The booing inside Mosaic Stadium Saturday night was incredibly loud.
Usually, the Saskatchewan Roughriders fans boo the CFL team’s opponents. But they weren’t booing Bo Levi Mitchell or Dave Dickenson or Micah Johnson or any of the visiting Calgary Stampeders. They were booing the Roughriders’ offence, under the direction of co-ordinator Stephen McAdoo and head coach Chris Jones.
Saskatchewan’s offence was horrible. Again. Running backs Jerome Messam and Marcus Thigpen fumbled away the football, allowing Calgary to forge into a 24-0, first-quarter lead. As quarterback Brandon Bridge kept missing targets and was hamstrung by McAdoo’s wimpy play-calling, which never allowed any downfield passes, the fans kept getting angrier. It got to the point where the sold-out crowd was jeering McAdoo’s play calls, particularly a late-game running play from deep in Saskatchewan’s end while the Roughriders were losing 34-22.
Heading into a game Thursday against the hometown Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan has a 3-3 record and its offence has scored six touchdowns in six games. Saskatchewan’s defence has scored four touchdowns in six games. Rider fans aren’t booing their defence.