MULLINDER’S WESTERN SEMIFINAL PRIMER

By: Luc Mullinder

There isn’t one team that wants to see the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL playoffs…Not One.

Throughout the regular season, all CFL teams must navigate a bumpy winding road of highs and lows that make up the 20 week schedule.  Accompanying this marathon is a crucial assimilation process that eventually (hopefully) leads to the guys in the locker room “buying in” to the idea that they are championship worthy.

Now this assimilation process is different for every team because “buying in” doesn’t just mean you believe.  “Buying In” also includes realizing what it’s going to take to get to the Championship game, AND WIN.  Fact is that players come in all shapes and sizes, and from all walks of life; there’s no way to pinpoint a day in which organizations can say it has all of its guys on the same page.

Timing is key.  Championship potential should not be a light bulb moment.  Teams can’t just decide that they are going to be competitive on the eve of the first round of the playoffs.  They’ll get stomped out.

“Buy In” is a team deal, but it’s facilitated by a coach that relentlessly pounds championship characteristics and belief into a team’s mentality whenever opportunity presents itself.

The guys who already understand what winning will take, and the attitude that is needed, can’t be shy.  They need to force the others who are slower to adjust into the championship melting pot.  Young or old, it doesn’t matter; championship pedigree doesn’t discriminate when it comes to age.

It’s not a talent thing.  If Championships were won on talent alone, the Miami Heat would have SWEPT the San Antonio Spurs by an average of 30 pts per game during last year’s NBA finals and the Alabama Crimson Tide would NEVER lose a football game…EVER.

Winning championships and the “buy in” process that allows for those ring ceremonies aren’t easy for this reason:   A team needs to have the guys that are absolutely STARVING to win a ring…FOR SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEMSELVES.  

There’s not one team that wants to see the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL playoffs; and the reason is clear.  Talent exists on every team that will compete for this year’s Grey Cup trophy.  Championship Pedigree and the will to sacrifice for others does not.

We discussed this team’s Championship make-up very early on in the season.

To recap, we spoke about the Riders possessing some very good young talent that would be cast into major roles and the team’s overall youth in other spots.

The major talking point was the fact that the team was set upon the foundation of championship quality players and still had the potential to be in the Grey Cup.  The Riders had an awesome coaching staff, the defence was still loaded up front and in the secondary with winners.  We had a veteran laden O-line returning, along with a couple key playmakers at WR, and it was rounded out by the presence of the best player in the league, Darian Durant.

It was like the team was the Great Sphinx of Giza, made to withstand all of the adversity that the CFL could throw at it and still remain standing because of the championship base in which it was fortified by.

Well folks, fast forward to today, and the storm of adversity that is capable of hitting every CFL franchise at any given moment has definitely left its mark on the Green and White.  Thankfully, just like the Egyptian Sphinx, the look of the team may not be as glamorous, but because of the foundations in which it was built on, the Riders are still poised to make a TON of noise, starting with the Western Semi.

Let’s take a close look at certain areas of this championship foundation that remains, and discuss amongst ourselves, where the keys to success are hidden.

George Cortez

Our boy Roddy really did a bang up job of summarizing the Roughriders’ playoff prospects a couple of days ago, and in his blog he mentioned the Saskatchewan Offensive Coordinator.

This is why Cortez gets paid the big bucks!  He’s had a month now to scrutinize and break down Kerry Joseph in order to get a feel for how the Riders need to utilize the 41 year old’s skillset.  Playbook A, which he used to figure Joseph out, got tossed as soon as Cortez walked into the locker room after the final regular season win.  Playbook B will be unveiled throughout the Western Semi.

Now I’m not saying that EVERYTHING will be different about the offensive scheme in the playoffs.  What I am saying is that Cortez’s plan will feature some different concepts and will definitely include a few twists.

Some of us, including me, sat in our armchair QB spot during stretches of this year and yelled at the TV (or the post-game call in show), “Why are we not running _________?!?!?!?!”

Don’t be surprised if you see Cortez call that play, or run that scheme, Sunday that you were so passionate about.  Cool thing in that case is you can say, “I knew it!  We shoulda been doing that all year!”  #ImAgenius  #TheRamsShouldHireUs

Have faith in the Rider Offensive Play Caller Sunday folks.  Now is the time to prove his worth.
He’s one of the best, and is probably the single most important decision that Corey Chamblin made during the early stages of his young career.  #GreatCallEvenThoughHesAlwaysSeemsGrumpy

Offensive Line

Regardless of what Cortez throws at the Esks, the Riders finally get to run those plays with the guys that they wanted to go with at the beginning of the year!

How is nobody talking about this?!?  #DurantsFault

This group is one of the units that we discussed at the beginning of the year.  The Roughriders’ Offensive success ESPECIALLY with Joseph at the helm hinges on this group of hogs.  It’s the best news that the Riders could have hoped for.  No disrespect to Dan Clark or Cory Watman, but the offensive line that SK fields on Sunday is the best in the league when healthy.  The key to beating Edmonton is control.

Saskatchewan needs to be balanced and deliberate with what they do.  Playoffs are all about the 2nd half and how teams handle themselves in the final three minutes of the game.  Having those 5 guys back in the fold and playing together will be absolutely crucial when it comes to maintaining possession of the football during the waning stages of the game.  #PoundGreenPound

Ricky Foley

3 Championships, 1 Outstanding Canadian award, 1 MVP CDN of the Grey Cup game, 12 sacks on the year…ZERO respect from a lot of people; including some HAM that’s never played a down who felt it was necessary to let everyone know that Foley wasn’t on their “watch list” during the 2014 playoffs.

One can tell Foley feels like he’s been disrespected throughout the year, and that’s fine.  As long as he’s up field and collapsing pockets, nobody really cares what’s motivating him.

He’s one of the guys that Chamblin needs to lean on to bring the others along; to create that “buy in”.

Yes, stats are great, but they aren’t the only thing that equates to leadership, especially in the playoffs.
Opponents will make big plays.  Guys will miss tackles, and bust assignments.  The Riders need their guys with WINNING experience to step forward, throw their individual goals aside, and make sure that everyone stays on schedule.

Ricky’s value to the Green and White has nothing to do with his QB pursuits right now.  This is a guy that knows how to win, and what it looks like when guys need to be encouraged and re-focused.  The coach shouldn’t always have to do it.  It has to come from the players too.

3 Championships.  A number of things will define Ricky Foley’s legacy, and the opinions will vary.  But at the end of the day, it’s about the ring.  It’s an exclusive club that some of the CFL’s best players aren’t able to get into, and there is no back door.  You don’t fluke Championships.  #95 is a great resource that the Riders have at their disposal.

Rob Bagg

Everyone around the league knows the story.  His work ethic has been lauded over as much as his ability to make the tough catch.  Bagg has been the one constant in the Rider lineup, and has had a great year personally because of it, but something seemed different this year.  Something had changed in him.

One doesn’t have to look much further than some of his postgame interviews.  The change in tone had shifted.  I commented earlier about how different Darian Durant sounded during his interviews throughout the year; the same can be said about Rob Bagg.  That is not something that should go unnoticed by the masses.

Winning the Grey Cup has changed #6.  His work ethic still reflects that of a premier player in the CFL, and his is routine around the stadium hasn’t change much, but what has changed, is where the WR sits in the hierarchy of the Rider locker room.  He has become an unquestioned leader.  Everything that he has done and said this year has been directed at the pursuit of another Grey Cup, and against Edmonton it won’t just be his leadership that the Riders will need.

This team needs to keep Rob Bagg involved in the offensive game plan.  The sure-handed receiver that runs Chris Carter-like routes has been a guy that Kerry Joseph has looked to since he took control of the huddle.  As a matter of fact, Kerry has looked to Bagg at times a little too much.  Maybe one of the things Cortez spent time doing in the last week was adjusting the way they actually get to Bagg.

#6 is just another example of the championship foundation that the Riders are built on, and will need to utilize throughout the playoff run.  Whether on or off the field, he’s provided incredible guidance for the inexperienced stable of WRs that the Riders have used all year.

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Nobody envisions the end of the season at any point during the year.  It sort of just creeps up on you and jumps out when you receive your week 18 game cheque.  All of a sudden, you’re in one and done territory and a flood of new circumstances and scenarios saturate one’s thoughts.  Everything from where you’re spending the off season, to how you shop for groceries over the next couple weeks is changed.

There isn’t one player that wants to think about cleaning out their locker in front of the media on the last day of 2014, but realistically there is only one team at the end of the campaign that will be partaking in that task with a heightened sense of enthusiasm.  Even as I sit here, I just realized that this may be the last time I ever get the privilege of consorting with Ridernation through this medium. #ItsBeenAslice

Yes folks, the time of year has arrived where the uncertainty of tomorrow is laced with uneasy anticipation and excitement.  Six teams are about to embark on a journey that will be interrupted unceremoniously for every club except one.  All six teams are immensely talented, and have weapons across the board.  Victory here requires so much more than talent.  We’ve spoken as a nation about the talents that this team possesses, and we’ve also sat and watched the journey as loyal supporters or naysayers.

For the Saskatchewan Roughriders the journey begins at Commonwealth Stadium.  There will be a fair share of Rider faithful in the stands, as per usual, but the product on the field is what we are concerned with.  The Eskimos are good.  REAL good.  They are a well-coached team that has playmakers up and down the roster, and those players are capable of producing in all three phases of the game.

They will be ready.  They have to be.  But if you do happen to take a glimpse at the Edmonton roster while you’re sitting around waiting for the action to kick off, something else is very apparent.  Something is missing. There isn’t a heavy presence of championship pedigree.  Sure, there are sprinklings of Grey Cup winning experience here and there.  There’s a few guys that have been to “The Show” on that Eskimo roster, but it’s apparent that there is an alarming absence.

The absence that I’m talking about may be revealed during the final phases of a physically exhausting game on Sunday.  It takes place during the period of uncertainty that comes along with all close games, but it’s multiplied a dozen times during the playoffs.  It’s the uncertainty of the next play.  The next play that may mean the difference between moving on, and an abrupt end.  Teams that are built on a foundation of sacrifice, and championship experience weather these types of adversities, and will be still be there when the dust settles.  The teams that are held together by the uncertain pillars of talent alone struggle through that adversity, and crumble under the weight of expectation.

There isn’t one team that wants to see the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL playoffs.  You all know the reasons why Ridernation.  Those reasons haven’t changed throughout the 2014 campaign.

#ProPerspective