Arthur Ward, CFL.ca
REGINA – The Saskatchewan Roughriders are coming off of a week of rest after spending Week 5 on a bye, and they’ll look to get back onto the field with meeting back up with the same team they faced the week before their break – the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Saskatchewan has yet to find the success many were expecting of them in the early quarter of the season, only managing a 2-2 record. Sitting at .500 isn’t anything to be complaining about, it’s more so the personnel struggles that Riders’ Chris Jones has had to face early on.
Zach Collaros remains on the 6-game injury list after sustaining a head injury in their Week 2 game in Ottawa, which has left Jones’ juggling his options at quarterback with Brandon Bridge and David Watford.
Jones has also taken heat for insisting to have Duron Carter on the defensive side of the ball, filling in for injured Nick Marshall in the secondary.
RELATED:
» Buy Tickets: Roughriders at Tiger-Cats
» By The Numbers: How do the Riders and Ticats stack up
» Can the Riders re-discover their offence?
Riders’ GM/HC Chris Jones has his focus on ensuring the team get better each and every day with practice. (Arthur Ward, CFL.ca)
The Riders hit the field on Monday to kick-off their week of practice ahead of their Week 6 matchup against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“Well, the guys, they came out today with every intention of getting better,” Jones said to the media following practice. “It was very competitive. I think they got a lot out of our special teams and our [individual] periods.”
Saskatchewan goes up against a hot quarterback in Jeremiah Masoli on Thursday.
The performance of Masoli is nothing unknown to Saskatchewan, who faced the very same Ticats in Week 4 before having their bye week.
Although the Riders did win that game, Masoli still managed to tie a CFL record for most consecutive games throwing for 300 yards and is in position to take sole claim of the record on Thursday.
“That guy can sling the ball all over the field,” defensive end Tobi Antigha told Riderville.com’s Ian Hamilton. “He’s very confident in every throw that he makes.”
“You see it on film: He’s scrambling, scrambling and then he throws it. He has confidence that his receivers will be in the right spot to make the play for him. He moves around the pocket. He’s not really a guy who’ll scramble to run, but he’ll scramble to extend the play and ultimately take a shot down the field — and that’s always dangerous.”
Versatility is an intriguing quality to have in the Canadian Football League, and Chris Jones feels he has plenty of it, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Riders coach spent most of his time on Monday discussing the various players on his roster that enables him to move them around without adjusting his game plan.
Defensive players like Tobi Antigha, Jovon Johnson and yes, Duron Carter could all play key roles in the Riders schemes in icing Masoli at Tim Hortons Field on Thursday night.
“They’re averaging somewhere over 400 yards a game, so we’re not going to sit there and completely shut a team down,” Coach Jones told Riderville.com’s Ian Hamilton. “They’re going to make their plays and when they do, we’ve got to have a strong will and continue to come back and play the next play.”
It’s a game plan that’s leaning heavily on execution, with the Riders having little room for error against Masoli, who ranks second in the league in total passing yards. It’s also going to call on the leadership and veterans of the team to step up.
When talking about Jovon Johnson, Jones said, “he’s a player that’s been in the league for a long time. He brings a lot of leadership to the group. Guys know that he’s got a lot in his brain and I’ve told some of the young ones to be sure to use him as a reference.”
The 34-year old defensive back could be an important mind to pick at for the others in the Riders secondary unit, especially when in preparation for an offence that’s continued to roll with the punches in the Ticats.
Thursday’s matchup in what will be the second meeting of these two teams will be the perfect testament for the Riders after taking a win against the Tabbies at Mosaic Stadium, it’ll be a confidence boost to a struggling squad if they can do the same in front of the Ticats’ crowd at Tim Hortons Field.
With files from Riderville.com
