The Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in pre-season CFL action on June 10th, 2017 at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, SK. Derek Mortensen/Electric Umbrella
MONTREAL — The Saskatchewan Roughriders finally will turn the page on a frustrating 2016 CFL season today, simply by starting the 2017 campaign.
The Roughriders went 5-13-0 in the ’16 regular season and missed the playoffs. It was the first time in Chris Jones’ 15-year CFL coaching career that his team didn’t qualify for the post-season.
Saskatchewan opens the 2017 regular season today against the host Montreal Alouettes, motivated by last season’s subpar showing — and eager to avoid a repeat.
“We don’t want to have that feeling ever again,” said Roughriders defensive lineman Ese Mrabure. “You don’t want to go back and have that bitter, sour taste in your mouth game after game after game.
“We’re all hungry and that hunger is going to be the motivator.”
Centre Dan Clark agreed, but noted that there has to be more than just a desire for redemption.
“It’s always a motivator when you’re coming off a crappy year,” he said. “But when you come into a new season, you’d better have motivation whether you won the Grey Cup or not. You want to do everything better than you did the year before.
“(Last season’s showing) is motivation, but you’ve got to have the right mindset. You’ve got to be able to do your job consistently and do your job right every time.”
The 2016 Roughriders had myriad shortcomings.
Injuries to key players like national guards Chris Best and Brendon LaBatte forced the Roughriders to juggle the ratio, which hurt them in other positions.
Saskatchewan registered league lows in points scored (350), touchdowns (31) and passing touchdowns (16) and finished eighth in sacks allowed (57) and net offence (327.4 yards per game).
Defensively, the Roughriders weren’t able to force turnovers (a league-worst 27, including just 11 interceptions) and couldn’t get to opposing quarterbacks (29 sacks, last in the CFL).
Heck, the team even went through three long-snappers over the course of 18 games.
Asked to pick the biggest thing about the Roughriders that had to change from 2016 to 2017, the head honcho demurred.
“I don’t ever like comparing teams,” said Jones, who’s entering his second season as Saskatchewan’s vice-president of football operations, general manager and head coach. “Every team is a different team every year. Even if you win the Grey Cup, you come back and it’s a different football team.
“All I can tell you is that we’ve got a solid group of characters in that room. They really enjoy being around each other and we’re going to play hard.”
According to the CFL, the Roughriders have just 29 players back from the 2016 edition. Through the off-season, Jones and his staff added a gaggle of veterans who should provide much-needed leadership in 2017.
Experienced players like offensive linemen Derek Dennis and Peter Dyakowski, defensive tackles Zach Minter and Eddie Steele, receiver Bakari Grant, defensive back Jovon Johnson and returner Chad Owens were signed to add more seasoning.
The keys to the offence were handed to quarterback Kevin Glenn, who’s entering his 17th CFL season. Linebacker Henoc Muamba and defensive end Willie Jefferson, both of whom were signed during the 2016 season, will be part of the defence from the start of the 2017 campaign.
For Johnson, who saw the Roughriders only from afar last season, the ingredients for a turnaround are there.
“They have a tremendous team in the locker room,” said Johnson, who was signed Monday — just two days after being cut by Montreal. “They have a lot of young guys who fly around and make plays. Add a couple of guys who bring some leadership to the team and there goes a winning team.
“They have all the pieces in place. It’s just a matter of getting it done.”
Despite all the veterans who have been added this off-season, Saskatchewan still will field the CFL’s youngest team. According to the league, the Roughriders have an average age of 26.9 years; Montreal has the highest average age in the league at 28.4.
That youth won’t be an issue if the Roughriders perform their duties correctly.
“We have the potential to be really, really good, but we’ve got to put it on the field,” Glenn said. “We can’t just say it in meetings or say it in interviews. We’ve got to show it on the field.”
And that starts today at Percival Molson Stadium. Game time on CKRM and TSN is 5:30 p.m., Saskatchewan time.
“When you start off a new year, you’ve got to flush what happened last year,” Clark said. “The group of guys in this locker room definitely have that mentality.
“We’ve got a chip on our shoulder and we’ve got to prove a lot. But for me, it’s a new year. We’ve got to start off this year right and that’s what (today) is going to be.”
