'Nonexistent' run game, 'inexcusable' kick return among criticisms from Wes Cates following Riders' first loss

Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Brady Oliveira (20) runs the football against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the second half of CFL football action in Regina, on Friday, June 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Heywood Yu

The Saskatchewan Roughriders were unexpectedly upbeat following their 45-27 defeat at the hands of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 16.

Although some mistakes ultimately proved fatal and cost the green and white the game, there were a few glimmers of hope in the Rider’s performance at Mosaic Stadium according to Wes Cates.

 

Brit Dort:

This game seemed to be a tale of two halves, in my opinion. How do you feel like the Riders stood up against the bombers in the first two-quarters of this game?

Wes Cates:

“It was an exciting one. I think we were all feeling pretty good going into that first half. The way the Riders came out, had a lot of intensity, they kind of were going back and forth, you know, scoring and keeping up with the, I guess not the defending champs, but definitely, the defending league leaders as far as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers go. So, I think it was it was a good first half but injuries and just not being able to get off the field for defense. It just seemed to wear the Riders down.”

Do you feel like the return from Janarion Grant was the turning point of this game?

“I think it was a big part of it. I think because the Riders were going back and forth with the Bombers that play was just such an odd play. I mean, it was really inexcusable for that many guys to miss tackles. But then for the whole flag, the mysterious flag to come out and then to have it all be overturned. Once you thought okay, we got a chance to kind of get back on the field and stop them. So I think it definitely took the wind out of the sails of the Riders and kind of everything just went downhill from there.”

Now if we evaluate these final two-quarters of the game, what do you feel like was the downfall of the team?

“Really, I think it was just a couple of little things. The special teams definitely didn't play a clean game, Lauther missed another one and you had the return, I think a couple of times when we got down in the red zone, we had to settle for field goals and when the Bombers got in the red zone, they scored touchdowns. It wasn't as much as they got outplayed, Winnipeg just made the plays to extend the score.”

Let's talk about the play of Sam Emilus. Three touchdowns on the night. What can you say about his performance?

“He's one of the best up-and-coming receivers in the league, I was really impressed. I thought last year he kind of got a bad rap everybody complained about, ‘why did we spend our first-round draft pick on this guy? He's not doing anything,’ but he just needed a good quarterback. He runs great routes, he’s faster than he looks, he’s smooth in and out of his routes. He made some great catches, that corner route that he dove for was amazing. He kind of came out of his route saw it was a little overthrown, sped up to it, got there and secured the catch. Let’s not forget Tevin Jones and Shawn Bane Jr. Tevin Jones is a guy that’s been on the roster for a year and has some change now. He came out and had nine catches and over 100 yards. So I mean it was definitely a good day for the passing offense. The run game not so much, but the passing offense was looking sharp, where Trevor Harris looks like a quarterback that can get us to the promised land, to the show.”

You mentioned Tevin Jones, Bane Jr., those are receivers that we're not typically expected to be kind of with the ones but we're dealing with injuries for the Riders right now with KSB out, you’ve got Brayden Lenius out, Derel Walker's going to be out. So it is kind of exciting to think about the fact that maybe all these guys could be healthy at some point. That was one of the things the Riders were saying after the game, they were actually upbeat following this loss because they felt like they haven't even come to reaching their full potential.

So we're going to talk about the whole game as a whole though, and I want you to grade them this week. How do you feel like this performance was for them?

“Well I thought offensively it took a bit of a step forward in the passing game, you’ve got the young guy, Emelius in there with three touchdowns, amazing. Run game, nonexistent. O-line, struggled a bit, definitely didn't open up any holes for the backs. Special teams, that kickoff return, is inexcusable. And then the defense just couldn't get off the field. So, I almost feel like it was a good showing as far as effort and I feel like the Riders know they can play toe to toe with Winnipeg but definitely didn't play a clean game. But at the end of the day, I’d have to give them, I'll say a C or a C-minus really because they just didn't play well in any phase for the whole game. Although we did see, you know, some big-time passing stats.”

Alright well, maybe next week they can improve when they take on the Stamps. Thank you for this one Wes.

“No problem.”

Cates played as a running back for the Riders from 2007 until 2011. In that time he recorded 46 touchdowns, over 4,700 yards rushing and 2,095 yards receiving. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Cates now calls Saskatchewan home.