Mitchell Blair
Not many in the Rider Nation will forget what it was like the last time the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Saskatchewan Roughriders walked off the field at Mosaic Stadium after playing a game. On that November night, the Riders took the 101st Grey Cup, but as the two teams get ready to start their 2014 season against one another in the same locale, the green and white will tell you it’s just the start of another season even though the remnants of that last game of 2013 may linger with some in the visiting dressing room.
Darian Durant and many others in the Riders dressing room who have been here for a while know what its like to stew over a Grey Cup loss and get that first opportunity in a new season to take out the team that beat them. In the 2010 season opener, the Riders welcomed Montreal to Mosaic after dropping the 2009 Grey Cup beating them in overtime 51-48. Durant knows it’s not hard to get fired up for an early game against the team that took the hardware from you so he says the focus must be there in Week 1.
“We have to match their intensity,” Durant stated. “They will be fired up because there is a group in there that feel we took that Cup from them. I know what it’s like and what they are feeling. Those of us in that room who were here last year know what to expect. We just need to take care of the football, not give up big plays and capitalize on the opportunities we are given, but we say that every week. The opponent may change, but the message doesn’t.”
Head Coach Corey Chamblin is ready for a new year and is ready to start answering the questions that many have about this team that while winning the Grey Cup lost many key players. Like any head coach should be, he is excited to see what his team can do as the lights come on.
“I’m happy with the roster we have, “Chamblin insisted. “Nothing is in stone at this point and it will be a work in progress, but I think we have added guys with talent and ability who can become stars in this league. It reminds me of 2012 when we brought in a lot of new guys who really came through in their second year.”
When he looks at the opposition this week, he thinks the Tiger-Cats could actually be stronger than the team they beat last November because of what they did during the off-season. “They had a high turnover rate last year, but they have added veterans in key places and they have guys who have CFL experience under their belt,” Chamblin said. “They have a new quarterback in there, but Zach Collaros is just a smaller Henry (Burris). He’s a good football player who knows how to run and throw the ball well as well as taking chances. Zach will make some mistakes, but that comes from inexperience. We have to be ready to face him.”
Tyron Brackenridge agrees with that assessment of the Hamilton quarterback who is in his first year with the Tiger-Cats after coming over as a free agent from Toronto. Collaros had a good opportunity to play last season after Ricky Ray went down and he had some impressive outings against the Riders. The Riders safety is aware of the damage he can cause.
“He’s a scrambler and he can make plays. “Brackenridge admitted. “He is the number one quarterback there for a reason. They wanted him and they got him. He may be in a new system with a new team, but he can win games and if we aren’t ready to go right off the bat, he will win a game tomorrow and that is what we don’t want him to do.”
Game time on Sunday afternoon is 5 o’clock with TSN providing TV coverage. 620 CKRM will start the best, longest and most comprehensive game-day package in the CFL at 230 when Michael Ball brings you “Roughrider Gameday”. That show will be streamed live on Riderville.com as Ball is joined by former Riders Luc Mullinder and Matt Dominguez at Pilsner Place. That will be followed by “Rider Nation pregame” with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri at 4 with the play-by-play and post game to follow.
GAME NOTES:
- Of the 46-man Active Roster for this week, only 26 played in the 2013 Grey Cup last year however 5 more were with the club in 2013 (31 total). The Riders have 15 players new to the club to start off 2014.
- While the Riders may have lost a lot in the off-season, they lead the CFL with 16 players starting in the same spot in 2014 that they had in 2013.
- While playing sparingly in the pre-season. Darian Durant showed he is ready for the 2014 season by completing 14 of 19 passes for 189 yards and three TD’s with no itnerceptions
- In the last 13 season openers, the Riders are 10-3
