12 Audibles: The Riders' record rebuild continues, and Mr. Jones goes to Ottawa

Welcome to another week of 12 Audibles, our regular look at storylines from around the CFL. This time around, we start with a look at the 4-10 Saskatchewan Roughriders, who were officially eliminated from playoff contention after Edmonton's win over Montreal Monday (despite their own win over Ottawa Friday), and have set a league record by using 90 players so far this season.

1. The Riders' rebuild: Saskatchewan's radio play-by-play man Rod Pedersen wrote about the record Thursday, saying "The Riders have used a league-record 90 players in 2016, bettering the old mark of 88 set by Hamilton in 2013. It's proof positive that Chris Jones has been the architect of the largest rebuild in Canadian Football League history." By number of players used, that's absolutely true, and the numbers of players used are part of why it hasn't been a great season for the Roughriders. However, it's important to keep in mind what that number does and doesn't mean. By itself, it means that Saskatchewan's used a ton of different players; it doesn't necessarily mean that they were right to, or that the number of players they've used excuses all their struggles, or that they're assuredly on the path to domination now. Let's explore those factors in more detail.

First, the question of if the Riders were right to create as much in-season roster turnover as they have. From this corner, the answer is "probably not." Bringing in new players during the season is generally less ideal than signing players before the season and sticking with them, as they can gain CFL experience from training camp and exhibition games before being thrown into the fire. A large amount of roster churn like this also tends to decrease team performance, as it reduces the amount of experience on the team and the amount of experience guys have playing together. Doing a housecleaning before the season is one thing (and it carries its own perils along these lines), but a continual housecleaning during the season is even tougher.

Of course, not all of those moves were made by choice; Saskatchewan has suffered plenty of significant injuries this year, and that's added to the numbers of players used. A lot of this turnover was by Jones' choice, though, and it perhaps illustrates some of the mistakes he's made as the Riders' general manager. It's notable that even the Riders' own site has run some pieces skeptical of the amount of turnover the team's had this year, particularly this August column from former defensive lineman Luc Mullinder preaching the value of consistency. Consistency can be vitally important, and while it's worthwhile to stay on the hunt for the next top player, it's also worth picking some guys you believe in and sticking with them. All change isn't necessarily good, as we can see from...

2. A look at specific changes: That's all very abstract, so let's make it more tangible. Here's Saskatchewan's depth chart from Week One against Toronto (June 30):

And here's their depth chart from Week Fourteen against Ottawa (Oct. 7):

In terms of starters, there are two new ones on the offensive line (soon to expand to three following the trade of Xavier Fulton to Hamilton), three in the receiving corps, a new fullback, two new defensive linemen, a new linebacker, four new defensive backs, a new returner, and a new long-snapper. Some of those moves are thanks to injuries, like the ones to receiver Naaman Roosevelt and guard Brendon LaBatte, while some other new players (Jeff Fuller and Willie Jefferson in particular) came in from the NFL and weren't available at the start of the year; those moves all make plenty of sense. Some of these other shifts illustrate that the Riders didn't have the right people in place at the start of the year, though; the almost-complete makeover of the secondary illustrates that, and receivers like John Chiles and Kendial Lawrence have since been cut.

Moreover, it's worth considering that Saskatchewan's turnover goes beyond just the 90 guys used this year; there were massive player changes in the offseason, with many guys who had been productive players for the Riders sent packing. Some of those guys haven't been dominant in their new slots (Chris Getzlaf has 38 catches for 438 yards in 15 games with Edmonton, while Ryan Smith has 42 for 397 yards in Winnipeg), but others have been having great seasons, such as Weston Dressler (70 catches for 887 yards in 12 games with the Bombers) and John Chick (11 sacks in 15 games in Hamilton). Jones took massive flak this offseason for getting rid of a pair of long-time, popular Riders in Dressler and Chick for no return, and both of those guys have gone on to shine elsewhere.

Jones' choices of replacements have also been problematic. For example, Saskatchewan made a big deal of signing Shawn Lemon to replace Chick in free agency, but then decided to bench him and then trade him to Toronto in early July. They also signed Justin Capicciotti, who recorded 11 and 12 sacks respectively over the last two seasons with Ottawa, but has just two this year (and was just traded to Hamilton). Lemon, a guy the Riders listed as fourth on their depth chart is now tied for the CFL sack lead with 12, while Chick, who the Riders cut for nothing is third with 11.  Meanwhile, Saskatchewan is last in the league with 18 sacks as a team. Defensive tackle Corvey Irvin (one of the few starters on both those defensive charts above) leads the Riders with four sacks, while converted tight end A.C. Leonard and linebacker Otha Foster both have three. The Saskatchewan defensive line should be better now that they've brought Jefferson in from the NFL, but it's a clear example of where both Jones' initial moves (axing Chick) and replacement moves (bringing in Lemon and Capicciotti) didn't work out. Standing pat might have made more sense. It's also worth noting that...

3. Moves alone do not necessarily excuse a bad season. The previous record for players used in a season came from those 2013 Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who were a much better team. They went 10-8 during the year despite playing home games in Guelph, finished second in the East and then won two playoff games to advance to the Grey Cup. 4-10 Saskatchewan is nowhere near that level. Of course, Hamilton may have made too many moves there as well (especially considering how impressive their offence was the year before), and they faced some issues thanks to a lack of continuity that year, but moves alone did not doom them to a season of struggle. There's no dispute that the Riders needed to change some things following 2015's 3-15 campaign, and that Jones and his all-new coaching staff needed to get players who aligned with their schemes and vision, and expectations for Saskatchewan shouldn't have been all that high (which is why Pedersen's prediction that they'd win the West was silly). However, an utterly dismal season wasn't a sure thing; the prediction here was 7-11, and while that's still possible (especially considering that the Riders have now won three straight), it feels a little optimistic with four games to go. To date, it seems safe to say Saskatchewan has underachieved. But...

4. Are they on the right path now? The number of changes alone doesn't mean progress, and some of those changes might have been better off not made, but there is evidence to suggest things are starting to head in the right direction for the Riders. They've won three straight games, their defence is looking pretty formidable (allowing 17, 23, 18 and 30 points in the last four weeks), and they've just brought in some quite talented players in Jefferson and Fuller. They've also recently traded for Andrew Lue (sending a fourth-round pick for a guy taken in the early second round seems quite good), signed another guy who's previously found success in the CFL (although not so much in his last stop in Montreal) in Henoc Muamba, and they seem to be developing some talent in the secondary and the receiving corps. However, there are still big questions about this team, and it should be noted that two of those wins came in overtime (against Edmonton and Ottawa) and one was a narrow two-point win over Hamilton. Saskatchewan does seem to be improving, but there's a long way to go before they can compete with the CFL's elite week-in and week-out. One key test will be Saturday's game against the Toronto Argonauts, who have been stumbling themselves in recent weeks. A strong Saskatchewan showing there might go a long way, and this game will be well worth watching. Something else worth keeping an eye on is the results of...

5. The Saskatchewan-Hamilton trade. The Riders and Tiger-Cats made one of the biggest in-season trades we've seen in a while just ahead of this week's deadline, with Saskatchewan sending American starting left tackle Xavier Fulton and Canadian defensive lineman Capicciotti to Hamilton in exchange for Canadian defensive lineman Linden Gaydosh, American receiver Tommy Streeter and the Ticats' fourth and seventh-round picks in the coming draft. This looks more beneficial for Hamilton in the short term with the acquisitions of Fulton (who's been an excellent left tackle in this league for the last few years) and Capicciotti (who didn't work out in Saskatchewan, but was a great pass rusher in Ottawa), but it has potential to pay off for the Riders in the long term.

Gaydosh is a former first-overall pick (from 2013) who has NFL experience (with the Carolina Panthers from 2013-14), and although he's mostly been used on special teams in Hamilton and has battled injuries (including a torn Achilles in the spring of 2015), he might be able to turn into a CFL star. Streeter couldn't crack the Ticats' depth chart, but he's a promising 27-year-old receiver with a strong NFL background, and he might turn into something too, as could the picks. This looks like a smart build for the future by the Riders, but it's all dependent on if they can replace Fulton, if the guys they acquired can show more in Saskatchewan than they did in Hamilton, and if they can make good use of those picks. Another Saskatchewan story is...

6. The Riders' practice on Parliament Hill. After last week's win in Ottawa, Saskatchewan stayed out East ahead of Saturday's game with Toronto, and they managed to hold a unique practice on Parliament Hill, with a very special guest:

Jones even got a photo with Trudeau:

Wonder if they compared notes on extra expenses for moving people to their cities? Speaking of expenses, how about...

7. Saskatchewan's "Build The Pride" campaign. The Riders are looking to offset some of the over $45 million they're contributing to their new stadium (total estimated cost of $278 million) with a capital campaign, offering fans the chance to have their names recognized in one of three permanent fan walls at the stadium's fan plaza for donations of $300, $1,500 and $5,000 respectively. On a lot of levels, this is a pretty smart idea; it offers fans a way to get involved and get permanent recognition at the new stadium, and the donations are even eligible for charitable tax receipts (thanks to a partnership with the South Saskatchewan Community Foundation, which exists to help build infrastructure). It's notable that the team is requiring all premium seat holders to contribute to the campaign, though, making those seats even more expensive. If people want to pay that, great, and there will probably be no shortage of people willing to do so.

However, it's worth mentioning that this team isn't exactly hard done by. The Riders generally presumed to be the CFL's wealthiest, which should have them in really good shape under the 2014 CBA and its conditions that are extremely favourable to teams. Yes, they cited a $4.3 million loss this past year, but that was all about amortization of the pre-Grey Cup upgrades, and they've done very well in the previous years.They're also spending incredible amounts on football operations, including vast numbers of coaches and scouts, and that came up again this week with the money they spent to keep their whole team out East for a week. Moreover, they're paying less in total for their stadium than some other clubs, particularly Winnipeg. It seems quite possible that the Riders could pay their share of the stadium from normal operations without needing to turn to their fans for extra money in a capital campaign. Doing so is probably smart, will probably get results, and will let them keep spending on football operations (which in turn should hopefully produce on-field results and keep the fans happy), but this is a long way from when telethons were needed to keep the team operating.

Turning to other areas of the CFL, how about...

8. Mike Reilly. The Eskimos' quarterback leads the league with 5,074 passing yards this season, and he was named the CFL's second top performer of the week after completing 73.6 per cent of his passes and throwing for 346 yards against Montreal. On the year, he's completed 71.2 per cent of his passes and thrown for 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while also rushing for 369 yards and seven further touchdowns. While Edmonton has been up and down this season, Reilly has been pretty consistently good, and he'll be a strong contender for Most Outstanding Player. His main challenger may also be in the division in...

9. Bo Levi Mitchell. Calgary's quarterback is narrowly behind Reilly in passing yards (4,871) and completion percentage (67.8 per cent), but he has a better touchdown to interception ratio (29 to 8) and a better quarterback rating (107.9 to Reilly's 104.2). Both have played 15 games, so a lot may depend on how they do in their final three. That may wind up hurting Mitchell, though; given that the Stampeders have clinched first place and the Eskimos are still battling for playoff position, he may not get to play as much as Reilly down the stretch. Another quarterback worth watching is...

10. Trevor Harris. Harris is currently fourth in the league with 3,181 passing yards in just 10 games, but he's been benched in favour of Henry Burris, and Burris' impressive showing in Ottawa's 30-29 victory over Hamilton Friday may keep it that way. If Harris was still starting, he'd have a strong chance to be the East Division's Most Outstanding Player (the next closest QB in passing yardage who's spent any time in the East this year is Kevin Glenn, who threw for 2,547 yards in nine games with Montreal, but is now a backup in the West with Winnipeg), but it's hard to see a backup QB get that nod. We'll see what happens with Ottawa's quarterback situation going forward. The East may wind up with a bunch of non-quarterback nominees for MOP, and one possibility is...

11. Bear Woods. Woods has again had a remarkable season for Montreal, picking up 102 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery thus far. He's been a key part of the Alouettes' defence, which has been generally strong despite their team's struggles, and he's arguably had the best season of a defensive player in the East. (Other nominees could be Toronto's Lemon with 12 sacks, Hamilton's Chick with 11 sacks, and Hamilton's Simoni Lawrence with 79 tackles, four sacks and a pick.) However, it's tough to see a guy from a team as bad as the Alouettes win MOP, and another big challenge is that Woods' stats aren't the most impressive we've seen this year from a defensive player in the whole CFL. That would be...

12. Solomon Elimimian. The B.C. linebacker has had an amazing season, picking up 113 tackles, six sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in 15 games. He seems likely to be the Lions' nominee for Most Outstanding Player, and he already made history as the first defensive-only player to win that award two years ago (when he had a record 143 tackles, five sacks, a pick and three fumble recoveries). It's unlikely he'll win the overall MOP again this year given the play of Reilly and Mitchell, but it's a possibility, and he's certainly the favourite to pick up Most Outstanding Defensive Player. He's been key to the Lions' resurgence, and while they've now dropped two straight games to Winnipeg, they're still likely to make the playoffs and perhaps do some damage there. If they do find postseason success, Elimimian's likely to once again be in the middle of it.

Thanks for reading 12 Audibles! Stay tuned to 55-Yard Line for CFL coverage, and come back here next week for the next installment of this column. You can also contact me with feedback on Twitter or via e-mail.