their record back to 2-3, the second panic point occurred on Aug. 6, when the Roughriders went to Vancouver and dropped a 30-15 decision to the B.C. Lions to fall to 2-4. Saskatchewan trailed 30-0 in that contest before scoring two late fourth quarter touchdowns.

DB Ed Gainey (#11) hauls in an interception.

    When those two teams met again on Aug. 13 in Regina, the Roughriders rolled to a 41-8 victory before a roaring sellout crowd of 33,350 at their new home park. From that point, the team took off.

    Today, the Roughriders enter their final regular season game at 5 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium sporting a 10-7 record against the visiting Edmonton Eskimos (11-6). The winner will finish third in the CFL’s West Division and third overall in the entire league.

    The majority of pre-season predictions foresaw the Roughriders scraping into the playoffs, if they made the post-season at all playing in a tough West Division. Only those close to the team’s inner circle would have thought that winning 10 games was a possibility.

    Had the Roughriders defeated the Bombers in overtime in Week 2, Saskatchewan would have had a chance to finish second in the West and host a division semifinal contest with a win over Edmonton today.

    Overall, this Roughriders team has been fun to watch.

    The most exciting player has been receiver Duron Carter. The 26-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been one of the team’s colourful characters and has found a strong home of supporters in the Saskatchewan community. Carter and the community have embraced each other.

QB Kevin Glenn played a major role in getting the Roughrider to 10 wins.

    Like his Pro Football Hall of Fame father Cris, Duron can flat out make plays on the field. He has hauled in 73 passes for 1,043 yards and scored eight touchdowns on offence.

    He stepped in at defensive back on the defensive side of the ball and made a memorable start at cornerback against the Stampeders in Calgary on Oct. 20. Carter highlighted Saskatchewan’s 30-7 win returning an early fourth quarter interception 43 yards for a touchdown.

    He also took down Stampeders power back Jerome Messam with a tackle in the backfield for a loss. That tackle might have been as good as any acrobatic catch Carter made all season.

    Carter wasn’t the only receiver that made plays. Naaman Roosevelt broke the 1,000-yard barrier in receiving for the second straight campaign hauling in 75 passes for 1,035 yards and eight touchdowns. Veteran Bakari Grant has set career highs in catches (81), yards (995) and matched his career high in touchdowns (five).

Brendon LaBatte (#57) had an all-star year playing centre and guard. 

    On defence, Ed Gainey has been the showstopper. The 27-year-old defensive back leads the CFL with 10 interceptions to go along with his 44 total tackles. He set a team record with four interceptions in one game in the Aug. 13 blowout of the Lions.

    Defensive end Willie Jefferson has become a force on the edge piling up a career high eight sacks to go along with 44 total tackles.

    At quarterback, ageless veteran Kevin Glenn has been a steady presence and added a key contribution in getting the Roughriders turned around. On the season, the 38-year-old has completed 313 of 458 passes for 3,975 yards, 25 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

    Brandon Bridge has been strong as well at the pivot position completing 80 of 120 passes for 1,074 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. The 25-year-old product from Toronto, Ont., is showing the Canadian born player can play quarterback in the CFL.

RB Cameron Marshall (#32) celebrates a touchdown run.

    At running back, Cameron Marshall and Trent Richardson are showing the Roughriders have two very capable options at that position.

    Brendon LaBatte proved he is still one of the best offensive linemen in the CFL playing in standout fashion at both centre and guard.

    On special teams, third-year kicker Tyler Crapigna has connected on 36 of 42 field goal attempts and has made all 46 of his conversion attempts.

    Head coach and general manager Chris Jones was once often criticized for getting everything wrong, and now he is a legitimate coach of the year candidate for the league.

    During the team’s training camp in Saskatoon, the Roughriders players carried themselves in a very polite manner. That was a good intangible sign, which showed they had the potential to display the discipline to create success on the field.

    In the early part of the campaign, the Roughriders as a team had to battle to learn how to win. Now sporting an 8-3 mark in their last 11 games, winning has become a habit.

    Today will mark the last chance for the faithful at home to salute the 2017 Roughriders for what has been a fantastic campaign. The best memories from this group might still be coming.

Roughriders DL Tobi Antigha closes in on a quarterback sack.

    It is realistic to think this team could be in the 105^th Grey Cup on Nov. 26 in Ottawa. When the Roughriders are in action throughout the post-season, most people in Saskatchewan will be huddled around their televisions on those Sundays. If anything else in the province is schedule at the same time Roughriders playoff games are going on, those events will be hooped.
    If the Roughriders finish third in the West Division, expect a healthy contingent of supporters to follow the team to Winnipeg, Man., for a clash with the Blue Bombers (12-6) in the West semifinal on Nov. 12.

    Overall interest in the CFL playoffs always increases when the Roughriders make a big playoff run.

    A “November to Remember” could be upon the province where the green and white colour scheme dominates once again.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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