A video of the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ latest victory brought members of the CFL team down to earth this week.
Call it the director’s cut.
“In our first team meeting (after Sunday’s 40-27 win over the Calgary Stampeders), Coach (Chris) Jones had about 35 clips of all negative stuff that we did throughout the game,” defensive tackle Eddie Steele said. “Instantly, the whole mood this week was, ‘He really humbled us.’ ”
“It almost felt like we lost that game with the way we looked at the film,” added linebacker Sam Eguavoen. “There was so much that we had to change and so much that we did wrong. That really helped us this week. We’re taking things seriously and we’re ready for B.C.”
Saskatchewan (4-4-0) is to face the B.C. Lions (3-5-0) at BC Place on Saturday (8 p.m., CKRM, TSN). The Lions are 3-0-0 at home this season, while Saskatchewan is 1-2-0 on the road.
The Roughriders turned in perhaps their best all-around game of the season Sunday against the front-running Stampeders.
Saskatchewan’s offence moved the ball consistently against the Stampeders’ top-ranked defence, the D had Calgary quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell flummoxed for much of the first half, and the special teams limited Calgary’s return game.
The Roughriders’ defensive and special-teams units each contributed a touchdown to the cause as well, helping the hosts hand the Stampeders their first loss of the season.
But in Jones’ post-game comments to the media, he warned people not to suddenly believe his team was Grey Cup-bound simply because it had taken down the first-place Stampeders. He reiterated that to his players vocally and visually, via the video he showed them.
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We gave up four defensive touchdowns; when’s the last time that happened?” said Jones, whose team surrendered four scores to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offence on Sept. 9 of last season.
“We’ve got to do a great job of defending people (so that) it becomes a standard — not just win the game by two scores but there’s a standard that you’ve got to live by in all three phases. That’s the lesson that we learned on game day (against Calgary).”
Jones pointed out that Sunday’s contest was a two-score game as the Stampeders rallied. Had Saskatchewan not recorded the defensive and special-teams TDs, the contest could have been a nailbiter.
His cautionary message resonated with his players.
“We haven’t arrived yet,” Steele said. “It’s one game. We beat Calgary, yeah, but we left a lot of plays out on the field.
“It wasn’t by any means a perfect game and it was a reality check to see how many mistakes we made and how good of a game we still played. If we clean those mistakes up, we should be able to beat anybody in this league.”
“We’ve got great veteran leadership on this team,” Eguavoen added. “Nobody really got on their high horse (after the victory).”
That said, the Roughriders created a lot of momentum by downing Calgary. The hope is that Sunday’s triumph will get Saskatchewan on a roll as opposed to the rollercoaster it has been on this season; its longest winning streak to date comprises two games.
“The biggest thing is to recognize what our potential is and when we prepare the way that we should prepare, things have a way of falling into place and taking care of themselves come game day. That’s what we’ve got to continue to do.”
“You definitely gain confidence beating the best team in the league,” Steele said. “It’s reassuring knowing that the formula and the work that you’re putting in actually do work.
“At the same time, it’s one game. I’ve been on teams where we got too high on the highs and we got our butts spanked because of that. We’ve got to bring the preparation that we brought last week, which we have this week, and travel with that to B.C.”
The Roughriders’ preparation for Calgary obviously produced a victory, but it also generated a sense of confidence that Brendon LaBatte hopes will continue.
When he was reminded of Jones’ post-game comments preaching caution, the veteran guard said: “I don’t think the reins necessarily have to be pulled back.”
“It’s as good a feeling as we’ve had,” LaBatte continued, referring to the high derived from beating Calgary. “Before that game even started, it was the confidence and the belief system that everybody expected. We had a good week of practice and it showed on game day.
“The biggest thing is to recognize what our potential is and when we prepare the way that we should prepare, things have a way of falling into place and taking care of themselves come game day. That’s what we’ve got to continue to do.”
The West Division is starting to tighten up as the second half of the regular season approaches. The Stamps went into the week with a 7-1-0 record, the Edmonton Eskimos are 6-4-0 following Thursday’s loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Bombers are 5-4-0 entering Saturday’s game in Calgary, and the Roughriders and Lions are in the mix.
B.C. may be in fifth place, but Saskatchewan was tied with the Lions for fourth (and fifth, in reality) before knocking off the Stampeders.
“We’re definitely not good enough to be looking past anybody,” LaBatte said. “Last week, the score kind of flattered us at the end; it’s not as though we completely dominated them. We haven’t been able to do that to anybody.
“We’ve got to respect our opponent no matter who they are — and (the Lions) are a scrappy bunch. We’ve seen them down early in games and continue to fight in the second half. They’re an awful tough group at home and that’s a tough building to play in.”
