Return to play honeymoon over for Roughriders

Outrage back in Rider Nation over losing

Cody Fajardo (#7) sets to throw a pass in 2019.

So do any Saskatchewan Roughriders fans remember missing the CFL a year ago at this time?

Judging by the reaction to the Roughriders 22-19 setback to the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium, it appears the answer is no.

After jumping out to a 3-0 start, the Roughriders have lost four of their last six games. Fans consumed by ragehol have returned too.

The Roughriders sit second in the CFL’s West Division with a 5-4, but the hold on second spot is far from secure. The British Columbia Lions sit third at 4-4 and the Stampeders sit in fourth place with a 4-5 mark.

Having posted two straight wins over the Roughriders, the Stampeders have already claimed the seasonal series between the two clubs and hold the head-to-head standings tiebreaker.

With the way the records are shaping up in the East Division, it is conceivable the Roughriders could miss the playoff all together.

When the losing happens, the members of Rider Nation point the fingers in all directions. It is the fault of vice president of football operations and general manager Jeremy O’Day, head coach and special teams coordinator Craig Dickenson, franchise quarterback Cody Fajardo, the offensive line, the receivers who aren’t catching passes and the defence that gives up big plays at inopportune times.

The misfortune is a team effort.

Roughriders HC Craig Dickenson works the sidelines in 2019.

This type of outrage wasn’t even thought about a year ago at this time.

A year ago at this time, a lot of different public health orders were in place across Canada to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the moment, the world is still firmly in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, but vaccines have allowed sporting events to be held in front of full capacity venues at a large number of places in North America.

The CFL wasn’t able to navigate the public health orders in 2020 and didn’t hit the field at all. A year ago at this time, there was a lot of speculation that the CFL might have played its last game and might become a pandemic casualty.

There was a lot of speculation that the financial losses the CFL’s nine teams would incur would end the league.

There were people who wondered if you would get to see a Roughriders game again at Mosaic Stadium.

For the longest time, the Bombers 33-12 Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Nov. 24, 2019 at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alta., stood as the last game played in the CFL.

As the calendar turned to 2021, news of team financial losses for 2020 came in.

In late March of this year, the community owned Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who won the Grey Cup in 2019, announced a loss of $6,982,217 for 2020. In May, the community owned Edmonton Elks announced a loss of $7.1-million for 2020.

Dan Clark calls signals at centre in 2019.

Just past the middle of June, the community owned Roughriders announced a loss of $7.5-million for 2020.

It is believed the six other CFL franchises posted bigger financial losses for 2020 than the three community owned teams did.

Somehow, the CFL returned.

On August 5 at IG Field in Winnipeg, the host Blue Bombers downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 19-6 before 29,376 spectators to open the CFL regular season.

I personally thought it was a miracle the CFL returned to play.

One day later on August 6, the Roughriders returned to a sellout crowd of 33,350 spectators at Mosaic Stadium to down the visiting Lions 33-29. 

Most in Rider Nation savoured this day as a sign that things were returning more to normal.

It was safe to say the fans were just happy to see the Roughriders play a game again.

Another normal also returned, as fans went crazy over analyzing and cutting down the team when losses started to happen. 

That was pretty evident in the aftermath of Saturday’s setback to the Stampeders.

Gainer the Gopher makes his rounds in 2019.

When you look at the complaining in comparison to what has happened in the world since March of 2020, the phrase “this is why we can’t have nice things” rings true.

On the bright side, attendance was still listed as a solid 27,964 to see the Roughriders fall to the Stampeders on Saturday.

For myself personally, I give the Roughriders a mulligan for everything that happens this season. They’ve already played nine more games than I thought they would play.

For a half glass full argument, at least Rider Nation has a team to complain about. That is better than not being able to complain, because the team ceased to exist.

Raiders stumble out of the gate, other thoughts

The Raiders have stumbled to an 0-4 start this season.

It appears the Prince Albert Raiders are on the road to a reload.

After topping the WHL regular season standings in 2018-19 and winning the league championship, the Raiders have stumbled out of the games to start the 2021-22 campaign dropping their first four games getting outscored 21-5 in the process.

On Saturday, the Raiders dropped an 8-0 decision to the Winnipeg Ice at the Wayne Fleming Arena in the Manitoba capital. The Ice, who improved to 4-0, appear to be the powerhouse team for the current campaign.

Right-winger Connor McClennon had a hat trick for the Ice, while centre Matthew Savoie had three assists. Savoie appears ready to take on star status fitting the fact he was selected first overall by the Ice in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft, which is now known as the WHL Prospects Draft.

Jakin Smallwood had a pair of goals for the Ice, while Mikey Milne, Conor Geekie and Zachary Benson had singles.

Ronin Geraghty went the distance in goal for the Raiders turning away 26 shots. Gage Alexander turned away all 13 shots he faced to pick up the shutout for the Ice.

The Raiders have had to deal with the fact they have had guys away at NHL training camps. At the moment, they are still missing star defenceman Kaiden Guhle, who is still at camp with the Montreal Canadiens.

By the sound of media reports coming out of Montreal, Guhle is having a great camp with the Canadiens. Due to the fact Guhle is 19-years-old, he has to be returned to the major junior ranks unless he cracks the Canadiens NHL roster.

I still would like to see what the Raiders would look like with Guhle and Nolan Allan as a top defensive pairing.

If the season turns into a reloading campaign, general manager Curtis Hunt and head coach Marc Habscheid are the right guys to have in their respective places to guide the club through rough waters.

They are both experienced hockey leaders who have seen and dealt with all types of scenarios before. The Raiders will always be in good hands with Hunt and Habscheid on board.

During my 10 seasons covering the Medicine Hat Tigers for the Medicine Hat News from 2004 to 2014, I saw how key it was to have good people in those leadership positions as Willie Desjardins and Shaun Clouston ensured the Tigers kept being an elite franchise over that time period.

After the Raiders won the WHL title in the 2018-19 campaign, they captured a banner for finishing first in the East Division in a 2019-20 that got cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

They finished fourth in the seven-team WHL East Division bubble last season.

With the way junior hockey cycles go, it is hard to avoid the reload year after having highly successful seasons.

• The Saskatoon Blades have started out 2-1 thanks to a familiar sight. Veteran 19-year-old left-winger Kyle Crnkovic has three goals and two assists, and veteran centre Tristen Robins, who will turn 19-years-old in November, has one goal and four assists.
• Can you see the Calgary Stampeders running the table to win their last five straight games to running their current winning streak to seven games and finish the regular season 9-5 after a 2-5 start? If any team can do that in the CFL, it is the Stampeders quarterbacked by Bo Levi Mitchell.
• Could this be a big year for football in Winnipeg? The Blue Bombers sit first overall in the CFL with an 8-1 record, and the University of Manitoba Bisons football team has started the U Sports regular season 2-0 to sit first in the Canada West Conference. If both the Grey Cup and Vanier Cup end up residing in Winnipeg in December, you can bet you will hear all about it.
• The University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Regina Rams have both started their U Sports regular seasons with 1-1 records. It would be fun if one of those teams could have a special campaign in 2021 with a Vanier Cup win.
• One of the most fun moments this season might occur if Saskatoon Blades general manager Colin Priestner makes a visit to Prince Albert in the role as president and governor of the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush. In branding themselves as Saskatchewan’s team, the Rush like visiting communities across the province, and I suspect Priestner would be able to ham it up with Raiders fans being on the same side when it comes to the Rush.

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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’Riders lose frustrating West final, surprise season still fun

Cody Fajardo was the breakout star for the Roughriders.

    No matter how well things go for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, fans always have to fear one of those moments is just around the corner where you ask yourself, “Why do I cheer for this team?”

    The latest installment of asking that very question went down on Sunday, when the Roughriders fell 20-13 to their archrivals the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL’s West final before a near capacity crowd of 33,300 spectators at Mosaic Stadium.

    With the Bombers holding their 20-13 edge, they turned away the Roughriders on two defensive stands inside the Winnipeg 10 yard line to preserve victory.

    The last play of the game saw Roughriders breakthrough star quarterback Cody Fajardo wire a pass intended for open receiver Kyran Moore off the upright in the Winnipeg end zone. With that thud, the Roughriders magical 2019 campaign came to an end.

    Winnipeg advances to the Grey Cup this coming Sunday in Calgary, Alta., to face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the CFL championship. The Tiger-Cats romped to a 36-16 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL’s East final on Sunday in Hamilton, Ont.

    For Roughriders fans, the West final loss to the Bombers was a painful way to season come to an end that far exceeded expectations.

Shaq Evans led the Roughriders with 1,334 receiving yards.

    When training camps opened for CFL clubs back in late May, most pundit predictions had the Roughriders posting a record that would allow them to just scrap into the playoffs as a best case scenario.

    Only those on the inside with the team would have had higher hopes.

    During the off-season, the Roughriders went through a head coaching change with Chris Jones leaving his head coach and general manager duties behind to bolt or an assistant coach position with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

    Craig Dickenson, who is a player’s coach type that everyone likes, took over as the Roughriders head coach, and Jeremy O’Day became the club’s new general manager.

    At the start of the campaign, the Roughriders were bringing back Zach Collaros as the team’s starting quarterback. Fans feared Collaros might potentially suffer another concussion injury, and the season would go down the drain.

    That fear played out as a reality on the fourth play of the Roughriders regular season opener on June 13 against the Tiger-Cats in Hamilton. Collaros ran for a seven-yard gain and gave himself up on a feet first slide only to have Tiger-Cats linebacker Simoni Lawrence drive his shoulder into the signal caller’s head.

Charleston Hughes, right, led the CFL with 16 sacks.

    Collaros left the game due to a concussion, and the Roughriders ultimately dropped that contest 23-17.

    After the first four weeks of the regular season, the Roughriders had a 1-3 record. No one could have seen they would turn their campaign around in a big way topping the West Division for the first time since 2009 with a 13-5 record.

    The 13 victories were the most for the Roughriders in the regular season since finishing 14-2 in 1970.

    The surprising first place campaign resulted due to the emergence of Fajardo as a star. Before signing with the Roughriders, the Brea, Calif., product spent about two-and-a-half seasons as a reserve quarterback with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts and British Columbia Lions.

    The 27-year-old had an out of nowhere fantastic season completing 338-of-473 passes for 4,302 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He became the West Division nominee for the CFL’s most outstanding player award.

William Powell led the Roughriders with 1,093 yards rushing.

    Thanks the Fajardo’s meteoric rise, Collaros was deemed expendable. The Roughriders traded Collaros to the Toronto Argonauts in late July.

    Before the CFL’s trade deadline on Oct. 9, the Argonauts dealt Collaros to the Bombers. The Bombers were looking for more consistent quarterback play after star signal caller Matt Nichols was lost for the season due to shoulder injury in the Bombers 32-16 victory over the B.C. Lions on Aug. 15 in Winnipeg, Man.

    Roughriders 35-year-old defensive end Charleston Hughes played like an ageless wonder leading the league with 16 sacks and piling up 50 defensive tackles.

    Linebacker Cameron Judge is the West Division’s nominee for the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian player award. Judge posted 61 defensive tackles, 11 special teams tackles, five sacks and two interceptions for the Roughriders.

    Pass catcher Shaq Evans topped the Roughriders in receiving catching 72 passes for 1,334 yards and five touchdowns.

    Running back William Powell came over from the Ottawa Redblacks and broke the 1,000-yard barrier in rushing for a third straight season. He carried the ball 215 times for 1,093 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Cameron Judge is up for the CFL’s most outstanding Canadian award.

    Dickenson is the West Division’s nominee for CFL coach of the year.

    Just when all things seem great for the Roughriders, adversity strikes. In a practice leading to their final regular season game, Fajardo suffered an oblique muscle injury. He revealed after the West final loss he tore two oblique muscles.

    In another crazy twist, Collaros was healthy entering the West final with the Bombers. The Bombers had many pundits predicting in training camp they would make the Grey Cup game, but they finished third in the West Division still with a solid 11-7 mark.

    Had the Bombers overcome their injury bug, they could have had more wins. Still, Collaros’s arrival and strong play restored Grey Cup hopes in the Manitoba capital.

    In leading the Bombers to their West final win over the Roughriders, Collaros completed 17-of-25 passes for 267 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

    Fajardo had a strong game despite his injuries completing 27-of-41 passes for 366 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

Makana Henry (#74) had a solid campaign at DT for the Roughriders.

    The Roughrider struggled inside of the Winnipeg 10 yard line, and those struggles were costly.

    On the first of two defensive stands the Bombers made inside of the final 2:30 of the fourth quarter, the Roughriders gambled on a third and goal from the one on a Fajardo quarterback run. He was stopped creating a turnover on downs, but knowing his injury status, the play call was a curious one.

    When Fajardo rang his final pass off the crossbar of the goalpost on the game’s final play, it was the final sign to show this wasn’t the Roughriders day.

    The Bombers will try to win their first Grey Cup since 1990 going in as underdogs against the Tiger-Cats, who finished first in the East Division with a 15-3 regular season record.

    When the Roughriders host the Grey Cup next season, hopes will be high they can win it all at home like they did in 2013 downing the Tiger-Cats 45-23 at Taylor Field.

    Going into the 2019 campaign, the Roughriders had a lot of question marks, and those question marks have disappeared.

Craig Dickenson, middle, is up for the CFL coach of the year award.

    There will be questions and chances this off-season too. On the local front, one wonders if 37-year-old Regina product Jon Ryan will return as the punter and 33-year-old Weyburn, Sask., product Brendon LaBatte will be back on the offensive line.

    Age and life pursuits could play part in decisions on those fronts.

    The Roughriders have a franchise quarterback in Fajardo, who has the potential to play for a large number of years. That instils a bigger belief it is possible to build on the club’s meagre total of four Grey Cup titles.

    While it seems something always happens to dampen hopes of Roughriders fans, Rider Nation continues to find reasons to keep believing the best is still possible.

    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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From Rams to ’Riders – Ryan’s football life comes full circle

Jon Ryan boots a punt for the U of Regina Rams in 2002.

    Jon Ryan’s most famous play in the NFL came via his arm and not his punting leg.

    On January 18, 2015, Ryan was playing for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, who were trailing 16-0 in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game to the visiting Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field.

    Facing a fourth-and-10 at the Packers 19 yard line, the Seahawks sent out their field goal unit. Ryan served as the holder on the field goal team for place kicker Steven Hauschka.

    The Seahawks called for a fake. Ryan, who was born and raised in Regina, Sask., took the ball, rolled to his left and floated a 19-yard touchdown pass to offensive tackle Garry Gilliam to cut the Packers lead to 16-7.

    Seattle rallied to win that contest 28-22 in overtime.

    Ryan is still the last Canadian born player to throw a touchdown pass in an NFL conference title game thanks to his toss on that fake field goal against the Packers, who he broke into the NFL with in 2006 and 2007.

Jon Ryan sets up to punt during Roughriders training camp.

    “It was pretty cool,” said Ryan. “It was quite the experience to be able to throw a touchdown pass and be able to do a fake, not only that but in a game of that magnitude.

    “To be able to represent Canada in that situation meant a lot to me.”

    These days, Ryan is back in his hometown playing for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders. After four games, the 37-year-old has punted the ball 24 times for the league’s second highest average at 47.5 yards per kick.

    The Roughriders (1-3) are slated to host British Columbia Lions (1-4) at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Mosaic Stadium.

    Until the start of this season, Ryan hadn’t played in the CFL since starting his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2004 and 2005.

    With the Bombers in 2005, Ryan appeared in 17 regular season games punting the ball 118 times for an average of 50.6 yards per kick. That average yards per kick is still a CFL record for most punt yards per kick for one season.

    After his time with the Bombers, Ryan played 12 straight seasons in the NFL with the Packers and Seahawks appearing in 191 career regular season games. Over that time, he punted the ball 914 times for 40,895 yards and averaged 44.7 yards per punt.

Jon Ryan (#9) is the recognizable hometown face with the Roughriders.

    Ryan admits his days with the Bombers seem like a long time ago. He is happy things worked out that he was able to return to the CFL with the Roughriders.

    “It has been cool,” said Ryan, who stands 6-feet and weighs 217 pounds. “It has kind of been a dream, a goal for a long time.

    “It is just kind of coming to fruition now. It is fun to be out here with the guys. It is fun to be back with family and friends.

    “It is good to be back in Saskatchewan.”

    With his return to Regina, Ryan’s football days have pretty much come full circle. He played high school football with Regina’s Sheldon-Williams Collegiate in 1999 after stepping away from being a hockey goalie on a full-time basis.

    In 2000, he joined the University of Regina Rams in the U Sports ranks tabbed to be both a place kicker and a punter. The Rams were in their second season at the Canadian university level after leaving the Canadian Junior Football League following the 1998 campaign.

Jon Ryan (#15) made lots of catches with the Rams from 2000 to 2003.

    Ryan took over the Rams place kicking and punting duties on a full-time basis as a rookie. He was responsible for scoring the winning point in the Rams first ever U Sports playoff victory on Nov. 3, 2000.

    In the last play of a Canada West Conference semifinal playoff game against the U of Calgary Dinos in Calgary, Alta., Ryan booted a 36-yard punt single to lift the Rams to a 33-32 victory.

    The Rams won two more playoff games to earn a berth in the Vanier Cup, which is the U Sports championship game. They fell 42-39 to the U of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the 2000 Vanier Cup.

    Ryan’s versatility began to take further form during that first campaign with the Rams. As that season went on, he began taking more reps at practices and games at wide receiver.

    Ryan made his most memorable offensive play as a sophomore in 2001 in a regular season game at Griffiths Stadium against the host U of Saskatchewan Huskies. After a goal-line stand, the Rams were at their own one yard line.

Jon Ryan launches a punt for the Rams in 2000.

    The Huskies came with a blitz, and Rams quarterback Marc Anderson threw a deep sideline streak pattern to Ryan. Ryan out jumped a defender for the ball, came down with it and raced down the sideline for a 109-yard touchdown reception.

    The Rams fell 34-28, but Ryan’s catch was something that would never be forgotten.

    In his final season with the Rams in 2003, Ryan was named the all-star punter in the Canada West Conference and a first team U Sports all-Canadian all-star averaging 45.9 yards per boot on 67 attempts. He also had 27 catches in eight regular season games to lead the team with 501 receiving yards, while scoring four touchdowns on receptions.

    Due to the fact many of his former Rams teammates work in Regina, Ryan has been doing some catching up on that front.

    “It has been great,” said Ryan. “I’ve talked to a lot of them.

Jon Ryan kicks a field goal for the Rams in 2003.

    “Maybe, we will have a little almost 20-year reunion from the Vanier Cup days.”
    Ryan has enjoyed catching up with his large, extended family as well. Having played 12 straight seasons in the NFL with the last 10 of those campaigns coming in Seattle, Ryan’s visits fell off in frequency.

    When he wasn’t an NFL roster after parting way with the Seahawks, Ryan lived in Los Angeles, Calif., with his wife and famous comedian Sarah Colonna.

    On June 5, Ryan received an honourary doctor of laws degree along with his mother, Barb, from the University of Regina. Ryan’s father, Bob, passed away on Dec. 1, 2006 due to cancer.

    “I was living in Seattle and now I live off-season in L.A.,” said Ryan, who is serving a one-year contract with the Roughriders. “I see them (his family) once or twice a year.

    “When you have 12 nieces and nephews, a lot changes in a year when I don’t get to see them. Now, I’ll be able to see them on a regular basis. I’ll be able to see my mom and my brother and my sisters.

Jon Ryan jogs out for starting intros in 2003.

    “My nieces and nephews, I will be able to watch all their sporting events and all the things that they do. It is going to be pretty special, and it already has been.”
    On the field, Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said Ryan hasn’t shown signs of losing any of his power.

    “I knew he was pretty good,” said Dickenson. “He has actually gotten better.

    “He was a little rusty the first few days. He has a big leg there is no doubt.”

    Suiting up as the hometown product for the Roughriders, Ryan is inevitably watched more than a number of his teammates.

    He has dealt with that before in the NFL.
    During his time with the Seahawks, Ryan was one of the team’s most popular players, and he was a team captain over his final four seasons with the club.

    Ryan holds the Seahawks team records for most career punts (770), most career yards (34,480) and highest career average for yards per punt (44.8).

    He is comfortable with being in the spotlight.

    “You feel like a little bit you live in a fishbowl sometimes,” said Ryan, who helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl XLVIII following the 2013 regular season. “That is kind of how it was in the NFL too.

Jon Ryan (#9) and Jorgen Hus chat at Roughriders camp.

    “No matter what position you are, you are always kind of being watched whether it be on the field or off the field. I feel that is the same here. It is one of those things I kind of thrive off of.
    “I like it, and I’m used to it.”

    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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    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.