Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols (15) pushes for a first down under pressure from the Saskatchewan Roughriders defence during the second half of their CFL game. The Saskatchewan Roughriders defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 38-24 on Sunday September 3, 2017. (CFL PHOTO - Matt Smith)
Chris Jones has seen it before — and he doesn’t want to see it anymore.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ head coach-GM has seen teams build up big leads but let their opponents hang around. Next thing you know, the opponents rally to take the lead or at least make things interesting before succumbing.
That has happened to the Roughriders this CFL season, much to Jones’ chagrin.
“When you’re leading by three or four scores, sometimes it’s just human nature to let your guard down,” he said after Wednesday’s practice at Mosaic Stadium. “We’ve got to have more killer instinct than that.
“We’ve got to make sure when we do have somebody down that we don’t allow them to have any hope of coming back.”
Jones has pointed specifically to the Roughriders’ past two games — a 54-31 decision over the Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 25 and a 38-24 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Sunday’s Labour Day Classic.
Saskatchewan led the Eskimos 40-7 after three quarters and was up 47-15 midway through the fourth. But the Eskimos scored two late touchdowns — primarily against several backup defenders — and Jones wasn’t happy about it.
Edmonton had 278 yards of net offence in the game, with 152 of those coming in the fourth quarter. The Eskimos scored 24 points in the final frame.
On Sunday, Saskatchewan jumped out to a 34-16 halftime lead and appeared to be in the driver’s seat. But the Roughriders’ offence put up just four points after the intermission and the defence needed an Ed Gainey interception in the end zone with 2:16 left in regulation time to snuff out another Winnipeg drive.
Had the Bombers scored on that possession, things could have been different down the stretch. Even so, Winnipeg put up 155 yards of net offence (out of 400 in the game) in the final 15 minutes.
“Experience is the biggest thing — and being in that position,” Jones said when asked how to address the matter. “We haven’t been in that position very much since we’ve been here, so that’s a couple of new scenarios for them …
“What they don’t realize as a young football team is I’ve been in football games and been up three scores in the last three minutes and lost and been down three scores and won. In the CFL, nobody is out of it with three scores (down).”
There also was a fourth-quarter letdown in the Roughriders’ first game of the 2017 regular season, but to a lesser extent.
On June 22, Saskatchewan got a field goal from Tyler Crapigna to take a 16-14 lead on the Montreal Alouettes with just under seven minutes left in regulation time. The Als took the subsequent kickoff and drove 72 yards in eight plays before Boris Bede kicked what turned out to be a game-winning 18-yard field goal.
The last two fourth-quarter letdowns haven’t cost the Roughriders like the one in Montreal did, though. Saskatchewan held on to win both games, even though there may have been some nervous moments.
“We’ve already got that killer instinct in us; it just comes down to finishing games,” defensive back Crezdon Butler said. “It’s a team effort, so the offence has got to finish and we’ve got to finish. Then we can put teams away.
“I don’t think the killer instinct goes away in the second half. We just get kind of — I don’t want to call it relaxed, but I think we look at the scoreboard too often and see we’re up by 20-some points. We can’t have that kind of mentality.”
Defensive end Tobi Antigha admitted that the defenders sometimes “get caught in a lull,” and that allows teams to make a dent in the Roughriders’ lead.
For Antigha, a potential solution lies in practice, where the defence can focus on finishing off the offence — or vice versa — by paying added attention to detail.
“In this league, no lead is safe and no lead is too big,” Antigha said. “You see it every other week. You see teams coming back from two scores down, three scores down and coming out with a victory.
“That’s one thing we’ve got to focus on as the week goes on and as the months go on: Just keep on preparing to win every quarter. It’s not just about winning the first half or the second half but putting a full game together.”
The Roughriders’ defence enters Saturday’s contest in Winnipeg ranked first in the CFL in first downs allowed (182), tied for first in opponents’ rushing touchdowns given up (four), second in offensive touchdowns surrendered (21), second in turnover margin (plus-nine), fourth in net offence allowed (362.7 yards per game) and fourth in opponents’ passing yards (297.3 per game).
A unit that seemed out of sorts in the early stages of the 2017 season seems to have turned the corner. But despite the defence’s improved play — and despite the Roughriders’ three-game winning streak — Jones remains unhappy with the way his squad has been closing out games.
“In order to be a great team, we’ve got to learn to shut the door,” he said.
In Butler’s mind, that criticism should spark the defence more than anything.
“It’s nothing bad; it’s not going to take us out of our game or anything,” he said. “We’ve got to use it as motivation and do our thing.”
