Mitchell Blair
Going into Saturday’s game against the Montreal Alouettes, the Saskatchewan Roughriders lead the CFL in rushing yards per game, averaging just less than 136 yards. While the team has used a plethora of running backs in the first third of the season, the one constant has been an offensive line.
The group has been dominant this season, but offensive line coach Doug Malone is making sure they don’t rest on their laurels.
“I keep telling them they’re not as good as they think they are,” Malone said with a laugh. “We watch film and they can see mistakes are being made. It’s a cliché, but we say we want to get better with each day. We sit down in meetings and go around the table asking them what one thing they’ll focus on to get better each day.”
When Malone looks at the starting five and the backups they have, he says the one thing that makes them so good is preparation.
“They work hard to prepare every week.” Malone said. “That’s one of the best things is that they work hard both on the field and off of it. One example is a short week last week against Winnipeg where they knew they would see a lot of crazy fronts, but they worked hard to recognize those fronts and realize what was going to happen and when it was going to happen. Without that preparation, the team wouldn’t be as successful.”
The leader of that offensive line is Brendon LaBatte. The CFL’s outstanding lineman in 2013 has had another banner start to the season. He says the line is having a lot of fun right now doing what they do best.
“It’s great coming to work each day and trying to get better at your craft,” LaBatte said. “When you get the results that you crave on game day, it validates what you are doing.”
What LaBatte and company are doing is making life difficult for opposing defences by opening up some big holes for Rider running backs to roll through.
“Coach (George) Cortez does a great job in putting us in great situations. He knows what our strengths are and he calls the game plan accordingly.” LaBatte said. “ When you first come out, you might not get the movement that you want to from those other guys, but we just keep establishing ourselves and see them wear down. You can feel it when you string together a couple of good runs.”
While LaBatte is the leader of the group, Ben Heenan is a guy who looks to be the leader of that line in a few years’ time. Heenan is just beginning his 3rd year with the Green-and-white and he has not disappointed since being taken first overall in the 2012 CFL draft. He’s very happy with the way things have gone, but he is also realistic to know why things are going the way they are.
“We just stay focused, but we also stay accountable for our performance,” Heenan stated. “We pride ourselves in that. No matter how we are playing good or bad, we expect ourselves to pick one another up and raise our level.”
Heenan adds the continuity factor is great as he has played alongside Chris Best, Dominic Picard, Xavier Fulton and LaBatte since joining the organization.
“It’s great because we know where the other guys are going to be, but it also says a lot when Dan Clark and Corey Watman can see some significant time because of injury and make what is a seamless transition.” Heenan said. ”To see those guys succeed really made me happy because they put in all the work we do and they had a chance to reap the rewards by playing well.”
Last season, Kory Sheets made sure his o-line wasn’t going hungry by buying them lunch after 100 yard efforts. While there have been three running backs to break the 100 yard plateau this year, LaBatte says they haven’t received any rewards. He says the reward he wants for running backs going for over 100 yards will hopefully come at the end of the year.
“It’s appreciated, but it’s not expected.” LaBatte said. “When they have success, we have success. The bottom line is winning and we’re in a good spot right now. We are only a third of the way through the season and we have a long ways to go. We know what we want at the end of the year and if we can keep improving and help the run game as well as keeping Darian clean, we are confident we can be where we want to.”
