November 19, 2017

Five things (or players) to watch during Sunday’s game

TORONTO — The Saskatchewan Roughriders can make history today.

The Roughriders face the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL’s East Division final (noon, CKRM, TSN), with the winner securing a berth in the Grey Cup game. That contest is set for Nov. 26 in Ottawa.

Saskatchewan is the 10th team from the West Division to compete in the East Division playoffs since the CFL instituted the crossover format prior to the 1996 season.

None of the previous nine crossover teams — including the Roughriders in 2002 and ’05 — reached the Grey Cup game.

The Roughriders and Argos met twice during the regular season, with Saskatchewan sweeping the season series. The Roughriders won 38-27 at home on July 29 and posted a 27-24, come-from-behind victory in Toronto on Oct. 7.

To set up today’s game, here’s one man’s list of five things (or people) that bear watching:

 

1. Kevin Glenn: The Roughriders’ veteran quarterback has a 2-2 career record in division finals, but one of those wins was a painful one. In 2007, Glenn’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Argos in the East final to advance to the Grey Cup, but Glenn suffered a broken arm in the game and couldn’t play against the Roughriders in the league final. The 38-year-old pivot was solid in the 2017 East semifinal, completing 18 of 28 pass attempts for 252 yards with a touchdown in Saskatchewan’s 31-20 victory over the host Ottawa Redblacks. An equally impressive showing today against Toronto could give Glenn another shot at a Grey Cup ring — the only thing that currently is missing from his CFL resumé.

2. Ricky Ray: The Argonauts’ veteran quarterback has a 4-3 record in division finals but, unlike Glenn, he has finished things off in the Grey Cup game. The 38-year-old QB is a three-time CFL champion, having won titles in 2002 and ’03 with the Edmonton Eskimos and in 2012 with the Argos (who beat Glenn’s Calgary Stampeders in the final). Ray led the CFL in pass attempts and completions, tied for the league lead in completion percentage and was second in passing yards in the 2017 regular season. He also threw 28 TD passes, all while displaying his usual calm demeanour.

3. Old friends: Glenn has known Argos defensive co-ordinator Corey Chamblin since the early 2000s; the two were introduced by a mutual friend when Chamblin was trying to crack the roster of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. Since then, the men have been with the same team three times (Winnipeg in 2007, Hamilton in 2011 and Saskatchewan in 2015) and built their friendship further in those places. But Chamblin and Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones go back even further. In the mid-1990s, Chamblin played at Tennessee Tech University while Jones was a graduate assistant at that school. Jones helped Chamblin get his first coaching job in the CFL (with Winnipeg in 2007) and the two men worked together in Calgary from 2008 through 2010.

4. Drawing the line: Chamblin’s attacking defence tied for the CFL lead in the regular season with 50 sacks, including four over the two games against the Roughriders. But Saskatchewan’s quarterbacks passed for 340 yards (all by Glenn) and 321 yards (29 by Glenn and 292 by backup Brandon Bridge) in their team’s two victories over the Argos. The Roughriders’ offensive line was stellar in the East semifinal win in Ottawa, where Saskatchewan held the Redblacks to just six quarterback pressures and no sacks and also opened holes that allowed tailback Marcus Thigpen to rush for 169 yards. Get ready for some trench warfare today, since Chamblin doesn’t want Glenn to have time to set up in the pocket.

5. Duron Carter: The Roughriders’ receiver-turned-defensive-back-turned-receiver had 14 catches for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the teams’ regular-season meetings. One of those majors was scored on the often-replayed backhanded, one-handed catch at Mosaic Stadium on July 29. Carter had five catches for 51 yards against the Redblacks in the East semifinal, but four of the receptions and 43 of the yards were recorded in the first half — and he was shut out in the fourth quarter. Watch for the Roughriders’ leading receiver in the regular season to be more active from the start of today’s game to the finish.