Riders escape against resurgent Alouettes thanks to Dressler, Milo, but face some big questions

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have improved to 6-1, but only by the skin of their teeth. They headed into Saturday's home game against a 2-4 Montreal Alouettes' team struggling to find any offensive production whatsoever as heavy favourites, knocked Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo out of the game, saw other Alouettes' stars such as wide receiver Brandon London, offensive tackle Josh Bourke and safety Kyries Hebert leave with injuries and still only managed a 24-21 victory on the strength of a couple of remarkable late plays. The win may prove to be an important one for Saskatchewan, and they grabbed it thanks to excellent execution at the end, but barely beating one of the CFL's worst teams at home means there will be plenty of questions ahead in Riderville.

Perhaps the most crucial question to be asked is "Has the league figured out a way to stop Kory Sheets?" Sheets, the Riders' running back who already set one all-time CFL rushing record this year and has been on pace to shatter several others, has been the most critical part of the Saskatchewan offence to date, and he's been consistently efficient and effective despite teams selling out to stop him. Heading into this week, he not only led the league with 845 rushing yards, but was also amongst the leaders in yards per carry, averaging a remarkable 6.4 yards every time he carried the ball. The Alouettes somehow found a way to completely shut down Sheets, though, holding him to 65 rushing yards on 17 carries (3.8 yards per carry). Now, we'll have to see if the Riders' offensive minds can figure out a counter of their own to get Sheets back to his usual efficient form.

Another question for Saskatchewan is just how good their backup plans are for when teams are selling out to stop the run, though. Montreal often stacked the box against Sheets, and that typically opens up passing opportunities: Riders' quarterback Darian Durant has been remarkably effective at taking advantage of those this year. He wasn't on Saturday, though: while his overall line of 250 passing yards and two touchdowns without an interception isn't bad, his 18 completions on 32 attempts mark only a 56.1 per cent completion rate, far worse than the 67.6 per cent he'd averaged to date. The efficiency side of Saskatchewan's passing attack was missing Saturday, and although an injury to Rob Bagg didn't help, there were still far too many inaccurate throws and throws into tight coverage. The late drive to tie the game at 21 was impressive, but beyond that, it wasn't the greatest day for the passing offence. It also wasn't the aerial attack expected from the Riders, and that raises questions on if they can get back into top form.

There's no need to panic in Regina just yet. The Riders are still 6-1 and sitting atop the league for the moment, and they'll have sole possession of first place if B.C. can upset Calgary in Saturday's late game. There's a lot to like about this team, and although the offensive side wasn't clicking too well Saturday, the defence wasn't half-bad. Moreover, they proved that they can get it done under pressure late, with an excellent game-winning sequence started by a Dressler punt return and capped off by a 36-yard Milo field goal at the buzzer. Improvements will be needed if Saskatchewan's to continue this run of success, though. While this was a win, and a useful one, it pointed out plenty of flaws the Riders will have to fix if they want to remain dominant.