‘Call me delirious’: Trevor Harris still a believer in Saskatchewan Roughriders despite late-season frustrations

Photo courtesy: Paul Yates/B.C. Lions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have been trudging through the desert for over a month, but Trevor Harris is still convinced he can see an oasis at the end of the team’s four-game losing streak.

“I know that there’s quite a few out there that still believe in this group, just like I do. Call me delirious if you want, but I do. I believe in this group. I believe in this team, and I will to the very end. We’ll continue to press forward, continue to do what we need to do to make this happen,” Harris told the Regina media on Wednesday.

“Obviously, we haven’t been playing up to our standard lately. But make no mistake about it, this is not an unprecedented story to go through a lull late in the season, turn it on, and go make some noise happen. We know that, and we know this league. We’ve all been around this league. We understand what that is, but to sit here and say this happens, this happens, we only have to — no, no, no. We win, and we take care of our business. That’s what we need to do.”

Saskatchewan last tasted a drop of victory in the Labour Day Classic, losing each of their last four contests. The team’s struggles arguably predate the current drought, as they’ve lost six of their last eight games. In the process, they’ve lost the season series to Winnipeg, Calgary, and B.C., which has put them in a tenuous position in a tight West Division playoff race.

Marooned in a wasteland of mounting concerns, the team is parched for answers. Even with his professed positive outlook, Harris couldn’t hide how ornery that dehydration has made him.

“It’s about action, and it’s about doing it because, frankly, I get tired of sitting here saying these certain things. It’s tiring and, frankly, (I’m) pissed off. You lose this many in a row, it freaking pisses you off, and you get tired of talking. Just do it,” he stated. “Whatever we’re talking about, whatever we’re doing, whatever our culture is, whatever the things that we’re trying to focus on for the week, do it and do it well. That’s really been the focus of the conversation, and that’s who we’re going to be.”

Defensive back Tevaughn Campbell, who returned to the lineup for last week’s 44-24 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, echoed those sentiments, describing the vicious circle that the Riders have seemingly been trapped in throughout their recent slide.

“You come to the interview, and you guys ask us, ‘Man, what do we got to do?’ And we tell you we’ve got to cut out the mistakes; we’ve got to be detailed. Then we go into the game, and it’s the same things that are happening. We come back, and we tell you guys the same thing. It’s like over and over and over,” the All-CFL cornerback told reporters.

“From a coach’s perspective, I can see it. They’re not on the field. They’re wondering, ‘What do we got to do to help you guys?’ And at the same time, we’re sitting there like, ‘Man, what are we not doing correctly?’ We get in the game, and we just completely lose our minds. It is frustrating, and it’s definitely something that’s not going to get corrected overnight. We’ve just got to keep working, keep going forward.”

Head coach Corey Mace understands his players’ frustrations. While he insists that his staff would have corrections to deliver even if the Riders have won their past four games by double digits, this week’s emphasis has been on “exhausting” all the details that haven’t gone right lately.

“I think our process is the same as the players, which would probably allude to why everybody’s pissed off, knowing that we keep talking about the same things. At the end of it, it’s on me as the coach. If we’re not retaining it, how can we go about teaching it differently so that the players can retain and apply?” he said after practice.

“The disheartening ones are the details of stuff that have been in since training camp or multiple years for guys who might be making some mistakes.”

Few mistakes have proven fatal on their own, but each has been a grain of sand added to the Riders’ current predicament. Enough of those compound, and you find yourself stranded with the playoffs drifting further and further over the horizon.

Harris knows that criticism is mounting within Rider Nation, which not too long ago witnessed their team miss the playoffs in consecutive seasons due to end-of-year losing skids. However, he trusts the league’s best fans to keep supporting them through the club’s final two home games and help push the defending Grey Cup champions back to the level they’re accustomed to.

“This fan base is hard on us, but I’m hard on myself. I don’t think you’re going to see anybody in this locker room that would disagree with any negative opinion of how we’ve been playing lately. I don’t see this stuff, but I’d imagine it’s out there,” he said. “We need to be better, and we know that. I think this group, this locker room, understands that. And I think that (the fans are) in there with us. I think that’s why they get behind this team, regardless of where we’re at in the standings. They understand this group is going to fight to the very end. It’s never going to be an effort issue with this group.”

If Saskatchewan can exact revenge on Montreal this week, and get a little help in the form of a loss from either Winnipeg or Calgary, they will still secure a postseason berth for the third consecutive time. Even amid all the recent losses, Harris has no doubt that his team will be a playoff threat.

“I can’t speak for everybody else, but not for me. I understand who we are,” he stressed. “I understand what we’re capable of, and who’s leading us — Corey Mace –, who’s calling the plays for us on offence — Marc Mueller — and I understand that I get to pull the trigger as a quarterback. I’m no short of confidence.”

The Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-8) will host the Montreal Alouettes (13-3) for a rematch on Saturday, October 17, at 3:00 p.m. EDT.