Roughriders make it 3 in a row with win over Bombers

Thanks to a Saskatchewan Roughriders' win streak, the CFL's"Diversity is Strength"initiative will continue for at least another week.

You see the Roughriders' head coach, who normally refuses to wear anything other than black, was convinced three weeks ago by the league office (or told) to put on the league's diversity campaign t-shirt like everyone else on the sidelines.

Since Jones expanded his wardrobe, the Riders haven't lost.

The most recent, a 31-23 Labour Day weekend victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers wasa game that saw five lead changes.

If you are not the superstitious type, perhaps the calming influence of a veteran behind centre has been the difference the last few games.

Now that Zach Collaros has taken a firm grip on the Riders' quarterback spot, the team appears set in all positions.

Collaros has yet to stake a claim on the top tier of quarterbacks in this league I'm not even sure you can put him in the top two-thirds, but that veteran leadership in the huddle has the Riders on the right path.

"He sees a lot of things fast and can get the ball out of his hands," said receiver Naaman Roosevelt after his personal best game of the year with 7 catches for 86 yards.

"Every time we run out there to the huddle he's talking, he's communicating with us, telling us what he sees out there."

Collaros completed 18 of 30 for 250 yards, engineering two touchdown drives in the second half.

Nothing flashy but enough to get the win, the Riders sixthof the season against four losses.

Perhaps the most important characteristic of the Riders' starting QB:the players have confidence in him.

"He's one of those guys, he's easy to like," said head coach Chris Jones, the man who made the risky decision to bring in one of the most expensive players in the league.

"He comes to work everyday, he's blue collar, he doesn't do any of this rah rah stuff.It's easy to follow him."

Collaros also says the right things in front of reporters who record everything that comes out of his mouth.

He was asked what has been the difference since their loss in Edmonton a month ago, Collaros' first game back from a concussion.

"We're six and four," said Collaros who is personally responsible for four of those victories with only two losses.

"Guys believe we have the right recipe to win here."

The ingredients sound tasty for Riders' fans, but proof will be in the pudding.

If it's not Collaros' doing, how about a heavy dose of so-called "dynamic players," a descriptionJones has used a lot this year.

Such adynamic player is Kyran Moore.

The 21-year-old receiver, in just his second game as a pro, returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown.

There was also veteran Marcus Thigpen whose timely run in the third quarter opened up the offence, eventually leading to a touchdown pass to Thigpen in the fourth.

How about Nick Marshall who plays full-time on the defensive corner but he scored two majors for the offence as their short-yardage quarterback.

The trouble with newcomers issometimes their moments of brilliance overshadow their rookie mistakes.

Of which there were more than a few on Sunday.

"Yeah, dumb penalties," said Jones."I thought we were past all that by now. It's unfortunate we let that creep into a tight game."

The defence will always be the Riders' bread and butter as long as Chris Jones is here.

Jones is a good head coach but a great defensive coordinator who didn't like what he saw Sunday.

"Fortunate to have gotten the win, probably played our worst defence in quite some time."

But you can blame Andrew Harris for that.

The Bombers' MOP type running back ran for 158 yards against the Riders.

But still Saskatchewan wonand that's what good teams do despite not playing to their potential,or least to Chris Jones level of standards, 10games into the season.

For those who are keeping track, that is now 12wins in 13years for the Riders over the Bombers in Labour Day Classic.

It gets much harder this Saturday when the two teams do it again in the Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg.