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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    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.