Mason Fine was, quite literally, thrown to the Lions on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback, a third-year CFLer, drew his first start of the 2023 season against a formidable foe — the host B.C. Lions, who won 19-9 — with a severely depleted arsenal at his disposal.
Given the adverse circumstances, the results were pretty much what you would expect.
Mind you, so was the response.
At a time when patience is of the essence, it is virtually non-existent.
There seems to be a clamour for Fine to turn into Ron Lancaster overnight.
Well, guess what? Not even Ron Lancaster turned into Ron Lancaster overnight.
Barely two weeks after joining the Roughriders in 1963, Lancaster made his debut in green and white.
He completed just nine of 20 passes for 127 yards and fumbled three times in a 5-3 victory over the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Lancaster started the next five games before Head Coach Bob Shaw had seen enough, at least for a spell.
No. 23 didn’t even make the trip to Calgary for what proved to be a riveting 4-4 tie with the Stampeders. Lee Grosscup, making his first and only appearance for Saskatchewan, went 2-for-10 for 14 yards before being replaced by Bob Ptacek.
Lancaster did return to duty the following week, guiding the Roughriders to an 8-7, come-from-behind victory over Edmonton at Taylor Field. A game-winning, 109-yard touchdown drive still wasn’t enough to satisfy Shaw, who gave significant playing time to a warmed-over Frank Tripucka over the three games that ensued.
Then came a breakout performance by Lancaster, who threw for 311 yards and three TDs in a 33-33 tie with Calgary on Oct. 19, 1963.
Not coincidentally, the Roughriders’ offence by that point had been bolstered by the additions of receiver Hugh Campbell (who had been cut by the San Francisco 49ers) and running back Ed Buchanan (claimed on waivers from Calgary).
Even then, there was some skepticism.
“Everyone knows the Regina Roughriders do not possess an offence,” Gorde Hunter wrote in the Oct. 21, 1963 edition of the Calgary Herald. “Nobody has accused them of owning a pass attack and any stories making the rounds about Ron Lancaster being a sharp thrower and a quarterbacking whizz have to be figments of overworked imaginations.”
What transpired on Nov. 11, 1963 of that year was beyond anyone’s imagination.
Two days after the Roughriders had lost 35-9 in Calgary to begin the two-game, total-points Western Conference semi-final, the Green and White pulled off the “Little Miracle of Taylor Field.”
Needing to win by 27 points, the Roughriders did precisely that — defeating Calgary 39-12. Lancaster threw for 492 yards (then a Western Conference single-game record) and five touchdowns.
Three years later, he threw three touchdown passes as Saskatchewan defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders 29-14 to win the first Grey Cup championship in franchise history.
When the Roughriders next captured a title, 23 years later, Austin was at the controls.
He was also the victorious quarterback in each of his first two starts in 1987, but nonetheless threw far more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (three) in five appearances that season.
The following year, Austin’s interceptions (12) again outnumbered the aerial TDs (eight).
Austin was the starter to begin the 1989 season, but faltered so badly in the opener that Tom Burgess was called upon to save the day.
There is a perception, skewed over time, that Head Coach John Gregory simply snapped his fingers and — voila! — two elite and complementary quarterbacks (Austin and Burgess) magically appeared.
The reality, however, is that it took a while. And they took some lumps.
It was a little easier — OK, a lot easier — to be patient back then. The bar was set pretty low.
When Austin and Burgess arrived, the Roughriders were poised to extend their playoff drought to 11 seasons.
Fans, accustomed as they were to playing the waiting game, could see that Austin and Burgess were players of considerable promise. There weren’t always fireworks, but there was a spark.
At that time, the social media phenomenon was beyond anyone’s comprehension. Nobody, with the possible exception of burglars, was obsessed with “hot takes.”
Fans were passionate, yes, but there was some room to breathe.
The current climate isn’t nearly as conducive to the nurturing of a young quarterback.
Nuance can be lost. The arguments often boil down to black and white, without accounting for any shades of grey.
Can Fine play at a higher level than he did on Saturday? Sure, he can. That is by his own acknowledgment, and by that of Head Coach Craig Dickenson.
But it would have helped matters considerably if the Roughriders had a productive running game on Saturday, or anything approaching a full complement of receivers. Consider, too, that Saskatchewan has used four different players at left tackle in only six games this season.
The lack of continuity affects everyone but, as the quarterback, Fine is the focus. It comes with the territory.
That said, let’s try to examine the situation dispassionately — quite an ask, we understand, considering the enthusiasm with which we follow the team.
The Roughriders’ featured running back, Jamal Morrow, was limited to 11 yards on 12 carries on Saturday. Subtract one six-yard gain and he had five yards to show for the other 11 rushes.
B.C.’s preoccupation with and proficiency at repelling the run put the Roughriders in repeated second-and-long situations.
When seven or more yards were required to move the chains, Saskatchewan was 2-for-15. The second-down conversion rate, regardless of distance, was 4-for-23.
The Lions’ approach was essentially this: Give the Roughriders the short, short, short passes, embrace the concept of sure tackling, and do not allow anything over the top.
It worked to near-perfection.
Even so, the Fine-led offence actually produced one more first down (13) than B.C. was able to muster during the defensive duel.
As well, Saskatchewan had a decided advantage in terms of passing yards (284 to 227) and net offence (278 to 231).
Yes, the Lions lost their starting quarterback (Vernon Adams Jr.) to injury early in the game, but they had the luxury of turning to someone (Dane Evans) who has played in two Grey Cup games.
Fine was making his third professional start, just one week after Roughriders marquee player Trevor Harris suffered a serious knee injury.
With Harris in the lineup, the Saskatchewan offence had sputtered in back-to-back games — the aforementioned factors, too conveniently ignored amid all the commotion about the quarterbacking, influencing the equation.
So, realistically, what chance did Fine have on Saturday?
And what kind of chance will the fan base give him going forward?
Perhaps naively, the hope here is that Rider Nation will be able to live with the inevitable growing pains while, ideally, the discomfort induced by a torrent of injuries decreases.
If a modicum of patience can be exercised, the Roughriders’ offence — under the direction of Mason Fine — will be just fine, thank you.
