Saskatchewan is the most unique market in the CFL because it is the only professional game in town there. There is no hockey, there is no baseball and there is no basketball. It is an understatement to say that the fans love their Riders, which is why it was completely unacceptable to see the team fall to the absolute bottom of the league last season. The response: a complete overhaul of the team, both on and off the field. It certainly has infused the team with some energy and should yield improved results, but after a three-win season improvement won’t be all that hard to achieve. Here’s our 2016 team preview of the Saskatchewan Roughriders:
Team Strength
After a 3-15 season, the Riders have made sweeping changes for this season. Firstly, they were able to lure head coach Chris Jones away from Edmonton (coming off a Grey Cup title) and he will be filling both the coaching and general manager duties. That’s quite the coup. Not only did the Roughriders find a coach, they found one – who came with almost his entire staff – from the team’s best team. That’s fairly rare. This now immediately becomes one of the strengths of the team.
Jones will also fill the role of General Manager and in that position, he has overhauled the roster. Gone are of a slew of players regardless of whether they were fan favorites or not. He has also brought in key talent in the form of defensive end Justin Capicciotti, linebacker Otha Foster, defensive back Ed Gainey and running back/return Kendial Lawrence. If it wasn’t obvious, he is making defensive improvement a priority and has brought in the bodies to do so. Linebacker Jeff Knox made 114 tackles last season, as a rookie, and this year he has some help. This area of the team could be a strength as well.
Team Weakness
Darian Durant is an established CFL quarterback. He has won a Grey Cup and is in the top 20 all time in passing yards. He also has finished the last two seasons injured and you have to wonder if he still has what it takes to leads a contending team in a league where passing is critical. He is on the wrong side of 30 and has an extensive injury history. Jones is confident in him, but it might be time to truly signal a new era by going in a different direction. If Durant gets hurt, this team is in trouble at the position. The good news is they had the league’s most productive rushing attack last season (2,150 rushing yards), so if the quarterback is healthy, they could be a balanced unit.
Team X-Factor
Durant above would fit the bill here, but for this one it has to be Jones. Coaching is difficult enough as it is, but when you factor in having to manage personnel as well, it might be too much. There is a reason the job is split and this role is especially difficult in the CFL where the NFL and their preseason cuts are a personnel factor, right in the middle of the season. As a coach they may have found their man, but the jury is still out on the total package.
The Season Will Be A Success If…
They are respectable. Nobody is expecting this team to contend for the Grey Cup. Every franchise has a clunker every once in awhile, but the Roughriders hadn’t had a season as bad as last year since 1999. The goal for Year One of the Jones era will be to establish themselves on defense and be more competitive. A .500 season might be ceiling.
Outlook
Jones has had a lot of success in a relatively short CFL career. This will be a stiffer test than what he has experienced in Edmonton the past couple of seasons where he already had a team that had many quality parts. They will be measuring success a little bit differently, but he can get this team to improve. Look for them to get out of last place in the West but not much better than that.
Pick: Fourth place finish in the West with between 6-8 victories.
