EDMONTON - REGINA — Every year there have been a multitude of reasons why the stubble jumpers will stumble.
But they don’t. They go on. They presevere. They overcome. They succeed.
And maybe it’s time to concede.
It’s not all crocus hocus pocus with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Could it all be because they’re the best team?
Not the team with the best lineup. But the best team?
Do they keep turning over key people and still keep winning because the players who stay don’t lose the oneness they’ve achieved in coming together to create what is starting to look a lot like an era similar to the Ron Lancaster, George Reed, Hugh Campbell days, but with a lot more interchangeable parts?
“Bingo,” says 16-year veteran offensive lineman Gene Makowsky.
“I’m not sure we’ve had the best players these last few years but we’ve had the best team.
“The players here have wanted to play for each other. Football is the ultimate team game and the team comes first with the core group of players here.”
Three years ago, the Riders had just fired Danny Barrett and replaced him with Kent Austin, an assistant coach the Toronto Argos had gassed at mid-season the year before. And poor-decision-making, interception-throwing Kerry Joseph was going to lead them out of the wilderness?
Austin won coach of the year. Joseph was voted outstanding player in the league. And the 12-6 Riders won the Grey Cup.
Two years ago, Saskatchewan lost Austin, Joseph and top talents Fred Perry and Reggie Hunt. They were surely going to go from the penthouse back to the outhouse.
The 2008 Riders, despite a massive injury list, ended up going 12-6 again.
Finished second.
Last year, it was the loss of defensive co-ordinator Richie Hall to the Eskimos, not to mention Maurice Lloyd, Kitwana Jones and Scott Gordon with other departures including Anton McKenzie and Matt Dominguez. And, oh yes, they had no quarterback.
The 2009 Riders finished first with an 11-7-1 record with Darian Durant, hosted their first Western Final in 33 years and would have won the Grey Cup if they hadn’t had too many men on the field for what would have been the game-winning field goal.
This year, there was no way they were going to be able to recover from the loss of star defensive ends John Chick and Stevie Baggs, not to mention veteran defensive back Eddie Davis as well as assistant Paul LaPolice, who became head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The 2010 Riders are 2-0 going into Saturday’s game against an 0-2 Edmonton team many had pegged to lead the league.
Andy Fantuz is only in his fifth season but he’s seen it.
“It’s a resilient team with a lot of depth and a group of guys who make plays for each other. It’s a tight locker-room with a lot of chemistry. People come in and pick it up because it’s contagious.”
Offensive lineman Jeremy O’Day is in his 14th season and marvels at the way it’s been working here lately.
“Normally when you lose the kind of people we’ve lost, you see a team go down. But with this team guys step up. We consistently tell people we’re a team not a group of individuals. We don’t hold anyone higher than anyone else in the locker-room,” he said.
“I think the key is in the character of our leadership group,” said head coach Ken Miller.
“We have guys like O’Day, Makowsky, Omarr Morgan, and you can add Darian Durant now, who have really been the secret.”
Whatever, by this point the thought may have occurred: what the Saskatchewan Roughriders have going here is exactly what has been missing with the Eskimos.
And Richie Hall admits it.
“The thing about the Roughriders is that they play 60 minutes with a lot of heart and a lot of character. And I think you have to go back more than four years to see where that came from,” said the former Riders assistant coach, who not that long ago had five rookies in the Saskatchewan defensive secondary he was coaching at the time.
“When you build a team, you have to build it from the bottom up. You can lose parts here and there if the foundation remains intact, especially when you have a group which embraces adversity. How many times did that team come from behind last year?
“That’s what we’re trying to develop.”
terry.jones@sunmedia.ca
