For the second straight year under head coach Corey Mace, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are 4-0 to start the season, thanks to a 37-18 win over the B.C. Lions.
After a few dicey games to start the season where the team found ways to win, the Green and White more or less didn’t let the Lions back up off the mat after briefly giving up the lead early in the second quarter.
The CFL season is long but considering the current sad state of the Lions without star quarterback Nathan Rourke, this was a game the Riders had to win and win convincingly. It’s safe to say they did that on Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium.
Here’s the good, the bad, and the dumb of the Riders’ fourth win of the season.
The Good
Without starting quarterback Trevor Harris, the Riders were going to look like a different team. No other quarterback in the CFL is currently as good at getting the ball out as quickly as Harris is.
The question coming into the game was how different the Riders were going to look with backup quarterback Jake Maier at the helm — more on his play in a bit. Could they make the appropriate adjustments with a quarterback who wouldn’t make decisions nearly as quickly?
The good news for Rider fans is that offensive coordinator Marc Mueller doesn’t appear to be too stubborn in his approach. The Green and White, who had regularly relied on the passing game under Harris, had little problem transitioning to a ground-based attack against the Lions.
No Rider receiver came close to cracking the century mark, something at least one receiver had accomplished in the team’s previous three games. Instead, it was running back A.J. Ouellette who went off for 139 yards and a touchdown.
It was an old-school approach from the Riders against the Lions. They worked slowly along the ground, avoided mistakes on offence, and relied on their defence to make the big plays that helped them win the game. None were bigger than a pick-six from defensive back Tevaughn Campbell at the end of the first half that not only extended the Riders’ lead to nine, but also extinguished what was looking like a promising drive for the Lions.
While I don’t think this game plan will work against everyone, it’s good to see the coaching staff adapt to their opponent and circumstances.
The Bad
I don’t think you’ll find many arguing that sitting Trevor Harris was a bad decision, even if the game hadn’t gone the Riders’ way. A Week 4 game doesn’t hold the same value as one later in the season, especially when you have a little bit of a buffer thanks to the team’s 3-0 record heading into this game. Add in a bye week afterwards, and there was no reason to start Harris if he wasn’t essentially 100 percent.
This game turned into an opportunity for Maier to show whether he’d progressed at all after a difficult couple of seasons as the Calgary Stampeders’ starting quarterback. I would have to say that the jury is still out.
On the positive side, Maier didn’t make any egregious errors. He played a fairly bland game, which fit how the night played out for the Green and White. Most importantly, he didn’t turn over the ball and give the Lions life.
On the other hand, Maier was only 13-of-23 for 170 yards and a touchdown. Some of that was because of how effective Ouellette was, and Maier did get a few drops from some receivers, but he also missed some throws that other quarterbacks wouldn’t have. He got bailed out by Joe Robustelli on a circus-level catch along the sidelines that was otherwise wide open.
For a game or two, the backup quarterback often just needs to not lose and Maier did that. Odds are, we’ll see Maier again, and at some point, he’ll need to prove he can pull the team out of a tough spot. Can he do it? I’m not sure.
The Dumb
One highlight for Maier came in the fourth quarter when he accomplished one thing this team has struggled to do on offence: put the other team away.
Maier hit Canadian receiver Dhel Duncan-Busby for a 42-yard touchdown to give the Riders a 34-16 lead with three minutes to go.
For his efforts, Maier got to celebrate with right tackle Jamarcus Hardrick, who promptly picked him up and carried him on his shoulders for a bit, before flipping him around to walk to the sideline like a newly married couple over the threshold. Perhaps a fitting celebration for Maier’s first touchdown pass in green.
It’s always good to see the players having some fun on the field in a big moment, and few do it better than Hardrick.
