It was a popular joke making the rounds in the Wheat Province over the weekend: "At least the Roughriders won't lose this week!"
It's true, the Saskatchewan Roughriders won't lose in the upcoming Week 8 of the 2015 CFL season because they have a bye and the scheduled break has temporarily paused this disastrous start to the campaign, which has the club at the bottom of the league standings at 0-7.
The latest defeat came at the hands of the Toronto Argonauts Saturday night at Rogers Centre, 30-26, before a surprisingly enthusiastic crowd of 20,642 in the Argos' home opener. But the game itself was an eyesore.
It was the second-highest penalty total in a single CFL regular season game with a whopping 24 infractions being assessed to Saskatchewan and 15 more flags being thrown at Toronto.
Yuck.
Even more disturbing is the fact observers noted three Roughriders touchdowns were called back due to penalties, ultimately leading to another demoralizing defeat.
"Write it like the other (games) and you have the same story," Riders coach Corey Chamblin said after the game. "Tight loss. We did some good things but negative things hurt us. Every time we had big plays, penalties killed us."
And that, perhaps, is the most maddeningly frustrating thing about this horrendous season for your friendly neighbourhood Green & White. It's the same annoying story being played over and over again on a weekly basis.
Going into Saturday's game I chatted with the exasperated general manager of the Roughriders, Brendan Taman, on CKRM's pregame show and he pointed out the biggest culprit in all of their losses so far.
"Turnovers," Taman blurted, taking less than a second to answer. "(Going into the Toronto game) we're minus-9, we're the worst in the league, and you don't win games when that happens. A big part of that is we're not taking the ball away. Everybody associates the turnover ratio with offense, but we've had two takeaways all year on defense which, we've all seen, is below normal and that's an understatement."
The CFL record for the least amount of defensive takeaways in a season is 25, set by the 2006 Edmonton Eskimos. The 2015 Saskatchewan Roughriders are on pace for only six.
"I don't know what I can say on top of that. That really sums it up," Taman continued. "The penalties and tackling are part of it but I think the turnovers are huge. If we don't take the ball away, we're going to have issues to win games."
So the football club couldn't wait to get to this bye week to reassess and chart the course for the final 11 games. A playoff spot, remarkably, is not yet lost despite the record. Chamblin has gone from Coach of the Year to Coach For The Year and each mounting loss has those wolves back howling outside his door.
Last week in this space I noted that the decision-makers of this franchise would not tolerate losing, however that notion seems to have cooled. Chamblin's been given a vote of confidence by his bosses and that appears to have set him at ease somewhat in the days since.
However, that hasn't stopped the brain trust from holding emergency meetings and seeing how best to manage this crisis. Former Roughrider President Jim Hopson is rumoured to have offered a helping hand, with his replacement Craig Reynolds treading water in the deep-end.
To quote singer Glenn Frey, the "Heat Is On".
"Oh no, it's been clearly stated that we're in the business to win games," Taman concluded. "We all get that. We've tried to tinker with the lineup, getting young guys in to play, and getting a change. We have to change what we're doing. We started that scheme-wise and lineup-wise with the Toronto game. That happens when you lose."
All the gloom and doom is understandable because, as I've noted countless times, nobody's used to this and it certainly wasn't expected. But the Riders are still the league's flagship franchise and the preferred destination for players to play. They're getting more publicity now than when they were at the top of the podium. Make no mistake, the brand is still incredibly strong.
But it can't take a prolonged hit and everybody is aware of that.
All I know is I'm glad I'm not the one who has to find the answers.
Oh, and the Riders won’t lose this week.
