Brandon Bridge is getting his wish.
In the moments after Saturday’s 23-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes, Bridge said he thought he should be the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starting quarterback for their next game — even though he had been pulled after just one half of the CFL contest against Montreal at Mosaic Stadium.
“I should start, yeah,” Bridge told reporters. “It was only a half. If they’re going to judge me off a half, that’s their decision. But I think I should start. I think I give our team the best chance to win.”
Well, on Monday, Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones revealed that Bridge will indeed be behind centre to start Thursday’s game against the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Backup David Watford will play if needed — he could get some action even if it isn’t required — but Bridge is slated to make the fourth start of his four-year CFL career.
“I’m always grateful for the opportunity even to play football, and for (Jones) to put his trust in me again to be the starter is pretty good,” said Bridge, a 26-year-old product of Mississauga, Ont. “It makes me feel good.
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I’ve just got to make sure he didn’t make a mistake by making me the starter again.”
Bridge began the season as the Roughriders’ backup quarterback, but a concussion suffered by starter Zach Collaros in a 40-17 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks on June 21 resulted in Bridge’s promotion. His first start of the season was against the Als.
But Bridge completed just eight of 18 pass attempts for 111 yards with two interceptions in the first half against Montreal, giving him a passer efficiency rating of 18.5.
When the second half started, Watford was the Roughriders’ QB. The CFL rookie went 10-for-22 passing for 108 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for an efficiency rating of 37.7.
Jones said after the game that Bridge was struggling seeing the game, so he was replaced. On Monday, Jones gave credit to Montreal defensive co-ordinator Rich Stubler, who was able to throw some wrinkles at Bridge after the Als took the lead.
“It’s definitely deflating (to be pulled),” said Bridge, who came off the Roughriders’ bench 12 times during the 2017 season to replace then-starter Kevin Glenn. “I was in that position last year where I was put in to get us out of the situation. Now, it’s my own situation. I put myself in my own deficit and I wasn’t able to take myself out of it.
“It definitely hurt. I wish the coach would have left me in so I could get myself out of that deficit and let me rock. But at the end of the day, that’s above my pay grade and it was his decision to take me out. Now it’s a new opportunity and I’ve got to make the best of it.”
Bridge said he received text messages of support after the game from Glenn and from other players around the CFL. Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Damon Allen, who has known Bridge for years, also called with advice.
The Roughriders’ coaches also offered their support — in the form of another starting assignment.
Quarterbacks coach Steve Walsh doesn’t have any concerns about Bridge’s confidence in the wake of Saturday’s benching.
“His path has had its ups and downs,” Walsh said. “Last year there was a fair amount of ups and we expect him to bounce back and return to that form.”
Bridge’s first pass of the game Saturday should have resulted in a 76-yard pass-and-run touchdown, but tailback Marcus Thigpen couldn’t hold on to the throw.
That drop was big because of its timing and because it was a missed opportunity to seize the momentum. Bridge said the play didn’t rattle him, “but it definitely hurt.”
In the days leading up to the game, Bridge said his previous appearances had taught him to move on after encountering rough water. That was reinforced Saturday.
“If a bad thing happens, you’ve got to forget about it and not dwell on it and look forward to the next play,” he said when asked what he learned in the loss. “If you dwell on it, then more mistakes will happen.”
And there were other issues Saturday. The quarterbacks combined to throw four interceptions, but Walsh pointed to concerns such as the protection and the receivers’ route depths.
Walsh noted that quarterbacks get too much credit when things go well and too much blame when things go poorly — and, as a former NFL pivot, he should know. But the job of a CFL QB is dependent on the other 11 offensive players doing their jobs, so when the offence as a whole struggles, the quarterback struggles.
“We’ve had receivers open and we’ve missed (with the throw),” Walsh said. “We’ve had receivers open and we didn’t have quite enough protection. We’ve had receivers open and maybe we didn’t capitalize on the catch. All areas have to get better offensively.
“It’s certainly not just the one position, but my focus (leading up to Thursday’s game) is on making sure the quarterbacks play better.”
