In one sense, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ offence was actually too effective during the pre-season.
To wit: How do you fully appraise a new punter under game conditions if it turns out that his services are rarely required?
That was how the nice-problem-to-have scenario unfolded on Friday, when the Roughriders concluded their CFL pre-season schedule by defeating the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-16.
Eight of the Roughriders’ 10 possessions — excluding two time-killing kneel-downs in the waning seconds of the first half — ended with a touchdown or a field-goal attempt.
That left Australian-born newcomer Adam Korsak with only two opportunities to punt, the last of which materialized with 1:50 remaining before halftime.
Over the course of two pre-season games — both of which were won by Saskatchewan — the Roughriders scored a TD or attempted a field goal to punctuate 15 of their 24 possessions (again, excluding kneel-downs).
Korsak and Norwegian-born incumbent Kaare Vedvik, the latter of whom sat out on Friday due to a quad strain, combined for a mere seven punts during the pre-season.
That is an eyebrow-raising stat when you consider that Vedvik punted seven or more times in seven different games last season.
With an eye toward reducing the prevalence of punts, General Manager and Vice-President of Football Operations Jeremy O’Day made a series of impactful off-season moves on the offensive side of the ball.
The early returns? Far fewer punt returns for the opposition, for starters.
“We’re happy with how the offence has done so far,” O’Day said while meeting with reporters on Monday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium.
“That was a concern or a thought going into (the pre-season): With 75 or 80 per cent of your offence that’s changed, how long will it take for them to gel and be able to score points?
“We’ll see when we get to the real games. Pre-season games don’t count, but they are important for building momentum and, obviously, for showing you what you’ve got on the roster going into the season.”
The most notable addition to the offence was quarterback Trevor Harris, who signed with Saskatchewan on Feb. 14 — the opening day of the free-agency period.
O’Day also used the open market to add veteran American receivers Jake Wieneke, Derel Walker and Shawn Bane Jr.
Each member of that trio was showcased on the Roughriders’ opening possession in Winnipeg. Harris found Wieneke for 11 yards and Bane Jr. for 19 before going over the top to Walker for 37. The latter connection set up a five-yard TD pass to Walker.
And that was a wrap for Harris, who spent the remainder of Friday’s game working with understudies Mason Fine, Jake Dolegala and Shea Patterson.
Each of the four quarterbacks was impressive during the pre-season, to the extent that the entire quartet was retained beyond Saturday’s cutdown deadline.
“We didn’t want to move on from any of them,” O’Day said. “The Head Coach (Craig Dickenson) and everyone involved, we just wanted to find a way to keep all four of them. We’ll see what the plan is going into Week 1.”
The Roughriders are to return to the practice field on Wednesday in preparation for Sunday’s regular-season opener against the host Edmonton Elks (5 p.m., TSN, CKRM).
The excitement is palpable as the first game draws closer.
“They’re long off-seasons when the team doesn’t have success,” said O’Day, who has been part of the Roughriders’ organization in some capacity since 1999. “I’m not going to sugar-coat it by any means.
“When you make substantial change, people grow impatient with that process, but ultimately we felt like we needed to change in certain areas and, obviously, that’s what we did.
“It makes the off-season long and hopefully people are going to get excited and people are going to get behind us like they always have.
“That’s the expectations from me from being here for so long. Our fans have always supported us and I think they understand that every year is a new year.
“We certainly are excited to get it rolling and to get started and to see how our team does.”
SHORT SNORTS
- O’Day on the release of 32-year-old running back Kienan LaFrance: “Kienan has been with us (dating back to 2017) and has been a good player for us. He’s an outstanding guy and great in the locker room. He’s kind of a glue guy, so those are really tough decisions.” The Roughriders’ brass opted to keep rookie running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon, who was selected in the fourth round (30th overall) of the 2023 CFL Draft. Bertrand-Hudon’s sole carry on Friday — an 18-yarder — set up the Roughriders’ final TD.
- Jerald Hawkins was the odds-on favourite to start at left offensive tackle until circumstances necessitated his return home to Louisiana during Coors Light Riders Training Camp. “We don’t know exactly when and if we’ll get him back,” O’Day said. “We certainly hope for that, but he’s got some personal family issues that he’s dealing with at home.”
- The calibre of the Roughriders’ recruiting was such that defensive end Stefen Banks, a Day 1 free-agent signing, was among Saturday’s cuts. “Every year you go to camp hoping that you find some guys who are going to upgrade your roster or make your roster better,” O’Day said. “I don’t think it was so much what Stefen Banks did. It was more so what Bryan Cox Jr. and a couple of the younger guys (on the defensive line) did that made it a difficult decision. We just felt like they had better camps and took advantage of the opportunity and that’s why we decided to go with those guys.”
