Last week no one was complaining.
This week, almost everyone is.A lot of times that's the way it goes in pro football.
On the heels of a 35-32 thriller of a win over Ottawa at home, the Saskatchewan Roughriders went on the road Friday night and were blanked 24-0 in Edmonton in a stinker that left both teams at 9-4 and in a tie for second place in the CFL West with five games to go.
The loss really wasn't the concerning part.However the Riders' popgun offence without Darian Durant really was, and the fact the Riders hadn't been shutout in 28 years was a major red flag.
I mean, we've had some really offensively-challenged teams in the 1990s and early 2000s but they could at least muster up a field goal.Or a rouge.
However what occurred on Friday at Commonwealth Stadium before the largest CFL crowd of the year (42,161) was gut-wrenching.And not in a good way.With Darian Durant watching from the sidelines, his elbow in a clunky brace, back-ups Tino Sunseri and Seth Doege directed two-and-out after two-and-out.
Sure the defence allowed a mind-boggling 299 yards on the ground (including 106 by Eskimo quarterback Mike Reilly), but they were barely on the sidelines for a rest.What helps the defence the most?A good offence. And right now the Green & White doesn't have it.
"It's always tough," Rider coach Corey Chamblin mused after the game."We weren't consistent on first down and we didn't stop their run game on defence.We didn't have enough fire in the tank to get it done."
The Riders have played 13 games and in about 10 of them they've played team football and scratched and clawed for 60 minutes.They fought tooth-and-nail on every inch of the field every play.
That wasn't the case on Friday and the Eskimos beat the Riders at their own game.When Saskatchewan was takingneedless penalties, like taunting and major fouls, I knew you could turn out the lights.It wasn't their night.
"We'd stop them and then do things to keep them on the field," Chamblin said, shaking his head."We know how to play professional football and we need to get back to that."
The concerning part of course is that it's looking more and more like Darian Durant won't be coming back this year so something needs to be done to salvage the season, lest it go down the tubes. It certainly isn't circling the drain yet with five weeks left before playoffs, but something needs to be done.
"We got some young QBs and they need to get some experience," Chamblin continued. "It's not coming at a good time, but we have to get things moving."
Upon the team's return to Regina, I asked Chamblin if they are investigating the options of bringing in a veteran arm for the stretch run.
"For me, my job is to coach the ones we have," Chamblin said calmly. "If management feels that's what we need to do, then we'll go in that direction.I don't know who the options are, so we'll have to go from there."
Kerry Joseph would be one.The 2007 CFL MVP and Grey Cup champ is sitting in Louisiana and said he'd come to Regina if given the chance.However for now, we shouldn't hold our breath on that.
For the time being the plan is to forge ahead with the three young quarterbacks on their roster - Sunseri, Doege and the newly-signed Keith Price.The trio has four years of CFL experience combined.
Time is actually on the Riders' side because they've got nine wins in the bank which has given them a cushion on division foes Winnipeg and BC.Now they just need to plot their next move and not panic.
"I think we're just trying to find ourselves," reasoned Rider kicker Chris Milo. "There's been a lot of change the past few weeks, including on defence and at quarterback.Not to compare teams, but we got a really, really good team this year and somewhat better than last year as far as bonding.There's more encouraging and not so much negativity.It's a very mature team and we'll be where we want to be at the end of the year."
Things are changing by the minute around here and the atmosphere is electric and intense.
Enjoy the ride.
- For daily Rider news follow Rod on Twitter at @sportscage.
