Mitchell Blair
The man who has been the main focus of Riderville over the past week is ready to put the past week behind him and concentrate on doing what he does best as the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet in the annual Labour Day Classic Sunday afternoon.
“It will be good to play football again after what’s gone in my life over the last five days,” Weston Dressler said as he prepares to resume his CFL football career after a failed tryout with the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. “Just to get back into playing a game and get all that other stuff out of my head and play will be nice. Its been a while since I played in a game so hopefully I get some opportunities to make some playsand help our team get to a win.”
Dressler says he does remember a lot of George Cortez’s playbook even though there is a lot of change to it, but as he prepares to pull that number 7 sweater over his head and re-join his mates in the huddle, he says it was imperative to hang around his quarterback and learn in what was a short week of preparation for him.
“I’ve been doing a lot at night and then bringing my questions back to practice and talk to Darian and George (offensive co-ordinator George Cortez) as I get comfortable with everything again. The terminology isn’t a problem, but it takes a while for me to remember what the play was and what the small details are to make a good play, a great play, but its coming and I’m confident I’ll be alright when my number is called.”
The addition of Dressler strengthens a Saskatchewan team that goes into Sunday’s game against the Bombers riding a five game win streak and makes an offence that has had some problems in moving the football and getting the ball into the endzone an added weapon.
Slotback Chris Getzlaf says Dressler certainly improves what they do on offence, but he adds its not just his team’s offence that is having difficulty getting into the endzone as defences are dictating the play across the CFL right now. He says that means like most weeks, you will have to capitalize on every chance you are given to be successful.
“The trend this season is defences taking over. As an offence, its up for step us and make some plays. Our defence has won some games and scored some touchdowns for us, but that’s happening across the league. “ Getzlaf said. “I don’t know why they are shutting down drives, but its up to us to find out what Winnipeg is doing and counter it. Its not what they are doing, its what we are doing and hopefully this is a day where we break out.”
Being a Regina guy, Getzlaf knows the euphoria that surrounds the annual Labour Day game against the Bombers. Growing up, he watched many of these games from the stands and feels it is the atmosphere in the stadium that makes this the game to be at during the course of a season.
“This is the game in my mind, “Getzlaf claimed. “Its sold out, the crowd will be pumped, Winnipeg is a rival and even moreso now because they are a divisional rival and the energy in here is tremendous. The place may have more energy in here for this game than it does for a playoff game. This game was a lot of fun to watch and it’s a lot of fun to be in.”
The Riders have owned this game over the last decade winning their last 9. That is just a number to Head Coach Corey Chamblin though. He is fully aware of what the Bombers bring to the table and says they are definitely better than some squads that have rolled in in previous years.
“It’s a little different feel this year, because Winnipeg has been struggling in recent years when they have come in here. “Chamblin told reporters. “They are more stable now thanks to Mike (Bombers coach Mike O’Shea) and different things like that. They don’t have as much turnover as they have had and their front office has done a great job in stabilizing the organization. We expect them to give us a good, solid battle and we know they will.”
Game time at a sold out Mosaic Stadium is 2 o’clock. 620 CKRM, your official voice of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, will begin its pre-game coverage at 1130 when Michael Ball brings you “Roughrider Gameday”. The show will once again be streamed live on Riderville.com from Pilsner Place. Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri will then take over giving you all the information you need to know before kickoff on “Rider Nation Pre-Game” at 1 followed by the play-by-play. Chris Cuthbert, Glen Suitor and Lee Jones will have the television broadcast on TSN and ESPN3 for American viewers.
GAME NOTES:
- Rider quarterbacks have gone 123 pass attempts without throwing an interception
- Chris Getzlaf is 29 yards away from reaching 5,000 career receiving yards
- In the past three Labour Day Classics, the Riders have outscored the Bombers 127-32. That includes a 52-0 whitewash in 2012
- Tyron Brackenridge, Brian Peters and Sam Hurl go into the game for the Riders leading the team in tackles. All three have 29.
