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

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.

Sunday Morning 'Rider Blogging - Retreads

In most cases, it's a bit simplistic to try to sum up the philosophy of a team's general manager in a move or two. But sometimes, the fit is just too good to ignore: take for example Dayton Moore's trade of a talented pitching prospect for the worst player in baseball. Or Darryl Sutter's decision to send away two of the three most talented offensive players off an already scoring-challenged team due to insufficient Sutterness, with the returns consisting mostly of yet more low-firepower grit and depth.

Now, I have to hope that Brendan Taman's first player personnel move as the Saskatchewan Roughriders' GM won't similarly prove emblematic of his tenure. But I have to wonder whether we've seen the start of a pattern which may significantly limit the 'Riders' long-term prospects.

After all, having presumably had the opportunity to do nearly anything to make his mark as the 'Riders' GM, Taman's first player pickup was...Kelly Bates. Yes, the same veteran lineman who was given away by B.C. before the 2009 season, then benched by a mediocre Winnipeg team for lacking mobility - and who presumably hasn't added much speed as he turns 35 this season.

Which isn't to say that it's necessarily a bad idea to look for some talent which may have been cut a year too soon. And if Bates was the only offseason pickup fitting the mold, I wouldn't consider it a problem. But as a rule of thumb, it doesn't figure to be a great bet that Taman will be able to spot upside in well-established CFL players that their previous teams have missed, or get a bargain deal on players who have provided years worth of game film for every team in the CFL to review.

Granted, Bates, Dan Goodspeed, Barrin Simpson and Dominique Dorsey all have plenty of success on their CFL resumes. But all are also past the best-before age for their respective positions - and it'll be a surprise if a single one of them has anywhere near as much success yet to come as he's achieved in years gone by. Which combined with the large number of 'Rider re-signed free-agents stands to make this year's team into one of the oldest and lowest-upside units in the CFL.

Of course, it's worth asking what the 'Riders' alternatives were - as veteran stopgaps might be a viable strategy for a team with some glaring holes that needed closing. But Taman actually cut two veterans on the offensive line who are younger than the players brought in from outside, and had loads of internal options at linebacker who will now end up stuck behind Simpson on the depth chart. Which means that there wasn't any particular reason to thumb at random through a 2007 or 2008 CFL guide in search of big names to add to the team.

What's more, it doesn't much look like the few younger players brought in by Taman will add much to the 'Riders' long-term potential either: in fact, their ranks look to be no less slanted toward pickups off the current CFL scrap heap. LaDarius Key couldn't beat out Denatay Heard for a 'Rider job in 2009, but will take over a spot in camp vacated by Heard's release this offseason. Aaron Fairooz washed out with Winnipeg; Lavarus Giles managed the trick with both Winnipeg and Calgary. But all three will also take roster spots which could otherwise have been used to try out new talent.

Mind you, there's one glaring exception which proves the rule. At nearly every position in the CFL, it's possible to plug in a talented newcomer and get at least reasonable results - which is why paying a premium for an import tackle or linebacker is usually a waste of a team's limited money under the salary cap. But at quarterback, it's virtually unheard of for players to succeed without at least some CFL experience: by my reckoning, only two current or recent CFL quarterbacks (Ricky Ray and Kerry Joseph) managed to perform even passably in their first season on a CFL active roster. For reasons unknown, though, Taman seems to have chosen the one position where experience is a must as the one where he's willing to throw untested rookies into the fire.

For now, it's not too late for Taman to fix the QB depth before camp. And it may be that the 'Riders will be able to either find their share of talent among their limited amount of youth in camp, or wring one last strong season out of Taman's group of veteran acquisitions.

But it's worth keeping an eye on whether Taman's focus on veterans over untapped potential ends up depleting the 'Riders' depth - particularly as the roster and negotiation list left behind by Eric Tillman erode with time. And while I certainly don't hope to be right, I'd think there's reason for concern that Rider Nation will end up looking back on Bates' signing as the first step in the wrong direction after the team's recent success.