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| Tino Sunseri (#12) will lead the Roughriders as their starting QB. |
It’s Tino’s time in Rider Nation, and
Saskatchewan Roughriders fans will find out fast how good backup quarterback
Tino Sunseri is.
With starting quarterback Darian
Durant needing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right elbow, Sunseri will
be the leader at the helm for the Green and White for likely the rest of the
2014 season. Durant suffered his injury during a hit in the Roughriders 30-24
road victory over the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg on Sunday.
Things won’t be easy for Sunseri
down the stretch, because the Roughriders schedule is due to get a lot tougher.
In the team’s final six games, the Riders play the 7-3 Edmonton Eskimos three
times and the CFL leading 9-1 Calgary Stampeders twice.
The good news for the University of
Pittsburgh graduate is he will get two full starts to prepare for that stretch
against a couple of the CFL’s lesser lights in the East Division. This coming
Sunday, the Roughriders travel to Hamilton to play the 2-7 Tigers-Cats.
Following that contest, the Riders
return home and host the expansion 1-9 Ottawa Redblacks on Sept. 21 in the
Plaza of Honor game.
While you never want to look past
any opponents, the contests against the Tigers-Cats and Redblacks could serve
as good tune-up games for Sunseri. If he can cement a high comfort level with
the team’s talented receivers during that time, it will serve him well in the
late season battles the Riders are sure to encounter.
Sunseri has the potential to be
good. At the University of Pittsburgh, he finished third in school history
throwing for 8,590 career passing yards.
Also, he doesn’t have to come in and
be like Peyton Manning for Saskatchewan. The Riders have built their 8-2 record
on the strength of a shutdown defence anchored by sack master John Chick and a
league-leading rushing attack built behind a veteran offensive line.
It is possible that Sunseri might
get away with being like Trent Dilfer, where you are the classic game-manager
quarterback. In that role, the quarterback basically tries not to turn the ball
over or make any mistake that might cost the team.
So far this season, Sunseri has
looked good in the small sample size of action he has been part of. Back on
Aug. 24, he made a big relief appearance in a 20-16 road victory over the B.C.
Lions in Vancouver.
In the contest, he completed 8-of-13
passes for 86 yards and a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Dan Clark off a
goal-line gadget play.
When Sunseri entered that contest, Roughriders offensive coordinator
George Cortez didn’t become passive. At the start of the second half, Sunseri
went for broke and threw up a bomb, which was dropped by wide receiver Rob
Bagg, who had a clear path to the end zone.
With the supporting cast the
Roughriders have, Sunseri has a golden opportunity to shine.
Very soon when the team’s schedule
gets a lot tougher, we’ll have a true early gauge to see how well Sunseri
handles his opportunity.
If you have any feedback on this blog, feel free to email comments to
stankssports@gmail.com.
