CHAMBLIN THURSDAY COMMENTS

The Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-1) concluded their practice week on Thursday as they prepare for Saturday’s visit from the BC Lions (0-2) at Mosaic Stadium (7:30 pm, TSN, CKRM Rider Radio Network).  Here are the post-practice comments from Rider head coach Corey Chamblin:

ON SATURDAY’S GAME

CC:  I expect a lot more fire.  There should be a lot more fire from those guys and that’s what we talked about; you’ve got to have it not just coming out of the gate, but we gotta have it for a full four quarters

ON DEFENSIVE CHANGES THIS WEEK

CC:  It’s always evaluation because as far as sending messages goes, I pretty much meet with all these guys one-on-one as much as I can so there’s nothing that’ll catch a guy off-guard and they know where they stand.  If we’re in a team setting I’ll tell you if you’re up or down, are you doing good as a group or not?  So those guys know where they stand.

ON PLAYER DEMOTIONS

CC:  It’s just simple.  It’s about ‘Hey this is what we see and what you need to work on’.  If somebody’s doing better, we’ll just put them in there.  Hopefully they catch back up and surpass the guy we put in their spot.

ON TRISTAN BLACK REPLACING SAM HURL AT MLB

CC:  They’ve both been getting reps there.  At the end of the day it doesn’t matter who walks in there.  They’ve all gone with the first group.  I can’t tell who’s a 100% go (for Saturday).  We’re rotating until we find the best football team to put out on game day.  Both Tristan and Sam are similar in what they do.  They’ve done a lot on special teams.  Neither one’s really started at LB (before this year) so it’s an opportunity to see what we have there and who can do some things.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE MOTIVATIONAL THINGS LIKE THE ‘BIG TICKET’?

CC:  They all paid off!  This one right here is more like a fire sale.  They’re trying to get a win and we’re trying to get a win.  It’s two different teams. They’ve had turnover to where they’re not as veteran as they once were and we’re the same way.  It’s two teams trying to get their teams together after a big turnover.  It’s two teams trying to find themselves and their identity moving forward.

ON TAJ SMITH IN CHRIS GETZLAF’S ABSENCE

CC:  Taj is doing good.  He’s even slid in to do some things in the slot.  He wants more and he wants to step up so that’s a positive.  He’s on the same page with Darian but when we move them around, they have to learn to get on the same page.

ON THE YOUNG SLOTBACKS

CC:  I thought they’ve done some good things and I’ve seen big plays.  It’ll take time but hopefully it’s not years, it’s just a couple of games.  Without Getzlaf in there, Darian is forced to find his next group of receivers.  That’s what he has to do and that’s a positive.  His hesitation comes from not yet knowing how the receivers run their routes and where they’re going to be.  I hear him talking to them and he has to be comfortable with exactly where they’re gonna be when they’re supposed to be there.