WEEK 15 PRIMER: TRENCH WARFARE

By: Luc Mullinder

That snapping sound of the chinstrap being firmly secured to ones helmet is louder and sharper on some days and in some situations.

Professional athletes are programmed to focus on the game at hand, but sometimes there are battles that are circled on the calendar long before the process of preparing for those battles begins.

Practises are livelier; players may watch one or two more clips of film.  Some may even workout differently.  Either way, it’s not tension in the air; it’s excitement.

There are competitions where coaches wish they could be involved on the field as opposed to relying on their troops from the sidelines.  Even the volume and content in which they speak amongst the staff and players in the locker room would surprise any reporter that is used to the “in the scrum” version of that coach.

Some of you have heard the phrase, “Throw the stats and records out the window folks.”  Well this is one of those games where that phrase applies.  The 9-4 Saskatchewan Roughriders oppose the 11-2 Calgary Stampeders Friday night at 8:00 at Mosaic Stadium (TSN, CKRM).

Game plans won’t be that complicated this week … This is a “mirror check” game; meaning that everything you THINK you’re about when you look in the mirror in the morning, will be tested exponentially over the duration of the upcoming four quarters.

Calgary vs. Saskatchewan in week 15 of the 2014 Canadian Football League season is all about who can impose their physical will on their opponent.  #DropYourNuts #PutUpOrShutUp

Athletes love these types of games.

During “rivalry” games there aren’t any secrets to what the opponent will do, and it simply boils down to execution and intensity.  It’s about beating the man that lines up on the other side, every snap, and never getting down on yourself if the opponent wins a few reps; as long as you wins the last rep.

I know that some of you in Ridernation are in an absolute panic right now over the state of the franchise but I can promise you this; the players that get to throw the pads on versus the Stamps on Friday are probably chomping at the bit to get on the field and are preparing mentally and physically to win the game.

Realistically, it’s all anyone from the Riders’ side can do right now.  Focusing on anything that may foster doubt or concern pretty much sets the team up for failure.  There are plenty of variables that all of you are aware of that put the Green and White in a tough spot here. The focus needs to be firmly planted on what needs to be done, regardless of who’s playing where, etc.

As much as Saskatchewan has struggled, one can look at the past couple Stamps games and conclude that Calgary hasn’t done an amazing job in all phases of the game lately either.  The Stampeders have also been hit with the injury bug to crucial members of their team.  They too have been less than perfect offensively.  And this is what makes this game exciting…

When teams struggle offensively or as a whole, games often come down to establishing the line of scrimmage and getting back to grass roots physical football.  For both squads during Friday’s tilt, one can expect a war of attrition on the offensive and defensive fronts!

Defence:

Derek Walker, Trevor Guyton and Tearrius George

The interior linemen of the Calgary Offensive front (Bergman, Jones, and Craighead) are the best 3 guys that the Riders defensive linemen will see all year, in terms of doing what John Hufnagel and the running style he employs needs to get done.  All three players are young and physical, but they’re also well coached.

They don’t just look to position themselves into creating running room, they look to knock guys off the ball and have the technical abilities (like hand placement and leverage awareness) to match their strength.  What really sticks out on film is their athleticism.  Dave Dickenson uses all three youngsters to pull and search out defenders that can be found on the edges of formations, and they do so very quickly and efficiently.

This ability matched with Jon Cornish’s patient-straight ahead running style can be a nightmare for opposing defences.  It’s already hard for Cornish to be brought down; however it makes for a long night if Cornish, continually gets his first defender contact on the second level.

The three-man rotation of the Riders’ interior D-linemen will need to answer the bell assignment wise and physically in order to turn Calgary to their passing attack led by a sporadic Drew Tate.  All three have the ability to do so but the one thing that really needs to be done is staying disciplined while taking on blockers and ensuring that the urge to make a play doesn’t open up a run lane that Cornish may not have had otherwise.

When playing against a group that is just as capable of wearing one down physically as they are at creating big plays on the ground; the emphasis becomes gap integrity and discipline.  The Rider Defence is well aware of the intentions of the Calgary Stampeders.  It all starts on the ground.  Walker, Guyton and George will figure tremendously in the result on Friday.

Dealing with Jeff Fuller:

Fuller has been hurt for awhile but he is hands-down one of the biggest threats in the receiving core.  We spoke of him earlier in the season during the “guys to watch” article that was done for this blog.

If you’re looking for someone to compare him too, one may dig out some game tapes of Jamel Richardson during the ’09/’10 seasons.  He is a very smooth, physical receiver with great hands and attacks the ball with aggressiveness when it’s in the air.  As of late, the Green and White secondary has been inconsistent with receivers of this nature, and they need to figure out a way to keep Fuller from making big plays on longer passing downs.  The Stamps have other really efficient receivers like Nik Lewis and McDaniel, however Fuller possesses momentum changing play making ability that needs to be quelled.

Offense:

Levy Adcock

This guy was a great find by the front office.  Rod and I have been a fan of his since training camp, and he was definitely the deciding factor that made it easy to release journeyman import tackle Devin Tyler.

Adcock is another young lineman that has a shot at securing a spot on the field for years to come in the very near future.  His college resume speaks for itself, and the former Sooner is very good at some things that some vets still don’t have a handle on.

In pass pro, Levy keeps his head up and doesn’t get top heavy and lean too much on attackers, this prevents him from have balance issues and stops the opponent from using his leverage against him.  I really like the fact that he also lets the defender beat himself.  A few times during his last start, if a pass rusher wanted to run a huge circle in an effort to get to the QB, Adcock would facilitate his path and escort him to a depth that was past the QB level which in turn took him out of the play.  Some vets work tirelessly to stay with a high pass rusher and become leaners.

This makes them susceptible to comebacks and spin moves to the inside that they can’t recover from.  The young left tackle also exhibits a bit of an attitude which is great!  He works to finish his blocks and bury defenders which will come in handy in a physical game such as the one approaching on Friday.  We’ll get a chance to see how Adcock reacts in high pressure situations tomorrow; hopefully he continues to get better because the Riders need him and the rest of the Offensive Line to be a physical presence.

#NFA (a slogan used by the SK Olinemen):

Don’t know what it means, don’t care.  I am sure that its essence is rooted in something that is close to the unified heart of the Rider O-line.  As long as they use the NFA essence to push the pile and establish dominance, I’m ok with never finding out. #GetItDone

Seth Doege

There’s not much film on Doege that we can use to make a base assessment.  On the bright side, there was some film we could use to break down the ins and outs of Tino Sunseri, and nothing we really saw translated to any sort of consistency.  I will say this; Doege is a fiery guy.  In camp he was always huffing and puffing about guys not being in the right place at the right time etc, but that was all in an effort to compete.  Hopefully he can harness some of that competitiveness in a good way and make some things happen.

Doege has the same weapons that former #2 (Sunseri) had; and that in a nutshell is what will give him a chance to be successful.  Playing in the confines of Mosaic Stadium is another plus for the new starter and hopefully the big boys upfront can establish the line of scrimmage and give Doege some shorter 2nd down situations that call for the defence to play honest.  All is not lost with Seth getting the start, you never know what type of diamonds you have until you put them under the microscope.  #NextManUp

Anthony Allen

Every running back worth his salt wants to be the go-to guy.  The best players in any league want the ball in their hands during all crucial times of the year.  This is one of the opportunities that are now in front of the first year RB.  Allen has gotten better as the season has transpired, and now, with the Rider offense trying to get on some solid ground, and another QB in the fold; the running game has never been more important in Saskatchewan.

Ball security in physical games, such as the one pending, is at a premium.  One cannot commit unnecessary turnovers because during heated rivalry games every possession is like a bar of gold and there’s no way to tell if “this play” will be one that either catapults ruins a teams chances.  The first year Rider RB can also really help out his new QB by continuing to become a better blocker.

He has become a good blocking back, capable of picking up blitzing personnel, and the extra .10 of a second that he may buy Seth Doege could make a game deciding impact.  Jon Cornish is not the only running back that can potentially hit a team for a big play.  Anthony Allen needs to have a great showing in order for the Roughriders to be successful.  #YourTime

Calgary:

The team itself can be looked at historically as a bunch of frontrunners that don’t mind turning on each other at the first sign of adversity.  Loud and obnoxious; BUT GOOD!

Many of them know that this game gets them a step closer towards a playoff bye week.  A team that pulls no punches in their scheme.  They’ll look to physically pound an opponent into submission, and then kick them when they’re down (*see the 4th qtr of last BC game).  Their coach is one of the best, and his staff, in all three phases, is right there with him near the top.  The Stampeders fans are just as brash as the players themselves.  Hearing of intense situations between Rider fans and Calgary supporters is nothing surprising.

The Riders wouldn’t have it any other way.  One of my favourite quotes from the movie “Dark Knight Rises” is when Batman meets Bane for the very first time, right before he gets physically obliterated…

The physically imposing masked man Bane proclaims, “Let’s not stand on ceremony here … Mr. Wayne”

That will paint the scene for Friday better than any stat … These two teams will get thrown into a dark cold setting and go blow for blow with each other until someone comes out the more dominant entity.

Stats and records out the window!  That snap of the chinstrap is much different when Calgary is in town.

Cheers to the boys getting the job done!

#Properspective