UNBEATEN AT HOME
1 - GAME THOUGHTS: The Saskatchewan Roughriders opened the 2017 preseason with a 25-25 tie against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers Saturday night. As preseason games go, it was a thriller as the Riders led for pretty much the entire game until Winnipeg grabbed a three-point lead with 1:44 to go. Many of the soldout crowd headed to the exits at that point but they missed a fun ending.
As we all know by know, sophomore kicker Quinn Van Gylkswyk stroked a 37-yard field goal in the dying seconds to preserve a 25-25 tie and the Roughriders emerged from the first-ever game in their new stadium with a sister-kisser.
No win, but no loss, so we'll take it.
2 - THE "FEELS": The entire evening was one I personally had been waiting for for a lifetime (like many of you), so I took the time to soak up every single second. Arriving several hours early was a good idea since the new security took a good chunk of it rifling through my briefcase. That was annoying but as we all know, they're "just doing their job".
Once the stadium filled up, the place was super loud but nothing like what it will be. And it's a different type of loud than Taylor Field. It's thunderous, enveloping, and intimidating. It'll take awhile to come up with the accurate words to describe how it's different than the old place, but it is.
However when the team plays for real, or hosts playoff games and Grey Cups, it'll be as loud - or louder - than Taylor Field. And that place was legendary for its sound.
3 - BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER: It was an up-and-down game, just like training camp itself. Most of the comments I've heard from the players was that they thought they played well - as a team and individually - and that includes quarterback Brandon Bridge. Frankly, Saturday night was the best I've ever seen him. He fearlessly stood in the pocket while it collapsed and still made throw after throw. He had by far the highest efficiency rating of the three Rider quarterbacks (111.2 compared to Bryan Bennett's 63.9 and Marquise Williams' 97.9).
Meanwhile Rider Coach and GM Chris Jones labelled Bennett as "shaky", and his play didn't resemble much at all of what we'd seen in Saskatoon. It really doesn't matter which group of 11 was on the field with him when he fumbled several times, (twice it was lost to the other team). It appeared on one of those plays that he double-clutched when his receiver was in the wrong place, and wound up losing the balls grasp. That's unfortunate, but it's also too bad that Bennett couldn't do enough good things to counter the bad things. We'll see how it affects him on cutdown day next weekend.
Meanwhile rookie Marquise Williams was one of the pleasant surprises of the entire training camp. He's been here the least amount of time of all pivots, but Chris Jones didn't hesitate at all to throw him out there with 0:51 remaining with the task of marching the field and saving the game.
When Williams got the offense down to the Winnipeg 30-yard line with 0:08 remaining, he was mobbed by his teammates and other quarterbacks on the sidelines for getting the job done.
Siiiiiiigh. What a great feeling that this team is clearly going in the right direction.
4 - EVERYWHERE ELSE: It's too bad that video of that game isn't available to dissect after the fact because it truly is a different game the second time around. But thumbs up to receiving leader Antwane Grant (3/63), rushing leader Cameron Marshall (4/31, 7.8 avg) and tackles leader Jonathon Newsome (4). The team also registered three sacks which is already a big leap ahead of last year at this time. By my records, the takedowns came from Newsome, A.C. Leonard and Davis Tull.
Who won the Line of Scrimmage battle? In this one, it was about even with each team recording three sacks and the Bombers counting 87 rushing yards to the Riders' 77.
The game was in no way relatable to the regular season because there were 141 players dressed and the teams used them all. But overall, I liked the way the Riders stacked up against the Blue Bombers man on man, and #1 Winnipeg quarterback Matt Nichols didn't look overly spectacular. (He had the third-highest efficiency rating of the four QBs they used).
5 - KEEP THE LIGHTS ON: It was another of those nights where we didn't want to leave the stadium once the game was over. In fact I was thrilled to know the game ended in a 25-25 draw at the conclusion of regulation time but in my excitement, I forgot there's no overtime in the preseason. Saturday night was only the second time in my 19 seasons that an exhibition game was tied after 60 minutes.
Oh well, it wasn't a big gaffe and there were plenty of mistakes to go around on the evening. That's what the exhibition season is for. I'm thankful to colour commentator Luc Mullinder for clarifying!
That's what makes live broadcasts fun.
6 - THE BROADCAST: Overall it was fine for the maiden voyage but it wasn't without its hiccups. Our broadcast feed dropped at least 20 times during our portion of the pregame show which was considerably unnerving when you're live on five radio stations across the province. It does make it difficult to concentrate on what you're supposed to be talking about.
Thankfully once the game kicked off, those issues were alleviated after some furious scrambling by our engineering deparment. The fact is you can test this equipment (and internet lines) a million times leading up to the game but it's never truly accurate until the place is full and you're live on air.
As far as Luc and my broadcast went, I thought he was verrrrrry good. He's already developed a real nice style and it's going to be a pleasure to work with him.
And about New Mosaic Stadium, it's an honour to set foot in there each and every time we do and an even bigger thrill to call a game in that plush environment.
I left the facility Saturday night feeling very grateful and fortunate to have this role.
7 - MORE ON THE STADIUM: One Rider fan informed me that the "Paid Parking" lot at Evraz Place was empty during the game and featured acres and acres of vacant parking spots as Rider Priders declined to pay $300 for the season.
That fan took a city bus to the game, and then cabbed it home in the second half. But wouldn't that cab ride be more than $30?
Call me crazy but I've paid $45US to park at Century Link Field in Seattle and $40US to park at Lakers and Cowboys games. To me, it's just part of the deal if you want the luxury of having your own car there.
So several of these parking spots are still available for purchase from the Riders? My guess is that after Saturday, they won't be around long now.
8 - STILL MORE ON THE STADIUM: You only open a stadium once so let's back at Saturday night from all angles. It was entertaining to sift through my friends' Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds on Sunday and read their reviews of the game and New Mosaic Stadium.
Among the complaints were: 1) Not being able to leave the stadium to get their jacket from their car, 2) $9 beers and 3) other expensive concession items.
Fortunately, I didn't see many complaints about bathroom lineups so that seems to have alleviated itself. The concession lineups are no longer than any other stadium on the planet so if you want to eat at the game, this is how it goes.
And regarding the cost of everything, that's what it's going to take to enjoy this beautiful new stadium!
That's why over the past couple of years I begged fans to enjoy the low cost of everything at Taylor Field because you got what you paid for.
The same goes here. You can't move into the most decadent facility in the Canadian Football League and expect to enjoy low rent prices.
For instance, I purchased two $30 tickets for Saturday's game but the Visa total was $97. "WHAT THE... ?"
That's the price of success but hopefully before long that sting will wear off and this team will be so good you won't mind paying for it.
MORE COMING,
RP
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