Mitchell Blair
Saskatchewan Roughrider Head Coach Corey Chamblin doesn’t think that 2nd year receiver Taj Smith is the team’s secret weapon on offence and Smith himself doesn’t think he is either, but he admits to perhaps being a game-changer.
“I’m just doing what they ask me to do,” the Syracuse grad said. “If you want to call that a secret weapon that’s fine, but I’m just playing my position and making the big play if called upon to do so.
Smith was called upon to do so this past weekend when the Riders pulled one out of the fire against the Montreal Alouettes when he pulled away from an Alouette defender and hauled in a deep pass from Darian Durant taking it 66 yards for a game-tying touchdown late in the 4th quarter when it looked as if Montreal was poised to walk out of Mosaic Stadium with an upset.
The 29-year-old has become the team’s deep threat as he has caught four touchdowns this year with three of them going for 60 plus yards. As happy as he is to be the deep threat, he is happier with the fact that he has become a more complete receiver by catching a lot of short balls over the middle. He says it proves to him and the rest of the league that he is not one dimensional.
“Any catch is great, because you’re doing what you’re supposed to do and you are helping the team win a game, but I do feel as if I have become a more complete receiver this year because of the position they are putting me into. “ Smith said. “I’m doing what I need to do and I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable in this offence and working with Darian.”
Durant stands behind that comment. He has worked hard to establish a relationship over the years with Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf and that has shown itself many times on the field. Durant feels that relationship with Smith is also coming along and is getting better and better with each game.
“I sit beside Taj in meetings and we are always talking football,” Durant said. “He wants to know what do to certain routes and he’s asking a lot of questions. He is one of my deep guys, but he is becoming more and more of a complete receiver. I want to get him more involved than he is because he is a talent. I’ve grown to really trust him because I know that he can make the deep play and the short ball if I need him to make a catch in that situation.”
As good as Smith has been catching the football, (22 catches, 401 yards, 4 TD) Smith has really shone when it comes to his blocking as he has helped Kory Sheets gain a couple of extra yards running the ball or helped one of his receivers gain a couple of more yards after the catch because of a good block. Smith relishes those opportunities when he gets to throw some blocks on oncoming defenders.
“Most definitely,” Smith says when it comes to whether or not he likes being a blocker. “That’s a part of my game that not many know about. I’ve told (Kory) Sheets that if he’s cutting it outside to look my way because I will make a block on someone if I have to get him an extra couple of yards. I’ve got that all or nothing attitude on each play and if I’m not catching the ball, I want to have a role in the play by knocking someone off their stride.”
Defensive coordinators across the league may not know what Smith is all about at this time and for that reason he remains a secret weapon, but torching secondary’s the way he has this year will quickly turn Smith into someone who needs to be neutralized. Smith and the rest of the Riders will go up against the Edmonton Eskimos for the second time this season at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday. The Riders go into the football game with a CFL best record of 6-1 while Edmonton is 1-6. Game time is 2 o’clock with radio coverage beginning on 620 CKRM with “Roughrider Gameday” at 11:30 am.
