The Big Question: What will the Saskatchewan Roughriders do about their kicking situation?
After watching Saskatchewan Roughriders kicker Brett Lauther miss three of five field goals plus a convert during a 28-23 CFL victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, there's an obvious question facing the team:
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Short answer: Nothing, Not right away. Lauther has earned the team's confidence.
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'We've been through this, so you guys are gonna know my stance on it,' Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said during his postgame media conference. 'That's Brett Lauther. If it looks like it did last year, then we should expect him to be banging these through for the remainder of the season.
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'He's his own biggest critic, but we gotta stay positive because we know he's going to get out there — and hopefully get outside — to kick footballs this week. Know what I'm saying? Hopefully the smoke will help.'
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The Roughriders had three practices to prepare for their Hamilton trip; all three were moved indoors to the Affinity Plex because of poor air quality caused by the smoke from northern Saskatchewan's wildfires. The Affinity Plex roof isn't high enough for kicking practices, nor does the facility have goalposts.
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If the smoke clears enough, the team will practise outdoors Tuesday and Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium before flying to Toronto for Friday's game against the reigning Grey Cup-champion Argonauts.
Before Saturday's victory in Hamilton, Lauther had made 23 straight field goals and missed only once since his last horrific performance. That came during a 27-24 loss to the Montreal Alouettes on Aug. 16, when he missed four of seven attempts, including a last-play, 48-yarder that would have tied the game. Lauther made 28 of his next 29 field goals, with the only miss coming from a next-to-impossible 60 yards on the last play of a 35-33 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sept. 1.
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During the second quarter in Hamilton, Lauther missed from 51 yards, failed to convert a touchdown that would have tied the game 7-7 and missed a 50-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. He made a 25-yarder in the third quarter and a 40-yarder in the fourth quarter before missing a last-minute attempt from 29 yards that would have put the Roughriders comfortably ahead 31-23. Saskatchewan's defence ultimately stopped Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell by forcing a third-down incompletion at midfield, clinching a 28-23 victory for the Roughriders.
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The Roughriders tested and discarded two new kickers during training camp, Brian Garrity and Dawson Hodge. There are no extra field-goal kickers on Saskatchewan's practice roster and it's important to note that last year, even during Lauther's struggles, the Roughriders didn't recruit anyone to challenge him.
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