Roughriders "Reign of Error" look needs to go

The circle "S" logo on retro uniforms brings bad luck.

    On August 31, 2014, the Saskatchewan Roughriders made an error that brought back the ghosts of the “Reign of Error.”

    The Roughriders took the field for the Labour Day Classic that day sporting their classic green uniforms with the two white arm stripes on each shoulder and green helmets showing off their traditional circle logo with the “S.” Unfortunately, there was one noticeable difference a superstitious fan would notice about the retro look in this game that was unsettling.

    When the Roughriders first brought back these classic retro uniforms in the 2007, they were looking to mirror a look the team had from the late 1960s through the 1970s during the glory days of when Ron Lancaster quarterbacked the club and George Reed powered the team on the ground at fullback. 

    In a match that was a tribute of that era, the Roughriders wore those throwbacks in the 2007 Labour Day Classic, where quarterback Kerry Joseph ran in the game-winning touchdown from 27 yards out in the final seconds to give the Green and White a thrilling 31-26 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

    The retro uniforms the Roughriders wore in 2007 did not contain a team logo and sported each players’ number on the sleeve of the upper arm. This look was widely recognized as the club’s 1970s look, and the Roughriders often wore these throwbacks for special occasions in the regular season and key games in the post-season. That included crushing the Blue Bombers in the 2012 Labour Day Classic 52-0.

    When those uniforms were brought back as alternates 2007, the Roughriders went on to make four Grey Cup appearances, which included wins in 2007 and at home in 2013.

    Unfortunately, there was a change in the look of these retro uniforms in the 2014 Labour Day Classic. The numbers on the sleeve on the upper arm were replaced with the classic circle logo with the “S.” The numbers were moved to the shoulder area.

The retro uniforms with no logo and numbers on sleeve bring good luck.

    With those subtle moves, the retro uniforms went from bringing back memories of the glory era of Lancaster and Reed to bringing back memories of the “Reign of Error,” when the Roughriders missed the playoffs for 11 straight years from 1977 to 1987. The Roughriders wore their classic green uniforms complete with the circle “S” logo on the sleeve on the upper arm through most of that unsuccessful span.

    That look is viewed as the look of the unsuccessful era of the early to mid-1980s. While wearing that look, the Roughriders once got bombed 56-0 by the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg on July 5, 1986. For all intents and purposes, that look is a cursed look.

    The cursed look didn’t bite the Roughriders right away, when they wore the retros with the circle “S” logo for the 2014 Labour Day Classic. In a thriller, Roughriders running back Anthony Allen delivered the hosts to a 35-30 victory over the Blue Bombers with a major in the last seconds. Saskatchewan improved to 7-2 with that victory.

    While the Roughriders don’t wear those uniforms all the time, the superstitious fan saw the door open to allow a string of bad things to fall the Roughriders way.

The Roughriders retro jerseys with circle "S" logo on sleeve are cursed.

    The curse struck in the team’s very next game on September 7, 2014. The Roughriders downed the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg that day 30-24 to improve to 8-2, but Saskatchewan lost franchise quarterback and Grey Cup hero Darian Durant to injury. He tore a tendon in his right elbow.

    That injury occurred when the officials didn’t blow a play dead with certainty in a loud Investors Group Field, which saw half of the players stop and half continue on the play. Bombers defensive end Bryant Turner continued with the play and nailed Durant to cause the injury.

    Since that game, the Roughriders have posted an unspectacular 5-25 record including regular season and playoffs. Durant returned for the regular season opener in 2015, but he was lost before halftime after rupturing his left Achilles tendon shortly before halftime on a non-contact play. He missed the rest of the 2015 campaign, which saw the Roughriders sit in the basement of the CFL with an awful 3-15 mark.

    In the Roughriders 0-3 start in 2016, Durant played the full first two games before leaving Saturday’s 40-27 loss to the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium in the second quarter due to a severe left ankle sprain on a low hit. The Roughriders were ahead 10-7 when Durant left and were even up 23-10 at halftime before the wheels fell off.

These Roughriders classic retros with no logo should always be worn.

    During most of the 25 losses the Roughriders have suffered in their last 30 games, they have usually fallen in some sort of heartbreaking fashion. It seems the team can’t get a break.

    When they decide to wear throwbacks, they usually turn to their classic green uniforms with the circle “S” logo. The purpose of having the team logo on a uniform helps cement brand recognition. Unfortunately in the case of the Roughriders retro uniforms, it brings back the stench of a bad era, when the team almost folded.

    To make things clear, the Roughriders classic retro throwbacks with the circle “S” logo on the upper sleeve of the jersey are cursed, and they cause the team to be cursed when in use.

    The Roughriders classic retro throwbacks with no logo and the players’ numbers on the sleeve of the upper arm are good and lucky. Saskatchewan needs wear this retro look from here on out to no longer be cursed.

    That is my thought process, and I am sticking to it.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this kind of irrational fan-type post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Rumblings are a plenty for Roughriders

Darian Durant is attended to by the Roughriders training staff on June 27.

    If you live in Saskatchewan, you know you can talk about the CFL’s Roughriders at any time, all the time and get heated dissecting every facet of the team.

    Since taking the field and falling in their regular season opener 30-26 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 27 at Mosaic Stadium, there is no shortage of things to discuss surrounding the green and white in Rider Nation. Everything is not all good, but everything is not all bad.

    • The worst news revolves around starting quarterback Darian Durant, who ruptured his left Achilles tendon shortly before halftime in the season opener. Durant completed 13 of 18 passes for 165 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions before being carted off the field.

    Durant tore a tendon in his right elbow last season in a 30-24 win over the Blue Bombers on Sept. 7, 2014 in Winnipeg. That injury occurred when the officials didn’t blow a play dead at the snap with certainty in a loud Investors Group Field, which saw half the players stop and half continue on the play. Bombers defensive end Bryant Turner continued with the play and nailed Durant to cause the injury.

    The elbow injury was created by an unfortunate set of circumstances. The ruptured Achilles occurred due to bad luck. Durant dropped to the turf after following through on a pass, and he wasn’t even contacted on the play.

    The 32-year-old has already cemented his place as a Roughriders legend leading the team to a Grey Cup championship at home in 2013 and Grey Cup appearances as a starter in 2009 and 2010. He was also part of the Roughriders 2007 Grey Cup championship team as a third stringer.

    For anyone that has dealt with Durant for a number of years, you know he legitimately cares and enjoys being the starting quarterback of the Roughriders, and he has excelled in that role. That hasn’t always been the case for a club that endures arguably more scrutiny from its fan base than any other sports team outside of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

    Here is hoping Durant’s luck changes on the injury front in 2016.

   
    • The Roughriders need to play tougher and more aggressive defence going forward in 2015, if they want to have any shot of challenging for the Grey Cup. Against the Bombers, the Roughriders defence gave up 28 first towns, 325 yards passing, 145 yards rushing and failed to force a turnover. Winnipeg running back Paris Cotton had 108 yards on the ground on just 13 carries.

    The Roughriders defence missed numerous tackles and was non-existent. The fact the Bombers were able to drive the ball at will was also disheartening. Safety Tyron Brackenridge is expected to return to the Roughriders defence for Sunday’s game against the 1-0 Toronto Argonauts (1:30 p.m., Mosaic Stadium), so that should help Saskatchewan’s defensive unit.

    • Offence wasn’t a problem for the Roughriders in their season opener. Under Durant or backup

Kevin Glenn (#5) calls out signals for the Roughriders.

Kevin Glenn, the offence looked good. The Roughriders put up 285 yards through the air and 212 yards on the ground without injured star receiver Weston Dressler, who is expect to return on Sunday.

    Glenn has put up Hall-of-Fame numbers in his 14 seasons in the CFL. With a full week of practice with the first-team offence, expect Glenn to be that much more efficient going forward.

    Life is also coming full circle with Glenn, who started his CFL career with the Roughriders before moving on to play with Winnipeg, Calgary, Hamilton and British Columbia. The 2003 West Final looked at one time to be Glenn’s last with the Roughriders. As a backup, he entered the contest with the Riders trailing the host Edmonton Eskimos 23-2 for an ineffective Nealon Greene.

    Glenn gave the Roughriders a chance to in that contest, who eventually fell 30-23. During that offseason, the Roughriders brass of general manager Roy Shivers and head coach Danny Barrett backed Greene, who had been erratic his whole Roughriders tenure, as the starter going into 2004.

    That decision led to Glenn’s departure from Rider Nation, as many felt he should have been elevated or given the chance to compete for starter status. Glenn resurfaced in 2004 with the Bombers after a couple of transactions.

    Now a cagey veteran, Glenn will have his chance to lead the Riders as the starter.

    • Kicker Paul McCallum also had a back to the future moment, when he resurfaced with the Roughriders this week. The 45-year-old last played for the Roughriders in 2005 before moving on to excel with the B.C. Lions.

    McCallum’s name was linked with one of the most infamous moments in the Riders’ history. After he missed a chip shot field goal in overtime of the 2004 West Final helping the host B.C. Lions pull out a 27-25 win, his home was vandalized, he was threatened and manure was dumped on his neighbour’s property.

    McCallum was brought back to add more consistency with the kicking game, which wasn’t there with Chris Milo. Milo, who is well-liked by the Roughriders organization, struggled last season hitting 71.4 per cent of his field goals, and he often hit the post. He was 1-for-2 in the team’s regular season opener, but it is obvious the Saskatchewan coaches still have big concerns.

    Since 2009, McCallum hasn’t had a campaign where he has made less than 84.6 per cent of his kicks. Last season, he made 38-of-42 field goals for a 90.5 per cent success rate.

Any one that has followed football for any length of time knows an accurate place kicker will always find work and age won’t be a barrier.

    Over the long term, the Roughriders would love for Milo to regain his form from 2013, when he made 46-of-52 field goals for an 88.5 per cent success rate.

    • As the Roughriders go forward, the coaches also have to step up their game.

Since becoming the Roughriders head coach in 2011, Corey Chamblin has done an excellent job overall. With that said, the coaches always have to get better too. Chamblin preaches that to his players and that also has to stick to himself and his staff.

    In the opener with the Roughriders down 30-26, they faced a third and three from midfield with under three minutes to play. Chamblin went with conventional wisdom, and the Roughriders punted hoping to get a defensive stop and one last possession.

    Coaches are responsible for putting their players in the best positions to win the game, and this looked like a smart move. Unfortunately, Chamblin didn’t do a good job in reading the flow of the play.

    The offensives on both sides were running the show. At that time in place, the Roughriders needed to get the go-ahead score, as time was running out.

    Chamblin needed to mirror Bill Belichick, who is the head coach of the NFL’s New England Patriots, and gamble at this point in time. With the way the Bombers were moving the ball, the chances were high the Roughriders would not get another possession, and Winnipeg did indeed ground out the clock.

    A good head coach knows that each game contains its own story and makes the best decisions to try and win with what is occurring. He can’t worry about making a decision to slight one side of the ball or the other, and he is able to get that message across to his players no matter what the outcome.

    Belichick always has the message that he always expects to make it when he gambles. Chamblin can say the same thing, if the gamble doesn’t work.

    At some point in time, the game hits a critical juncture, where you have to go for it. Chamblin needed to gamble on that third and three.

    • Penalties. As far as penalties go, the officials should go back to calling things the way they did in 2013. The tweaks that have been made to calling penalties in 2014 and this season have helped grind the CFL game down. The way calls have been made in 2015 really hasn’t led to more scoring in the early going outside of the Hamilton Tigers-Cats bombing the Blue Bombers 52-26 on Thursday night in Winnipeg.

    The only other squad to score 30 or more points was when the Bombers beat the Roughriders on June 27 at Mosaic. Offence wasn’t really broke in 2013 and didn’t really need fixing.

    If you have any feedback about this blog post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.