By Rob Vanstone,
REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders' most-recent game was uglier than, well, pick virtually any Adam Sandler movie.
Head coach Ken Miller watched footage of Saturday's 40-20 CFL loss to the Calgary Stampeders and could not suppress his emotions, even though he had already witnessed the horror in person.
"I can't look at it clinically yet,'' Miller said Tuesday when asked about the video session. "It's a hard thing to look at that and evaluate and to see your players not playing as well as they need to be playing. There isn't any way I can take emotion out of that.
"On the other hand, starting right now it's important for me to not dwell on that, but get the team focused. We tried to do that today — get the page turned and get focused. We just can't dwell on the past. We need to continue to make corrections. We can't dwell on the negativity as a result of that game.''
Oh, is there negativity!
Judging by some of the fan feedback received since Saturday's slaughter, the Roughriders need to improve in several aspects of the game. According to correspondence received since Saturday night, the offensive line provides less resistance than papier mache, the defensive linemen need GPS to locate the quarterback, Riders pivot Darian Durant needs more experience, the assortment of 30-something starters have too much experience, the term "special teams'' is a gross exaggeration, the hyperbolic media is complicit ...
Leading up to Saturday's game, the Roughriders had been portrayed in some reports as invincible, only to be invisible during the second half at McMahon Stadium. The Roughriders were built up so energetically, by fans and media types, that a letdown was almost inevitable.
But a complete meltdown? What's with that?
But a complete meltdown? What's with that?
When asked Tuesday what needs to improve for Saturday's home game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Miller replied: "Just about every area.''
Or, just about everyone except Weston Dressler (at least in this assessment).
"We all have to be better, including myself,'' Durant declared.
Durant is always quick to point the finger at himself, which demonstrates his accountability and his excellence as a leader. But you have to wonder whether Ron Lancaster, Kent Austin, Frank Tripucka, Glenn Dobbs or Peyton Manning could have fared any better than Durant on Saturday, given the porous pass protection.
It is borderline miraculous that Durant was able to throw for 354 yards and leave the stadium without assistance, considering the pressure to which he was subjected. Entering Saturday's game, nothing is more important than upgrading the offensive line play.
"It wasn't the best game in the world, but that's over now,'' veteran offensive lineman Gene Makowsky said. "I've pretty much forgotten about it. I gave myself 24 hours to sulk and pout, and now we're on to Hamilton. I think that's the way you have to be during a long season.''
Makowsky can remember a lonnnnnnnnnnng season. He was a member of the 1999
Makowsky can remember a lonnnnnnnnnnng season. He was a member of the 1999
Roughriders team that won a mere three games. The 2010 edition had equalled that victory total in July before losing in Calgary on Saturday. So, obviously, it could be much worse.
"I don't think we'll ever have a game like that again,'' Durant said. "It was just one of those days.''
"I don't think we'll ever have a game like that again,'' Durant said. "It was just one of those days.''
The Roughriders did not resemble the Edmonton Eskimos, who seemingly sleepwalked through Saturday's 47-21 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The subsequent Roughriders-Stampeders game was tied 7-7 at halftime before the hosts exacted a measure of revenge for having failed to defeat Saskatchewan in four meetings last season.
"Everyone's going to play us like it's their Grey Cup, so we have to make sure we match everybody's intensity,'' said Durant, who quarterbacked Saskatchewan to the 2009 West Division title. "For whatever reason, we didn't get it done. But we're going to get everyone's best shot, so you'd best believe we'll be ready.''
Precedent suggests that Durant is correct. The Roughriders' resilient nature is one reason why they have been one of the CFL's premier teams in recent years. When the Green and White (and Burgundy and Black) has experienced a headache-inducing game, it typically responds with an improved performance.
The Roughriders have established that they can block out the negativity, the distractions and any potentially irksome issues that may arise. Now they need to ensure that they can block, period.
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