Quite obviously, it鈥檚 a disaster.
With their season on life support, the Saskatchewan Roughriders came up with one of the most uninspired efforts in years Sunday in Ottawa, which ultimately led to an embarrassing 35-13 defeat.
The Riders鈥� record dropped to 0-9 and virtually any hope that the season can be saved was lost.
Why?聽Because no indication was given this trainwreck of a season is anywhere close to being turned around.
The Riders won the coin toss at the outset of Sunday鈥檚 game but deferred to the second half which gave Ottawa the ball.聽They promptly moved 82 yards in just five plays for a 7-0 lead before rookie聽Rider quarterback Brett Smith even got a chance to touch the ball.
You鈥檒l hear a lot about Brett Smith coming up.
After a prompt two-and-out by the Rider offense in their opening series (which included the first of 10 RedBlacks sacks on the day), Ottawa then put together a 78-yard drive which culminated in another touchdown.聽 14-0 Ottawa before the game was eight minutes old.
Ready to play on defense?
Hardly.
But the game turned in the second quarter.聽 The Riders got on the board with rookie Naaman Roosevelt鈥檚 first career touchdown, a nine-yard pass from Brett Smith, 2:36 into the second quarter.聽 14-10 RedBlacks.
However seven minutes later an ill-advised Smith pass was intercepted in the Ottawa endzone.
He was given the hook.
That鈥檚 okay, we thought. Back-up Tino Sunseri would get a look for a couple of series and then Smith would be back in there.
That, apparently, was the plan initially.
Sunseri鈥檚 first drive seemed successful enough until Rider kicker Paul McCallum clanked the upright on a 35-yard attempt late in the half.
The teams went into the break with Ottawa still up 14-10.
Surely we鈥檇 see Brett Smith, the rookie gunslinger from Wyoming who鈥檚 gaining more and more Rider fans with every snap, in the second half, right?
Wrong.
Saskatchewan had six possessions in the second half and Sunseri quarterbacked them all.聽As the Riders fumbled the ball away time and again, as offensive linemen went down like flies and the Ottawa sacks mounted, it turned into an incredibly wretched display.
All the while, Smith stood stoically on the Rider sidelines while clutching his helmet.
Definition of the word stoic: a person who accepts what happens without complaining or showing emotion.
We were assured in the broadcast booth that Smith was indeed not injured.
So why wouldn鈥檛 he come back into the game?聽 Obviously he represented the Riders鈥� best chance to win, no?
鈥淭here was a thought to putting him back in but things transpired that made it a moot point so we stuck with Tino,鈥� Riders coach Corey Chamblin told 620 CKRM after the game.聽鈥淚'll leave it at that. It started temporary but ended up being longer than that.鈥�
When asked again hours after the game, the Roughriders refused to reveal what 鈥渢ranspired鈥� with Smith on the sidelines.
That鈥檚 fine.聽That opens the door for us to speculate.
And my guess is Smith told off whoever made the decision to yank him from the game.聽Could it have been offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine or Chamblin himself? At this point, it doesn鈥檛 matter.
And, if true, how could you blame Smith? His defensive teammates were missing tackles left and right and early on gave the Riders no chance to win.
And Smith throws one interception and gets pulled?
It would seem inexplicable, but then again no one can explain what鈥檚 gone so horribly wrong week-in and week-out in the worst Roughrider season in nearly 40 years.
鈥淭here was some good things in all phases but as a team we lost,鈥� Chamblin shrugged afterwards.聽 鈥淣ot enough guys rose to the occasion to win this game.鈥�
How many guys rising to the occasion is it going to take to win a game?聽You can鈥檛 fire 44 players but you can fire one coach and Chamblin was asked afterwards if he expects to be directing this football club in next week鈥檚 Labour Day Classic against Winnipeg Sunday at Mosaic Stadium.
鈥淓very week I come into this whether we're 8-2 or 0-9, the decision is never mine,鈥� Chamblin said incredibly calmly.聽鈥淚 still come to work and do what I need to do.聽The decision doesn't lie in my hands.鈥�
Your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not he鈥檚 on the聽sidelines come Sunday.
