SCHULTZ ON THE ROUGHRIDERS
Saskatchewan Roughriders Hall of Famer Scott Schultz (2001-2009) appeared on 620 CKRM’s Rider Monday in the SportsCage to discuss all the off-season moves made by the new Chris Jones regime. Due to family and work commitments, Schultz had to step down from his regular Friday spot on the show but will appear from time-to-time for football analysis.
Monday’s interview was Schultz’s first appearance in the Cage in the New Year, and he offered this assessment.
“Well listen, to look at what’s been done, there’s been some wholesale changes to say the least,” the Old 96’er chuckled. “It is a 100% new-looking entity and I’ve said this many-a-time; talking with co-workers and fans alike on the street, either it’s really going to work, or it’s really not. I’m excited and I think these guys know what they’re doing. They have a plan and they’ve been executing it. It’s not like they’ve been keeping this under wraps. These guys have made some meaningful changes to this organization. Some haven’t been so popular but they believe it’ll get them a Grey Cup bid.”
What exactly does that mean?
“That’s the million dollar question,” Schultz explained. “Everyone has this fantasy and love affair with the ‘legends’. But they were also part of that 3-15 season and they contributed. They’re getting older and it’s debatable either way on how well they contributed and all these factors. Would Dressler have caught more footballs if he had a better quarterback? There’s all these things. Then you look at the younger and cheaper route and they feel they can do that. But there’s a lot to be said for experience and I look at the third phase which is special teams. That’s what can kill you. There’s so much to contemplate on special teams with rules and things that guys aren’t used to. You can bring in some young studs and get them up to pace on the Canadian game pretty quickly on offense and defense but to me, what I’ve seen over the years, is you can’t expect to just put a bunch of young guys out on special teams and expect them to be uber-productive.”
Overall, like the rest of us, Schultz is keenly watching how the trio of Chris Jones, John Murphy and Jeremy O’Day is constructing this football team as each day goes by.
“I think from a business perspective, I give myself a little bit of credit there, but the business perspective of football is a little different,” Schultz continued. “They’ve made some changes on the management side of things and some of them haven’t been popular. Chick and Dressler were great community guys too. They do have a plan and at this point, like all good media folks, I’m with them. Then I’m gonna play hindsight pretty hard.”
The full interview with Scott Schultz is available on the podcast at www.sportscage.ca.
Typical Schultz, he rattles on for five minutes and says nothing.
Always great to hear from the Ol 96'er! Never bitter and loves the batter. Hope he will still do the "In the Trenches" feature for Rider pre-game shows with Mr. Ball.
Come on, Rod, the first Anon's post is okay, but a playful joke about the circumstances surrounding the interviewee's retirement isn't?
Younger and cheaper or younger and deeper.
We saw what old and expensive got the Riders. Remember in 2014 when the Riders were 8-2 but nobody really seemed convinced? Then the wheels came off and this team was exposed for all its flaws or the next 27 games.
Schultz said "They do have a plan and at this point, like all good media folks, I'm with them. Then I'm gonna play hindsight pretty hard."
Bit of a gutless response from Schultz. I'm a bit surprised as he is usually one of the best for stating an opinion and sticking with it.
The Stomper
There was nothing playful about it.
It was all truth …. not playful.
Rod can't take the truth.
Nice to see all the crap filtered through! Thanks, Rod! I don't mind reading a few opinions and semi-intelligent comments, but the relentless stupidity gets tiring!
Can we go one day without ragging on people's personal lives for a change? Man people are jerks. Stick to the football.
Gundersons Yorkton
I cant agree more with the last poster. The negative, in your face, name calling has been way over the top.
Ever since TSN shut down their comment section. It seems as though the name calling over opinionated posters moved over here.
Personally I wouldnt mind if Rod shut it down as well. Or at least cut out every name calling or in your face comments
These are all very troubled people we're talking about.
Come on, Rod, there's a lot of questionable stuff posted on this blog in the last few months, both in the comment section and the main body.
Suddenly an allusion to the 2009 Rider season, where Scott Schultz abruptly retired mid-season, is over the line?
Yes. You got it right.
Shultz has a reasonable response. Not much else to be done but wait and see. We hired jones to try his way and I'll support him unless it becomes obvious his plan is not working. Dropping all the stars doesn't bother me or most people I talk with. I think rationale people expected major changes, not tinkering Now, the tough part for Jones will be if he can sustain his philosophy as his recruits flounder (which some will) and does he jettison them right away. Jones had a salary cap the same as every team and he's not the only… Read more »
Good job on removing the idiot comments Rod. Keep up the good work.
ALWAYS good to hear from Schultz. Sad to see the knuckke heads out to bash a guy personally when all he did was be one of the greatest Riders of all time, help us win a Grey Cup and be an outstanding example and role model in our Province. There is life after football and in players cases no one looks out for you once your career comes to an end. He did what was right for him and his family. Quit being a bunch of aholes and acting like he personally scorned you in some way. Would you retire… Read more »
Teams get blown up in pro sports all the time. Remember the 99 riders? All the teams that have sustained success know how to find young and cheap players. Calgary is the master of it and BC used to be. So is Hamilton.
I'm a big fan of Scott Schultz, he was an important member of the team, and a key member of the GC roster. Nobody can take that from him. He also unexpectedly retired mid-season while the team was trying to make another GC run, leaving them in the lurch. That's also something nobody can take from him, no matter how bad they want to.
Rewriting history to the point where we get all huffy about a joke where he hypothetically abandons an interview before its completion? Come on, guys, that's a bit ridiculous.
Gosh you know it has to be February when someone starts bringing up the Old 96'ers retirement back in 2009. Hardly wait for the return of football season and for something of significance to read about. Tough time of year for sports talk shows when you can hear about the Leafs, Blue Jays and Scott Schultz's retirement. Thank god for Kelly Remple!