The 3-0 Roughriders record is unusual. The last time they had a start this strong was in 2013 when they won the Grey Cup in Regina.
On Saturday Aug. 21 the Riders faced a stubborn Ottawa Redblacks team, but it was clear from the start that the Riders were the better team and would win unless they had a bad game. They had a good game. Coach Dickenson believes their best games are ahead.
Against Ottawa, Cody Fajardo played an efficient game completing 85.7 per cent of his passes for 321 yards. He looks at ease during games confident in his ability. He spoke of following in the path of CFL great Ricky Ray, who was never flustered and was quite willingly to use short passes all the way to touchdowns.
Dickenson said Cody has been learning this offence for two years. He emphasized that offensive co-ordinator Jason Maas has provided Cody with a system where he has answers to what defences throw at him. Dickinson described the system as quarterback friendly.
Cody is avoiding bad throwing decisions. In three games he has had but one interception. It was in the opening game against B.C. when he overthrew a receiver in the middle of the field. There was nothing wrong with the decision to throw that pass.
In this game Cody needed patience. He spoke of the Redblacks using zone coverages throughout the game to prevent him throwing long passes over the top. He added that early on he was close to throwing downfield as he felt the restlessness in the stands. Fortunately, the crowd did not affect his decisions.
In passing, before he can be likened to Ricky Ray, Cody has to master the long pass. Ray would throw a lot of short passes but he had a wonderful touch on deep passes. Moving from good to great means throwing well at all distances.
There always seems to be some quirky moment when listening to Cody. Saturday night it was his description of his second long throw of the first half. On 3rd and 3 he threw a 31-yard completion to Brayden Lenius on a corner route. He said he passed up a shorter out route to Swerve (Kyran Moore) in favour of the deeper throw to Lenius. What was unusual was his casual remark that he pulled a Tom Brady in that he thought it was 2nd and 3 not 3rd and 3.
Against the Redblacks his mobility in the pocket and running the ball was a decisive advantage. Ottawa’s quarterback, Matt Nichols, was not even mobile inside the pocket. The Rider pass rush was focused on collapsing the pocket but Nichols had no escapability. I fear Ottawa is going to experience numerous games where they surrender five sacks.
The aspect of the Rider offensive scheme that makes me uneasy is the willingness to run Cody. Against Ottawa he rushed the ball nine times. Several were designed quarterback draws. It is too dangerous. I understand seeing him escape pressure and run but not designated running plays well away from the goal line.
What I have found most impressive about the Rider offence over three games is that no defence has been able to dominate the Rider offensive line. Three of the five linemen are in their first CFL season. While an imperfect stat they have given up but four sacks. Against Ottawa they struggled to create holes for William Powell. Cody said the Redblacks were crowding the box making it difficult for the offensive line. Everyone knows a major test awaits Labour Day with the aggressive skilled Blue Bomber defensive line attacking the Rider line.
Despite Powell’s limited yards, Cody’s runs prevented Ottawa from concentrating on pass defence.
What the Rider offence did best over the game was wear down the Redblacks. Over the last three quarters of the game they had 10 drives. Only two of them were two and out. Ottawa spent 45 minutes being forced backwards. The relentless offence enabled Cody to quip that they had avoided a heart throbbing CFL finish.
While I avoid predictions, the 2021 Riders remind me of the Stampeders of the last 20 years who would get off to a good start, creating the belief that a loss is an aberration rather than the start of a losing streak.
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Note: There was good news in that the Riders halved their penalties from the previous game. The bad news was they still had nine penalties for 95 yards with a pair of undisciplined roughing calls on defence setting up the lone Ottawa touchdown. Dickenson described them as selfish penalties and, beyond harping on penalties to the players, hopes peer pressure will be effective in reducing such reckless penalties.
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.
