MULLINDER’S WEEK 17 PRIMER

By: Luc Mullinder

Believe this … It’s a 42 man effort.

This is a production based business.  Kerry Joseph is going to be the startinq quarterback for the 2014 Saskatchewan Roughriders until a better chance to win football games presents itself in the minds of the coaching staff.  Joseph gets the start on Sunday when the Roughriders host the Edmonton Eskimos at 2 pm on TSN and 620 CKRM.

We can all quit debating whether it’s the right move or not.  For every argument one can make towards developing the young talent on this team; there are just as many rebuttals as to why playing Joseph is the way to go.

Me?  I feel like the organization is handcuffed, and as much as I’d rather see Kerry Joseph under centre versus the other QBs in the Riders’ stable, I am very realistic as to what that means moving forward.

The bottom line here is that the young QBs on this roster weren’t ready to contribute consistently on a professional level, and KJ gives the team a slightly better chance to win on Sunday.

What gives Joseph the edge over our younger guys?  Well the obvious answers here are confidence and experience.  But isn’t a 41 year old QB SUPPOSED to have the edge in that category when you compare them to pups?  As outsiders, we cannot expect a fairy tale game from #5 where he throws the squad on his shoulders and carries us into the sunset.  That would be unfair.  In order for the Riders to win on Sunday, it’s going to have to be as a team — where Kerry plays the role of facilitator, rather than playmaker on offence.

There’s going to be a very deliberate scheme by which the Edmonton Eskimos operate when it comes time to defend against a KJ-led offence.  Obviously Edmonton will try and stifle the running attack of the green and white, and if they’re successful with that task, there may be a couple of ways they choose to deal with the 2nd and long downs.   I wouldn’t be surprised if the Esks send more than 1 extra guy when they choose to blitz, maybe 2 or 3.  Teams have been successful against Joseph in the past by making him rush into his decision process.

Another possible card the Esks can play is perhaps showing a blitz look, sending an extra guy, but dropping into zone coverages.   Either way, teams that have been successful against Kerry are the teams that have sped up the game in front of him and made an already shaky QB, in terms of accuracy, throw the ball under duress.

Now that we said all of that, and in keeping with the “Kerry needs to be a facilitator” theme, let’s take a look at some of the guys that will help immensely when it comes to putting the team in a position to win.

Offensive Line

Getting Mike Reilly and the playmakers of the Edmonton offence off the field will be as much on the Offense as it is on the defence.  The Riders have to string together a few first downs consistently, especially early on, and that will require a mammoth effort from the Riders’ front 5.  Dan Clark will be in tough all day with the likes of Sewell and Steele testing his technique every down.  Both Edmonton DTs are super athletic, but they’re also very smart players that have made good use of the film available to them when it comes to scouting their opponent.

The entire CFL is still wondering what they’re feeding Odell Willis, but this kid is playing off the meat rack!  I’d chalk it up to great coaching more than I would Odell wanting to get his act together, but whatever it is, he’s probably the best End in the league right now.  Fortunately the Riders have a pretty decent response to Odell Willis in the shape of Ben Heenan and Levy Adcock.

Adcock has the makings of a star: he plays mean with solid technique. The more the 25 year old plays, the better he is getting and he’s gaining the confidence of everyone in the locker room, coaching staff included.  As for Ben Heenan, he has very quietly become one of the CFL’s best Offensive Tackles.

The Riders need to be physical with Willis.  He’ll shut down after a constant barrage of physical plays, so whenever the Riders run the ball or can “jump set” #41 on passing downs, the one necessary procedure is getting after Odell Willis violently and with bad intentions.

We’ve talked about the line needing to set the tone all year.  Never has it been more necessary over the course of the last few games.  I’ll let you be the judge regarding the performances up until now Ridernation, but with Kerry Joseph at the helm, in order to keep the newly found confidence at a high point, our hoggies need to physically dominate.

Front Seven

In order to be successful against any opponent, teams have to eliminate the “big play.”  Typically these are plays that go for more than 15+ yards and usually affect field position in a negative way (defensively speaking).

The last time that Edmonton was the opponent, big plays against the Rider defence seemed to come in droves but it wasn’t really about WHAT the Esks were running; it was more about HOW they were having their success.  On more than one occasion, the Rider defence, specifically the front seven, were caught out of position.

Whether it was the defensive line failing to balance their rush lanes and giving Reilly a lane to run through, or one of our linebackers over-pursuing their tackling angles and getting beat; there were things on film that stuck out as fundamental mistakes.

It wasn’t that the Eskimos were imposing their will on our guys — being physically bullied isn’t something that is easily fixed.  Luckily the deficiencies from the last meeting between these two squads are of a mental nature.  These types of mistakes can be remedied with ease.

The defensive unit of the Riders has had all week to rewind and make note of things that need to be improved on from the first game.  The result may look incredibly different if the Saskatchewan defence doesn’t make the mental mistakes they did in Commonwealth Stadium.  It’s one thing to have a good QB make all the throws, but it’s another thing entirely too just let an opponent off the hook.  If the Riders have them pinned down, they need to finish this week.  #BottomLine

Secondary

This isn’t an actual, “they need to be better” deal.  This is more of a “don’t stray from what’s made you successful” statement.  This is a group that cannot afford to question the way they go about their routines.

Last week’s game was a bit misleading.  Montreal did get a few good plays off through the air however some of their plays were just Jonathon Crompton throwing the ball into the air, and their big receivers playing the jump ball.  There were no patterns, no earth shattering routes being run, it was just simple math; the bigger guy with the longer arms won.  The Riders can’t let that discourage them.  They need to continue to be the aggressors out there on their individual islands and continue having fun.  The moment that stops, is the moment where everything will slide.

If teams want to beat the Riders by lofting the ball at the sticks and having the big guys go get it, then the Wolf Pack will eventually get their due and start creating INTs.

#NoChangingFormulas

So it’s Kerry Joseph at the helm for the 2014 Saskatchewan Roughriders.  It is what it is and the need for everyone around the QB position to elevate their game is still present.  Does George Cortez open up his playbook a little more with Joseph in the huddle?  Who knows.  If he does open up things a little bit, I doubt it will be through the air.  This is still a team that has built its foundation on the run game and the fact that KJ is not one’s prototypical pocket passer doesn’t bode well for those expecting the long ball.

The immediate beneficiaries to Joseph’s presence are the receivers that operate in the slot.  There may be chances for big plays if the Riders can hit the routes that lie underneath the zones that Edmonton may drop in to.  Cortez hasn’t called for screens and draws persistently this season however, those calls may help immensely against the up field pressure of the Eskimo defensive front.

The order for the day…Keep it simple.  Let the QB call the plays and have his teammates do the heavy lifting.  The weight of the world should not be on Kerry Joseph’s shoulders.  It also should not have been on Tino Sunseri’s shoulders either, but hey … it certainly seemed to finish that way.

This season isn’t lost by any stretch of the imagination.  Things just have to be done differently.  The one advantage of having KJ here is that the Riders may now have the ability to do the different things with a lot more confidence in the huddle.  How far that confidence goes, remains to be seen.

Maybe that’s where the belief factor finally comes into play.  It’s not about the belief of those in Ridernation (as helpful as that is). It’s the belief from guys on the field.  If they continue to believe in each other, they have a chance.

Cheers to the boys finding a way.

#ProPerspective