Mitchell Blair
When the Saskatchewan Roughriders left the dressing room after a loss to the B.C. Lions to drop their record to 1-2, the team almost to a man said the bye week came at a great time because it was a time to look at themselves and see what had gone wrong in the opening three weeks of the season. After taking over a week off, the team returned to work on Tuesday afternoon and the message from Head Coach Corey Chamblin was clear.
“It’s a brand new season; last week was last week, last season was last season,” Chamblin said. ”It’s a brand new season.”
To start the “brand new season” off, Chamblin decided to close practice as the team returned to work to start getting ready for a Saturday contest against the Toronto Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium. Chamblin stated the move was just done as a chance for the team to do what they wanted to do without any eyes peering on them and that nothing more should be taken from the move. As the team did their thing without fans and reporters taking a look at what they were doing, Chamblin was happy with what he saw from his troops on the first day back.
“The guys were refreshed and focused,” Chamblin stated. “I saw a lot of attention to detail. I think some guys went home and recharged their batteries and came back with a new perspective. It’s just like coming back for a brand new season.”
While many players did take the time to go back home to visit friends and family, one player who stayed was quarterback Darian Durant. He says the time off was good and gave himself time to take a look at what had happened in the first three games.
“I took a look at what we have done so far this year and looked at the new guys we have and how they fit into what we are trying to do,” Durant said. “I looked at what each guy’s strength and weaknesses are and it gave me a good chance to see where we are. It was a study session for me and I think it did a lot of good. It also gave us a chance to sit back and watch the other teams in the West and I think it made us hungrier.”
Durant added that perhaps a chance to take a more intense look at the film and give him a chance to see what his new receivers can do. He says it was a case where perhaps some guys haven’t been used to their fullest.
“With camp being so short, I didn’t get a lot of chance to work with them, but now that we see what guys like Ryan Smith and Brett Swain can do, we can put them in positions where they can be and we can be successful.” Durant indicated. “I don’t think it’s a matter of confidence, it’s just a matter of working together and getting on the same page and staying positive.”
Staying positive is also something Chamblin is emphasizing and says when he looked at the film of the first three games, he found his team was maybe better than he thought.
“There were some things I saw that were good, “Chamblin said. “They just didn’t do them on a consistent basis. I think we have a good team, but we just have to be more consistent with what we are doing,”
Whether or not that consistency is there will be answered Saturday night when the Riders see the last of the Toronto Argonauts in the regular season even though it is just Week 5 of the season. The two teams will square off at Mosaic Stadium Saturday night in an 8 o’clock kickoff with the green and white looking to avenge a 48-15 drubbing that they absorbed at the hands of the Argos at Rogers Centre on July 26.
