Far too often throughout the latter half of the 2013 season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ early-game offensive struggles partially masked their greatest strengths. Particularly after Alex Hall arrived in a mid-season trade, the ‘Riders were built ideally to hold leads. The defence boasted enough elite pass-rushers to pressure quarterbacks while leaving
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Accidental Deliberations: Friday Morning ‘Rider Blogging
Last week, I noted that the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ semi-final win against B.C. reflected a team just barely adjusting to an opponent who thoroughly neutralized its strengths. But in case there was any doubt whether the ‘Riders could play exactly their preferred type of game against a playoff-ready opponent, Sunday’s win
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Ideally, a football team would hope to be able to win on its own terms in the playoffs. But that wasn’t to be for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in their semi-final matchup against the B.C. Lions. The ‘Riders’ greatest strength through the second half of the season was a devastating pass
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Halfway through the first quarter of last weekend’s contest against B.C., nobody would have been surprised to learn that the game would be decided by a team giving the ball away repeatedly until it dug a hole too deep to escape. But the ultimate outcome would have been rather more
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Morning ‘Rider Blogging
In some ways, CFL wins don’t get much uglier than the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ narrow victory over Edmonton on Saturday. But while a 14-9 slugfest may have continued to emphasize the ‘Riders’ weaknesses as the regular season draws to a close, it also allowed plenty of room to notice the team’s
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After a few weeks of maddeningly bad luck, the Saskatchewan Roughriders desperately needed a win against B.C. to stay in the race for a top-two position in the West. And last Friday’s victory signalled that the ‘Riders can win in a game where the breaks mostly even out. Yes, Saskatchewan
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Early in the season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders frequently dug themselves into a hole at the beginning of a game, only to pile up just enough points at the end to emerge victorious. But that kind of luck can only last for so long. And Sunday’s loss in Montreal provided an
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon ‘Rider Blogging
It would be nice to be able to blame the ‘Riders’ latest loss on injuries hitting a few more of the team’s key players. But that excuse would ring rather hollow against an opponent missing the CFL’s defending Most Outstanding Player and its top starting quarterback – particularly at the
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Once again, the Saskatchewan Roughriders faced a significant challenge from a team at the bottom of the CFL’s standings in last weekend’s Labour Day Classic. But once again, the ‘Riders emerged on top – finishing the first half of the 2013 season with an 8-1 record. And perhaps more importantly,
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Obviously Friday’s result against Calgary wasn’t what the Saskatchewan Roughriders hoped for – particularly since it means having only one game of separation from third place in the CFL’s West Division. But it’s worth noting that most of the problems against the Stampeders were simply a matter of the inevitable
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning ‘Rider Blogging
Just two games ago, I noted that there was still one major question facing the Saskatchewan Roughriders: whether the team’s offence could function without Darian Durant at the controls. But at most one week later than might have been ideal, we seem to have our answer. No, Drew Willy isn’t
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning ‘Rider Blogging
Needless to say, there isn’t much to question after a performance like the ‘Riders romp over Hamilton yesterday. But I’ll point out a couple of aspects of the ‘Riders’ recent play which may mean far more than the numbers receiving the most attention so far. On that front, while “no
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Two games into the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ regular season, the “experienced team starting quickly” theory is looking fairly solid. But let’s take a look at what’s gone better than expected – as well as where there may be room for concern. To start with, a couple of areas which looked like
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There were certainly some bright spots in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ loss to Montreal yesterday, as is normally the case when a team has chance to win late against one of the CFL’s elite competitors. But the sad part of yesterday’s loss was that the ‘Riders missed a number of obvious
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No, the most important factor in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ loss to Edmonton shouldn’t come as much surprise. As I noted last week, the Eskimos are one of a few CFL teams plainly built around a model of forcing and capitalizing on turnovers. And on Saturday, the ‘Riders obliged by handing
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The first half of yesterday’s win over the Argos was filled with missed opportunities for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Yes, it’s generally a plus to hold a 9-point lead at the half. But between a couple of dropped interceptions and an unusually ineffective short-yardage offence, the ‘Riders held that small margin
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The last time the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the B.C. Lions, the storyline involved Saskatchewan getting just enough breaks to overcome a seeming gap in talent. But last night, the ‘Riders managed to win an entirely different type of game. The ‘Riders’ offence was perfectly prepared for the CFL’s toughest defence:
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Like so many games this season, the ‘Riders’ most recent win against Calgary ended up closer than it had to. But at least this time, Saskatchewan emerged on top – signalling that the ‘Riders are starting to combine the ability to outplay their opponents throughout the game with a late-game
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning ‘Rider Blogging
It shouldn’t come as much surprised that Drew Willy’s first CFL start – against one of the league’s elite teams – resulted in a loss for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. But even an eleven-point loss may have somewhat flattered the ‘Riders. The game story inevitably revolved largely around Willy. And while
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No, the Saskatchewan Roughriders shouldn’t try to plan to win games the way they did today. But while the ‘Riders left plenty of room for improvement, they also showed some positive signs beyond what we’ve seen so far in 2012. At the top of that list was of course the
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