Mitchell Blair
In what is a huge understatement, it hasn’t been a very good week for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. From a less than stellar performance in Winnipeg in which they were beaten by the Bombers for just their 2nd loss of the year, to losing middle linebacker Rey Williams for the season with a knee injury, to having some off-field problems with three players, the organization has been rocked. However, the football team is not letting a bad week stop their quest for a Grey Cup and they hope to show that Saturday when the defending Grey Cup champions come to town.
Quarterback Darian Durant will not deny its been a tough few days for his football team with all the negativity going on around them, but its time to get back to business as the Toronto Argonauts roll into town and do what they do best and that is play the game.
“That’s what its all about,” Durant told a throng of reporters on Friday. “Its all about what happens between these white lines. We are focused on getting a win and trying to get back on track. A lot of things have gone on since we last played, but we can’t let it be a distraction. Our goal is to win a Grey Cup. We know throughout the year there will be some things that knock you off course a little bit and gets you down, but that’s the same as life. It’s about bouncing back, learning from mistakes and being strong-minded. I think that’s what this team is.”
Its been a frustrating week for Head Coach Corey Chamblin as well, but he agrees that getting back on the football field and playing a game is the medicine this football team needs to put what has gone on behind them and get back to concentrating on their goal and their game.
“This is what we get paid to do, this is what we enjoy doing,” Chamblin said. “Come game time, we just have to play the game we know are capable of playing. We learn a lot of lessons when we win and when we lose. I know the guys will rebound from everything that has happened and we’ll be good to go.”
One group that learned some lessons from last week’s loss is the offensive line that was exposed by Winnipeg’s defense that got to Durant sacking him eight times while pressuring him on seemingly every play. Brendon LaBatte admits it wasn’t pleasant watching the film of that game, but he knows that his group can get back to playing the type of football they have played for most of this season even though there are some rotating parts this week since Ben Heenan won’t play with a leg injury.
“It was ugly watching that film, but that’s in the rear-view mirror,” LaBatte said. “It doesn’t matter that guys are in and out of the lineup and positions are changed. Patrick (Neufeld) is back out at his familiar spot and Devin (Tyler) is in a spot where he is comfortable so I’m not concerned about a repeat performance. We know the expectations and we know how each part of the o-line should work and block so I think we’ll regroup.”
The Argos will be without their two main weapons as quarterback Ricky Ray and receiver Chad Owens will miss the contest with injury. However, linebacker Craig Butler says they can’t be lured into a trap just because that pair will be missing.
“We know what we did wrong last weekend and its time to fix those mistakes and play the type of football we know we can play,” Butler said. “Every guy can look at a game after they lose and say they should have made this play or make this tackle or play that ball better and I think we’ve done that this week. Those guys don’t have Ray or Owens, but we still have to play our style and not let their replacements do what they want to do.”
Kickoff is 7:30 with a crowd of around 40-thousand expected. 620 CKRM will kick off the best and longest game-day coverage in the CFL at 5 p.m. with “Roughrider Gameday” and host Michael Ball. That program can also be seen live on www.riderville.com/riderslive That will be followed by the play-by-play with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri. TSN will provide television coverage with Gord Miller and Matt Dunigan on the call.
GAME NOTES:
- The Riders are one of three teams in the CFL going into the weekend who have not lost at home. The B.C Lions are 5-0 at home this year while Calgary and the Riders are both 4-0.
- The Riders go into the weekend leading the league in net offence with 3986 yards which averages out to just under 400 a game.
- Running back Kory Sheets leads the CFL in runs over 10 yards with 38
- Chris Getzlaf has not missed a game for the Riders since suiting up for the first time with the team in October of 2008. Tonight will be his 77th straight game.
