Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Corey Mace took the blame for a hurry-up call on third-and-two in the Roughriders' 37-31 loss to the Calgary Stampeders on Friday at Mosaic Stadium. Mace said the fourth quarter was a tough one for his team.
Asked why quarterback Tommy Stevens was not on the field for the play, Mace said the call was his. Running back A.J. Ouellette lined up under centre instead.
"We tried to go hurry up in that situation. We did it with the package with AJ out there to go up under center. Just was bad execution. And that was my call too. So probably would have been better to put Tommy out there to do it. Like we've done that in the past. But we was just trying to get him the jump, knowing we'd take the penalty anyway, but definitely could have presented it better. So that's on me."
Three Straight Two-Point Tries Fail
Saskatchewan scored three touchdowns in the final three minutes and went for a two-point convert after each one. All three failed. Mace said point differential against Calgary was on his mind.
"Yeah, no, 100%. I was thinking about it the whole time, just trying to get that first one. And it gives us a little bit of options as we go down, if we can get in position to score the other touchdowns. But we need to get it down to a certain score. I was just trying to get it as close as possible."
Defence Couldn't Get Off the Field
Mace said his defence could not get Calgary off the field in the second half. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 22 of 29 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns and ran twice for 21 yards.
"I felt in the 2nd half, specifically the 4th quarter, we couldn't get off the field. It had them in 2nd and long situations, whether that was a couple of times VA took off and scrambled for the first or they run hitch or curl at the sticks. And we're getting to a situation where it's either 3rd and 1 or they're converting first down. It's just disappointing. Obviously they know the situation of it. We just failed to execute. 4th quarter was tough one for us, I thought, as a team."
Mace also pointed to a sequence late in the third quarter, when a pass interference call on a Trevor Harris completion to KeeSean Johnson was picked up after a challenge by Calgary head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson. Mace said penalties and a turnover followed. Calgary led 20-13 at the time, and Dickenson won two challenges in the game. "Felt pretty good coming out of half, only down 7 and getting the ball back, have an opportunity to go down there. I thought truthfully, I thought our offense was doing a pretty dang good job," Mace said. "And then we kind of stalled out, obviously a couple of missed opportunities for us to put points on the board."
Three Straight Losses
The loss is Saskatchewan's third in a row, after defeats at Winnipeg and BC. The Roughriders are 8-7. Mace said the team has to find an edge it has not shown in recent high-stakes games.
"We have had 3 games here these last 3 games that we've had versus opponents where there was a lot at stake. We haven't really developed that killer instinct for ourselves to go ahead and put our foot down, so to speak."
Mace said the schedule ahead gives his team a chance to turn things around. "We got 2 teams, 3 games, very good opponents. One of which we haven't played, another team that we beat before. This is an opportunity for us to find the fixes first as a coaching staff, then as players, and attack these 3 weeks to build momentum."
KeeSean Johnson Injury Update
Mace was asked about receiver KeeSean Johnson, who went down in the third quarter. Mace said he had not spoken with team doctors but checked in with Johnson on the sideline.
"Didn't talk to the docs, but talked to Key on the sideline a little bit. Didn't seem like it was anything crazy. But until I talk with the docs here after this, I'll get a little bit more. Hopefully nothing long-term, obviously."
Montreal Next
Saskatchewan next plays the Montreal Alouettes on Monday, October 12 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, 10 days after Friday's game. Mace said the break will be used for self-evaluation as much as preparation.
"Certainly we could take the rest. I know there's a few guys that could use it, but as coaches, it gives us a little bit more time to dive deep into ourselves first and look intrinsically, while also preparing for our opponent in Montreal. We have an extended period of time, I think about 10 days in between before the next game, so we'll be able to steal some extra practice time potentially there, or some walkthroughs, to put our plans together."
Mace said he still believes in his locker room. "I know those guys in there. I know what we're capable of. ... This is the first time now we've gone on a 3-game slide. We've had 2 before and come back. You're just looking for that vote of confidence and just reassuring that we are who we are. We got to find that, and then we're going to have to go out to Montreal to get that sorted for ourselves."