ROUGHRIDERS-ALOUETTES PREVIEW: Stevens made major mark in Montreal … Riders close to clinching playoff spot … focusing on finishing
A looming game against the Montreal Alouettes provides an opportune time to accentuate the unique talents of quarterback Tommy Stevens.
When the Saskatchewan Roughriders last opposed the Alouettes — on Aug. 2 in Montreal — Stevens helped to set the tone for the visiting side’s 34-6 CFL victory by carrying the ball three times in short-yardage situations on the opening drive.
That possession culminated in a one-yard touchdown run by Stevens, who had twice moved the chains on third-and-one.
That has been the norm in his first season as a Roughrider.
Thirty of his 32 carries in short-yardage situations have produced a first down. The conversion rate: 93.8 per cent!
“We have a quarterback board and we keep track of all the good and bad things you do during the week,” Roughriders starting signal-caller Trevor Harris said leading up to Saturday’s home game against Montreal.
“Next to his name is ‘Mariano Rivera … the closer.’ ”
Enter Sandman Stevens, who has registered 98 yards in situations where the Roughriders needed a cumulative total of 35.
In other words, he has gained an average of 2.8 times the yardage required.
Again, we take you back to the game in Montreal, where Stevens gained seven yards in one third-and-one situation.
He had three third-down conversions overall to complement a TD he scored on first-and-goal from the one.
“He’s got a skill set that I think a lot of teams would like to have,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “We were really excited with the fact that he wanted to be a part of this.”
Saskatchewan signed the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder as a free agent on Feb. 11. He spent the previous three CFL seasons with the Calgary Stampeders, for whom he rushed for 25 touchdowns — including 10 last year — in 54 games.
The Roughriders were most familiar with Stevens’ impactful presence. He boasts the three longest runs (85, 71 and 69 yards) by an opposing quarterback in franchise history.
“He has helped us go out and extend drives,” Mace said. “The success rate is fairly high for him and it has been throughout his career.
“It goes into the thought process of play-calling, obviously. He’s almost like a security blanket of some sort. If you’re questioning (whether to gamble), it isn’t even a question sometimes, especially if you ask him.”
Dutifully, we asked him.
“In my opinion, anytime that we’re ever stopped, it’s problematic, so we’re trying to limit that as much as possible,” Stevens said.
Beginning with the game in Montreal, he began an active streak of 12 consecutive carries with a first down or a touchdown.
“There’s little room for error,” he emphasized, “and you need everybody included to make the play operate correctly.
“We’re just trying to keep everybody locked in on those details, because one guy not doing his job or thinking it’s something else or not being on the same page could derail the play.
“I don’t think we’ve had that here. It has just been better execution by the opposing team. But there have been some instances in the past where a guy goes the wrong way and now we’ve got a free hitter. It’s tough, because those guys get paid, too.
“But, yeah, I’ve seen the numbers. I just try to improve any way that I can. Ultimately, I want to find more ways to get in the end zone. That’s kind of the point of emphasis, at least for me, outside of getting the first down.”
Stevens is part of a close-knit quarterbacking quartet that also includes Harris, Jake Maier and Jack Coan.
“He’s the man,” Harris said of Stevens. “He’s a tremendous person, teammate and football player. He takes his job very seriously. He’s our third-team quarterback, but every day he’s in there watching film with us.
“He’s kind of the mediator of our arguments, too. Me and Jake, me and Jack, we kind of have two-man feuds, debates. Tommy’s our fact-checker.
“He’s just a tremendous guy. He’s very physical. His job means a lot to him. We’re thankful to have a guy like Tommy Stevens.
“When I heard he was coming here this year, I breathed a sigh of relief. I was like, ‘Third-and-one, third-and-one-and-a-half becomes a lot easier when you have Tommy Stevens.’ ”
PRECIPICE OF PLAYOFFS
A victory on Saturday would clinch a playoff berth for the Roughriders, who carry a league-best 10-2 record into the game against Montreal.
Asked about being so close to securing a playoff spot, Harris emphasized grander objectives.
“It doesn’t move the needle for me,” he responded. “Some goals we had this year were to sweep the Labour Day Classic and Banjo Bowl. It was great … good … but we’ve moved on from that. Now what?
“It’s like, ‘Now what are you going to do?’ Our mindset is that we’ve got to go win this game and go 1-and-0 this week. If we were 6-and-6, we’d be saying the same thing: ‘It’s 1-and-0 this week. Build to be the best team we can be.’
“We’re building something and this year we’re on the clock. It’s our time to continue pressing the pedal and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Entering this weekend, the Roughriders have clinched a playoff berth in September only once — on Sept. 28, 2019.
Saskatchewan has two opportunities to clinch at an earlier juncture. After Saturday, the Roughriders are on a bye week before returning to action on Sept. 27 against the host Edmonton Elks.
Saskatchewan has never clinched earlier than the 13-game mark since the CFL increased its regular-season schedule to 18 games per team (from 16) in 1986.
The Roughriders hope to match the 2010 and 2019 teams by nailing down a post-season berth in their 13th game.
“WE’RE DANGEROUS”
Harris was asked if weeks such as this are dangerous, considering that a 5-7 team that has lost five in a row will soon provide the opposition.
“We’re dangerous,” he stated. “That’s how I feel. We’re dangerous. So are they.
“This is pro football and we know that. They know that. If you don’t bring your ‘A’ game every week, you’ll get punished for it.
“This league has a lot of parity, so the difference relies a lot on your culture. What kind of team are you each and every week, play in and play out?
“That’s really what we kind of rest our backbone on. We’re bringing it every week. We’re trying to improve every week.”
That is the case even though the Roughriders are coming off a sweep of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who have represented the West Division in the past five Grey Cup Games.
“This week, we took a long, hard look in the mirror at what we could have done better last week,” said Harris, who guided the Roughriders to a 21-13 win in Winnipeg on Sept. 6.
“Five field goals is not good enough. We’ve got to get the ball in the end zone. We’ve got to do our best to put our defence in a position where they can play the game they want to play. If we’re not scoring early and helping out our defence, then we’re not doing our job.
“Our emphasis this week has been on maintaining physicality and leaning into each other, our brotherhood, and making sure we do what we need to do to win this game.”
“A SAD DAY FOR FOOTBALL IN THIS COUNTRY”
Friday night’s game between the Blue Bombers and the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats is, quite fittingly, a matchup of two teams Ted Goveia impacted for the past decade and beyond.
Goveia, who was named the Tiger-Cats’ general manager on Dec. 5, died of cancer on Friday morning. He joined the Tiger-Cats after spending 10 years as the Blue Bombers’ assistant GM and director of player personnel.
“He has meant so much to this game in this country,” Mace said of Goveia, who was born in Burlington, Ont. “He has physically been involved in so many different aspects. It’s a sad day for football in this country.”
Beginning in 1994, Goveia coached in the junior and university football ranks before being hired by Toronto in 2010 and spending four seasons with the Argonauts. Previously, he was a guest coach at eight Argonauts training camps.
“Love to his family and everybody he has affected,” Mace said. “I never had the opportunity to work with Teddy but developed a relationship with him over my last few years of coaching.
“It sucks, man. I’ve spoken to a few people who spent a lot more time with him than I have and I know how I’m feeling, so I can anticipate how they’re feeling.
“I just hope they love on each other tonight with the game between those two teams.”
