The 0-5 Saskatchewan Roughriders travel to Edmonton this week to face the 3-1 Eskimos. Many CFL analysts and fans share an opinion that there is not a hope in hell for the Riders this week and this season. I, like many among the Rider faithful, disagree. There is hope for the Riders yet.
There is still plenty of hope, even the kind of hope that is based in reality, for this team. You might inquire about the quality of the drugs I am on. I assure you, I am not using any. Hear me out.
Unlike some, I know the difference between the words “can” and “will”. I think this team can win this upcoming football game and their fair share for the rest of the season if, among other things, the negative talk and thoughts can be held at bay. I know. It’s hard.
There are 18 games in the CFL season. This team is less than one-third of the way around the track. The finish line is not in sight at this point. Think of 2011; the 5-12 Riders hadn’t been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs until the final game of the season thanks to a brutal east division and the possibility of a crossover. In the CFL, anything can happen and you can’t be too surprised when it does.
Handling the Mid-season Slump
General manager Brendan Taman and head coach Corey Chamblin have shown that they are committed to winning this year by bringing in veteran players and not trying to go with cheaper, younger alternatives. That should pay immediate dividends.
The Riders have become somewhat notorious for a mid-season slump just about every year Chamblin has been here. It’s not like the team hasn’t had losing streaks in this era of success. Maybe that undesirable reality has made like garage-salers and shown up early in 2015?
This team is full of former all-stars and Grey Cup champions on both sides of the ball. That kind of experience and leadership will help the Riders through the longest of slumps. Those 15 guys have been to the top of the mountain and know what it takes to get there.
The fans in Saskatchewan might be the club’s biggest asset right now. Widely regarded as Canada’s team, the players and coaches can be anywhere from Montreal to Vancouver and they will find support. Sure, there are pockets of fence-sitting fans every time adversity strikes, but for the most part the ever-present Rider nation will help this team rally.
Long-term Investment Strategy
Most of the negative fans seem to be pointing to the scouting department, saying it has been inadequate, even downright horrible. That’s easy to say looking around the league at other teams but the Riders are not those teams. The team made a substantial investment in scouting this offseason with the hiring of a full time American scout, Ron Salesky.
I guess these fans don’t know what an investment is. There are two kinds of investments. Short-term and long-term. Salesky has already sent players north and will continue to do so but scouting isn’t where you look for instant gratification.
Scouts send you talent. It’s up to the team to identify players strengths and utilize that talent. That doesn’t happen overnight either. Remember, this is just week 6 of eighteen in the CFL regular season. Fans certainly can’t blame scouting for blown coverages and lack of pressure on the opposing quarterback.
Fans can hope that Chamblin and his staff can identify the players that can help us win this year, as opposed to making panicked decisions and wholesale changes. At that point, Taman will reorganize and shuffle things around and the Riders will not have blown up this team completely.
Keeping Calm
The keep calm theory is what Mike Babcock, much heralded head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, stressed to Taman this past weekend at a sports dinner in Saskatchewan. The life-long Rider fan admitted that it’s difficult to see this team losing but insisted that if they stay the course things will work themselves out. Sure, hockey is different, but the guy knows a bit about team management in general.
It’s very difficult to put your finger on the things that have gone wrong for the winless Riders. You can’t say injuries, even though we’ve had some costly ones, because every team has to deal with those and should have quality depth to replace injured starters.
And injuries aren’t necessarily permanent. Every week that passes, guys like Shea Emry and Mark LeGree are getting more healthy.
Costly Mistakes
The one thing I can pick out from the 2015 season thus far is costly mistakes at critical times. Specifically a lack of discipline, fourth quarter penalties, missed opportunities, and blown coverages have cost the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Rider nation will hope that rookie QB Brett Smith and the league-leading ground game, which includes the offensive line in a big way, can play mistake-free football through four full quarters. That alone should get the ongoing train wreck back on track against the Eskimos in week 6.
