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Riders are More Entertaining Off the Field Than On

Aug 14, 2016 | 5:54 PM

Let’s go back 20 odd years ago when I was terrorizing Prince Albert and deciding to cast my eye to what havoc I could wreak provincially.

Former Herald Sports Reporter, Ron New, introduced me to the concept of getting a press pass and I saw an opportunity to realize a childhood dream of covering the Saskatchewan Roughriders. I would have to make the four hour drive to Regina, spend three hours for the game, maybe another hour or so with interviews, then four hours back and a quick hour to write up a story or column.

Just after I started amusing the Rider media office with requests for press credentials, Don Matthews was named coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders succeeding John Gregory who couldn’t overcome an injury to Kent Austin to keep the Riders in playoff contention.

Matthews was a mercenary with a reputation for being a winner and he brought what he called “Living on the Edge” to the Rider Nation. Years later when it came out Matthews was suffering from an anxiety order, it made sense of some of the go for broke decisions that at the time, didn’t make sense.

It may have also contributed to a moment when Matthews and some Riders stopped in Prince Albert en route to fish in probably La Ronge. The local Rider rep had arranged for me, even then a well-known Rider fan that provided original Rider content in the Herald, to interview Matthews in the Prince Albert Inn.

The Rider Rep was a little leery of this because Matthews was known for being condescending and she didn’t want to alienate the coverage the Herald was giving the Riders. I was used to dealing with former PA City Commissioner Len Cantin, so how bad could Matthews be?

The media landscape in 1992-1993 was very different than it was today. In the Herald newsroom, we had access to the Canadian Press wire so we knew what was happening with CFL teams, but we weren’t in the same company as the Regina and Saskatoon papers and I had no intention of re-asking questions those capable reporters had already posed.

In addition to having played linebacker/running back in high school, I had also coached football in the Army, ending up undefeated and realized as much as I thought I knew there was more I didn’t. So I was curious about why Matthews had the Rider defense doing the things they were doing or not doing, and Matthews started explaining when he stopped and asked, “Do you know what a SAM linebacker is?”

Yeah, I replied, I played the position for three years. The SAM linebacker is the strong side linebacker, which means I was involved on the side with more receivers than the other side because I had pass coverage responsibilities in addition to run coverage and general tackling.

That was the effective end of the interview because the way he had asked it was similar to how other American head coaching geniuses look at Canadian players/coaches and sports writers. Yes, some can play/coach, write and others can’t, but don’t assume everyone who is a Canadian is an idiot.

I bring up the Matthews story because Chris Jones got his start under Don Matthews about five years after this moment in time, and Jones has made it clear he, like Matthews, will use a go for broke defense. Mind you, after the Riders 19-10 loss to Calgary, it seems the Riders are more broke than anything else.

The other story which plays a part in this report took place two weeks ago when the Riders 1966 Grey Cup team came to Regina one last time as part of the farewell to Taylor Field. Among the players was Wayne Shaw, who was an all-star linebacker with the 1966 team who since then went into business and is a frequent contributor to fan pages like Riderfans.

While most people, including myself, were hedging our bets and thinking Chris Jones could coach, and we figured the Riders would be 9-9 and somewhat competitive by year’s end. Shaw thought the Riders would be 6-12 based on what he saw, and with the Riders now 1-6, Shaw is proving the old Riders know more than the self-appointed experts.

Wayne Shaw is right and I was wrong, now the question is: will the Riders turn this around by 2018?

The Rider defence showed up for the most part, but in the game Saturday it was the special teams and offense that took turns shooting the Riders in the foot. If there is progress, it is probably measurable in some mystical format because the Riders record of 1-6 is marginally better than 0-7 what they were last year.

The frightening news is the Riders have yet to face Winnipeg and will be lucky to get a split.

So Jones’ decisions as GM have cost the Riders about 90 K in fines, which, considering I remember the Riders at one time accepting wheat as payment, is a bit of a slap in the face of fans who pay to see the games, buy the merchandise and lottery tickets and are rewarded for their efforts with a team blowing money with no good explanation or apology.

Rider President Craig Reynolds cut short his vacation to address the accusations of cheating on Friday, which was light years ahead of what Jones did, which was nothing.

Maybe Jones is like a Bo Levi Mitchell, needing to manufacture fights to rev his internal engine, but his inexperience has cost the Riders a lot of money they could have used to sign free agents from NFL camps. I may have not mentioned the Riders salary cap was cut by $26 K, but while it was better than losing a draft pick, I would hate to be a competitive disadvantage in signing say Brett Jones if he shakes loose of the New York Giants.

Reynolds took responsibility, Jones avoided it. So if the classic question is asked of Jones as it was of former Rider Coach Cory Chamblin, Is this the defense you envisioned? – would Chris Jones then turn to stone to avoid the question?

Considering this was Jones’ first kick at the cat as a GM, I was willing to cut him some slack as part of the learning process. Where I didn’t expect problems was in the lack of play of the defense.

I guess I can put up with Jones stonewalling media and forcing fans to sign in if they want to attend practice as he makes mistakes – but I hope he learns and grows from them.

Seeing how Calgary piled on the Riders, we shouldn’t expect any sympathy from the rest of the league and I am preparing myself for the braying from Bomber fans that have sewn up the Grey Cup already. I would hope that he would keep that in mind and at least take the edge of the public embarrassment Rider fans must suffer from the general public and other fans while Jones operates out of a bubble with very little interaction with other than his players.

Riderville this weekend is angry over the loss, somewhat mollified by the defense stopping Bo (can’t grow a proper beard like Al Pacino in Serpico) Levi Mitchell touchdown streak, and ticked at the lack of a running game, return game and offensive production. Add to this the rest of the trolls in other CFL cities jumping on the Riders in self-righteous anger, and you can’t blame Jones for going after Dave Dickinson after the game and telling him to win with class.

Then again, Jones should heed his own advice.

I won’t advocate the dismissal of Jones, but the bad free agent signings, the trades that now seem like knee jerk reactions and Jones and company hanging on to favorite players who haven’t produced are all signs that not all is well.

To Jones’ credit, he hasn’t thrown his team under the bus like Cory Chamblin did, which is a step in the right direction. If you hold to the philosophy you learn more through losing than by winning, the big thing between now and the end of the season is seeing how Jones rebounds, how the Riders do with signing NFL cuts and if Jones learns from the mistakes the rest of us recognize.

If Jones learns from this, I look forward in the years to come knocking the fricking half assed beard off of Bo Levi’s face. That is a big if, but the amount of investment the Riders have made in Jones is predicated on him being able to execute a plan I hope he shared with Craig Reynolds.

We have blown enough money this season on mistakes. Even though I believe the Rider season is effectively over, how the Riders respond between now and say Thanksgiving will give fans either faith we will get there eventually, or else we will face the humiliation of listening to Bomber fans gloat over beating us.

That prospect is not acceptable in any year – even a 3-15 year. Even Don Matthews knew that.