Mitchell Blair
Everyone in Saskatchewan have had their summer holiday and as kids across the province enjoy their last days before heading back to class, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are back at it hoping to get some positives started beginning Saturday night at home to the defending Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders in front of a sold-out Mosaic Stadium.
As the team returned to work following a week-long break, there was a lot of positive energy flowing which may be considered surprising to some considering the fortunes of the football team in 2015.
“I would have laughed at you if you told me what was going to happen up to this point, “receiver Weston Dressler said. “At the same time though, you know it is a possibility because there are crazy things that happen in the CFL and something every year does surprise you.”
While the Riders are still searching for that first win of the season, Dressler maintains the room is still very positive.
“There are good football players in that locker-room and for whatever reason we have not made that play we need to make at the end of the game to win.” Dressler stated. “It has been frustrating, but everyone in that room knows what we are capable of. Our locker-room has done a great job of staying together, and staying positive and knowing what needs to be worked on, but when you step outside the room, there is a real negative energy with the things being said about teammates, coaches and yourself so it was nice to get away from that. There’s a re-focused energy in the room as we get back, and while we are not where we want to be, we are looking forward to the challenge in front of us and we are more than ready to accept that challenge.”
Head Coach Corey Chamblin was happy with what he saw from his troops as they returned to work Tuesday, but he says you can’t hide what has happened and there will be a different look as the squad moves forward.
“There is going to be some change, but not a significant amount. “ Chamblin said. “Just like anything else, we will look at things we have done well and build on it and we will look at things we didn’t do well and change those things and move forward.”
Chamblin also feels his players are ready to put the past behind them and concentrate on the final 11 games to see what they can do and how they can respond.
I think they’re fresh and there is a lot of clarity in what is going on,’’ Chamblin declared. “There is a lot of energy and we had it before we left. There is a lot of mental clarity and not as much negativity. They were able to really see life and really see football as it is.”
Defensive back Terrell Maze agrees with what Chamblin says and feels everyone is ready to hopefully start making some noise.
“We know the difference between a bad team and a good team. We know we can play with any team in this league, and we also know we haven’t finished to get the “W”.” Maze said. “There’s a lot to be excited about and there’s a lot to be optimistic about. We still have a high expectation of ourselves moving forward because we know what we want to achieve. We know we have to be better and we know we have to be a little smarter in how we do some things. We know we can’t hurt ourselves with bad penalties and we have to be smarter in knowing that once we get ahead, not to give up that lead. If we start doing that, we will be the football team we know we can be.”
Whether or not the team can put the past behind them will start getting answered Saturday at 5 o’clock in a game that could catapult the squad into a much more positive spirit post break as a victory over the defending champs and their chief rival would do nothing but stoke a competitive fire which still burns brightly.
