Mitchell Blair
After a great start to the season in which the CFL was buzzing about their 8-1 start, the Saskatchewan Roughriders found the second half of the season to be a lot tougher as they limped to the finish line winning three of their last nine games to finish 11-7. The optimist will say the football team is in fine shape having won 11 games in the regular season as they get ready to prepare for Sunday’s Western semi-final against the B.C Lions while the pessimist will say the poor second half is a precursor to a short playoff run. When GM Brendan Taman looks back at the recently completed regular season, he believes it’s a situation where the football gods evened things out for his team.
“When I take a look at the season, there were a couple of games we could have lost when we were 8-1, and there were a couple of games we could have won when we were 3-6 so it all balances out in the long run,” Taman told reporters Tuesday. “We won 11 games and that puts us in a position to host a playoff game so that’s where we are. One of our goals was to host a playoff game and we have achieved that.”
While Taman is not concerned with the way the team finished the regular season, he will admit he is a little concerned about the status about one of his key players leading into Sunday’s game. Chris Getzlaf suffered a sprained knee in the teams second to last game against Calgary when he was submarined by Stampeders safety Eric Fraser. Taman says the Regina born receiver is a question mark for Sunday, but he adds they can’t pin their fortunes on the health of one player.
“We’ve made some alterations if he can’t play, but we are hoping he can go.” Taman said. “If he can’t go it will be a big blow to us because he has had a great year, but good teams have to rebound from injury. If one injury is going to cause you to lose, then you’re not a very good team. We have to overcome the loss if we don’t have him.”
As Taman looks ahead to Sunday’s game, he believes his head coach may be more ready for the playoff trail in his second year than what he was last year.
“I think going through what we did last year helps and helps a lot,” Taman confessed. “He knows his routine and what he wants to carry over from last year and what he doesn’t. I’m sure he will have a couple of new wrinkles, but I think being through this one time before will help.”
As for how Chamblin approaches the playoffs, he says it is different from year one.
“I have gone through this once before, but it’s a lot different this time than it was last year,” Chamblin said. “We are playing a different team this year and we are at home this year instead of on the road so I’m looking at things through a home standpoint.”
As Chamblin prepares for the Lions, he isn’t sure who will be under center for them as Travis Lulay appears ready to once again grab the starting quarterback’s reign after missing the last several weeks with a shoulder injury. There has been no indication from Vancouver as to who the starting quarterback will be on Saturday and for Chamblin it doesn’t matter.
“When I look at their guys, all three are the same, but Travis is probably the most accurate and is likely the best fit for their system because he has been there the longest.” Chamblin stated. “It doesn’t matter to us who gets the start.”
As Chamblin looks at everything, he says in the end, it doesn’t matter what the two clubs have done to get here, it matters what they do when the game gets going.
“Come playoff time, its two teams looking to win a game and move on,” Chamblin said. “What you have done in the past doesn’t really matter. A lot of variables do come into play, but at the end of the day, if you come out with the right focus and the right energy and you execute properly on both sides of the ball, you will move on.”
The winner of Sunday’s game will move on to Calgary with the winner coming back to Mosaic for the 101st Grey Cup. Kickoff is 3:30. Tickets are still available so visit www.riderville.com or call the ticket office at (306) 566-4242 or toll free at 1-888-4-RIDERS
