Mitchell Blair
In the past, a late October game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Calgary Stampeders would be like a Taylor Swift song, but as the two Western Division rivals get ready to square off Saturday afternoon, there seems to be a lack of “Bad Blood.”
Perhaps it is the record of the two teams, but the hype surrounding one of the CFL’s top rivalries has somewhat disappeared with the Riders using all the cliches as they get ready for this one.
“I’m approaching it like any other game against a really good team, “quarterback Brett Smith said. “I’ve heard what it is like there, but that’s about it.”
In fact, Smith admits while he is out there to try and help his team to what would be an upset, his main focus is to get more experience under his belt and he continues to grow in the game’s most important position.
“There are a lot of parts rotating in and out, but I’ve been impressed with what I’ve been seeing. “ Smith said. “They haven’t been here for a long time, but what they are doing is impressive as they pick things up on the fly.”
With the Riders in a rebuild mode, it means several younger players will get some more experience under their belt as they look to make an impression that could pay dividends in 2016. Head Coach Bob Dyce says he is looking forward to seeing how many guys do including Canadian defensive back Matt Webster who will move to the corner.
“It’s a good opportunity to see Matt out there,” Dyce said. “If you look at our roster earlier in the year, we had all imports across the board, but we knew Matt could play out there and he was the first one off the bench to play at any spot asked of him. As we move forward, we have to see how some of our Canadians can play and evaluate what they can do which is exciting.”
For Webster, he is looking forward to getting out to the corner and getting some film of him out there that could be beneficial going into training camp next season. He admits it will be a challenge.
“It will be an adjustment because you are seeing the field from a different angle and not able to read the quarterback as well.” Webster said. “That team has a great offence and they have a lot of great weapons led by Bo Levi Mitchell, but we just have to do what we’ve wanted to do all year and that is get to the ball and try and disrupt their rhythm.”
While the team knows their fate regardless of what happens Saturday afternoon and in the season finale against Montreal on November 8, they know two more games need to be played and they want nothing more than to go out on a high after a season of lows. Receiver Weston Dressler says whether they are 2-14 or 14-2, the objective is the same.
“Even in the situation we are in, we have to do what we can to win the game.” Dressler said. “I’ve always played this game to win and do as much as you can as a team to come out victorious. The season hasn’t gone the way anyone thought it would, so a win would definitely make us feel better as we get to the end of the road. “
Game time Saturday afternoon is 1 o’clock with 620 CKRM’s game-day presentation starting at 10 AM with “Roughrider Gameday” followed by “Rider Nation Pregame” with Rod Pedersen at 12 o’clock which leads up to kickoff when he is joined by Carm Carteri. TV coverage will come from TSN.
GAME NOTES:
- The Riders have not had a lot of success in regular season play at MacMahon Stadium having not won there since 2009
- The Riders have used 79 players this season which is an all-time record
- With two games to go in the regular season, receivers Weston Dressler and Ryan Smith have a shot at a 1000 yard season. Dressler goes in with 799 yards while Smith has 796
- The Riders are 2nd in the league in first downs with 322 which is well behind the league leader from Edmonton at 365.
