Free agency has died down, the draft is over, and training camps are nearly underway. The 2016 CFL Season is almost upon us and that means excitement! To get ready for the pre-season kickoff on June 8, we will go through each CFL team from worst to first and list three big reasons you should be exited to watch your team in 2016. As a bonus, there’s even a reason to cheer against every team for the opposing fans. So let’s get excited about the 2016 Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Reason#1: The Franchise is All In on Chris Jones
Following the dismal 2015 season, Roughriders President Craig Reynolds realistically had two options for the future of his team: stay the course or shake things up. Staying the course would have meant allowing Bob Dyce and Jeremy O’Day, the interim head coach and general manager, to remain in control and guide the Riders through a couple of years of rebuilding and reloading until they returned to respectability. Instead, Reynolds moved to shake things up by poaching Grey Cup winning coach Chris Jones from the rival Edmonton Eskimos.
What makes this move so interesting is the nearly unlimited power that was granted to Jones as part of the deal and how he has already made it clear that this will be his team. Gone are fan favorites and assumed Riders-for-life Weston Dressler and John Chick, along with other popular players like Tyron Brackenridge and Chris Getzlaf. Had any other Head Coach been selected, all the aforementioned players, save maybe Getzlaf (who had struggled with injury), would have been back this year.
Yet despite the initial grumblings, the Riders leadership held firm that it was Jones’ way or the highway and sprang to grab as many of his former players as possible. Now, with the 2016 season upon us, we will truly get to see what happens when a brilliant football coach is given truly unlimited power and a blank slate (the Riders lost over 35 players in the off-season). Even if Riders fans are apprehensive about some of Jones’ moves they will be closely watching the start of 2016 season, as will many other fan bases eager to see how it all unfolds.
Reason #2: Open Competition Across The Board
Every team preaches that no roster spot is guaranteed, but the reality is that most teams have their depth charts more or less filled out with the draft and training camp is used to decide only a couple of starting spots. Not so for the Riders, who couldn’t afford to go status quo with any new Head Coach – much less Jones. There will be no opportunity for even the most productive vets to rest on their laurels in training camp when Jones has the power to cut Weston Dressler and go about his business unscathed.
Even at quarterback, the one area of the team that should have no question as to who the starter is, will be thrilling to watch. As much as I like Darian Durant, he now rightly or wrongly carries the title of injury prone after back-to-back season ending injuries. This, coupled with his age (33), likely means he is one hit away from missing serious time and possibly his long term job security. Brett Smith was exciting but very raw last year and is a holdover from the previous regime. You know the Riders management trifecta of Jones/Murphy/O’Day have already started thinking long term at the position when they invited over 10 QB prospects to Spring Mini Camp. The battle for the #2 spot behind Durant will fascinating to watch for both the short and long term implications.
With spots open all over the roster the Riders are sure to be more competitive by the sheer virtue of every player on the depth chart fighting to prove they fit the team Jones is building.
Reason #3: Nowhere To Go But Up
In all fairness, Saskatchewan had one of the most entertaining offences in the league last year and ranked highly in multiple offensive categories. While this may suggest it was the defence who tanked the Riders’ season (and the defense was especially horrid), the team’s struggles went beyond the two sides of the ball. It didn’t mater if it was offense, defense, or special teams, it got to the point where you just expected the Riders to shoot themselves in the foot with a fumble, interception, or missed kick and lose it all. When a team repeatedly can’t make a critical tackle when it counts, nor grind out a 10-point lead in the final minutes, that team is missing something more than just better players.
Coming into this year, the Riders stand to gain ground in all aspects of their play. Yes, the defense will still go through hiccups and will make mistakes; the offense will have its share of two and outs; and the special teams will allow a kick return or two. However, if the Riders can win even a few more games and not make the forehead-slapping mistakes of 2015, then fans can feel assured their team is heading in the right direction. Of all the CFL teams, Saskatchewan truly has the most to gain this season by simply showing up and playing average football – and that’s not meant as an insult when the league is just plain better when the Riders are competitive.
Something for the Opposing Fans
Hope that Chris Jones becomes the “Chip Kelly” of the CFL.
Chip Kelly is a former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles who was lauded for his revolutionary ideas and so confident in his system and coaching that he insisted on complete control of the roster. Kelly proceeded to cut every player who didn’t fit his “requirements” regardless of popularity or production and completely overhauled the team to fit his vision. Despite this, Once the season started Kelly’s team bombed out and he was shown the door by furious fans and remorseful ownership.
Now read that again and insert “Chris Jones” and “Saskatchewan Roughriders.” It doesn’t seem too out of place, does it? The danger looming out of Saskatchewan is that if Chris Jones is not what he seems, if he was just a byproduct of good teams and good players these past few years, the entire franchise will fall flat on its face and stay there for years. For the record, I see Jones as a very different coach than Kelly and don’t expect him to be run out of town by Rider fans, but the potential is there and all the other teams would surely love nothing more.
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