REGINA — During every Rider Broadcast Network pregame show, former Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman and current live game analyst Luc Mullinder offers his Three Keys to the Game. In a recurring segment this season, we’ll take a look at how the Riders met or missed when it came to those metrics and how big of an effect they had on the outcome.
And we couldn’t be starting with a better game than the Week 2 contest against the B.C. Lions, which saw the Roughriders come away with a dramatic last minute 31-27 victory at Mosaic Stadium.
1 – The offence needs a fast start and might have to carry the team a bit as the defence coalesces.
How did the Riders Do? — Absolutely unbelievably well.
Trevor Harris’ offence was absolutely surgical on the first two drives of the game, to the point that it was almost comical. The Riders offence picked apart the Lions secondary, finding mismatch after mismatch in coverage — mostly to Kian Schaffer-Baker and KeeSean Johnson — and seemingly marching down the field with ease and at will.
That led to Sam Emilus picking up his first two touchdowns of the day, the second of which capped off a 109-yard drive that saw Harris throw his first pass of the series from his own end zone.
B.C. made adjustments and got a few crucial stops to help quarterback Nathan Rourke get his team back in the game, but that start and the 14-0 and 17-3 leads were exactly what the doctor ordered, and a crucial factor in the final outcome.
Oh, and Harris’ final numbers? 30-of-36 passing for 417 yards and three majors.
Not. Too. Shabby.
2 – The defensive line needs to stay disciplined on the edges to keep Nathan Rourke contained while watching for screens. Just play smart.
How did the Riders Do? — So, so, but with a Most Outstanding Player caveat
Look, Nathan Rourke is Nathan Rourke. He’s the consensus best player in the Canadian Football League, and his mere presence is going to make life miserable for every defence in the league. And in the early going, the Riders defensive line did what Luc suggested, limiting Rourke’s chances to scramble while getting bursts of pressure here and there.
Rourke didn’t get to the outside much, so the containment was sort of in place, but there were a few second half drives where he kept the ball between the hash marks, found the holes opened by his o-line, out ran angles with his ridiculous agility, and just did what he does. All told, Rourke had five carries for 59 yards and a major.
The Riders also struggled to get pressure as the Lions mounted their comeback and took the lead in the second half, but a couple of key sacks late in the game kept B.C. from extending their lead and mounting a comeback.
Rourke was the acid test. How the defensive front does against teams that don’t have someone like him back there will have to be seen.
3 – Have a clean snap-to-kick process. With three brand new players at kicker, punter / holder and long snapper, will they all be on the same page in their opening game?
How did the Riders Do? — They got the job done, and that’s all that matters.
There had to be some nerves for kicker Alex Hale, punter / holder Oscar Chapman and long snapper Aaron Crawford, and while it wasn’t an absolutely perfect night, there were no glaring errors, snaps over heads or shanks into the sidelines.
Hale is perhaps under the biggest microscope as he takes over for the ultra-popular Brett Lauther and beat out Jonathan Kim for the job in the preseason. He went 3-for-4 on the day on field goals, missing from 42 yards at the end of the third quarter, but hitting from the 35, 16 and 22 while also drilling all three of his converts in his other chances. He put enough points on the board to give the Riders the win in the end, and that’s the most important thing.
That meant Chapman was getting things done as the holder, and he also did his job in the couple of times he was called on to flip the field, getting off two punts for an average of 46 yards. That’s sixth best in the CFL right now, but a small sample size, so we’ll see how things go later on.
As for Crawford, well, he was pretty much invisible. Any as any long snapper will tell you — including the legendary Jorgen Hus, who retired after the Grey Cup win and 10 CFL seasons — that’s exactly what you want. He got the ball to Hale and Chapman with efficiency and accuracy much of the night, and they all did their jobs.
So a good start, with a large body of work to come.
The Roughriders are back in action in Week 3 when they travel to Calgary to face the Stampeders, with kickoff at 5 p.m.
