Fantuz makes Hamilton regular-season debut, but it’s his old team’s receivers that shine

When free-agent Canadian receiver Andy Fantuz chose to leave the Saskatchewan Roughriders and head to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this offseason, it helped build the hype around the Tiger-Cats' offence, and it was also cited as one of the reasons why the Riders might continue to struggle this season. In both clubs' first regular-season game Friday, though, the reverse was the case, as the Fantuzless Riders moved the ball effortlessly and put up plenty of points in a 43-16 win over Hamilton.

The Tiger-Cats' receivers may be getting the attention, but it was the Saskatchewan receiving corps that really stood out Friday night, and minus Fantuz, they looked much like the group that went to back-to-back Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010. Weston Dressler in particular had a fantastic night, picking up 180 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 13 catches, but others stepped up too; Chris Getzlaf had three receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown, while Rob Bagg, back after missing 2011 thanks to an ACL injury, also looked good with three catches for 26 yards. Even rookie running back Korey Sheets got in on the act, hauling in two passes for 43 yards to go with the 80 yards and a touchdown he picked up on 12 rushing plays. It was a brilliant performance from quarterback Darian Durant, who looked like the good Durant of 2009-10, not the one who struggled last year. Durant finished the night with 25 completions on 34 attempts (73.5 per cent) for 390 yards and four touchdowns, and while he'd probably like to still have a receiver of Fantuz's calibre around, if he can keep that up, this offence will be just fine with the players they have.

Meanwhile, Hamilton's offence looked okay at times, and they only trailed 16-13 at the half. It was after the break where everything fell apart, though; the Tiger-Cats only managed three more points while the Riders picked up 27. However, that's not all on new quarterback Henry Burris, who finished with 28 completions on 39 attempts for 284 yards. Burris didn't throw a touchdown pass and did have one interception, but his overall night wasn't too bad. The team's receivers all had decent statistical numbers, too; Chris Williams caught nine balls for 109 yards, while Fantuz had five receptions for 49 cards and Bakari Grant added five catches for 51 yards. The Tiger-Cats also got a tremendous showing from rookie running back Chevon Walker, who picked up 132 rushing yards and a touchdown on just seven carries. For Hamilton, the key issues were that the defence couldn't stop anything Saskatchewan did after the break and the offence was too frequently forced to punt or settle for field goals. On Friday night, they looked like the team expected to struggle, while the Riders looked like a preseason favourite.

It's important to keep in mind that this is just one game, and it's not necessarily an indication of how things will play out all year. Last year's Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions started that season 0-5, after all. The more important takeaway here may be that the Riders look like they've already found their groove under new head coach Corey Chamblin, new offensive coordinator Bob Dyce and returning defensive coordinator Richie Hall, while the Tiger-Cats have potential, but perhaps haven't fully settled in under their new coaching staff yet. It could still be an impressive year for Fantuz and his new team, but his old one seems to be doing just fine without him.