MATT CAUZ
CFL.ca
Now I could lie and say that I was glued to the entire Winnipeg / BC Lions game. That I wasn’t jaded after watching the worst sequel of the season between Calgary and Montreal – or as I like to call it ‘Caddy Shack II’. I had two plans going into this weekend, either shake off my tryptophan haze and review all the Thanksgiving action or dissect Toronto’s upset over Saskatchewan. Cut to the start of the 4th quarter with the Lions in complete command … I decided to focus on the Argonauts.
Yes I made a mistake.
It could have been worse; at least I wasn’t one of the Blue Bombers fans who cut out early to beat the traffic.
Moving on to an anatomy of an upset. How could Saskatchewan have let this game get away from them? After dominating Toronto a week earlier on the road and being in the middle of a tight division race with Calgary there was no way they would lose to Toronto. Right? They had to know that Calgary would probably lose on the road to Montreal; a win would even their records at 10-4. This is why I don’t have my own bookie, I’d be broke.
The short answer to why Saskatchewan lost would be:
-The Roughriders were sloppy and were out coached all over the field.
-The power that is Mike O’Shea.
–Cory Boyd.
–Taylor Robertson and Dominic Picard.
Of course I never give the short answer, and that’s not because the good people at CFL.ca pay me by the word (You listening Mr. Stein???). Let’s just say my reasons are a mixture of self-indulgence, ego and my love for the game.
So without further ado here are the key plays that led to Toronto’s stunning win.
(1) 1st Quarter (4:26) Andy Fantuz’s offside penalty. On the play Jordan Younger was called for pass interference near the goal line which would have placed the ball an arm’s length away from a touchdown. Instead Fantuz’s gaffe negates what would have been a huge gain. This would lead to …
(2) Jeremy Unertl’s 69 yard interception return giving Toronto an 11-0 lead. Unertl was step for step with Fantuz on coverage reading the pass perfectly. But the key here was DE Alex Buzbee. Toronto only rushed three men yet Buzbee managed to overpower LT Joel Bell in mere seconds with a simple outside rush move. Buzbee’s pressure/ hit on Durant forced the throw to be a bit behind Fantuz leading to the Unertl score.
(3) Moving on to the second quarter with the Roughriders now leading 15-11 with less than four minutes to go. At this point momentum had swung firmly over to the Green & White behind a Cleo Lemon interception and two Saskatchewan touchdowns in the span of less than two minutes. You could just feel this game slipping away. A 10-yard run by Wes Cates had put the Riders on the Toronto 35 yard line. All this good karma came to an end courtesy of a Ronald Flemons sack forcing a second long. This would lead to the next play …
(4) Darian Durant’s worst pass of the day, a Lin-J Shell interception. Durant was trying to hit Weston Dressler on a post pattern. Dressler had beaten Shell; he had wide open real estate to the goal line. Durant would not get an easier look all day. Instead he underthrows his man and Shell capitalizes. This was a routine throw; this is the kind of pass you have to make as a professional quarterback. Instead of a 22-11 lead for the Riders, the Argonauts are still alive and well.
(5) For the second time in the half a penalty by a Rider wide receiver kills any chance for a sustained drive. This time it’s Dressler with a face mask penalty costing his team 15 yards and changing an easy 2nd & not very long to a 2nd & 15 that the Roughriders can’t convert. Obviously this isn’t a major penalty but it ends yet another drive and gives Toronto one last chance to score late in the half. Which they would do …
(6) Clem Lemon’s bravery is on full display during his 20 yard completion to Andre Durie with under :30 seconds to go. Marcus Adams just abuses Taylor Robertson with a spin move, laying a vicious shot on Lemon. Credit Lemon for hanging in the pocket long enough to hit Durie and put his team in a position to kick a field goal. The kick would be good and Toronto has cut the lead to 15-14.
(7) Moving to the 2nd half, and less than 13 minutes to go in the 3rd when Boyd makes his presence known with a 40 yard run. Saskatchewan was caught off guard as it was 2nd & 14 and just about everyone was expecting pass. By the way the line: “Saskatchewan was caught off guard” will be an ongoing theme for the rest of this article. It is at this point where I feel the need to extol the glory that is Picard and Robertson (definitely redeems himself after allowing Adams to run all over Lemon). On the draw Picard wipes out Kitwana Jones while Robertson pulls double duty pushing Brent Hawkins away from the play than seals Mike McCullough all in two quick moves. There’s a reason why there was such a gaping hole on the Boyd run. This would lead to another Medlock field goal and Toronto would regain the lead 17-15.
(8) A couple of minutes later Ken Miller elects to punt on 3rd & 1 rather than attempt the oh so short conversion. I can’t decide if this was Miller just being conservative or whether it was a slap in the face to Toronto since clearly Miller felt no sense of urgency at this point. The Riders were in Argonaut territory, didn’t really seem like that much of a gamble to me.
(9) Mike O’Shea! Early in the fourth quarter Toronto is backed up into their own end zone and is about to concede the safety. But wait! Jamie Boreham fakes the kneel by mere inches handing the ball off behind him to Byron Parker. There are a number of metaphors I could use to describe the lower half of Mike O’Shea for calling this play but I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. Let’s just say that O’Shea’s tailor is going to be busy letting out the crotch area in all of Mike’s pants. Now this play would not lead to a scoring opportunity for Toronto but it perfectly illustrated which team was ready to play.
(10) Later in the fourth, another Argonaut sack extinguishes any chances for a Saskatchewan touchdown. This was a classic coverage sack as Toronto rushed seven and then sent Shell on a delayed blitz. Durant had a couple beats to get rid of the ball yet couldn’t find anyone despite only four men in coverage. The next play would be a blocked field goal courtesy of Ricky Foley. The Roughriders are leaving a lot of points on the field.
(11) With under ten minutes to go Mike O’Shea and his impressive loins strike again. (By the way I have no idea if that sentence is going to make it to press. If it doesn’t I’m blaming all the Pinot Noir I guzzled up with my turkey dinner). A 30-yard run by Bryan Crawford? Another fake punt? Didn&r
squo;t they fake one five minutes earlier? Remember when Saskatchewan’s main problem on special teams was their inability to count to 13? My favourite part of this play was Foley’s block on Keith Shologan to spring Crawford to daylight. I’m going to estimate that Shologan outweighs Foley by at least 50 pounds yet Foley won that battle. Two plays later …
(12) Cleo Lemon to Jermaine Copeland for 27 yards and Toronto now leads 24-16. Heads up play by both to read the Saskatchewan blitz and make the necessary adjustment.
(13) Under three minutes to go and it’s Cory Boyd time, rushing for 38 yards, gaining two first downs and bleeding the clock. Again led by Picard and Robertson Toronto is able to push around the Saskatchewan defensive line. Boyd’s eight yard run on 2nd & 2 could not have looked easier.
(14) The dagger, the nail in the coffin. What was supposed to be a Boyd run ends up being an impromptu 11-yard QB draw behind Picard and Robertson. It looked ugly – well let’s be fair that’s because it was an ugly play, but despite miscommunication between quarterback and running back Lemon managed to keep his head up and read the blocking for the game clinching first down.
Just a crazy game. Toronto’s chances for hosting a playoff game are now very much alive while Saskatchewan squandered a golden opportunity to pull even with Calgary. Week 16 can not come quick enough.