Darrell Davis
Regina Leader-Post
Their league-leading 10-3 record indicates the Saskatchewan Roughriders are the CFL’s best team.
After seeing them stumble badly against the Montreal Alouettes, who ended a five-game losing streak by humiliating the hometown Roughriders 48-31 on Saturday, The Big Question logically becomes: Are the Roughriders really the best team in the CFL?
The Roughriders have manhandled some teams this season, beating the Alouettes by 28 points (34-6) in Montreal and shredding the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats 29-9 the following week. They also beat the B.C. Lions 37-18 earlier in the schedule for their other double-digit victory.
The Roughriders have won their other games by three, four, five (twice), six, seven or eight points. Overall they win games by an average of 10.5 points.
Good teams are supposed to win close games and the Roughriders have evidently done so. They have also beaten every other team in the CFL except the Calgary Stampeders, who smoked Saskatchewan in their two regular-season meetings.
When the Roughriders lose, they lose decisively, by an average of 16 points.
Saskatchewan’s losses have been by 14, 17 and 17 points.
Calgary dominated the line of scrimmage, offensively and defensively, in both victories. The Stampeders would be considered the CFL’s best team if their four losses didn’t include two against the lowly Ottawa Redblacks and a 31-19 setback most recently against the Edmonton Elks.
Montreal won easily by capitalizing on a fumble by short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens — one of four Saskatchewan turnovers — and by exploiting matchups against Riders cornerbacks Kerfalla Exumé and Benny Sapp III. The DBs were starting their first CFL games at the their respective positions because last-minute roster changes moved veterans Tevaughn Campbell and Marcus Sayles to Saskatchewan’s injury list.
Before Alouettes quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson repeatedly shredded Saskatchewan’s secondary and its passive play-calling, which didn’t produce a sack, the Roughriders had done an admirable job of overcoming injuries this season.
They have played most of their games without starting Canadian receivers Kian Schaffer-Baker and Sam Emilus while constantly reworking their offensive line. During the Montreal game, the Roughriders lost linebacker C.J. Reavis and end Shane Ray, so they were actually playing without six of their 12 defensive starters.
The Roughriders also knew they had clinched a playoff berth before meeting the Alouettes, plus they were heading afterwards into their final bye week. It’s hard to say if those thoughts played psychological roles in the Roughriders’ poor performance, a truly unexpected showing from the CFL’s top team, according to the standings.
