CALGARY — Chris Jones nipped things in the bud pretty quickly.
First, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach and general manager pulled starting quarterback Kevin Glenn after just two possessions and replaced him with Brandon Bridge in the first quarter of Friday’s CFL contest against the host Calgary Stampeders.
Then, after Saskatchewan’s 30-7 victory, Jones squelched any talk of switching up his team’s No. 1 pivot for Friday’s home game against the Montreal Alouettes.
“Kevin Glenn is our starter so don’t start speculating on all that,” Jones said. “Kevin Glenn is our starting quarterback.”
Glenn was on the field for six offensive plays in Calgary, completing one of three pass attempts for 19 yards — although his first throw went through the hands of receiver Caleb Holley. Glenn also was sacked twice.
“They were playing some pressure man,” Jones said when asked about the move. “We were having a hard time getting anything generated and so (I) just went with Brandon early.“
It was the second time in Saskatchewan’s past three games that Jones hooked Glenn early. On Oct. 7, the Roughriders switched quarterbacks after just four possessions in Toronto — and Bridge led his team to a 27-24, come-from-behind victory over the Argonauts.
Saskatchewan trailed Toronto 13-3 when Bridge was summoned. On Friday, Saskatchewan was down only 1-0 when he got the call.
“I was very surprised (how quickly the change was made), but at the end of the day, you’ve got to go in there and do what is asked of you,” he said. “If that was to go out there and manage the game and get us the win, that’s what I had to do.”
Bridge went 10-for-19 passing for 133 yards with two interceptions in Calgary’s cold, windy, sometimes-rainy conditions. He also rushed four times for 40 yards and was sacked twice.
Bridge’s running ability gives the Roughriders a different look on offence and guard Brendon LaBatte referred to that when asked about Friday’s quarterbacking change. But LaBatte also suggested the move Friday reflected poorly on the offensive line.
“It’s not good when you get your quarterback pulled,” he said. “We can look at it on the left side and say the first (sack) was directly on us. You feel like you’re not giving Kevin a chance when that happens to him.
“When he’s getting hit on the second or third play of the game, that’s the sort of stuff we can’t have — and we let it happen again.”
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Bridge repeatedly has said this season that he’s trying to open doors for Canadian-born quarterbacks in the CFL.
On Friday, the 25-year-old product of Toronto had company in that quest.
After Stampeders starter Bo Levi Mitchell left the game in the third quarter, backup Andrew Buckley — a product of Calgary — took the reins of the Stamps’ offence. Mitchell returned briefly in the fourth quarter before giving way to Buckley for the rest of the game.
It was the first time since Aug. 4, 1984, that two Canadian quarterbacks led their respective CFL teams in a regular-season game. That day, Calgary’s Greg Vavra and Gerry Dattilio of the Montreal Concordes both came off the bench to run their teams’ offences.
Bridge has been campaigning to have the CFL change the ratio to benefit teams that use a Canadian quarterback and he reportedly is to meet commissioner Randy Ambrosie to discuss that idea after the season. Having two Canucks under centre Friday could help that conversation.
“Hopefully Randy enjoyed that and liked that,” Bridge said. “We’ll definitely have that talk later on.”
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The Roughriders rushed 30 times for 150 yards in Calgary, setting a new season high for rushing yards in a game.
Saskatchewan’s previous high was 110 yards, set July 29 against the visiting Argos. In the Roughriders’ two previous meetings against Calgary this season, they managed 38 yards on July 22 and 28 yards on Sept. 24.
The Green and White hadn’t exceeded 100 yards rushing in a game since Aug. 13 against the B.C. Lions, a span of eight games.
“I felt like we just kept chopping wood up front and eventually we were able to wear them down a little bit and start to actually run the ball on them,” LaBatte said. “It just felt good. The ball was getting handed off or Bridge was pulling it. That’s a different look when the quarterback (bootlegs) with it. It was a good job of mixing it up.
“It was fun out there. That was like old school — and that’s what we need. It has been too long.”
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Tailback Cameron Marshall felt the same way.
Marshall had missed the Roughriders’ previous six games after injuring his left knee Sept. 3 against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
He made his return to the lineup Friday, and loved every minute of it.
“It feels great being back,” said Marshall, who rushed 14 times for 53 yards — one more yard than backup Trent Richardson gained on nine carries.
“I missed competing with other people, I missed being out there with these guys, I missed the locker room, I missed winning — all that stuff. I had a lot of fun.”
Sitting out wasn’t fun for Marshall, who wasn’t hit on the play on which he injured his knee. He put himself through a vigorous rehabilitation over the past six weeks and, as a result, wasn’t tentative when he took the field Friday.
“I’ve been working really hard to try to get back and make sure that there was no doubt,” he said. “I feel like I put myself in every situation that I could put myself in during my rehab process, so I was good when I hit the road.”
