The Saskatchewan Roughriders crushed the Toronto Argonauts 32-7 in their home opener for the 2019 season in a game in which they were the better team in every phase of the game.
It was a game in which Cody Fajardo raised the hopes of Rider fans everywhere, that the Riders have a quarterback with the ability to take them to the playoffs. I do want to see how he does against a West Division team before setting down my thoughts. How he plays against the Stampeders on Saturday night will be that test.
After the Argo game I spoke to some of the players about the big plays they made before and after the storm.
It was a wild prairie storm sweeping off the plains. Rain was driving against the stadium and lightning was all around. Whenever this happened at Taylor Field it was inevitable there would be a lightning strike at or near the stadium to knock out power. On the evening of July 1, the power never faltered at Mosaic Stadium.
Of all the many things teams prepare for, Coach Craig Dickenson said, they had no plans for a long delay during a game. He said on Monday night he simply told the players to relax and then re-focus when it was time to play again.
After a season where offensive scoring came hard, the Riders looked to be reverting to that form with a pair of early field goals rather than touchdowns. Fajardo and Kyran Moore changed that dynamic connecting for a 98-yard touchdown near the end of the first quarter.
Moore said before the play Fajardo told him that if the Argo defence was in man coverage he was going to look to Moore. Moore was facing press man coverage and beat his defender off the line and took off down the field at full speed. Fajardo looked and saw Moore break past the back and lofted the ball up to him. The Riders were aided when Alden Darby Jr., playing safety, was not deep enough and took the wrong angle on the play.
Moore had a nifty end zone celebration. He said he had told his college teammates that on his first touchdown reception he would do their college celebration.
He added that the Rider offence is doing better as they have had a year to get used to Coach Stephen McAdoo’s system.
Veteran receiver Corey Watson showed the benefit of experience on his touchdown reception. Catching the ball about the 10 there was a defender, Caleb Ham, who had him cut off. Watson said he knew the smaller defender would go for his legs on the tackle. He was ready to absorb the contact on his leg and keep his balance. To help himself he said he jumped a bit as the defender hit him. Watson made it look so easy as the defender slid off him and he was on his way to the end zone. The jump effectively left Ham too low to wrap up Watson.
The Argos did have some success moving the ball but three turnovers – two interceptions and a turnover on downs – were costly. Coach Dickenson said all week they had emphasized in practice forcing turnovers. He was glad to see the turnovers during the game but said they only count when they take the ball away (the interceptions) not when it is lost on downs.
Derrick Moncrief had the first Rider takeaway of the year when he intercepted a James Franklin pass over the middle. S.J. Green was trying to curl into the middle, one of his favourite routes, and Moncrief was already there. He said he was in zone coverage and was ready for that pass. He was reading cues and the quarterback’s eyes and was there ahead of the receiver. There was some contact on the play but he was there first. He described it as a clean play.
Dickenson described Rider defensive end Charleston Hughes as wreaking havoc on Monday evening. Hughes had two sacks and could have had more had he not been held on several plays. Dickenson said Hughes brings it on game day but can drive you crazy at practice.
On his first sack Hughes gave the offensive tackle a head fake as if he was going inside. It took only a flinch and Hughes had the edge and was around him on his way to the quarterback.
On his second sack there was a blitz on the other side and he, despite, being held was in position for the sack when Franklin moved away from the blitz.
He would have had a third sack late in the game as the Argo quarterback was scrambling away from pressure. Hughes had the angle when he was held. The offensive tackle was penalized for holding.
Hughes did get motivated by Argo offensive tackle William Campbell. In the first half Hughes was called for offside. Campbell started trash talking the Rider veteran. Hughes said Campbell called him old and fat. Hughes said he had to show him. It is foolish at best to provoke a great player. It is worse when you cannot back up the trash talk.
After the game Dickenson said it was an important win. He said he thinks the locker room believes in him and the rest of the coaching staff but it would have been harder if they were down 0-3.
For the Argos you know the season is off to a bad start when the head coach starts his post-game remarks by saying the last half of the game the team showed better than the last game and first half of this game. It is faint praise to remark on doing better than the 69 points the Argos had surrendered in those earlier six quarters. Unless Franklin shows immediate dramatic improvement, 2019 is going to be a disaster in Toronto.
Bill Selnes, who’s based in Melfort, has written about the Saskatchewan Roughriders since the late 1970s. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Football Reporters of Canada wing on Nov. 24, 2013.
