Britton Gray: Will Mason Fine be given the time to learn?

Opinion

As a young quarterback making just his third CFL start for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Mason Fine deserves some patience to work through the growing pains that will inevitably be there.

Unfortunately, patience is a resource that often runs thin in Saskatchewan.

His first two starts this season come against two of the top teams in the CFL – the West Division-leading Lions in B.C. before going across the country to Halifax to take on the currently undefeated Toronto Argonauts in Touchdown Atlantic.

Fine will need to find his game quickly against the premier teams in the league, but mistakes will happen and victory is anything but assured.

Can head coach Craig Dickenson and general manager Jeremy O’Day afford to allow this team to slip for an extended period of time with both of them in the final years of their contracts? After seeing Fine in the final two regular-season games last season – both losses to the Calgary Stampeders – the football braintrust decided to place their faith in 37-year-old veteran Trevor Harris instead of hand the keys over to the younger quarterback.

That plan went awry when a knee injury put Harris on the injury list for the long term.

Always-fickle Riders fans also are growing restless as the team has floundered the past couple of seasons.

The fan base is growing restless with it now being a decade since the team not only hoisted the Grey Cup but appeared in the championship game. The success of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers has only led to more cries for the Roughriders to find a way to once again defeat their hated rivals.

What also works against Fine is that a number of fans don’t consider him the best option to replace Harris on the current team.

When asked on The Green Zone if the team would be fine with Fine, his supporters called to give the former University of North Texas Mean Green quarterback a chance.

But there were also a number of supporters of Jake Dolegala – a 6-foot-7 quarterback who has wowed people with his strong arm but from whom we have seen even less game action. His only start came last season when the team was dealing with a bout of COVID that knocked out many of the starters.

Even short-yardage quarterback Shea Patterson was the choice of a few to replace Harris, with many pointing to his time as the University of Michigan Wolverines starter as proof that he has what it takes to succeed on a big stage. This comes despite the fact he has only attempted two CFL passes.

So while it will be inevitable that Fine will make some mistakes early as a young starter, whether or not he will be given time to learn from them is yet to be seen.