THE CATCH WAS IN THE BAGG

By Rob Vanstone, Leader-PostSeptember 10, 2009

REGINA — While pondering how to contribute to the daily grab-Bagg of stories pertaining to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, one overlooked play came to mind.

In the aftermath of the Roughriders' 29-14 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Labour Day Classic, fans and media types concentrated on the visiting team's inability to execute a coin toss and a first-and-goal play from the one-yard line, along with a solid all-around performance by the home side.
Seemingly lost in the equation, however, was a remarkable one-handed catch by Roughriders receiver Rob Bagg.

"That was a monster play,'' Roughriders head coach Ken Miller said on Taylor Field after Thursday's practice. "I recognized it at the moment and I've told as many people as I can since that I think maybe that was the play of the game. That was a tremendous catch.''

Not-so-instant replay: On the first offensive series of the game, the Roughriders were second-and-10 from their 35-yard line. Darian Durant threw toward Bagg on the right side of the field, only to have the ball sail a little.

Bagg reached up with his right hand, which was closest to the quarterback, and stopped the ball (which had appeared to be an overthrow). Bagg then secured the ball as he fell to the ground, registering the CFL game's opening first down.

"That play got us going,'' Miller said. "Without that play, who knows? We would have had to punt into the wind. We would have been deep in our territory. The whole complexion of the game may have been different had he not made that catch.''

Bagg singlehandedly created some momentum for the Riders, who marched 75 yards in nine plays for a touchdown.

"I think I expect myself to make plays like that,'' Bagg said of the one-hander. "It wasn't that bad of a ball and it was a tight spiral.

"When he threw it, the wind kind of carried it up a little bit. It was higher and I thought I could use two hands.

Looking back, I might have been able to put two hands on it. It was more of a reaction than a thought play. I just threw my hand up there and was lucky enough to come down with it.''

It wasn't all luck, mind you. Bagg painstakingly prepares himself for such circumstances.

"In warmup every game day, Weston Dressler and I catch balls for 15 minutes at the end, with five minutes being just one-handers,'' Bagg said. "We're catching them on the sidelines and in weird positions. It's not always going to be a perfect ball. Whether a guy's hanging on one hand or you just can't get to it, you've got to be able to use what you've got.''

Who knew what the Roughriders had when Bagg joined the team in 2007?
At the time, he was an undrafted free agent out of Queen's University. He quickly made an impression and earned a spot on the Riders' roster, only to opt to return to university for one more year.

"We were bitterly disappointed with that,'' said Miller, who at the time was the Roughriders' offensive co-ordinator under head coach Kent Austin. "He finished up his degree and then he decided to come back. When he came back, we thought, 'We'll see if he can do it again.' Certainly, he did it again, and he has built on what he did last year and is really becoming a star.

"As he has shown us that he can do more things, then we're able to get him involved more in the scheme. He plays that wideout receiver to the (wide side of the) field. A lot of times, on some teams, that's a garbage spot where they get a throw now and then. We've been in that situation in '07 and maybe a little bit last year where the players who played there didn't figure in the offence all that prominently, but Rob has shown us that he's going to make clutch catches and catch the ball consistently, so we move him around on the offence as opposed to just leaving him out there on the wide side.''

And look at the results.

"I think he really compares with No. 86 with Montreal,'' Miller continued. "As he goes in that direction and he develops, he'll be very much like Ben Cahoon, I think.''

That is the antithesis of a backhanded compliment — but a one-handed compliment, to be certain.

rvanstone@canwest.canwest.com