THE MONDAY MORNING GOALIE
A RIDER DOZEN HOLIDAY TIDBITS
1 – The vacation is over for the MMG and I’ll be back on the air on 620 CKRM’s SportsCage Monday at 4:00 pm for our usual Rider Monday program. What did I miss? It appears not much, at least with regards to Canada’s Team.
In fact the only news to come out of Mosaic Stadium last week was broken by Sportsnet’s Arash Madani who reported the Roughriders had fired their training staff. It’s true, and that group consisted of Schad Richea and Trevor Len who were terminated on Wednesday.
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| Richea (left) and Len |
And that was a difficult situation for this blog to cover. CKRM football analyst John Lynch was confused as to why the news wasn’t covered on this blog immediately but I had to point out that I’m the Voice of the Riders first, and this website comes second.
Clearly it was a delicate situation for the Roughriders and not typically the kind that would call for a news release to be issued. This might be the only market in pro sports where the trainers being fired would garner discussion on the local sports radio talk shows but it did in Regina.
It’s obviously a tough situation for me personally because I have a close association with Schad and Trevor which goes back several years. Having spoken to the football club on the matter – and received a satisfactory explanation – all I can offer is a “no comment”.
2 – Despite being on vacation, I had three appearances late last week and all of them were outside of Regina. It gave me the opportunity to speak with Rider fans in Meota, Moose Jaw and Milestone, Saskatchewan as well as with several Rider fans in the Phoenix area.
Here are some of the questions they posed, and the answers I gave:
WHAT’S THE LATEST ON DURANT?: Absolutely nothing. In the middle of last week I spoke to a source close to Darian and asked how he sees this situation playing out. “If the decision were to be made today, I’d say he’s gone,” the source surmised. “But we’re still at least two months away from a decision being made so anything can happen.”
Some of the farmers in Meota (just outside North Battleford) feel the closer this gets to free agency, the more pressure will be applied on Chris Jones from the fans to sign Durant. However I’m not sure that will make a difference.
WHAT SHOULD DURANT SIGN FOR?: That’s debatable but Darian is a career 6-3 in the playoffs and one of those losses includes the 13th Man incident (clearly not his fault). Over in Winnipeg, free agent quarterback Matt Nichols is asking for $400,000 or more per season and has never won a playoff game. Neither has Ottawa’s Trevor Harris.
But market value means he’s worth whatever someone’s willing to pay him.
ARE WE ANY FURTHER AHEAD THAN LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME?: I’d say we have to be, but that’s a tough question to answer. Rider fan Pete Johnson sent me a list of all players signed by the Riders in 2016 and it totals 192! That’s from Melvin Abankwah (A) to Devrin Young (Y) and a heckuva lot of players in between.
Chris Jones was given a blank canvas, complete autonomy and an open chequebook to try and resurrect this franchise from the dead. Did we think he, John Murphy and Jeremy O’Day were going to do it in one year? We’d have been naive to think they could.
But in all our discussions on the air over the years about how long it should realistically take to complete a rebuild, I think we settled on a season-and-a-half. Therefore, this group should be rocking and rolling by Labour Day of 2017 in terms of being amongst the league’s elite.
IF IT’S NOT DURANT, WHO WILL QUARTERBACK THIS TEAM?: I don’t know. Darian Durant and Mitchell Gale were the only quarterbacks to win games for Saskatchewan in 2016 but both are free agents so it’s conceivable we’ll have all new quarterbacks to open the new stadium.
Sunday night a Rider representative told me via text message that no decision on Mitchell Gale will be made until the Durant situation is rectified.
As we’ve written and said many times, Rider management must have a Plan B for the quarterback position but they’re not obligated to tell us what it is.
WHICH NEW PLAYERS DO YOU THINK WILL MAKE AN IMPACT NEXT YEAR?: That’s another good question but at the rate that Jones switches jerseys on a week-to-week basis, it’s tough to know exactly who will be around. Remember they cut 19 vets with one fell swoop in mid-December last year, but those were holdovers from the prior regime.
Assuming these guys come back, I’d expect big things out of LB Henoc Muamba, REC Ricky Collins, RB Curtis Steele (if he can stay healthy), REC’s Armanti Edwards and Jeff Fuller and DE Willie Jefferson. These are the guys who figure to become household names in Saskatchewan.
WHAT’S CHRIS JONES REALLY LIKE?: As advertised, he’s a tough-as-nails, ruthless taskmaster who expects no more out of the people around him than he does himself. His bedside manner may leave a lot to be desired but make no mistake: every move he makes is for the betterment of his football club and ego will not get in the way.
For years I’ve looked around at guys like Wally Buono, Hugh Campbell, Jim Popp and even Kelly McCrimmon on the hockey side, and wondered why we can’t have someone like that.
Now we do.
He also treats me as well professionally as I’ve ever been treated so I still have no complaints about the man.
WHAT ARE THE RIDERS DOING NOW?: They are not holidaying. Jones and Murphy have already coordinated free agent workouts in California, Las Vegas, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. They’ve also scouted Division II playoff games as well as the New Orleans Bowl. They’ll be in attendance for the Pinstripe Bowl, Sugar Bowl and other assigned Bowl games. Jeremy O’Day will attend the CFB championship game in Dallas on January 7.
3 – Of course of the 20-some free agents that the Roughriders have, they are all elligible to work out for NFL teams. DB/LB Otha Foster has worked out for New Orleans, and I’m told the Saints also have strong interest in free agent BC Lions LB Adam Bighill.
Meanwhile the CFL’s secret negotiation list draft was held on Friday.
Saskatchewan made five selections, national offensive lineman James Bodanis (Alouettes), imports offensive lineman Rogers Gaines (Lions), quarterback Jake Heaps (Eskimos) and defensive back Chase Minnifield (Ticats).
4 – Another thing is certain: the Riders have an enormous amount of work to do on and off the field to get their brand back to the top of the heap. A lady at a dinner party in Phoenix said last week, “I don’t even enjoy watching them anymore”. Presumably she was referring to the fact that the household names like Dressler, Chick and Getzlaf are long gone and the fans have a tough time identifying with players who are going in and out of a revolving door.
Winning, of course, is the best marketing tool and at 5-13, the club couldn’t even hang its hat on that last season.
So for now the club is going through some excruciating growing pains and all they can really hope for is to do their talking on the field. Sadly we’re a long, long ways away from that happening.
5 – Another Rider note: former Rider quarterback Cole Bergquist (2009-2011) popped the question to Regina’s Kelly McDonald on Sunday in his home state of Montana and she said yes! Kelly’s probably better known to Rider fans as the face of the Regina-based Hillberg and Berk jewelry company.
Bergquist – one of my all-time favourite people – announced the news on Facebook Sunday night.
6 – Happy belated birthday to Roughrider receiver/returner Nic Demski who turned 23 on Wednesday. The first round pick in 2015 was the youngest member of the Riders in his rookie campaign and was the second-youngest last season.
7 – Tell me why someone would rather stand outside in -30 degree weather and beg for money rather than get a job pouring coffee and work indoors?
8 – A heckuva story from the 9th Annual Milestone, SK Sportsman’s Dinner Saturday night. I was the MC in my hometown with guest speakers Russ Howard and Paul Coffey however as of 6:30 pm Saturday night, Coffey was sitting on an airplane runway in Toronto.
However he made it, and he strolled through the doors of the Milestone rink at 10:40 pm and went straight on stage to deliver a tremendous 45-minute address.
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| Coffey, just as cool as ever |
Here are some of my favourite quips from his speech:
“What’s the most important thing about playing sports? Fun? NO! Hard work. If you want fun, go on a family vacation to Mexico or go to Niagara Falls. Sports are about hardwork and the fun comes later.”
“Wayne Gretzky was the one who started the sports tradition of taking the Cup from bar-to-bar on a pub crawl. We did that first in Edmonton in 1984 and it was Wayne’s idea. Although we got in some trouble when a photo of the Stanley Cup on stage at a strip club ended up on the front cover of the Edmonton Sun!”
“I know you Rider fans are impatient and you only had five wins last year but please wait a month before you hang Chris Jones this year! He’s the best in the business and he will win here.”
“I’d say Saskatchewan won the Grey Cup last year just because Calgary lost it. I didn’t want them to win either!”
9 – Interesting news out of the Regina Pats front office on Friday that COO Marty Klyne is stepping down to accept another executive position in the Queen City.
I’m told the Pats already have a replacement in mind, and it’s someone with a great sports and business background.
Stay tuned.
10 – Next to the Darian Durant situation, the Regina Pats will be the #1 news item worth watching over the next several months. Regina goes into the WHL’s Christmas break with the 4th-most points in the league (50) but they have several games in hand on the teams ahead of them and the #1 winning percentage at .806.
It was a treat to call Friday’s 5-4 loss in Moose Jaw on Access and Shaw TV and the Warriors showed the template for beating Regina that night. However the Pats turned the tables on Saturday, erupting for five goals in the third period on the way to a 7-3 victory before another sellout crowd of 6,484.
The fact remains that when the Pats get serious, there’s no one that can skate with them and they’ve done that on the vast majority of nights so far this season. The good news is they’ve got 41 more games to perfect their game and it seems they’ve still got plenty of potential to reach.
Sure starting goaltender Tyler Brown had an off-night on Friday but he wasn’t the only one. The WHL trade deadline is in three weeks and we’ll know then if John Paddock truly believes he has championship-calibre goaltending. He says he does, between Brown and back-up Jordan Hollett.
The Pats continue to be a treat to watch and I’m getting asked about them more and more at these sports dinners around the province. That’s a great sign.
11 – Having two Regina Pats cut from Canada’s World Junior Team has sparked a ton of debate around here. The whole thing surprised me, to be honest. I was surprised Austin Wagner got an invite ahead of teammate Connor Hobbs, but Sam Steel was a slam-dunk to make the club anyway. Hobbs might have been the best fit for Team Canada out of all of them.
In the end, the whole works cut shown the door. Call it an Eastern-bias or what have you, but all it means in the end is that Canada had better win gold or they’ll be facing an avalanche of criticism. Even TSN’s Bob McKenzie said Steel would’ve made his team.
The bonus is the Pats will have their top guns in the lineup over Christmas and this team’s chemistry will continue to build.
The bad news is the Regina Pats – the team who’s produced more World Juniors than any other – won’t have a player on Team Canada in 2017. That’s about the only negative as this won’t hurt Sam Steel’s career at all.
12 – The Columbus Blue Jackets’ nine-game winning streak under John Tortorella is a franchise record and proof that the Vancouver Canucks’ problems go way above the bench. I don’t care much for Tortorella but it’s hard to look past Columbus’s record. We saw them play live in Phoenix and although it’s not saying much, this is the best Blue Jackets team ever.
Furthermore as Paul Coffey stated the other night, great players make good coaches so a lot of the credit has to go to Columbus GM Jarmo Kekäläinen.
13 – Meanwhile the Dallas Cowboys’ 12-2 record is proof that teams get lucky from time-to-time. Head Coach Jason Garrett may be this smart, but Owner/GM Jerry Jones is not and this is coming from a Cowboys fan. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot are the pearls of the 2016 Draft and a pair like that never happens!
At least Jones knew enough to let his coaches and scouting staff make their picks at the draft table in the past (building the offensive line rather than drafting Johnny Manziel) and now the Cowboys boast the best O-line in football.
It’s what Jones, Murphy and O’Day are trying to do here.
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IT’LL BE GREAT TO BACK ON THE AIR! SEE YOU AT 4:00 PM
RP
@rodpedersen
He's the best in the business and he will win here. For years I've looked around at guys like Wally Buono, Hugh Campbell, Jim Popp and even Kelly McCrimmon on the hockey side, and wondered why we can't have someone like that. Now we do. — BS!!! When are you goys going to stop peddling the BS and admit that Jones and Murphy are a couple of losers and dumber than doorknobs when it comes to football. I could give you a list that is 3 feet long of examples and reasons to back up why Jones needs to be… Read more »
Four Grey Cups with four different teams is heckuva lot of coat tails to be riding on for years without being found out . . . So we can deny reality say it never happened or maybe suggest another factor is in play . . . Competence.
Hey unknown that thinks Jones is riding coat tails is part of the Rider NUTCASE Nation . Go cheer for the Stamps or anyone but us cuz your an embarrassment to Rider Nation. Be gone with thineself oh Shoddie Ness.
Ive had enough of the Nut Case Nation Faction that dont know football and constantly call for people to be fired. Its embarrassing to the real Rider Nation who know the game and realize the process Mr Jones and his team are going through. There is not many in the league who knows and loves cfl football more than CJ. He has worked tirelessly and continues to do so even as we tweet and post. We have the best recievers in the league and our defence will kick ass next year. If CJ thinks DD is done here so be… Read more »
Hey Roddy i have to apologize because I scrolled right through the rider non news (Latest I heard is Durant is injured now?.. I mean really? . I love him but he's a long ways from 2013.. pay him what he's worth for 2017 or move on .. see Edwin or bautista). Anyways my beef is with Hockey Canada. Why bother with the tryouts. The wj team is picked long before. If it was me I'd take tbe players who are at theyre best RIGHT NOW! Your telling me that kale clague (who's great) is better than Hobbs? Really?? Or… Read more »
If I was the person drawing up the 2017 CFL schedule I would be sure to have the Rider's home opener in the new Mosaic stadium being against Montreal. I would hope that the Craig Reynolds would be on board with this to ensure that come what may, Darian Durant will be on the field that day.
haha nice
its tough when a great player like Sam Steel doesnt make team canada, but id really like to see mention of a kid 139km north of Regina get some mention. Connor Ingram has been unreal in Kamloops this season and hes worked his way on to team canada. not only is he the only only is he the only kid from Saskatchewan to make the team Kris Knoblauch (also from Imperial) is the only Sask coach. Imperial is a town with less than 300 residents and 1 minor hockey team this year, it would be huge for the community to… Read more »
Rod, your thoughts are appreciated on this: I support Chris Jones, and I understand that football is a business and at some point the team must move forward without Darian Durant. But… in understanding the fine art of negotiations and the give and take of that game, I do not understand Chris Jones' position in calling Durant a "moderately successful" quarterback. In these negotiations it is not fair (or maybe it is I don't know) to compare season to season, win-loss records, and overall stats to all other current (or recent past) QBs. Here are a two indisputable facts: #1.… Read more »
Bravo, I totally agree with your statement, 'give DD a contract deserving of his overall contribution to this organization.' We'll be completely disappointed if he's not signed. We were actually angry when his receivers Dressler, Getzlaf and Smith were sent packing, not to mention Chick. That was so disappointing. Our team seems decimated.
I had lots of meetings this morning. You'd have to specify which one.
Ingram is a great player and a credit to Saskatchewan and his community. The Speers pick leaves something stuck in a lot of peoples craw. Bob McKenzie is a pretty shrewd evaluator of talent and if he says Steel should have been there, then so be it. Every year there are at best three Quebec league picks. The show is in Montreal and this year there are what, six or seven. Go figure huh? Under the current Hockey Canada head scout, the team has been out of the medals three out of four years…not my opinion but a fact…and not… Read more »
I really enjoyed your play by play with the Pats-Warriors game. A real professional touch. You gave the game extra life with your enthusiasm.
Great job!
"Did we think he, John Murphy and Jeremy O'Day were going to do it in one year? We'd have been naive to think they could." – Wait…didn't a certain media homer pick them to finish first in the West last year…how naive of him!
Your basing all you 'FACTS' on Rider history which is very impressive. Fact is Darian is a .500 quarterback. Yes, he has been impressive in a few playoff runs – three, six, and seven years ago. I love the guy and hope he's back but time marches on. Chris Jones doesn't care about Rider history. He wants to make Rider history by creating a winning team year in and year out. Can he do it? I have no clue! Time will tell. Is DD really still ailing? Count me as one who thinks Ricky Collins is over rated and will… Read more »
DD's 6-3 Playoff record also includes the Rider Defensive bust on the last second Drew Tate winning TD Toss, moments after DD hit Greg Carr in the end zone for the go-ahead score, late in the 2012 WSF in Calgary. Save for 2 plays out of his control, he'd be 6-1 in playoff contests. The bottom line is that DD is CLUTCH. To say that this is ancient history, that he hasn't done anything lately fails to recognize that he had two freak injuries through 2014-15 and then a Terrible supporting cast last year. I can relate to the comment… Read more »
"Darian is a career 6-3 in the playoffs "
In a league where two-thirds of teams make the playoffs and you can have *at most* one playoff loss in any given season, the only use a win-loss playoff ratio has is to prop up an otherwise mediocre player or team. The fact that you even have to use that statistic to make an argument for paying Durant more should give anyone pause.
It's fact. What's wrong with people like you?
Uhhhh, you do realize that even in the NFL all playoff teams can have *at most* one playoff loss in any given year, right? The point is that when its win or go home, DD typically wins. HE IS CLUTCH.
Rod, don't be so sure Jones has a 'plan B' for the QB situation.
He sure didn't have a "plan B' for the O-line last year!
Personally I think he's highly overrated. He only found less than half a dozen keepers out of the hundreds he looked at last year. Maybe with proper coaching some of those other prospects could have made it.
SWC
"DD's 6-3 Playoff record also includes the Rider Defensive bust on the last second Drew Tate winning TD Toss, moments after DD hit Greg Carr in the end zone for the go-ahead score, late in the 2012 WSF in Calgary. Save for 2 plays out of his control, he'd be 6-1 in playoff contests." Might want to re-watch the 2012 WSF again. Calgary only needed a field goal to win that game and was already knocking on the door. And Calgary's kicker was having a career year. That "defensive bust" really only provided icing on a cake that was already… Read more »
With the anonymous "stat guy" above, the overrating of Darian Durant has hit a ridiculous high. Let's look at his professional accomplishments: he's won a Grey Cup (where his running back set a professional football record for yards in a championship football game), made it to two more Grey Cup games that he lost (a lot of people want to blame the 13th man for this one, but gloss over the pick Durant threw with six minutes left on his own 33, or that his offense had the ball with a two point lead with 1:45 left and went two… Read more »
Did the Pats stay pat a couple years ago or did they sacrifice a year to bring on some inexperienced potentially great young guys? Look how that paid off. My feeling is never mind the Riders play in a new stadium in 2017. Bring in those potentially great young guys and give them some experience. If they do that maybe 2018 will be the start of a new dynasty. Unfortunately that means not signing some older still good players like Durant.
The real question is who will the Riders have at QB if it's not Durant? Can anyone honestly say that they would feel more comfortable going into the season without Durant? I don't see many better options available than Durant. I think at very least he should be re-signed for this season. Bring in some new faces and get them reps. The guys we had last year behind Durant clearly could not cut the mustard! Fact: It is NOT easy to find an all star QB. Fact: To win a Grey Cup you NEED an all star QB. I can't… Read more »
Tell me why someone would rather stand outside in -30 degree weather and beg for money rather than get a job pouring coffee and work indoors?
Your comment show how little you know about the reality of what is happening – typical redneck comment !!!
George Porge – you should revisit your definition of "knocking on the door". Tate hit Romby Bryant on a 68-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds remaining in that game.
Even with your ridiculous assumption that Calgary somehow gets credit for a field goal from its own 42 with 20 seconds left – it still stands that DD put the team up at the end of that game and put his team in position to win it. It was up to the D to make a stop, and they failed to do that.