Football is perhaps the ultimate team game. Even the most talented players rely on others to make themselves look good; Tom Brady isn't Tom Brady without his offensive line and even the best running back benefits from a fullback who can really block. Football players, even more than their brethren in hockey, baseball and basketball, rely on each other for their success.
Still, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders can attest to, nothing beats raw talent. In this case, that raw talent comes in the form of Kory Sheets. The star running back, who missed two games with a knee injury, returned just in time to lead the Riders to a 31-17 win over the B.C. Lions on Oct. 4. The win snapped the Riders' four-game losing streak and Sheets was the star, running for two touchdowns and 79 yards on 14 carries. The Riders amassed 118 yards on the ground, a complete turnaround from the miserable 15 yards they managed last week.
Quarterback Darian Durant had a very good day, completing two-thirds of his passes for 234 yards, one touchdown and, most importantly, no interceptions. He also used his legs, running three times for 37 yards.
Sheets's return wasn't the only positive for the Riders; with the win Saskatchewan improved to 9-5, drawing even with B.C. in the West Division and tying the season series at a game apiece. The teams' third and final meeting, which could decide second place in the division, is set for Oct. 19 in Regina.
Both teams have four games remaining, with the Lions facing a touch schedule that includes two games against league-leading Calgary. The Riders still have two home games against the cellar-dwelling Edmonton Eskimos and will almost certainly host a playoff game if they can win three of their last four.
It's crunch time.
Seeing a CFL player succeed in the NFL is like seeing a kid from Humboldt dominate against a team from Saskatoon or Regina; sometimes it's nice to know that people from more humble backgrounds can reach the highest level.
With that said, Riders fans should be watching Jerrell Freeman with pride. Freeman played three seasons with the Riders (2009-11) and is now in his second season as a linebacker with the Indianapolis Colts.
During the Colts' impressive win on Sunday over the previously undefeated Seattle Seahawks, Freeman recorded a team-high 13 tackles. Through five games he has 43 tackles, good for tenth in the NFL. He's also chipped in with three sacks and is an integral part of an up-and-coming Colts team that sits at 4-1 and has posted very impressive wins over both Seattle and San Francisco.
It's a remarkable turnaround for a player that went undrafted in 2008 and spent his first season with the Riders as a special teams player before breaking out as a star in 2011. One of the best things about the CFL is that it can serve as a developmental league for players who might not be ready to cut it south of the border. Who knows what would have happened to Freeman if he hadn't had the option to play in the CFL after being cut by the Tennessee Titans in 2008? Would he be selling insurance in his hometown of Waco, Texas, wondering about what might have been? Fortunately he's not, and we have the CFL to thank for that.
Cameron Wake and Brandon Browner have both made the Pro Bowl after playing in the CFL, and many other players have parlayed their time in Canada to become success stories in the NFL. The talent pipeline leading south has even extended to the sidelines: former Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman has the Chicago Bears off to a 3-2 start during his first season as head coach in the Windy City.
If Rider fans want to jump on the Colts bandwagon because of Freeman, have at it. He's still got some Rider blood in him.
