Chris Jones' Rider reign starts on wrong foot with loss to Argos, showing issues

The Chris Jones era in Regina is off to a bit of a rocky start, as the Saskatchewan Roughriders followed up their 0-2 preseason record under their new head coach/general manager/vice-president of football operations with a 30-17 home loss to the Toronto Argonauts Thursday. That's not all that surprising; Saskatchewan was a league-worst 3-15 last season, turnarounds take time even under the best circumstances, and there's been wholesale change in the Riders' managment and coaching staffs, plus substantial turnover in their roster. All of that will take time to gel, and Jones' tenure shouldn't be criticized too heavily based on one game. However, some issues that popped up Thursday could potentially be problematic for this team going forward, and they certainly suggest this team hasn't instantly become dominant just with a new man in charge.

One of the biggest questions is the Riders' ability to finish drives. Quarterback Darian Durant had a good game by the numbers, completing 31 of 40 passes (77.5 per cent) for 310 yards, but he was only able to get Saskatchewan into the end zone once. That's not all his fault, as some of the Riders' drives were killed by other factors (such as poor short-yardage play, including a third-and-one situation where backup QB Bryant Moniz fumbled the exchange and Argos' DB Matt Black pounced on the ball and returned it for a touchdown), and some of it was about excellent game-planning by Toronto defensive coordinator Rich Stubler (who has historically excelled at bend-but-don't-break defensive schemes). However, while Durant and the offence showed potential to move the ball, they kept stalling as they approached the goal line. 17 points simply won't do it in most CFL games, and while the Riders got good passing and rushing (Curtis Steele had 61 yards on 10 carries) performances, they'll need more than that to compete regularly.

Another problem was the number of big plays Saskatchewan gave up. Toronto quarterback Ricky Ray only completed 13 of 22 passes (a 59 per cent mark that's shockingly low for him), but he threw for 189 yards (so 14.5 yards per completion) and two touchdowns, including this beautiful long ball to Vidal Hazelton:

Hazelton got way too much space there, and that was far from the only big play the Argos hit on. They had some other key moments on offence, and they got a huge opening kick return from Larry Taylor and Black's defensive touchdown, both of which are the kind of plays Saskatchewan can't afford to concede. The big plays on offence are maybe the most concerning, though, as they do sometimes come as the downside of Jones' blitz-heavy approach to defence. If the blitz doesn't get home, there's usually someone open, and a quarterback like Ray will make you pay for that.

None of this is necessarily indicative that the Riders will be awful again this year. It's one game, it's a new season, and there were plenty of positives to take from this one too, especially with Durant looking good in his long-anticipated return and with the offence moving the chains. Some of these issues may work themselves out in time, and as noted above, growing pains are to be expected with this much turnover. However, this is an indication that Jones' arrival hasn't instantly fixed everything, and that there are still plenty of issues ahead for this team. We'll see how they address them going forward.