Roughriders finally hit rock bottom Grey Cup hosts officially eliminated from playoffs By: Jeff Hamilton Posted: 7:01 PM CDT Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2022 (1404 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With Week 20 now in the books, we can officially start talking about the CFL playoffs. While there’s one week remaining in the regular season, all six post-season spots have been locked up.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10) punched their once-unthinkable ticket to the playoffs, following a narrow 30-27 win over the Ottawa Redblacks (4-13) at Tim Hortons Field. The Tiger-Cats captured the third and final spot in the East Division, which was only made official following a Saskatchewan Roughriders’ (6-11) loss, 32-21, to the Calgary Stampeders (11-6) at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday night.

The B.C. Lions (12-5) sealed second place in the West Division with a dominating win over the Edmonton Elks (4-14), 31-14, at Commonwealth Stadium Friday, and will now host the Stampeders in the West semifinal on Nov. 6. The winner will meet the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (14-3) in the West final at IG Field on Sunday, Nov. 13.

The Toronto Argonauts (11-6) squeezed out a 24-23 victory against the Montreal Alouettes (8-9) at Molson Stadium to clinch first place in the East. Montreal will now host Hamilton in the East semifinal next weekend and the winner will face Toronto in the division final Nov. 13.

Indeed, things are heating up, with plenty to discuss in the week that was in the three-down loop. So, let’s get right to it in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.

1) After a months-long freefall, the Roughriders finally hit rock bottom this past week, their loss to the Stampeders officially eliminating the Grey Cup hosts from the playoffs. While you could certainly see it coming — Saskatchewan lost 10 of its last 12 games, including the last six — it was still pretty shocking to watch play out. I feel for the fans, mostly, for having to witness what unfolded this season, and will now have two teams, neither of which will be clad in green, fighting for the CFL’s most cherished chalice in their own backyard.

2) I’ve received several messages from Roughriders fans, both publicly and privately, this season calling out the organization for what’s not only been a trying year, but also one they’ve felt ignored by club brass. It’s why I sent a tweet out Sunday, saying I hoped this failed campaign would bring about some humility to a franchise that’s been lacking it for some time. That led to several more fans from Riderville adding their displeasure, citing various examples for why they were miffed.

3) Hours after the tweet, and just moments before taking off on a flight, I received a call from Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds. He wanted to talk about the root of my tweet and any other issues I was hearing. After a brief but productive talk, we agreed to sit down during Grey Cup week and continue our back and forth. If you’ve got something to add, feel free to send me a note at the email below.

4) After being demoted to backup in a must-win game against Calgary, Saskatchewan QB Cody Fajardo said he plans to test free agency this winter. No surprise there, as clearly the Roughriders had already made up their mind on the third-year starter after benching him for Mason Fine. I’m not sure what the interest will be across the league, though the current QB depth in the CFL isn’t exactly stellar. Teams will need to decide if Fajardo, who has been dealing with a knee injury all season, is capable of leading a team to the Grey Cup with an improved offensive line. I don’t see him securing a No. 1 job by the start of next year, but I’d be happy to be proven wrong.

5) Another big decision on the horizon in Riderville is the future of GM Jeremy O’Day and head coach Craig Dickenson, both of whom have another year left on their contracts. This season was a colossal failure, but it came after consecutive trips to the West Final and a combined two-year regular season record of 22-10 — the same record as the Bombers and better than the Stampeders (20-12) over the same stretch. Dickenson said the team needs to improve on both sides of the line of scrimmage, but it starts with establishing a core leadership group, something the Roughriders were desperately missing all season.

6) What might save O’Day and Dickenson is the football operations cap; those that get fired still count against the cap ceiling of $2.3 million, which has a maximum limit of 25 hires. Edmonton’s Chris Jones, in a final press conference this week, lamented a lack of money to bring in more quality coaches because the Elks were still paying for the firing of former GM Brock Sunderland and coach Jamie Elizondo last season. Jones said they had just 18 personnel on staff, while most teams have around 21. The Elks finished the year a CFL-worst 4-14, including 0-9 at Commonwealth Stadium, which brings their CFL all-time losing streak at home to 17 games.

7) Speaking of the football ops cap, TSN’s Farhan Lalji is reporting it will be moving back to its pre-COVID mark of $2.5 million by next season.

8) I touched on this a bit last week, but as the weather gets colder and colder, the Stampeders seem more and more dangerous. I’m speaking directly to their run game, which between running backs Ka’Deem Carey and Dedrick Mills combined for 178 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Roughriders. With Peyton Logan, another serious running threat and Calgary’s primary return man, set to return from injury soon, Calgary has an embarrassment of riches at one of the most important positions come playoff time.

9) Kudos to the Tiger-Cats for finding a way into the playoffs. After opening the season 1-6, all seemed lost in Hamilton. Thanks, however, to another miserable showing by the East, and a 4-1 run over the last five games, the Tiger-Cats are in with a 7-10 record, with one game to spare.

10) The Argonauts are buzzing at the right time and appear destined to come out of the East. The win over Montreal was their seventh in the last eight games, with five of those coming on the road. And with Andrew Harris working on a comeback following surgery to repair a pectoral muscle, what a story that would be, especially against the Bombers, assuming Winnipeg can also live up its end of the deal.

11) It was a weird moment at the end of the Argonauts and Alouettes game, with blame pointed directly at TSN. Tied 23-23, Toronto kicker Boris Bede attempted a 47-yard field goal with no time remaining. The kick sailed wide, followed by a flag on Montreal for too many men, only for TSN play-by-play man Rod Smith to suddenly proclaim the game was over and that Toronto had won. The confusion came from the fact TSN’s cameras weren’t showing Alouettes returner Chandler Worthy, who had stepped out of bounds at the back of the end zone with the ball in his hands, resulting in a one-point rouge and victory for the visitors. It was an embarrassing moment for the league’s broadcaster, including TSN’s panel, as no one knew what was going on at the most critical point of the game.

12) Big news out of B.C. as QB Nathan Rourke has been officially cleared to play after spending the last few months rehabbing a sprained Lisfranc in his right foot. The 24-year-old was lights out before the injury, leading all quarterbacks in pretty much every single statistical category through nine games. He’s scheduled to play the first quarter in Friday’s regular-season finale against the Bombers and, assuming all goes well, will surely be behind centre against the Stampeders for the Western semi-final. The West just got a whole lot wilder.

13) There was a scary moment late in the Roughriders game after Saskatchewan safety Mike Edem found himself on the receiving end of a violent collision with Mills. Edem lay motionless on the turf, and over a nearly 10-minute delay, as players from both sides surrounded him, he was carted off the field with a brace to stabilize his neck. Riders coach Dickenson calmed concerns when he said post game that Edem was taken to hospital for precautionary reasons and that the expectation was that there was nothing too serious. The Roughriders issued a statement on Monday confirming as much, with Edem now at home resting.

14) Seriously, when are the Roughriders going to announce the halftime show for the Grey Cup?

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton