Turn Out the Lights; The Party is Over... Column by Bob Hughes

Ah, yes, more of the same.
In a baking hot Taylor Field on that day in September, it took the stinging words of a B.C. Lions player named Aaron Hunt to bring it all home, to wipe away the makeup and the costume and the makeover. Said the large Lions’ tackle, in words that hurt, perhaps because they seemed so true:

“They are who we thought they were.”

He shouted them at a sideline announcer and they came as the final wrap was being put on the 42-5 humiliation the Lions had given the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

This was a must win game for both teams as they came into it fighting for their playoff lives. How was it, then, that the message never got through to the Roughriders. How could it be such a pathetic performance was inflicted on 30,000 Rider fans when the coach they were said unwilling to play for was long gone and the coach they said they would go through a wall for was still there?

Go figure. So, maybe it was not the fault of Greg Marshall, who got fired, or Doug Berry, who got fired. If Roughrider logic persists in this argument, then it had to be Ken Miller’s fault because, after all, he is the head coach, and he is the one who decided Marshall and Berry were not doing the job. And, his decision-making processes are now being held up to the day’s bright light. Was it the right thing to hang everything on Marshall and Berry when the same thing, if not worse, happened to Miller on Saturday? Like, how do you lose the biggest game of the season thus far by 37 points at home? And, you could go on and on about coaching decisions that weren’t made during the game. For starters, why was Darian Durant still at quarterback when the second half started?

And, after the loss, there were the usual vague answers and excuses coming from the Roughriders. Obviously, they don’t have the people who are capable of finding the answers because this downslide didn’t start this year. It started firstly with the departure of Kent Austin and secondly with the departure of Eric Tillman.

The Riders have been mostly living off what Austin and Tillman left them. And, they have yet to replace either Austin or Tillman’s records of accomplishment. They have lost two Grey Cup games that can be directly attributed to coaching that wasn’t up to par. “They are who we thought they were.”

The words chime with a startling clarity.

They are who they have become. Like they say, it is what it is. They lack the talent and they lack the direction and most of all they lack the overwhelming commitment it takes to win a championship. When Kent Austin took over as head coach, he told the players in the very first meeting what was expected of them and what the consequences would be if they failed to measure up. You get the feeling that Ken Miller simply walks into the dressing room every day, draws Good Morning Riders, and cuddles them.

At the very best, the Roughriders are huge long shots to catch a playoff spot in either the West or East, so deep is the hole they have dug. And the scary part if, they make not have reached bottom.

They had so much going for them. And, now, they have so much against them. It is not pretty. It is sad. And, it is not going to fix itself.

“They are who we thought they were.”

Contact Bob at bobhughes@sasktel.net

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