Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

The Saskatchewan Roughriders' victory over Hamilton yesterday may serve as the perfect summary of the team's season. While the 'Riders showed plenty of vulnerability on both sides of the ball, they managed to make enough big plays to pull out the game in the end. And the result was another notch in the win column - if not a clear statement that the 'Riders can keep piling them up in the future.

The story offensively was of course the number of jaw-dropping receptions that made for key plays on the 'Riders' touchdown drives. Presumably thanks in part to the wind in Hamilton, Darien Durant's deep throws weren't quite as precise as they'd been the previous week - but thanks to the stellar play of Weston Dressler, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz, they nonetheless connected more often than not. And the Ticats' fear of the bomb managed to open up enough room underneath for the 'Riders to do fairly well in the ball-control department as well (even if Wes Cates seems to have slowed back down after showing a bit more burst early in the season).

So the 'Riders' offense generally looked good...as long as one doesn't take turnovers into account. But Durant did serve up a couple of stinkers: an interception by Dylan Barker on a pass that looked doomed from the beginning, and a fumble on Saskatchewan's last offensive play of the game that gave Hamilton new life when the 'Riders had a chance to put the game away. And the timing of the latter giveaway looks like a particularly strong indication that Durant is still working on deciding when it's worth taking risks.

Meanwhile, the defence had a fairly easy answer to the same question about risk-taking - as it spent the entire game trading off big plays for the chance at turnovers, with remarkably strong results.

In theory, Kevin Glenn should be one of the last CFL quarterbacks to get suckered by deceptive coverage schemes - but he threw one interception and one near-miss on plays where defensive backs went unaccounted for on deep throws. And Deandra Cobb's valiant efforts to churn out extra yardage were turned into a negative by the 'Riders' propensity for forcing fumbles.

Again, that has to be balanced against the Ticats' success in moving the ball, with the 'Riders' focus on turnovers resulting in sloppy tackling through much of the game. And Glenn's already-impressive numbers could have been even better if not for a couple of embarrassing dropped passes. But once again, the tradeoff looks to have worked in the 'Riders' favour. And if the 'Riders' defence is creative enough to find ways to force turnovers even without generating its usual amount of pressure due to a banged-up defensive line, opposing offences may have little choice but to reduce their own production by playing it safe.

Finally, the special teams look to have been at worst a wash for Saskatchewan, making the game a relative success in that department. Ryan Grice-Mullen may not have the best hands of any returner around (as he showed with a fumble which he was able to recover), but his combination of raw speed and willingness to attack the coverage team resulted in a better return game than we've seen through most of the season. And while the 'Riders' kicking team had some rough moments, it was at least roughly able to match the production of its Hamilton counterpart.

So the end result is that while there's ample room for improvement on most fronts other than the receiving corps, the 'Riders once again did just enough to pull out a win against a contending team. And with the 'Riders enjoying both a winning streak and a strong position in the standings, the big question is once again whether they can sustain and build on their current level of play (rather than what can be done to fix major defects).

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Most of the discussion following the 'Riders' stunning victory over Calgary has revolved around Ken Miller's odd decision to try to win the game with a punt single rather than a 35-yard field goal. But while that choice was certainly an odd one, the bigger story in the game was that the 'Riders were in a position to win to begin with against a team that had been demolishing all comers - and that they did it by adding elements to their offence that had seldom been seen in 2010.

Keep in mind that Calgary's defensive success over the past few years has been based largely on its being willing to trust the Stamps' secondary in regular man-to-man coverage - accepting slightly greater vulnerability to big plays if an offence could beat a top-level defensive back as the price of having more defenders available to load up the line of scrimmage. And Calgary has been more successful than ever this season in making that tradeoff work to their advantage.

Which looked to create serious problems for a Saskatchewan offence which hadn't made effective use of long passes in recent memory, and whose already-porous line seemed likely to let Calgary's defenders get to Darian Durant before he'd have time to set up deep throws. But the 'Riders managed to create just enough time for Durant to get the ball away on plenty of deep routes. And from there, a combination of great plays by the 'Riders' receivers and perfect timing or luck resulted in the 'Riders completing as many long (50-yard) passing plays as they had in their previous 10 games combined - not to mention putting up a total of 12 20+ yard gains based on a combination of passes to four different receivers and runs by Durant and Hugh Charles.

While the 'Riders amassed some yardage with more conventional offence as well, I don't think there's much room to argue that they would have come close to the Stamps if they hadn't put such a constant emphasis on big plays. Durant posted what has to be a remarkably low number of completions (23) and completion percentage (59%) for a 500-yard game, while Wes Cates was once again shut down on the ground. So the 'Riders had little choice but to match the Stamps' high-risk, high-reward defence with an equally aggressive offence - and the gamble obviously paid off.

Meanwhile, the 'Riders' defence fared about as well as can be expected against Calgary's high-powered offence. While 30 offensive points (plus a touchdown off a turnover) is normally more than a team can afford to give up, the 'Riders held the Stamps to a thoroughly mediocre ground performance, and managed to stop Henry Burris' passing attack as well when it counted most.

The bad news for the 'Riders is that their plan of attack against Calgary doesn't figure to work all that well against any other CFL team - meaning that if they plan to rely on winning shootouts in the future, they have plenty of work to do adding accuracy to their mid-range offensive game. But it's still a huge plus to see Durant's offence going toe-to-toe with one of the league's elite defences and producing enough long-range fireworks to win - and that looks to be a more important story going forward than the late-game maneuverings that nearly blew the 'Riders' chance to win.

Monday Morning 'Rider Blogging

It would be tempting to simply pass on any comment on yesterday's trouncing at the hands of the Blue Bombers. (And I'll do just that when it comes to special teams.) But this may instead make for an important decision point for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in figuring out their best course of action for the rest of the season - so I'll toss in my two cents' worth on what we've learned in recent weeks.

At the beginning of 2010, the 'Riders looked to be putting together a match for the Alouettes' successful strategy of the past few seasons: an offensively-oriented team with a skilled quarterback throwing to a deep receiving corps, with an opportunistic defence ready to punish opponents for trying to match that quick-strike capability and no glaring weaknesses to be exploited. And early on, that combination seemed to work just fine.

But in recent weeks, the 'Riders' offence has seen a serious downturn. Even putting aside yesterday's putrid performance, the team's ground game has evaporated over the last month, allowing defences to focus on attacking Darian Durant and put a serious dent in the passing game. And with the biggest weakness looking to be an offensive line that seems helpless against aggressive defences, there's little prospect of matters improving based on outside player additions.

So if the 'Riders can't count on their offence to carry them, what's the next best option?

Fortunately, the team should have an ideal blueprint: after all, it was just three years ago that Saskatchewan won the Grey Cup primarily on the strength of a turnover-happy defence, paired with a ball-control offence that relied on a quarterback's running ability to keep the chains moving when all else failed. And the 'Riders' personnel would seem to be ideally suited to a similar philosophy with just a couple of changes on each side of the ball.

On offence, the major change would be a far more concerted effort to get Darian Durant running rather than dropping back on the vast majority of plays. Granted, there's bound to be some concern about his absorbing more physical punishment that way. But he's been taking far too many hits as it is with the pocket regularly collapsing around him - and it may take some more regular quarterback runs to get defensive lineman back on their heels to reduce the damage.

Meanwhile, the big change on defence would be even more focus on taking advantage of turnover opportunities.

On that point, I'll note that the talk about "turnovers called back due to penalty" in yesterday's game somewhat misses the cause and effect involved. After all, at least two of the turnovers (James Patrick's first interception and Brent Hawkins' forced fumble) wouldn't have happened if the penalties hadn't been committed.

But there were plenty of other opportunities to turn the tables on Winnipeg's offence, including a near-pick by Mike McCullough and a number of runs which were extended as the 'Riders tried unsuccessfully to strip the ball. And if the 'Riders are going to have to settle for a less potent offence than planned, then the defence may need to dial its aggressiveness up a notch further in order to serve as the team's dominant unit.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Last night's loss to Edmonton serves to have answered one interesting question: namely, whether the CFL is enough like the low-scoring NFL of the '70s for a team to nurse a two-touchdown lead while its offence takes the rest of the game off. ("No", it would appear.)

Unfortunately, it's not quite clear who wanted to see the question answered in the first place. And the result for the 'Riders was a loss in a game that should have been put out of reach early.

To start off with, let's give full credit to the 'Riders for doing as much as can possibly be done to control a team that's normally explosive both on offence and on special teams.

Yes, Ricky Ray put together a couple of late drives. But normally the mark of a great defensive performance against him is to make sure he can't turn inevitable passing yardage into more than three points at a time, meaning that the worst point in the game for the 'Riders' D was still a success by normal standards. And the defence was even more impressive earlier on, holding one of the CFL's most accurate and efficient quarterbacks to a woeful 2 for 6 for 16 yards and an interception in the first quarter, then taking full advantage of a rookie quarterback toward the middle of the game.

Meanwhile, the cover teams were no less impressive in stifling the normally-explosive Kelly Campbell (as well as Jamaica Rector when Campbell was hurt for a time). So the 'Riders couldn't have done much more to shut down everything Edmonton normally does to put points on the board.

But then there's the offence. On paper, its yardage numbers would be classified as mediocre rather than disastrous. But that falls far short of telling the whole story, as a unit which looked like it was ready to steamroll the CFL early this season suddenly turned completely ineffective when it counted.

And indeed, the 'Riders were at their worst when it mattered most. The story for the first quarter was the team's one touchdown drive; in the second quarter, it was churning up some yardage, but repeatedly falling just short of field-goal range. But in the second half, thanks to a painful combination of weak blocking on running plays and uncoordinated pass attempts, the 'Riders managed only two first downs. And even those required short-yardage plays to move the chains, as the team's only play over 9 yards was a failed attempt to convert on 2nd and 25.

What's truly sad, though, is that even that lack of production need not have been fatal, as the 'Riders might well have been able to hang on if their offence had merely taken care of the ball while doing nothing positive. Unfortunately, the 'Riders' turnover total for the last 32 minutes of the game exceeded their number of first downs, with the last of Darien Durant's interceptions giving Edmonton just enough of a boost to get back into the game. And when the Eskimos did manage to put up enough points to tie the game then take the lead, the 'Riders didn't even show a trace of ability to bounce back, gaining a total of one yard on five plays.

The company line coming out of the game seems to be that the problem was one of execution, which would seem to be an obvious enough issue in the wake of such a dismal performance. But between Durant's running ability and Cates' receiving skills, the 'Riders normally have enough safety valves in their offence to at least move the ball somewhat even when their traditional offence isn't functioning as it should. And the fact that the offence couldn't fire on a single cylinder yesterday cost the 'Riders a game they should have been able to win in a walk.

What's worse, the game may have far more significance for the rest of the season than one would think from the standings going in. Don't look now, but the gap between the 'Riders and the Eskimos for second place is only one game more than the one separating Saskatchewan from first place. And while Edmonton obviously has plenty left to work on, it seems to have enough talent to get its season turned around - particularly since its win yesterday came with its two top offensive threats either absent or playing far below their best.

Needless to say, we'll have to hope for yesterday's game to serve as a wakeup call for the 'Riders. But it could instead turn out to be the end of the have/have-not dynamic that's dominated the West so far this season - especially if other teams can exploit the weaknesses Edmonton was able to find in the 'Riders' offence.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

The Saskatchewan Roughriders' 37-13 win over B.C. undoubtedly made for a great turnaround from the previous week's result in Montreal. But it's less clear whether the 'Riders' performance actually reflected much improvement, or merely the result we should expect against a Lions squad on the verge of collapse.

The key to Saskatchewan's success was once again a seemingly ferocious defensive performance, with 5 sacks (3 by Jerrell Freeman) and 2 interceptions to go with subpar output in both points and yards. But while the 'Riders deserve credit for taking advantage, it's the Lions who presented about the best setup a defence could ask for.

After all, it isn't often that a team starts a quarterback whose greatest strength is a cannon arm, then schemes for him to use that arm mostly to achieve the highest possible bounce on short throws into the flat. Nor would a team that's struggled with the pass all season (and particularly in the game at hand) normally choose to pass on two thirds of its plays, especially when its running attack is churning out 10 yards per attempt. But the Lions gave the 'Riders a massive advantage by doing both - leading me to wonder whether their goal was as much to test out Jarious Jackson for future use as to try to compete with Saskatchewan in what was bound to be a tough game.

Meanwhile, the 'Riders' offence was effectively a mirror image in results from the previous week: unimpressive when it came to racking up big numbers (and B.C.'s defence deserves credit for keeping the 'Riders in check with effective tackling), but balanced and efficient enough to pile up points when it did get within scoring range. Indeed, the only real area of concern was Darien Durant's continued vulnerability to turnovers in the form of two more interceptions - but Durant more than made up for that with a strong ground game that kept the chains moving even when the passing game wasn't connecting.

As for the special teams, Eddie Johnson looks to have firmly entrenched himself as the 'Riders' punter with another strong game. But while the kicking unit looks to be set, the return and cover teams only played a struggling team to a draw, trading off slightly more effectiveness on punts for slightly less on kickoffs. That may not be the kind of performance that puts anybody's job in jeopardy, but nor should it be seen as any great triumph - particularly when it ranks as one of the team's best outcomes of the season.

That said, there's every reason to be satisfied with a game whose outcome was never really in doubt after the second quarter. But what remains to be seen now is how much impact the bye week has on the 'Riders - as a team which has managed to win in a lot of different ways so far tries to work out a formula that will enable it to take on all comers. And that task doesn't get any easier when there's so much reason to doubt that future opponents will give Saskatchewan the kind of advantages it enjoyed on Thursday.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

On the surface, it's hard to imagine a loss more acceptable than Friday night's defeat in Montreal. On the road against the top team in the CFL, with a quarterback who'd been unable to practice most of the week, the 'Riders managed to keep the game close even with most of the breaks going against them - and came up just one big play short of emerging with a win. But while there's plenty to praise in the team's performance, a couple of odd choices do deserve some discussion this week.

Let's start with what looked to me to be the high point of the game. After a fairly rough first half marked by a number of quick-strike passes, the defence played what may have been the best shutdown half I've ever seen from the 'Riders. And it wasn't just in the fact that the vaunted Montreal offence suffered five two-and-outs in six drives, but in the fact that it took a total defensive effort to produce that remarkable result.

Rather than relying on a lot of dropped passes or other factors beyond the defence's control, the 'Riders spent the entire second half blanketing receivers so Anthony Calvillo couldn't find his preferred receivers downfield, collapsing the pocket before Calvillo could look to additional options or take the ball for himself, and wrapping up anybody who managed to take a handoff or a short pass. And that performance against the league's best-established offence is why the 'Riders were able to stay in the game despite everything else that went wrong.

Unfortunately, the offence couldn't quite finish the job at the end. But it's worth noting how close they came: a couple of extra yards on Darien Durant's pass to Prechae Rodriguez on the second-last play of the game, and we'd be celebrating another unlikely comeback against the Als. That said, though, there's again some question as to the 'Riders' play selection.

In particular, one would have expected the 'Riders to look for extra ways to make the running game work in light of Durant's health problems throughout the week. But instead, they went to a pass-heavy offence the likes of which we haven't seen since the early '90s, having Wes Cates carry the ball only five times despite his being moderately successful when he got the chance. And that tendency was just as marked when the game was close as when the 'Riders were in comeback mode.

As for the choice of passes, the 'Riders did fairly well in the first three quarters with the type of quick-passing game I'd discussed last week, moving the ball fairly effectively even if it didn't lead to a lot of points. If there was a signficant area of concern in the passing game early on, it was in the fact that the 'Riders' protection of Durant was abominable at times - leading to his having to shed tackles or take big hits on far more plays than a team should expect from a quarterback even at the best of times.

Late in the game, though, the 'Riders went back to looking deep on what seemed like the majority of its plays. And it's not hard to see the link between that choice and the fact that Durant ended up with as many incompletions as Montreal had passing attempts (to go with his two damaging interceptions).

So while the 'Riders' gaudy passing numbers reflected some obvious success letting Durant put up a gutty performance, they may have been as much a reflection of some curious offensive choices as they were evidence that the team was actually firing on all cylinders. Which means that for next week, the goal needs to be to make sure that the running game gets in gear, rather than forcing the team to count entirely on Durant's arm.

As for the special teams, the game was another litany of blown coverages, bad penalties and weak returns. But the most significant moment which seems to have slipped under the radar was the one chance to get a big play in the 'Riders' favour: that being the overturning of a Tim Maypray fumble over a weak no-yards penalty, leading to the Als' lone field goal of the second half instead of the 'Riders starting with their best field position of the game. And while Saskatchewan nonetheless managed to make it most of the way back in the rest of the game, it may have had a far easier time if it had been able to convert that opportunity.

For next week, the 'Riders are back home against a reeling Lions team. And hopefully this time, Saskatchewan won't need 445 passing yards and a near-perfect defensive half to make up for its difficulties in other phases of the game.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Another game, another fairly solid win that could easily have been a blowout in the Saskatchewan Roughriders' favour. But there's reason for optimism both that the 'Riders have fixed a couple of their nagging weaknesses, and that they can remedy their current problems by digging into their existing playbook.

The main story coming out of the game was the 'Riders' inability to convert drives, with three separate trips inside the Hamilton 5 resulting in a field goal or less (and another two just barely turning into touchdowns). But while Hamilton deserves credit for some highly effective short-yardage defence, it's worth noting that the 'Riders would seem to have the ability to improve their chances of scoring by using some strategies that have been far more effective in the past.

After all, it's been well noted that the 'Riders have had a stellar track record on two-point conversions: given one play to score from the 5-yard-line, Darien Durant's offence hasn't been stopped a single time over the past two years. So why would the 'Riders have any trouble scoring with three chances starting from the 3 or closer?

The main problem seems to be a choice to play it safe in a couple of ways. On first down and on subsequent plays within a couple of yards of the end zone, the 'Riders regularly ran into the teeth of the defence - ensuring that the Ticats needed only a strong push from the line to hold the 'Riders back.

And in what's surely a somewhat related factor, the 'Riders were shockingly reluctant to let Darien Durant use his scrambling ability near the goal line. Every play after Durant's lone interception was apparently designed for either a handoff or a lob from the pocket into the back of the end zone - with the result that Durant had neither any chance to take the ball into the end zone himself, nor any angles for a quick pass to catch the secondary by surprise.

Fortunately, there would seem to be an obvious solution. Rather than fixating on playing it safe when that means making the defence's job far easier than it should be, why not use the 'Riders' two-point conversion playbook as their default option on plays outside the opponents' 1, treating the extra downs as bonus chances in case the first try doesn't work? At the very least, that would bring some of the 'Riders' key offensive strengths back into play - and as an added bonus, it would soften up the interior of the defence for when they do decide to try to pound the ball into the end zone.

Aside from its trouble converting drives, the other issue for Saskatchewan's offence was the success Hamilton's defensive backs had at times in timing and deflecting Durant's longer passes. This too looks to go to some predictability that's creeping into the 'Riders' offence - but should be easily fixed by relying somewhat less on rainbow passes and proportionally more on direct strikes underneath.

On defence, the obvious story was Arland Bruce's huge game, which feeds into the problems I've mentioned earlier with the 'Riders' ability to stop a single top speed receiver. But at this point, it's worth wondering whether that should be considered an acceptable price for combining Gary Etcheverry's trademark pass rush and push for turnovers with a generally effective run defence. After all, the 'Riders have now given up the two biggest individual receiving performances in the league this season (and three of the top five) - and have won each of those games.

Of course, the tip interceptions by Luc Mullinder and Lance Frazier did wonders for the 'Riders' chances in countering Hamilton's attack - and one can't particularly credit the defensive scheme for basic mistakes by the Ticats' receivers. But both Mullinder and Frazier did have to make brilliant plays to take advantage of those opportunities. And if there's a tradeoff to be made between the preparation needed to scheme to slow down a receiver like Bruce and that used to take advantage of chances to take the ball away from the opponents, I'd have to think the 'Riders have made the right call.

Meanwhile, the special teams had their best game of the year by far on all fronts. The most obvious strengths were Luca Congi's seven field goals along with Neal Hughes' blocked punt. But two other areas which may make for more consistent advantages are worth highlighting as well.

First, Eddie Johnson's kickoff distance was superb throughout the game - leading to two free points for the 'Riders as Marcus Thigpen was forced to retreat into his end zone. As it happened, the game wasn't close enough for those points to make a huge difference - but it's always worth taking whatever advantage a team can get.

And second, Dominique Dorsey had by far his best game of the year. Instead of letting punts bounce around as he had earlier, Dorsey managed to cash in on two fifteen-yard no-yards penalties, which combined with a couple of solid returns to help the 'Riders to better field position than they've enjoyed for ages. Of course, the 'Riders' opponents figure to notice that pattern and back off based on the knowledge that Dorsey isn't going to give them the benefit of a reduced penalty for getting too close. But that should only make it easier for Dorsey to find the blocks he'll need to break returns more consistently.

With Montreal looming next, the 'Riders will need to make sure both Dorsey and the offence are firing on all cylinders as they were in week 1. But yesterday's performance once again seemed to signal a team on the cusp of dominance - and Saskatchewan will surely be looking forward to seeing whether that holds up against the league's other top team from the past couple of seasons.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

There are at least a couple of positives for 'Rider fans after last night's loss in Calgary: while his hang time left something to be desired, Eddie Johnson looks to have been a huge upgrade on the punting and kickoff performance the 'Riders have seen this year. And the team's group of receivers looks to be firing on all cylinders: three are on pace for 1,000+ yards and two more within striking distance, and all five managed at least one impressive catch last night to account for most of the 'Riders' offence.

Thus ends the good news. But there's plenty on the down side as well after a 20-point loss that by all rights should have been much worse than that.

Let's start for a change with the 'Riders' latest set of special-teams issues, as field position was a huge problem for the team all night (resulting in the offense racking up a lot of yards that didn't come close to leading to points).

While Johnson managed respectable distance on his kicks, it's worth wondering whether the kick cover units were unaccustomed to something about his style, as Deon Murphy was able to put up big returns at will on both punts and kickoffs - making for a new problem in an area that hadn't been a particular weakness yet this year. And the Stamps' big returns were all the more obvious in comparison to another weak game by Dominique Dorsey on a few fronts.

It's one thing if Dorsey doesn't have the raw speed to outrun cover teams - and I'm not sure the 'Riders would have reason to complain if Dorsey were combining moderate explosiveness with smart decisions about how to take kicks which resulted in consistent mid-range returns. But once again, Dorsey also made plenty of questionable decisions as to when and how to catch the ball, allowing Burke Dales to pin the 'Riders deep on multiple occasions by letting the ball bounce rather than making an effort to catch it on the fly. And it's hard to see what the 'Riders are getting out of a veteran returner when his of decision-making has been a consistent problem (to go with a lack of substantial returns when he has caught the ball).

Needless to say, Luca Congi's 1-for-3 performance was just icing on the cake. But in fairness to Congi, his kicking didn't figure to make much of a difference either way based on how the rest of the game played out.

Defensively, the 'Riders appeared to play well on the surface in a first half which saw the Stamps limited to 7 points. But it's worth questioning how much of that was based on the Stamps' weaknesses and choices rather than any particular defensive strength.

Both of James Patrick's interceptions seemed to be better classified as unforced errors by Henry Burris rather than the result of any great defensive play: Burris mostly succeeded in ducking the 'Riders' pressure throughout the game, and seemed to have better options on both plays than forcing the ball into the end zone. And while Nik Lewis' fumble was somewhat more directly caused by the defence, it too required a good bounce at the right time which left the Stamps scoring only seven points off of four first-half trips to the red zone.

After that first half marked by the Stamps missing their opportunities, it only took a single strike to Romby Bryant to send the 'Riders into panic mode. From that point on, Saskatchewan got little to no pressure on Burris and fell apart against the run. And not surprisingly, the end result was for Calgary to start converting after its regular marches down the field.

Meanwhile, the response from the 'Riders' offence had to be considered a disappointment as well. While its yardage looked fine on paper, the line lost most of the battles in the trenches, leaving Darien Durant to face a regular onslaught on defensive linemen. As a result, the offence put up most of its numbers thanks to spectacular receptions on low-percentage throws (which were balanced out by interceptions when similar plays went wrong), as well as Ken Miller's odd decision to leave the first-string offence on the field after the game was out of hand. But Durant and company didn't succeed either in taking control of the game when the Stamps were reeling in the second quarter, or in keeping up with Burris' production as Calgary put the game out of reach in the second half.

Of course, any team is bound to have a down game every now and then - and Burris is exactly the type of streaky quarterback who can hang a loss even on a team that's done everything it can. But the 'Riders can't plausibly claim to have met that standard yesterday - and the combination of new problems and familiar flaws in yesterday's game suggests that the team has plenty of room for improvement.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

The party line after the 'Riders' hard-fought win over Edmonton yesterday seems to be that the team's resilience in coming back to beat the Eskimos should be taken as a sign of greatness. But I'd think the more important lesson in a home game where Saskatchewan narrowly beat the lone winless team in the CFL is that the 'Riders still have a ways yet to go before reaching that level - and that there's room for improvement in both strategy and execution.

On the offensive side of the ball, yesterday's game will hopefully be the worst we'll see out of both Darian Durant and Weston Dressler this season - Durant due to his poor accuracy through the first half in particular, and Dressler in combining one glaring drop with a lack of production. Durant at least recovered to throw a couple of picturesque passes (as well as pile up decent yardage thanks largely to yards after catches), while Dressler's off game didn't hurt too much with Andy Fantuz, Rob Bagg and Chris Getzlaf all having their moments catching the ball.

But while those struggles from two star performers may not have been in the game plan, it shouldn't have come as much surprise that the passing game would face some complications in yesterday's windy conditions. And that makes the play calling somewhat surprising: the running attack was virtually ignored for an entire quarter after the 'Riders' first-quarter field goal, and only received about equal use even after it proved to be extremely effective later on.

Of course, that has a lot to do with Doug Berry's aggressive offensive philosophy which is generally a positive for the 'Riders. But a team needs to adapt to conditions - and the 'Riders spent far more time yesterday flailing around with an inconsistent passing game than they needed to under the circumstances.

On defence, meanwhile, the most important story continues to be the 'Riders' effectiveness against the run. Once again, Saskatchewan held a marquee running back to about 50 yards of production, which combined with some effective red-zone play and a sudden rediscovery of the concept of the "turnover" to keep all but one of the Esks in check.

But there is some reason for concern with the one player who did run wild. For the third week in a row the 'Riders' defence was torched by the opponents' top speed receiver, and the damage has been increasing by the game: from 106 for Kerry Watkins on opening day, to 169 for Geroy Simon against B.C., to 213 for Fred Stamps yesterday. That hasn't necessarily been the result of exploiting similar weaknesses (Watkins did most of his damage downfield in one-on-one matchups, while Stamps racked up his yardage finding holes underneath), but it seems to make for a pattern that the 'Riders will need to break.

As for the special teams...the less said about them, the better. I'm not sure the 'Riders have much choice but to give Louie Sakoda and Dominique Dorsey each a mulligan, but the team's patience must be wearing thin when neither has contributed much previously to make up for yesterday's train wreck. And while those roster spots at least provide some expectation for improvement later on, it can't be too reassuring that last season's weak points on special teams are reemerging with a vengeance.

In sum, while any team will ultimately take a win, yesterday's game seemed to say more about what the 'Riders still have to work on than what they've managed to build so far. And hopefully next week's contest against Calgary will see not just the return of the 'Riders' lethal offence of the first two games, but also some progress in the problem areas.

Tuesday Morning 'Rider Blogging

I've held off on last year's pattern of Saskatchewan Roughriders blogging due to the impression that there's already a downright painful amount of coverage - at least, if one counts the Leader-Post holding multiple live chats every week, and seemingly posting multiple teasers and chat references every time one of its reporters speaks to a player. But apparently there's some reader interest in my continuing to add to the province's football word count. So let's look at where the 'Riders stand after their first two highly successful games of the 2010 season.

On offence, I've seen two key differences between the 2010 version of the 'Riders and the one which was far less consistent last year. I mentioned back then that the 'Riders' strategy to deal with opposing pass rushes seemed to be to find one outlet for Darian Durant to use against a particular scheme - but that the next step for Durant had to be to learn to use multiple options in the same game. And this season he's done just that, leaving opponents guessing as to whether he'll step up or retreat, take off or find a receiver while evading the rush.

Thanks to that variety, Durant looks to be controlling the game far more than last season, when even many of the 'Riders' successful plays were based on counterpunching rather than dictating the game to a helpless defence. Now, the main area for improvement looks to be for Durant to start pushing the limits in finding receivers under pressure with confidence rather than throwing the ball away - and once that happens, the 'Riders' passing offence looks to be the undisputed top air attack in the CFL.

Meanwhile, the other major offensive change has been the resurgence of Wes Cates at running back. Cates will never have the speed to outrun most defenders, but in 2009 he slowed up to the point where even gaping holes turned into 7- or 8- yard gains as defenders were able to close in from the side. So far in 2010, he's back to having just enough quickness to leg out big gains on the ground - and as long as he can keep up that level of running ability, he'll be a perfect fit for a scheme which forces defenders to focus on stopping the pass.

On defence, the 'Riders seem to have caught a bad rap from a first game where it should have been expected that the Alouettes would come out firing on all cylinders. In particular, an Anthony Calvillo-led offence seldom lets pass rushers look effective - and that led to more questions than the defensive line deserved.

Fortunately, the B.C. game (and particularly Brent Hawkins' performance) looks to have put all doubt to rest as to whether or not the 'Riders will get to the quarterback. But the larger question for any Gary Etcheverry defence will be whether his creative schemes to create pressure will open up the field for opposing rushers. There, the 'Riders' stellar performance has gone largely unnoticed: in games against two running backs who topped 1,000 yards last season, the 'Riders haven't yet allowed more than 54 yards rushing to anybody. And if that trend keeps up, offences will have little choice but to gamble on long passes in an effort to keep pace with Saskatchewan's attack - playing into the hands of a defence that's always ready to turn a mistake into a turnover.

So is there any bad news so far? Well, it has to be of some concern that the 'Riders are using an import roster spot on a punter whose average is by far the lowest in the CFL. And the return teams' middling performance looks all the worse when one of Saskatchewan's cuts has been the top returner in the CFL. But those look to be relatively minor issues when weighed against the effectiveness of the 'Riders' offence.

That leaves the most obvious danger from the beginning of the offseason: while the team is built to dominate as long as a healthy Durant is at the controls, I haven't yet seen much reason for confidence in the backup quarterbacks if he gets hurt. But while it still strikes me as odd that the 'Riders haven't done more to mitigate against that risk, it has to be for the best if an evaluation of the team involves comparing what could conceivably go wrong with what's obviously going right.

(Edit: fixed wording.)

Monday Morning 'Rider Blogging

If nothing else, last night's Grey Cup game should prove to be a second-guesser's dream for the rest of the offseason. In a game decided by a single point at the last second, the 'Riders:
- not only missed a makeable field goal, but allowed Larry Taylor to run the ball out of the end zone;
- kicked two field goals on 3rd and 2, as well as one on 1st and goal from the 2 (at the end of the first half), rather than trying to put more points on the board;
- threw an interception while in field goal range;
- conceded a single point on a punt rather than forcing the Als to kick again from five yards back - after doing just the opposite on the previous play;
- and finally, gave the Als a second chance at a last-second field goal after Duval had missed his first.

Of course, it's the last mistake that seems to be receiving most of the attention today. But a change in any of the earlier events could theoretically have had just as much effect on the outcome. And that's without getting into factors which had an obvious indirect effect on the point count - like the curious decision to start sending kicks deep (resulting in two long returns) after getting goods results out of a squib-kick strategy earlier in the game, or the fact that both the offensive and defensive units came up short when they had chances to close out the game in the last two minutes.

All of which is to say that there are plenty of targets for blame if one is looking to assign it. But while it may not offer much consolation in light of how the game ended, it's worth noting how much the 'Riders did accomplish.

The defence's first-half performance was easily the most effective counter anybody has developed against the Als' offence this season; meanwhile, the offence was opportunistic in the first half and put together a beautiful run-based drive to open up the game's largest lead in the second half. And without both units playing well within extremely well-designed schemes, the 'Riders would never have opened up the lead that they did.

Moreover, even leaving aside the larger leads over the course of the game, one has to figure that if someone had approached Ken Miller at the start of the game with the chance to take the ball and a 2-point lead with 1:39 to go, he'd have snapped up the offer in a second. And the 'Riders have done well enough in similar late-game pressure cookers this season to have had reason to think they'd be able to hold on in the Grey Cup as well.

Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. But as Montreal can attest, even a great team will end up with some near-misses along its road to the top.

So while yesterday's result is obviously a huge let-down based on how close Saskatchewan game to being the champion once again, it's worth keeping in mind that it's not an insubstantial achievement to have made it to that position in the first place. And hopefully some lessons learned yesterday will help the 'Riders to close out some more chances in the years to come.

Monday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Most of the discussion before and after yesterday's win over Calgary has surrounded the starting quarterbacks. And Darien Durant certainly deserves the credit he's received for his performance in the game. But let's leave no room for doubt: the most important factor in the 'Riders' win was a defensive scheme which did more to bottle up Henry Burris than any I've seen in the CFL.

Under normal circumstances, Burris is largely able to dictate the outcome one way or another. Most defences facing Burris spend the entire time on their heels, facing an impossible choice between focusing on coverage and letting him run wild, or spying the quarterback at the expense of receivers getting open deep. And even when Burris' passing isn't up to par, he normally manages to makes some plays with his legs. Which means that opponents mostly have to hope for Burris to miss open receivers and make bad decisions in order to stay in the game.

But not yesterday. Burris managed one long run on the Stamps' first drive - then by my count had a grand total of zero plays the rest of the game where he threatened the 'Riders in the open field. For the most part, that's because Saskatchewan kept him hemmed into a perpetually-collapsing pocket, with different rushers coming at different times to prevent him from waiting for a receiver to get open. And the few times the Stamps designed plays to give Burris more room to operate, Saskatchewan consistently had two waves of defenders coming for him, with the second (hello, Rey Williams!) arriving to drop Burris before he could look downfield after dodging the first (hello, Stevie Baggs!).

In the end, Burris was completely stymied on the ground and couldn't find much weakness in the 'Riders' secondary. And the 'Riders had to be ecstatic with that combination, even if it meant another fairly big game for Joffrey Reynolds.

Of course, the problem for the 'Riders' defence is that the game plan that worked so well against the Stamps will have to be discarded for the Grey Cup - as a scheme designed to frustrate a quarterback who loves to wait for plays to develop would be suicidal against Anthony Calvillo's quick trigger. But the 'Riders' defence has proven extremely versatile this season, and should be able to get back into bend-but-don't-break mode for next week's game.

Meanwhile, the 'Riders' offence played roughly in the upper end of its normal range. As usual it showed some inconsistency throughout the game, but it avoided any turnovers other than Steven Jyles' third-down fumble, and converted on most of its opportunities to score to stake the 'Riders to the lead.

The one major concern for the offence has to be a running game which was almost completely ineffective until the team was in prevent mode. But Durant can make up for that in part with his own scrambling, and one has to expect that a game against the Als will be enough of a shootout for the team's passing attack to the be the top priority anyway.

Now, the 'Riders get a chance to win the Grey Cup on fairly friendly turf - and hopefully the crowd will once again be a major factor in Saskatchewan's favour as it has been in the last two home triumphs. But even leaving that advantage aside, the 'Riders have showed throughout the season that they're one of the CFL's top teams on merit - and it'll only take one more great performance to put that title in the history books.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Needless to say, there's plenty to be satisfied with in the 'Riders' win over Calgary which clinched first place. After two nail-biters in the team's earlier games against Calgary, the 'Riders managed to maintain at least some advantage throughout the game, then pulled away late to the point where the Stamps didn't even bother leaving Henry Burris in the game for their last drive. So let's note what the team did particularly well to win yesterday - and what it will need to work on in case the Stamps are back in town two weeks from now.

The biggest plus for Saskatchewan was the most consistent offensive game the team has put together in some time. While Andy Fantuz seems to have finally broken out as a superstar receiver, the rest of the team's success was once again based on balance between a number of threats, with five receivers and three rushers posting 24 or more yards of production.

About the only time the offense was ever bottled up was in the first quarter after the 'Riders' first touchdown - but by then the Stamps were already on their heels due to the 'Riders' lead. After that point, the 'Riders posted a grand total of one two-and-out the rest of the game to go with no turnovers and few significant losses of yardage (thanks largely to Darien Durant's creativity when the Stamps managed to get pressure on him). And that combination will usually ensure that a team at least stays in any game - or holds a lead once it exists.

What's more, even while winning the game by 16 the 'Riders had more near misses than their opponents when it came to piling up even more points. Several deep passing routes were no more than a stride away from turning into long TDs, while a couple of drives were stopped just short of field goal range (including one where a rare sack may have made the difference between a field goal attempt and a punt). Which offers the 'Riders some obvious room for improvement - but holds out the potential that the 'Riders could blow out their conference final opponent without much change from how they played yesterday.

Meanwhile, the defence was remarkably effective in slowing down Henry Burris. The defensive line surrounded Burris on most plays so that he couldn't generate big gains on the ground, while the secondary did a superb job shutting down deep routes and making quick tackles when Burris was forced to throw short. (In particular, credit has to go to Omarr Morgan, who regularly seemed to be in a better position to catch passes thrown his way than the Stamps' receivers.)

The price of that focus was yet another huge game for Joffrey Reynolds, and one would surely like to see a few more of his first-down runs stopped after 2-3 yards rather than watching another steady stream of 7-10-yard gains following broken initial tackles. But for this game at least, the 'Riders were able to firm up their defence nearly every time the Stampeders were within striking distance of the end zone. And allowing Reynolds some yardage closer to his own end of the field in exchange for limiting the Stamps' passing offence is probably a trade-off which any team will be glad to make.

Finally, special teams were largely a saw-off in yesterday's game, with no game-changing returns and only a few significant kicking plays. The Stamps managed to expose one weakness in when Sandro DeAngelis recovered his own kickoff in the third quarter, but it should be a fairly easy fix for the 'Riders to keep one player in front of the kicker to keep that from being repeated. Meanwhile, the 'Riders greatest strengths were ones which should remain effective for the rest of the season: in particular Louie Sakoda's punting and kicking is turning into a major boon for the team.

We'll find out next week who the 'Riders will end up facing in the West final. But the prospect of adding a few of the team's injured players back into the lineup after a game as strong as yesterday's has to serve as a great sign for the 'Riders' chances of turning a Calgary Grey Cup into an effective home game.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Most of the talk about yesterday's loss to Hamilton looks to be painting the game as a writeoff for the 'Riders as a whole. But I'm not sure that analysis is fair either to the parts of the team which did play pretty well, or to the offence which needs to look at the game as a sign of serious room for improvement rather than than a mulligan.

The relatively bright side starts with the special teams, where Jason Armstead again managed to give the offence plenty of opportunities with superb field position, and the kick and cover teams were both solid (though Luca Congi was just off on a couple of long field goals which could have changed the complexion of the game if they'd succeeded).

More importantly, Saskatchewan's defence held up remarkably well for a game where it was stuck on the field for 39 minutes. While Deandra Cobb had a big game in the final numbers, he at least faced tough going most of the game until the final drive when the outcome wasn't really in doubt. And a depleted secondary managed to hold Kevin Glenn to his lowest numbers since he took over the Ticats' starting job, completely shutting down any deep passing game and causing enough trouble on shorter routes to keep Hamilton from pulling more than a couple of scores ahead.

But that of course leads into the real problem for the 'Riders, which was that scores of any kind seemed to be beyond the capability of Saskatchewan's offence. And the problem wasn't limited to any one player or strategy: while it would be easy to focus in on Darien Durant's early turnovers and later inaccuracy, there were equally obvious issues with receivers dropping passes, the offensive line collapsing under pressure and Wes Cates finding absolutely no room to run.

In effect, yesterday looks to be the flip side of what I noted last week. Even when it's been fairly productive, Saskatchewan's offence has functioned mostly by spotting the small holes created by aggressive defences and targeting those with precision timing, rather than by actually controlling the game for itself. And yesterday's outcome is a vivid example of what happens when the usual precision is lacking: after missing the narrow windows offered up by the defence, the 'Riders can end up getting swamped at every turn.

Of course, it's probably too late for any major changes to Saskatchewan's game plan. So hopefully the 'Riders will be able to get back to their previous pattern of living on the edge - rather than watching the season end early as their offence plummets off a cliff.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

The obvious good news out of yesterday's victory over B.C. is that...well, against all odds the 'Riders managed to add one more game to the win column. But the game does look to me to have been easily the ugliest win the 'Riders have posted this season.

About the only clear positive in the game was the offence's drive for a touchdown once Barron Miles gave the Lions a 30-22 lead. With Miles leaving the game at that point, the offence suddenly took control of the game for the first time, posting five consecutive completions culminating in Johnny Quinn's touchdown, then once again cashing in on a two-point convert attempt.

But the rest of the game (both before and after) wasn't quite so friendly for the offence. In the first half, the 'Riders posted two touchdowns to take the lead, but still mostly seemed to be on their heels: the team accomplished little with great field position on the game's first few drives, and its biggest plays (Rob Bagg's 60-yard reception on the first touchdown drive and 32-yard TD on the second) were both the result of finding split-second windows in a B.C. defence which mostly controlled the line of scrimmage and blanketed the secondary. And the second half was once again almost a complete washout until the 'Riders desperately needed a score down the stretch.

In contrast, the Lions' offence was largely able to move the ball at will throughout the game - and was stopped more by its own unforced errors than by Saskatchewan's defensive scheme. The 'Riders put plenty of pressure on Casey Printers in his return to a starting role, but showed little ability to actually complete a play once Printers was being chased down - regularly allowing Printers enough time to find reads downfield in the first half, then making ill-advised lunges which allowed Printers to escape containment in the second. And the secondary had trouble covering the playmakers who should have been central to the 'Riders' game plan.

Fortunately, Printers made just enough mistakes to keep Saskatchewan in the game. But the 'Riders can't count on their opponents misfiring on short passes to stall drives or throwing inexplicable interceptions in overtime - and without both of those factors in yesterday's game, the 'Riders would have been done for.

Of course, it helped that Saskatchewan's special teams were once again a plus. Louie Sakoda showed plenty of leg strength on kickoffs, though he'll presumably need to work on his hang time (as his line drives gave B.C.'s returners all day to set up their blocks); Luca Congi was solid on punts, though his field-goal kicking left something to be desired; and Jason Armstead once again gave the 'Riders a short field on plenty of possessions.

But while the special teams made up for at least part of the Lions' ability to control the play on both sides of the ball, the 'Riders were ultimately extremely fortunate to escape yesterday's game with a win. And with B.C. looming as a likely opponent at some point in the playoffs, the 'Riders have their work cut out for them in figuring out how to take matters into their own hands.

Monday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Most of the talk about the 'Riders' tie with Calgary has focused on the penalties which kept drives alive for both teams in overtime. But while those undoubtedly contributed to the game's outcome, it's worth pointing out that the 'Riders themselves passed on what looked to be an ideal chance to take the game into their own hands.

For background, keep in mind that Darian Durant has proven to be extremely effective on two-point conversions recently. Twice in the last three games, the team has trailed by eight points in the game's dying minutes - and both times Durant managed to get the ball into the end zone, then put up a two-point conversion to tie the game. And the game before that, he likewise managed to complete a two-point convert to push Saskatchewan's lead from one point to three.

Which makes it odd to me that the 'Riders didn't go for two after their first overtime touchdown when it would have ended the game.

Even leaving aside the fact that a one-point convert is something less than automatic, the decision to play it safe looked like one with nothing but downside. The first overtime series would be the only one where the 'Riders could count on the benefit of scrimmaging last, and thus being able to use an extra down to get to the end zone if needed. In contrast, a second series would potentially give Calgary that advantage instead. So why not press the advantage while the 'Riders held it?

And the choice looks even more obvious after Saskatchewan's first convert attempt - where the Stamps managed to highlight the uncertainty of a convert by blocking the kick, but in the process took a penalty which would have made it easier to find the end zone on a two-point convert.

Mind you, there would be an obvious case for merely trying to extend the game to one more series if there was reason for concern about the team's chances on a two-point convert. But again, that's actually turned into somewhat of a specialty for Durant, whose combination of timing, touch passing and scrambling ability is ideally suited to finding some way to get the ball into the end zone from up close.

In sum, then, the 'Riders' first overtime possession got them exactly what a team normally hopes for at the end of a game: the chance to have the game decided by its own execution on offence, with the ball in the hands of a quarterback who's building a track record of making big plays when it counts the most. And having chosen not to take advantage of that opportunity, the 'Riders couldn't have expected much more than to come away with a single point in the standings.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

There was plenty of good news for the 'Riders in last night's win over Toronto. But while an underwhelming victory over a weak team counts for just as much in the standings as any other win, there were a couple of obvious problems which the 'Riders will have to fix in order to keep adding wins against their tougher opponents to come.

The best news for the game was almost certainly the offence's performance in the first half. After a couple of games where the offence had struggled early, the 'Riders managed to turn their first five possessions into four touchdowns and a drive into what would normally be field-goal range, racking up what would prove to be enough points to take the game by making use of nearly every weapon at the team's disposal.

And it's a good thing the offence managed to give the team that cushion to work with, as it was once again nowhere near as effective after halftime. The 'Riders' running game took some time off the clock with a few first downs in the third quarter, but the passing attack was thoroughly ineffective until the latter half of the fourth quarter. And while that late-game resurgence was enough to put the game away by adding another 3 points on the scoreboard while running most of the remaining time off the clock, it has to be worrisome that the team once again showed little inclination to put its opponent away earlier.

Meanwhile, the defence had a generally effective game, if not one to write home about. Ideally one would prefer to see the 'Riders control the run a bit better, as both Jamal Robertson and Jeff Johnson managed to put up some significant yardage. But those two never figured to be able to win the game on their own; instead, the real danger was Kerry Joseph, and the 'Riders managed to bottle him up on the ground throughout the game and anticipate much of his passing game beginning in the second quarter. There was still some room for improvement, as the Argos missed obvious opportunities due to both dropped passes and inaccurate throws - but in the end the 'Riders didn't give up more than they could afford, which has to be the ultimate goal.

And then there are the special teams, where the 'Riders have swapped out one major weakness for another. On the bright side, while Ian Hamilton describes Jason Armstead as "returning to form", I'd take a step beyond that. While Armstead has long been a dangerous all-or-nothing threat, I can't ever remember him being as consistently effective as he has this season. Which means that while it would be a bonus for him to indeed break a return or two to the end zone, the most important message the team can send is to make sure he keeps doing what he's doing to give the 'Riders better field position throughout the game rather than hinting that he should take more chances in order to score points himself.

Unfortunately, the 'Riders also faced one major problem in the battle for field position, as the punting took far more of a hit in Jamie Boreham's absence than I'd expected. That's particularly disappointing since Luca Congi managed to blast the ball when he had the chance to punt in the pre-season - but returning to the role now, he struggled with both distance and direction. And that may force the 'Riders into another strategic change if Boreham is out for long (and Congi stays in the role), as I'd have to figure it'll be worth trying a few more third-down gambles from the opponents' side of half if we can't expect to gain much yardage from a punt anyway. Or alternatively they may need to look at bringing in another punter, though the likelihood of finding a major upgrade may be low at this point in the season.

Needless to say, the 'Riders' next challenge in Calgary looks to be a far more difficult one than the Argos were able to pose last night. But the game plan shouldn't be all that different: like last night the main goals will be to keep an athletic quarterback from getting into positions where he can make plays on his own, while using a variety of weapons to find the weak points in an aggressive defence. And if the 'Riders can piece together a more effective punting game and stay more consistent on offence, it shouldn't be out of the question for the same strategy to help propel the team to the top of the West standings.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging

There isn't too much to say about two of the three phases of the Saskatchewan Roughriders' game after their win over Edmonton yesterday. The defence was nothing short of superb, leaving little to improve on other than trying to make sure a bit more rust gets shaken off Rey Williams before he returns to a full-time role. And on special teams, about the only development which seems likely to affect the team in future games is the success of the punt teams when Jamie Boreham has converted third downs or quick-kicked into the wind - leading to the question of whether the 'Riders might be best served using a similar strategy even when the conditions aren't quite as extreme.

On offence, though, there's plenty worth discussing about Darien Durant's performance.

The good news is that Durant seems to be adding new strategies to deal with defensive pressure as his first season at the controls wears on. At the beginning, Durant mostly sought to scramble to the outside - which is never a bad option for a quarterback with his athleticism, but which can be easily enough taken away when it's his standard escape route.

As the season has progressed, the 'Riders have rolled out new wrinkles to combat the pass rush every few games. Not long ago, Durant added to the usual screen plays as an outlet against pressure by making effective use of shovel passes; yesterday, it was a strategy of backing up and buying a fraction of a second when a rusher got in Durant's face which met with some success.

While we've seen a lot of different strategies work at different times, however, we haven't often seen much variety within a single game. And the same held true yesterday: while Durant's retreats worked well at times, he also wound up taking far more sacks than would be ideal, seemingly due in large part to far less decisive running than he's shown in the past when an extra second bought by backing up wasn't enough for him to find an open receiver.

That was particularly problematic in the second half when Edmonton tried to cover for its injury-depleted secondary (I believe defensive coordinator Jim Daley actually took the field under the assumed name "Gemara Williams") by sending a blitz nearly every play. Rather than attacking either the weakness in the secondary or the desperate pass rush, Durant stuck with the apparent plan to try to retreat his way out of trouble. But not surprisingly, that was less successful when there were multiple defenders coming at him than when Durant faced only a single defender who would have to worry about containment rather than being able to rush all-out.

Fortunately, Durant managed to make just enough plays to win the game by sticking to the original plan. But the next step in Durant's progress as a starter has to be to take the elements which he's used effectively in isolation and identify the one which fits best into the game situation. And that may be the difference between Durant's current status as a solid starting quarterback who can manage the game if the rest of his team plays up to par, and his developing into one of the CFL's elite players.

Monday Morning 'Rider Blogging

Needless to say, yesterday's game was a painful one for the 'Riders. Of course Saskatchewan managed a remarkable comeback after seeming to have no answers for the Edmonton offence in the first half. But curiously, the team seemed to figure that it could coast through the latter half of the fourth quarter once it had both the lead and the wind - and while the Eskimos' route to a game-winning touchdown may have been surprising, it shouldn't have been a shock to anybody that they rediscovered their ability to score points when they needed to.

As a result, the obvious priority going into next week's rematch has to be figuring out some way to stop the Esks' offence - and preferably without relying on receivers to drop catchable passes.

Most of the season, opponents have had their greatest success both pressuring Ricky Ray and tipping passes at the line. And while the former wasn't much of option given how quickly Ray was getting rid of the ball yesterday, the 'Riders weren't far away from getting their hands on enough passes to cause problems for the Esks. Which means that the key may simply be a matter of figuring out how the angles in Kevin Strasser's offensive scheme might differ from those under Rick Worman.

And of course, while the 'Riders managed to force one key fumble yesterday, they'll almost certainly need to up the turnover count - which shouldn't seem all that unrealistic considering how much trouble most of the Eskimos' skill players have had in hanging onto the ball.

Meanwhile, the 'Riders' offence was roughly on par with expectations. Wes Cates was shut down a bit more than usual, but that was counterbalanced by some effective running from Durant as well as an effective distribution of passes (five different receivers posted 35+ yards, with four of those catching 5 passes in the process).

As for the special teams, the main issue yesterday was one of strategy rather than execution. Counting Jamie Boreham's successful fake punt, the 'Riders chose three times to punt from well within Edmonton's zone with a brisk wind at their back in the fourth quarter - the last two with a three-point lead. And while one wouldn't want to count on Luca Congi being a lock to convert from 50+ yards, the value of even a single point in that situation would seem to have offered reason to let him test his range.

Having once again found a way to lose on their home turf, the 'Riders will face plenty of pressure to repay the Eskimos' favour next week in order to avoid falling to the back of the West standings. And while all aspects of the game seem to be functioning well enough to keep the 'Riders competitive against anybody, it has to be cause for concern that they've had trouble building and holding a lead against any team other than the Bombers.

Monday Morning 'Rider Blogging

It's not very often that a team comes away with a 45-point win. It's even less common to win by that margin while still managing to leave plenty of points on the field as the Saskatchewan Roughriders did yesterday. So what happened in yesterday's Banjo Bowl doesn't figure to be a repeatable result for the 'Riders - especially given how dependent the outcome was on the Bombers' propensity for self-destruction.

That said, the game looks to have been a potential watershed moment for the 'Riders in one important way. Throughout the 2009 season, the team has normally had little trouble staking itself to first-half leads, but has struggled to hold on in the second half.

Yesterday was the first time the 'Riders have substantially broken that pattern. Rather than letting up or making mistakes of their own after taking the lead, the 'Riders managed to keep going in the right direction throughout the game - playing safely enough to avoid giving Winnipeg any easy points, while at the same time staying aggressive enough to pull away until the game was out of reach.

On offence, full credit goes to Darien Durant for a steady game where his final numbers didn't match the positive results the offence was able to generate. In the midst of a season where he's seemed to try several different patterns of game management, Durant's performance yesterday was straight out of the Kerry Joseph 2007 playbook: loads of scrambling to extend plays combined with a willingness to throw the ball away rather than taking unnecessary risks, enough big plays to keep the defence on its heels, and enough ability to capitalize on short fields to put the game solidly in the win column. Which was exactly what the team needed for this game - and probably makes for a model which it can keep up for the rest of the season.

Of course, that does count on the defence continuing to generate turnovers. Yesterday's count was largely the result of the Bombers' own mistakes, but the 'Riders have previously shown they can get the job done on that front under somewhat more challenging circumstances. And the fact that the 'Riders' secondary was good enough to largely shut down the pass yesterday even while the team loaded up against the Bombers' running attack should give Gary Etcheverry even more flexibility to send pressure at opposing quarterbacks.

We'll find out next week how that strategy works against a quarterback who isn't quite as gaffe-prone as Michael Bishop. But for now, all indications are that the 'Riders have managed to at least partially fix their biggest issues while continuing to build on their early-season strengths - and it's hard not to like where the team is positioned for the rest of the CFL season.