OUT OF THE TUNNEL: MOVING ON

BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF

Duron Carter.

There hasn’t been a more polarizing player on and off the field for the Saskatchewan Roughrides in recent memory. His short time in Riderville ended on Saturday night with a tweet, and then an official release from the Roughriders.

The official reasoning from Roughrider head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations, Chris Jones was, in summary, “We wanted to go in a different direction with our football club.”

On Now At All Sask Famoso Locations!

It’s incredibly easy to try to read between the lines (scroll down on rodpedersen.com and read the full transcript) but it comes down to any one of – or combination – of four things: salary cap room, team chemistry, something irreconcilable happened within the doors of the Rider facility, or another off-field incident.

As a cool Monday dawns on Rider Nation the question now is, “What happens next?”

For Duron Carter, he will more than likely sign with another CFL team. (Much like Loucheiz Purifoy’s release from the Ottawa Redblacks last week was immediately welcomed with a contract from the Riders).

Just how many chances will Carter get, who knows? The combination of rare football ability with the constant on and off-field distractions is what the next CFL front office will have to deal with. Carter will probably receive a contract for the rest of the 2018 season and from there, who knows.

But let’s leave this with the words of B.C. Lions defensive end, Odell Willis. He summed it up nicely with a tweet Saturday night, “Man if Jones can’t handle u who can? {shoulder shrug emoji}.”


Now to the Saskatchewan Roughriders:

They lose their top offensive weapon. Time after time in 2017 and in spots in 2018 (like in Edmonton on his great touchdown catch-and-run on a Zach Collaros underthrown ball) Carter bailed out Rider quarterbacks with incredible play, after incredible play.

What we saw from the Saskatchewan offence during Carter’s time at defensive back is what we will see the rest of the season. One can only hope offensive coordinator Stephen McAdoo can move around his top weapons (Naaman Roosevelt, Marcus Thigpen, and Tre Mason) to find some matchup opportunities. Also, try to find a way to use the middle of the field which has been missing since day one of the regular season.

Who will be the player to step up and lead this Rider offence for the final 11-game stretch of 2018?

And now to Chris Jones:

There is no question he is one of the top head coaches and defensive minds in the CFL. But there will come a time when Chris Jones the head coach will no longer be able to make up for Chris Jones the general manager and vice president of football operations.

When the dust settles on the 2018 season, because of all the titles before his name, Jones will ultimately be judged on just 18 days (games). The VP can’t fire the general manager without firing the head coach and defensive coordinator.

Here’s the pressure he is currently under: To make a run for the much-cherished home playoff berth the Riders will need to go undefeated or win four of their last five home games. They also have to play over .500 football against a gruelling West Division that now includes a suddenly above-average B.C. Lions club.

It all begins late-Sunday afternoon at Mosaic with another date against the undefeated Calgary Stampeders.

The Stampeders sure feel ripe for the picking after a few grind it out wins over the Riders and Lions.

It will be up to the Rider offence to crack a Calgary defence that gives up just a hair over ten-points per game. The defence and special teams can’t bear the brunt of filling the scoreboard, but they will need to force the Stampeders into enough mistakes to make it easier for a much-maligned offence.

It will be interesting to see how the players rally around each other Sunday and into the rest of the season. One has this real weird feeling that the players will use this week to step up and hand the Stampeders their first loss of the 2018 season.


AROUND THE CFL

– Montreal Alouettes quarterback Johnny Manziel looked better in a 24-17 loss on the road in Ottawa Saturday night. His defence however, not so much. The Alouette defence gave up over 600-yards of offence and if it wasn’t for a myriad of fumbles on the part of the Redblacks offence, it would have been incredibly ugly.

As for Manziel, he was more patient and eliminated many of the mistakes that plagued him a week ago. Next up will be to start making those game-changing plays.

There are those cheering so hard for his demise. It doesn’t matter if you like him, hate him or hate the constant deluge of TSN narrative, if Johnny Football has success in this league it can only mean good things for the CFL.

– How much fun is the Winnipeg Blue Bomber offence to watch? Paul LaPolice has such a deep and varied playbook that it’s become must-see football.

Various motion plays, using Nic Demski and Andrew Harris in multiple areas of the offence, deep attempts in the middle of the field and even a play or two with Matt Nicholls under centre. No, not on short yardage, or having a short yardage package right after picking up a first down, but an old-school under centre drop and give to Andrew Harris for a huge gain.

Their dynamic play on both sides of the ball makes the top-three in the west of Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg difficult to crack.

U-SPORTS

The Canada West football season is set to begin in three weeks. Camps across the prairies and B.C. are getting ready for their first pre-season action.

The Regina Rams will host the Manitoba Bisons on August 22nd at Leibel Field in Regina. The Calgary Dinos will take on the Alberta Golden Bears on the 22nd at Great Chief Park in Red Deer. The Saskatchewan Huskies will play their green and white game on August 23rd at Griffiths Stadium.

PFC

The Prairie Football Conference is set to kick off their regular season next weekend. The Saskatoon Hilltops drive for five begins against their provincial rival Regina Thunder at Mosaic Stadium Saturday night at 7:00pm while the Edmonton Wildcats head on the road to face the Winnipeg Rifles at 7:00pm on Saturday night.


Canadian to watch in the NCAA

Mike Beaudry
QB – University of West Florida (Rs. Soph.)
6’5”, 245lbs.
Oviedo, Fla.
High School – Hagerty H.S.

The Saskatchewan born Beaudry has dual citizenship. His family moved to Florida when he was 11-years-old.

He helped lead the West Florida Argos to the NCAA Division II championships in just their second year of play in 2017 but lost in the final to Texas A&M Commerce 37-27.

Beaudry will lead a dynamic offence and is a pre-season candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the top college football player in Division II.

He was also one of 40 of the top college quarterbacks in the U.S. invited to the prestigious Manning Passing Academy this summer.


(RodPedersen.com Staff)