The better team won Friday night in Regina and it was not the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The B.C. Lions deserved their 28-10 win.
For the Rider defence the Aug. 19 game was all about Lion quarterback Nathan Rourke.
He was 22 for 31 in passing for 375 yards. An average of 17 yards per completion is outstanding.
The Riders had puzzling cover schemes with Rider linebacker Derrick Moncrief. Several times he covered Lion receiver Bryan Burnham. Moncrief is a talented linebacker but the odds are not good covering Burnham. On the night Burnham had five receptions for 67 yards. On why Moncrief was matched up with Burnham he said that Burnham moves around. I hope the Riders find different schemes for the rematch this weekend.
Moncrief did have two memorable moments on Burnham. A pass bounced off Moncrief’s helmet to Larry Dean when Moncrief had good coverage on an out. A little later he intercepted a pass for Burnham in the Rider end zone. He said he had seen the same route, a deep out, the first time the Riders played the Lions and knew where Burnham was going.
Moncrief was not involved in the killer play, the 90-yard touchdown completion to Lucky Whitehead, late in the first half. On what happened Coach Craig Dickenson said they will talk about it and have got to do better.
What appeared to catch the Riders off guard was Rourke’s escapability. He slipped out of the pocket up the middle several times and had three runs for 63 yards.
The Riders had Lion running back James Butler throttled as he had but 16 yards on 13 carries.
It took just over a half for A.C. Leonard and Pete Robertson to return to game speed and for the Rider defence to really challenge Rourke with blitzers. After a 33-yard run on the Lions first possession of the third quarter Rourke never escaped again. Moncrief said they hunkered down and communicated better as a defence as the game went on.
On the play Rourke was hurt, A.C. Leonard looped inside. Three Lion offensive linemen went for Anthony Lanier. Rourke saw Leonard coming. Instead of accepting the sack he pulled the ball and tried to escape up the middle again. He stepped inside of Leonard but, unlike earlier in the game when Rider rushers overran Rourke, on this play Robertson hit him from the side.
The Rider offence sputtered with Cody Fajardo at quarterback.
Dickenson said Fajardo did not feel he was moving all right. I thought his mobility was significantly decreased from the Edmonton game. Fajardo’s limitations were most evident after Mason Fines entered the game. Fines was quick and able to run the ball.
Fajardo had a pair of interceptions. Both were directed at Duke Williams down field. On the first he overthrew Williams and on the second the ball was underthrown. Fajardo was under such pressure he should not have thrown the second pass.
Dickenson echoed two of the points I made in last week’s column.
He said the Riders are not good enough up front. He did not see players available to come in who were better.
He then said the Riders lack explosiveness at receiver. Until Kyran Moore and/or Shaq Evans are back the Riders will not threaten defences.
Unless Fajardo has better mobility in practice this week, I think the Riders should make Fines the starter in Vancouver.
Bill Selnes, who’s based in Melfort, has written about the Saskatchewan Roughriders since the late 1970s. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, Football Reporters of Canada wing on Nov. 24, 2013.
