Just in time for Halloween, Eddie Steele had a frightening thought about the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defence.
“We’ve played really well, but the scary thing is I don’t think we’ve even reached our full potential yet,” the veteran defensive tackle said after Saturday’s 35-16 CFL victory over the B.C. Lions at Mosaic Stadium.
“I heard on the sideline that we tied a record for most (defensive) touchdowns and that’s impressive, but there are a lot of plays that we’ve left on the field throughout the course of the season. We can still get better.
“We’re starting to peak and get pretty hot at the right time, minus the Winnipeg game (a 31-0 loss to the Blue Bombers on Oct. 13). History shows that the team that starts to get hot towards the end of the season goes on a pretty deep run, so that’s what we’re looking to do.”
The Roughriders’ defence did indeed tie a CFL record Saturday.
“We want to come out every week and be the most fast, physical and disruptive team…”
Touchdowns scored on a one-yard fumble return by defensive tackle Zack Evans and a 42-yard interception return by defensive back Ed Gainey gave Saskatchewan 11 defensive TDs this season. That equalled the league mark set by the 1987 Lions.
Throw in majors on three punts and one kickoff and the Roughriders have 15 returns for scores in 2018. That also matches the league record for return TDs set by B.C. in ’87.
Earlier this season, Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said he annually sets a benchmark of getting 10 touchdowns from his defence. On Saturday, in its final game of the regular season, Saskatchewan surpassed that standard.
“I can think of about three more that we left out there (during the season),” Jones said. “We did a nice job of, when we get the football in our hands, converting it to an offensive play.
“That’s the mindset of this group now. It’s just a matter of getting some more of them.”
In addition to the majors by Evans and Gainey, Saskatchewan’s defensive TDs have been scored by Nick Marshall (two interception returns), Willie Jefferson (two pick-sixes), Sam Eguavoen (one pick-six, one fumble return), Tobi Antigha (one interception return), Charleston Hughes (one fumble return) and Duron Carter (one pick-six).
The Roughriders’ near-misses include interception returns by Antigha (who, with one more block, could have scored against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 5) and Matt Elam (who was tackled at the one-yard line versus Winnipeg on Sept. 2).
“As a defence, things happen sometimes, but when you can score as many times as we did, you can’t really say anything negative about that,” Gainey said. “The defence has been playing lights out all year and that’s what we need going into these playoffs — because defence wins championships.”
“We want to come out every week and be the most fast, physical and disruptive team,” added Jefferson. “If that’s scoring points on defence more than the offence, then that’s just how it is.”
Jefferson had a hand — literally — in two of the three turnovers the Roughriders forced Saturday.
Late in the first quarter, he batted a Travis Lulay pass into the air and the ball landed in Antigha’s arms. Three plays later, Tre Mason scored on a seven-yard run that, when converted by Brett Lauther, gave Saskatchewan a 13-
0 lead.
Then, in the third quarter, Jefferson knocked the ball out of Lulay’s right hand at the Lions’ one-yard line. Evans scooped up the ball and fell into the end zone for his second career touchdown.
He scored his previous major on July 9, 2015, when he intercepted a pass by Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly and rumbled 66 yards for a major. Evans was a member of the Ottawa Redblacks at the time.
“I was hoping no one was catching me on that one,” Evans said. “This one (Saturday), I was like, ‘No one’s going to catch me. I’m falling for a yard.’ ”
The Roughriders’ defence won’t lead the league in every major statistical category this season, but it has been the team’s most dominant group.
That said, no one on the defence has pointed fingers at their offensive counterparts when they’ve struggled; the defenders have simply tried to pick up the slack.
“We know we have a good offence and when they click in, they can’t be stopped,” Jefferson said. “Our offence put up almost 200 yards rushing (Saturday) and held the ball the way they were supposed to with no interceptions or stuff like that, so hats off to them.
“That was a good game for them. As long as they can do that and the defence does what we do and tries to shut teams out (or) tries to keep them under 12 points, it’s going to be hard to beat us.”
Roughriders centre Brendon LaBatte certainly understands the difficulty of that task.
He and his mates on the offence face Saskatchewan’s defence during every practice, so they know the problems the defenders present to their opponents.
“We try to block them up during the week and it’s a challenge,” LaBatte said. “They’ve got a bunch of different guys who can play the same position and you don’t really know who’s who. With the speed that they come with, you don’t get a chance to relocate a guy because he’ll already be by you.
“They play with a lot of speed and a lot of confidence on that side of the ball and that’s always a problem. Anytime that you get 12 guys playing with that kind of belief, they’re going to be a handful.”
