DAYTONA HOMES TUESDAY MORNING GOALIE

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are in a conundrum.  But you know that.

However it may not be the scenario you think, and it might not be as bad as you think either.

But today we’re not sifting through the wreckage for positives.

The Riders were smoked 40-9 on Thanksgiving Monday in Montreal to drop their record to 9-6 – losers of four of their last five – and it sent them home having to pick up the pieces with three games left in the regular season and a playoff berth not yet clinched.

The reason for their struggles isn’t that difficult to pinpoint; they were 8-2 when starting quarterback Darian Durant went down with injury and now are 1-4 without him.  How can you blame the team for that?

With time running out, Corey Chamblin’s Coach of the Year credentials are being put to the test.

“We’ve got to find answers to everything,” Chamblin said after the game in Montreal. “It has to be more than the quarterback situation.

“We have young guys in there and we depend on them to step up, but we understand that Darian’s not playing and we’re not hiding our heads in the sand on that. We’ve just got to make sure that with the new quarterbacks, we’re still able to win.”

That’s where the conundrum enters into the equation.  The Riders still have faith in young pivots Tino Sunseri and Seth Doege but even those own players families would say they haven’t made the most of their multiple opportunities.

So do the Riders keep going with the young guys, hoping for a breakthrough, or hand the ball to recently-signed Kerry Joseph, the hero of the 2007 Grey Cup in Saskatchewan?

That’s what’s keeping the Rider coaches up at night these days.

“We’re trying to protect against what happened to me in 2007 in the Grey Cup,” revealed Rider GM Brendan Taman.  “(Bomber QB) Kevin Glenn broke his arm and couldn’t play in the Grey Cup so we had to go with an inexperienced Ryan Dinwiddie.  Had Kerry Joseph been playing for Winnipeg that day, that’s a ‘what if’, but we have to protect, try to be better, and think ahead.”

So it’s not a slam dunk that the Riders will start Kerry Joseph this Sunday when Edmonton comes to town even though it seems like the best option.  The club is careful not to destroy their other quarterbacks’ confidence.  They were brought in here for a reason and it would be reckless to discard their promising careers.

But who should run this team in the absence of Darian Durant?  That’s the theme this week.  And Durant’s return is imminent.

“Darian’s schedule has been progressing just like we all have thought,” Taman reported.  “He’s probably going to start throwing in two weeks.  I know there’s speculation this is a smokescreen but I wouldn’t do an interview with you and mislead you on something like that.

“We expect him to be throwing in two weeks, but won’t be ready for Game #17 in Calgary, but then we have a bye week and finish at home November 8 against Edmonton.  I think there’s a fairly good chance Darian could play that football game and if you asked Darian and our medical people that, they’d say the same thing.  We have a sense that he will.”

I’ve noticed this football club wants to win the Grey Cup as badly as last year.  I put that question to Taman as well.

“I think it’s moreso to be honest with you,” Taman said.  “The aura of the Grey Cup being here last year, bringing in the vets and all that, that was one thing.  But this team is driven to try to do something that’s never been done in the history of this organization.  That’s why you pull out a stop like bringing in Kerry Joseph.  We’re trying to do everything in our power to win a football game, or two or three.  We expect to go into the playoffs, play good football and go into Vancouver for the Grey Cup and win it.

“I don’t think there’s any reason why we can’t.”

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3 NOTES TO START THE WEEK

1 – As road trips to Montreal go, that one was probably the worst-ever.  There was no turkey meal to be had on Thanksgiving Day, the Canadiens were on the road, and the game sucked.  Our broadcast was beyond abysmal as the operator in the visitors radio booth couldn’t figure out how to get us on air.  So Carm Carteri and I rotated between my Prairie Mobile BlackBerry and a handset telephone to broadcast the whole game.  Imagine holding a phone receiver upside down and talking into it for four hours.  I’ve had to do that in the junior hockey days but never in professional football.

Carm said it was the worst conditions he’s experienced in 26 years of broadcasting Roughrider football and that’s what led to him snapping on the guy somewhere late in the second quarter.  That tirade went over the airwaves and some listeners thought he was ranting against the Riders.  No, it wasn’t.

Some on Twitter thought this was the fault of 620 CKRM and called for Michael Ball and me to be fired!  But no, it was due to a technician in Montreal who didn’t know how to get us on the air.

Hopefully we never go through that again.

2 – Checking the CFL standings this morning, the Roughriders still have some work to do to make the 2014 playoffs.  Three teams in the East Division now have six wins and as of today, the crossover IS in effect as the B.C. Lions – who sit fourth in the West – have eight wins.  It would be dreadful for the Roughriders to “back into the playoffs” after such a splendid start but if they’d take it if they have to.

Head coach Corey Chamblin seems to want no part of a crossover, citing the fact no crossover team has ever advanced to the Grey Cup let alone win it.  And, the Riders have been outscored 116-27 in three games out east this year (Toronto, Hamilton and Montreal).

They can do it in the West, however they’re now a game back of the Eskimos so they’re clearly going to need to sweep Edmonton the rest of the way and hope for a little help if they want to get a home playoff game.  And when you’re asking for help from around the league, it very rarely ever happens.

3 – Good Lord were Rider fans ranting last night after the game.  And these just weren’t the regular crazies.  Respected businessmen were emailing me using ALL CAPS and typing F-BOMBS with regards to the Roughriders.   In a way, I liked it better this summer when the Rider Nation was still sleeping off the hangover.

Even world famous comedian Brent Butt was mad!  The star of Corner Gas replied on Twitter to my game recap on Riderville.com with “Do we need more of a recap than saying 40-9?”

Yes Brent, we do.  I’ll do my job – you do yours.

I’ve learned it’s best to wait 24 hours or so to allow people to cool off.  They get emotional after those games – particular losses – and I chose a few years ago not to fight with them anymore.  Just say your piece, but don’t say anything you’ll regret.

I was speechless after the game too, and wanted to sleep on it before coming here to write.

It’s puzzling how the Riders had 223 yards of net offense and tailback Anthony Allen had over 50% of it.  Then he was benched for a fumble on a bad exchange?  Seems odd.  But offensive coordinator George Cortez is doing what he thinks is best to win.  Heck he doesn’t want to lose.

We’ll discuss the game on the SportsCage today on 620 CKRM and take your calls along with Luc Mullinder.  Your rant will be heard!

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT — WEEK 6 IN THE NFL

With DeMarco Murray achieving something only Hall of Famer Jim Brown had, Tony Romo at his improvisational best, a dominant offensive line and a surprisingly competent defence, the Dallas Cowboys are 5-1 for the first time since 2007 – and worthy of their “America’s Team” moniker for the first time in a while.

Murray’s 115 yards allowed him to match Brown as the only running backs to gain 100 yards in each of a season’s opening six games, and his late touchdown allowed the Cowboys to beat the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks 30-23. It’s only the second time in Russell Wilson’s 21 home games that Seattle lost.

What made Murray’s showing all the more impressive is that Seattle came into Sunday with the NFL’s top rushing defence. And Dallas’ D held Seattle’s offence to 16 points, while limiting Wilson to 126 yards passing and 12 rushing.

“That’s not a good day for him,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said, in perhaps the understatement of the day.

And maybe Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is finally on his way to a winning record and the playoffs after three consecutive 8-8 seasons.

In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL season’s sixth Sunday:

FAKE SPIKE: Aaron Rodgers pulled off Dan Marino’s move against Marino’s old team, using a fake spike to help extend what became the go-ahead TD drive in Green Bay’s 27-24 victory at Miami. Rodgers – who is right-handed but earlier threw one pass lefty in order to avoid getting sacked – gave every indication he was going to spike the football to stop the clock at second-and-6 from Miami’s 16. But snapping the ball with 12 seconds to go, he held onto the ball, and with teammates helping sell the fake – slot receiver Jordy Nelson didn’t move; offensive linemen stood up and stayed put – completed a toss to Davante Adams for a gain of 12. “Yeah, that was kind of some freestylin’ right there,” said Rodgers, who then hit Andrew Quarless for a touchdown.

TIES OK?: Should the NFL look into figuring out a way to make sure a game doesn’t end in a tie? The Bengals and Panthers both got a field goal in overtime, but Cincinnati’s Mike Nugent missed a 36-yard potential winner at the end of the lone extra quarter, and the score wound up 37-all. Professional football remains unique among major sports – including college football – in letting games conclude without a winner.

LIONS CAN’T KICK: Matt Prater, who made the longest field goal in NFL history when he was with Denver, went 1 for 3 in his debut for Detroit on Sunday, continuing a hard-to-believe pattern: The Lions are 5 for 15 on field-goal tries this season. Prater, Detroit’s third kicker in 2014, missed one try wide and put another off an upright.

GENEROUS COUSINS: Only 2 1/2 years after drafting a pair of quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III in the first round (trading a bunch of first- and second-round picks to get him) and Kirk Cousins in the fourth, Washington can’t be quite sure what to make of its QB situation. RG3 keeps getting hurt and has yet to prove himself as a pocket passer; Cousins keeps giving the ball away. He threw three fourth-quarter interceptions in a 30-20 loss at Arizona on Sunday, two games after throwing three third-quarter picks in a blowout against the Giants. Cousins is merely one of many, many problems for Washington, which is 1-5 under rookie head coach Jay Gruden.

INJURIES: Among significant players who left games Sunday with leg injuries were Cleveland’s Pro Bowl centre, Alex Mack, who had never missed a snap – more than 5,000 – in his NFL career until breaking his left leg; the Giants’ salsa-dancing receiver, Victor Cruz, who cried as he was driven off the field after tearing a tendon in his right knee while trying to make an end-zone catch; Philadelphia’s do-everything Darren Sproles, who hurt his left knee. The AFC East-leading Patriots, meanwhile, lost linebacker Jerod Mayo (right knee), running back Stevan Ridley (right knee) and starting guard Dan Connolly (concussion).

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THAT’S ALL.  TRY TO ENDURE DOWN WEEK
RP
@sportscage