Some columns come easy. Others are hard to write. When I am in the press box I make a note of each play and reflect on what I would like to ask at the post-game press conference.
For the Saskatchewan Roughriders 32-21 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Oct. 22, I decided to ask everyone who was speaking about what I considered the pivotal stretch of the game. Early in the third quarter the Riders took the lead with a touchdown but then gave up touchdowns to Calgary on three consecutive possessions while scoring one point.
I asked Mason Fine what happened on his touchdown pass to Shaq Evans. He said he saw Calgary in zero coverage, the safety was blitzing, leaving the middle open. Shaq cut to the middle and he said he gave Shaq a chance to catch the ball.
On what went wrong after that play he was circumspect, as most young players are in discussing problems. He said the Riders didn’t get back in rhythm.
Next up was Evans. He said he didn’t know what happened after the touchdown and then said it was like their season – the offence would make a score and the defence could not make a stop or the defence would get a stop and the offence would go two and out. He said it was a season with a lack of timely plays.
Middle linebacker Darnell Sankey followed Evans to the podium. On what went wrong for the defence in the second half he started with, "I really don’t know," then said they made some adjustments at half time but Calgary scored almost at will he felt like in the second half.
When I asked about the significant use of three-man fronts he said the number in the front was not the issue. He said they got outplayed. He summed up the 2022 Riders as a team that could have.
As customary, Coach Craig Dickenson wound up the conference. I said the game went downhill on both sides of the ball after the touchdown and asked what he saw. Candid as always, he said he saw a Calgary team that was very good upfront on both sides of the ball. He said he think they wore them down. They had 10-12 more plays. He said the Riders tried to run as a point of emphasis to control the game but repeated the Stampeders wore the Riders down.
Later he said the reason for the Rider season was they were struggling up front.
With Calgary rushing for 212 yards on Saturday the Rider defensive front was certainly struggling.
On offence the Riders managed but 74 yards reflecting the offensive line’s struggles.
For the game the Stampeders had the ball over 11 minutes more than the Riders.
Last week I closed my column with the note that the Riders, to win Saturday night’s game, would need to do it the old fashioned way on the line of scrimmage. I was right that the game would be decided the old fashioned way. I just had the wrong team.
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.
