The Saskatchewan Roughriders are rolling with Mason Fine as their starting quarterback despite his Week 8 benching, but that doesn’t mean the team’s other signal caller won’t get their opportunity to shine.
Speaking to the Regina media on Wednesday, head coach Craig Dickenson revealed that backup Jake Dolegala could see meaningful minutes once again when the Ottawa Redblacks visit on Sunday — and he might not be alone.
“Possibly. They both know they’re gonna probably play and they both need to do well, and Shea (Patterson) knows we might use him as well,” the coach teased. “It’s a game you could see one quarterback for the whole 60 minutes or you could see all three.”
Fine is slated to make his third start of the season this week in place of injured veteran Trevor Harris, who suffered a tibial plateau fracture in Week 6. While the 26-year-old led a pair of scoring drives after coming off the bench in the fourth quarter of that loss to Calgary, the offence has yet to record a touchdown with him as the starter.
Facing the undefeated Toronto Argonauts in Halifax last week, Fine was given the hook in the game’s final frame after completing 27-of-39 passes for 302 yards and two interceptions. Dolegala came off the bench and provided the team with an instant spark, connecting on four-of-five passes for 100 yards and the team’s lone major.
Dickenson attempted to dismiss the seeds of a quarterback controversy after the game, attributing Fine’s benching to a desire to give Dolegala reps in a game that was already out of reach. That has done little to dissuade Rider Nation from passionately taking sides in a debate about the two passers.
“I try not to listen to it too much but I’m a human being. I read the news and I get messages from my buddies too,” Dickenson said. “Everybody’s got an opinion, I think it’s great, but we get paid to try to make the best decisions for our football team and there’s no sure thing but we feel like Mason’s the right guy and we feel like Jake’s ready to go if called upon.”
The coach’s insistence that all three of his team’s pivots could get reps going forward will do little to silence fan discussion on the topic. But despite his recent benching and the risk of future substitutions, Fine is taking a team-first approach when it comes to the quarterback carousel.
“You want to see your guys do well and your friends have success. Same thing happened last year when I had success when they put me in there early against Montreal and Cody (Fajardo) showed me the support that I needed,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“I knew how much that helped me moving forward so I want to do the same exact thing for Jake. Just give the team confidence and him confidence moving forward that you can go out there and play.”
For now, the third-year pro still has the public backing of his coach. While the results on the scoreboard have been disappointing, he has remained remarkably efficient since taking over, completing 73.9 percent of his passes for 708 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions this season.
“We watch the film and he made a lot of tough throws under duress and, for the most part, played a pretty sound game. Got the one pick late, but we were down in that game and he was pressing,” Dickenson said of his quarterback’s performance last week. “I feel good about Mason. I think he’s gonna get better this week and I think he’s earned the right to keep playing.”
Still, the North Texas product has yet to win a game heading into his fifth career start and has now gone two weeks without finding the endzone — albeit against the league’s two best defences. With Dolegala waiting in the wings, that will have to change against Ottawa’s more porous secondaries.
“It’s important for our team to score touchdowns, so I don’t care if it’s Mason, special teams, or defence. We need touchdowns to win,” Dickenson conceded. “It’s important for Mason to have a good game and lead us to touchdowns when we’re down there.”
The Riders (3-4) will host the Redblacks (3-4) on Sunday, August 6 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
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J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league's Global initiative.
