Jeremiah Masoli is on quite a run with the pass.
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ quarterback enters Thursday’s game against the host Saskatchewan Roughriders (7 p.m., CKRM, TSN) having thrown for at least 300 yards in eight straight games — one game shy of the CFL record.
The mark of nine was set by the Montreal Alouettes’ Sam Etcheverry in 1956 and tied by Saskatchewan’s Kent Austin in 1991.
It’s up to the Roughriders to keep Masoli from getting there.
“The maturity is there and the comfort in the offence certainly is there,” Saskatchewan head coach-GM Chris Jones said Wednesday when asked about the Tiger-Cats’ quarterback. “June (Jones, Hamilton’s head coach) and his staff are doing an outstanding job.
“When (Masoli’s) back foot hits the ground, the ball is coming out and he knows right where to go with it. He can spin it as good as anybody right now.”
During his eight-game streak, Masoli has completed 70.5 per cent of his 291 pass attempts for 2,775 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. Hamilton is 5-3-0 over that span.
Etcheverry completed 60.9 per cent of his passes for 3,422 yards with 19 TDs and 20 picks while helping Montreal post a 7-2-0 record over his run. Austin had a completion percentage of 55.8 and threw for 3,637 yards with 28 TDs and 15 picks as Saskatchewan went 4-5-0.
The current Roughriders know what — or who — they’re up against Thursday.
“That guy can sling the ball all over the field,” defensive end Tobi Antigha said of Masoli. “He’s very confident in every throw that he makes.
“You see it on film: He’s scrambling, scrambling and then he throws it. He has confidence that his receivers will be in the right spot to make the play for him. He moves around the pocket. He’s not really a guy who’ll scramble to run, but he’ll scramble to extend the play and ultimately take a shot down the field — and that’s always dangerous.”
To contain Masoli, the Roughriders will try to disrupt the routes of the Tiger-Cats’ receivers and also will attempt to mix up the QB with a combination of man-to-man and zone coverages. Saskatchewan also will try to get after Masoli and force him to throw the ball quicker than he’d like to.
Trouble is, the Tiger-Cats’ QB has been dangerous when getting rid of the ball in a hurry.
“He’s making his reads and making decisions quickly,” Roughriders linebacker Sam Hurl said. “In this league, a successful offence is an offence that can get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands quickly and get the ball moving — and that’s what they’re doing well.”
Thanks in large part to Masoli’s efforts, Hamilton is averaging a league-high 457.3 yards of net offence per game and 348.3 yards passing per game. The Tiger-Cats also are first in the CFL in first downs (77), first downs passing (44), average yards per play (7.9) and time of possession (33 minutes 37 seconds).
The Roughriders’ defence, meanwhile, is second in the CFL in opponents’ net offence (317.7 yards per game) and second in opponents’ yards per play (5.9). Saskatchewan is sixth in passing yards allowed (278.3 per game), but first in rushing yards allowed (66.7).
The Roughriders forced 13 two-and-outs by the Als on Saturday, but Montreal held on for a 23-17 victory at Mosaic Stadium. A similar showing against Hamilton could help the Roughriders snap a two-game losing streak.
“They’ve got a red-hot offence, but we’re pretty good on defence also,” Saskatchewan defensive back Crezdon Butler said. “They’ve got to do something against us, too.”
“We just have to try to keep our defence off the field as long as possible.”
And even if that happens, Jones wants his charges to bounce back quickly.
“They’re averaging somewhere over 400 yards a game, so we’re not going to sit there and completely shut a team down,” he said. “They’re going to make their plays and when they do, we’ve got to have a strong will and continue to come back and play the next play.”
The Roughriders’ defence isn’t the only unit that can keep Masoli in check Thursday. Saskatchewan’s offence is fourth in the league in time of possession at 30 minutes 49 seconds, so an improvement in that figure Thursday could help.
On Monday, Saskatchewan quarterback Brandon Bridge said Masoli “is playing at a God level right now.” On Wednesday, Bridge said he didn’t have to match Masoli throw for throw.
“I’m going against myself; I just have to do what I have to do,” Bridge said. “If he scores, obviously we’d love to (reply) with a score. But if he scores in five plays, we don’t have to score in five plays. We just have to try to keep our defence off the field as long as possible.
“Keeping our defence off the field keeps him off the field. Masoli can’t put up those numbers if our offence is making consistent, long drives.”
The Roughriders realize how hot Masoli is, but they’re unfazed by talk of his pursuit of the CFL record for consecutive 300-yard passing games. Hurl, in fact, said it was “just noise.”
“That kind of stuff, that’s more for the fans and the media,” he added. “I know we personally are not concerned about that. We’re concerned about making sure we’re lined up right, doing what we need to do, making the tackles we need to make and executing.”
