The Saskatchewan Roughriders are halfway through their CFL season and there’s a lot to like about their play.
That can be hard to remember after watching them fitter away what looked like a sure win through three quarters last weekend, but it’s true. They’re 6-3 and on pace to finish with the exact same record that won them the West Division last season en route to a Grey Cup title.
Even with the latest hiccup, there’s far more good than bad. The numbers back that up.
Here are the five (mostly positive) stats that define Saskatchewan’s campaign so far.
20 and 13
These are the number of passing touchdowns the Riders have scored and allowed, respectively. They rank second and first in those two categories.
The Riders have been the class of the CFL when the ball’s been in the air, regardless of if they’re the ones throwing it.
Not surprisingly, Trevor Harris leads all quarterbacks with a 72.7 completion percentage. Oddly enough, however, the Riders defence is allowing opponents’ pass throwers to connect with their receivers 71.9 percent of the time – the worst mark in the league. They bend but at least they seldom break.
That fourth quarter in Hamilton last Saturday was a rarity on both sides of the ball.
28 and 20
These are the percentages of drives that end in touchdowns for the Riders and their opponents, respectively. The offensive category has them tied with Montreal for tops in the CFL, whereas the defensive stat is the best in the league.
That advantage of eight percentage points is slightly better than Montreal, which has a seven-percentage point edge, for first.
It’s no wonder the Riders are third with an average of 31.2 points scored on offence and first with an average of 25.4 opponents’ points allowed while on defence.
58.7
That’s the second-down conversion percentage for the Riders, 1.6 percentage points higher than Montreal for top spot. Saskatchewan is one of just four teams over the 50 percent mark.
That they’ve been able to move the chains so well is a testament to Harris and the passing game.
The Riders haven’t exactly been an outstanding running team. They’re sixth in average rushing yards per game, fourth in attempts, eighth in average gain, seventh in average gain on first down.
Missing A.J. Ouellette for five games this season and not having Quali Conley in Hamilton haven’t helped the cause there. At least the Riders have been able to punch the ball in from in close courtesy of backup quarterback Tommy Stevens’ league-leading 11 rushing touchdowns.
16
These are the number of big plays earned by opponents against the Riders, the fewest of any team in the league. Big plays are categorized as 20-yard rushes, 30-yard passes, 30-yard punt returns, 40-yard kickoff returns, or 30 yards off a missed field goal.
Weirdly, the Riders have kept rivals at bay while on defence despite not making many big plays of their own.
Saskatchewan has 18 quarterback sacks (fourth in the CFL), 25 pass knockdowns (last), 16 tackles for loss (fifth), three interceptions (tied for last), five forced fumbles (seventh), and five recovered fumbles (sixth). Their turnover ratio is only plus-2, good for fourth.
78.3
This is the field-goal percentage of Alex Hale, better than only Toronto’s duo of Brady Lidster and Lirim Hajrullahu among qualified kickers.
Hale has garnered a ton of criticism for his play in the first half of the season. The Riders got to the point where they signed Dawson Hodge two weeks ago and then considered having him booting the field goals last Saturday before deciding to stick with Hale.
The increased competition has suited Hale well so far. The CFL rookie has made all six of his attempts over the last two games, including a 4-for-4 effort in Hamilton. He connected on all three of his tries of 40 yards or more, too, important to note considering he was 1-for-5 on kicks of that length to that point.
Early kicking issues aside, special teams have been outstanding for the Riders. They have the top punt and second-best kickoff return averages in the league, to go along with the top punt and second-best kickoff return averages by opponents.
