Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Brandon Bridge (16) runs with the ball during fourth quarter CFL action against the Ottawa Redblacks in Ottawa on Thursday, June 21, 2018. (CFL PHOTO - Patrick Doyle)
OTTAWA — Brandon Bridge is in familiar territory.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback could be the backup to starter Zach Collaros when their CFL team faces the Montreal Alouettes on June 30 at Mosaic Stadium. As such, Bridge will have to be ready to go in if Collaros gets hurt or struggles.
Or Bridge could get the start behind centre if Collaros isn’t able to go due to the head injury he suffered in Thursday’s 40-17 loss to the host Ottawa Redblacks.
The uncertainty is nothing new to Bridge, who went through the same situation in 2017 when Kevin Glenn was the Roughriders’ starter. Bridge came off the bench in 11 games last season, just as he did Thursday.
“Throughout the whole training camp and throughout the whole week, Coach (Chris Jones) told me just to be ready,” Bridge said after the Roughriders fell to 1-1-0. “That’s the same thing he told me last year and it’s the mindset this year.
“Coach Jones, when he said Zach was going to be the starter, said, ‘Just stay ready because if anything happens, we’re going to need you to do exactly what you did last year: Come in and try to give us a spark or come in if Zach gets hurt.’ ”
Collaros went the distance in Saskatchewan’s season-opening 27-19 victory over the Toronto Argonauts on June 15, but the Roughriders’ starting pivot didn’t make it through two quarters of Thursday’s contest at TD Place.
He took a couple of big hits during his stint, which ended early in the second quarter. He left the Roughriders’ bench to enter the concussion protocol and, after returning in uniform for a brief spell, was in street clothes for the second half.
Cue Bridge.
“You’ve always got to be ready and prepared as if you’re the starter,” he said. “I was prepared as if I was going to take that first snap (of the game) even though, in the game plan, I wasn’t.”
The turn of events with Collaros didn’t sit well with Roughriders guard Brendon LaBatte.
The offensive line got off to a slow start against Toronto — Collaros was sacked once on each of Saskatchewan’s first two possessions versus the Argos — before ironing out the kinks. The group never did that on Thursday.
“We started off and, in our first drive, we were already getting him hit,” LaBatte said. “He didn’t stand a chance of getting settled in and getting into a rhythm. It was early and often out there.
“It’s a pretty terrible feeling to be part of an O-line that got your quarterback killed like that.”
Jones wasn’t happy with the play of the offensive line after the Roughriders’ 39-12 pre-season loss to the Calgary Stampeders on June 8. His concerns were back Thursday.
“Anytime you get your quarterback hit, you have an opportunity to get your guy knocked out,” he said. “That’s kind of where we sit right now.”
Collaros was sacked on Saskatchewan’s first possession and absorbed a couple more hits over his subsequent four turns running the offence. His night ended in the second quarter after he threw an interception to Loucheiz Purifoy in the Redblacks’ end zone.
Bridge was sacked once in the second quarter and once in the fourth. He too got hit hard a couple of times, including a shot in the midsection from Avery Ellis.
For LaBatte, the answer lies in the O-linemen’s preparation.
“We’ve got to keep coming to work and focus on what we’re going to be seeing,” he said. “It was (the Redblacks’) first week and I think we gave them a little too much credit for what they were going to do.
“They played us a lot more vanilla (than expected). They just lined up and went one-on-one with us and were able to get home like that.”
Collaros finished with four completions in 10 pass attempts for 106 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Bridge was 13-for-22 for 145 yards with one pick; he also rushed four times for 27 yards with one lost fumble.
The Roughriders accumulated 18 first downs and 327 yards of net offence against the Redblacks, but Ottawa controlled the ball for 32 minutes four seconds.
In Saskatchewan’s game against Toronto, the Roughriders held the ball for nearly 33 minutes and recorded 17 first downs and 305 yards of net offence. But they were more efficient against Toronto than they were in Ottawa — and that showed up on the scoreboard.
“It’s tough when you come from a good effort (against the Argos) and then we don’t execute like we want to (Thursday),” said fullback Spencer Moore. “We have to be able to look at the film and be harsh on ourselves.
“We can’t let it divide us offensively or as a team. We have to look at it, evaluate, be our biggest critics, make the corrections and move forward. That’s all we can do.”
The Roughriders aren’t expected to return to the practice field until Tuesday, giving them four days to evaluate Collaros and see if he’ll be ready for the contest against the Alouettes.
He and Bridge have different styles — Bridge has a stronger arm and is more likely to run with the football — but slotback Naaman Roosevelt said nothing will change for the offence if Collaros can’t go against Montreal.
“We’ve got all the confidence in Bridge; we know what he can do,” Roosevelt said. “He brings that element where he can run as well as pass. We just have to get open for him.”
