DAY 3 CKRM RIDER CAMP REPORT

The Roughriders have completed their Tuesday morning workout.  It was a much more spirited affair than the prior two days.  Here’s a report:

– Quarterback Darian Durant rallied the team at the start of the session as they were jumping up and down with Durant yelling, “ARE WE READY?  OFFENSE?  DEFENSE?  ARE WE READY?”  It set the tone for the day.

– It was another beautiful day in Saskatoon with a temperature of +19 Celsius, mostly sunny with an east wind at 1 km/h.

– They started out with the punt team with Levi Steinhauer and Brian Peters doing the long-snapping.  The Regina Thunder’s Brandon Whitehouse was doing some deep-snapping with the punters later in the workout.

– Auditioning on punt returns were #84 Isaiah Sweeney, #25 Clifton Smith, #24 Curtis McNeal, #2 Ryan Smith, #14 Greg McCoy, #1 Marshay Green and #9 Matt Brown.

– Punter #17 Josh Bartel’s first punt was a bad shank landing out of bounds.  His second was exactly 45 yards and was fielded by Marshay Green.

– Chris Milo came into punt after two reps and then was replaced by Brett Cameron.  Cameron’s first punt was 45 yards, fielded by Curtis McNeal.  His second punt was a wobbler which traveled only 35 yards.

– Kicker #13 John Mark from the U of Calgary stroked a towering 45-yarder.

– Darian Durant threw some passes off of a rollout in individual drills and they went into the dirt.  He kicked the ground in disgust with himself.

– Examining the linebackers in Indy, CKRM football analyst Luc Mullinder figures #35 Weldon Brown is being put into position to be their “playmaker” on defense this year.

– In the route drill, running backs Keith Toston and Jermaine Thomas dropped passes which were met with lots of oohs and ahs from the players on the field.

– #87 receiver Martel Moore made a spectacular one-handed catch which drew kudos from the coaches and #9 Matt Brown made several circus grabs.

– Rookie draft choice Alex Pierzchalski from the University of Toronto is getting noticed but his youth is evident.  After one reception, offensive coordinator George Cortez advised, “Put the ball away!  Don’t wave it around!”

Alex Pierzchalksi

– Rookie slotback Chaz Schilens never dropped a pass

– QB Seth Doege got a lot of reps with Durant and Tino Sunseri quarterbacking the Inside Run session.

– When they switched, Tino was airing it out on a regular basis including a nice 35-yard hook-up with Isaiah Sweeney.  He revealed in the interview period that he wasn’t showing off his arm.  The playcalls dictated that they stretch the field.

– The coaches would like the defensive players to be more vocal.  Rey Williams was heard to scream, “Ain’t nobody talking!  Let’s pick this (stuff) up!”

– If you subscribe to the theory “If you can touch it, you should catch it”, then there were a lot of drops Tuesday morning.

– GM Brendan Taman’s parents have been in at attendance for every workout.  It’s a nice family feel.

– Former Green Bay Packer Brett Swain made a nice reception in traffic from Durant.  However on the next play he was 10 yards offside.

– Tino Sunseri launched a nice 35-yard pass to Alex Pierzchalsksi who tightroped the sidelines to make the catch.  It drew a big ovation from the crowd.

– DB Greg McCoy, a former Viking and Cardinal, made an acrobatic knockdown of a Durant pass to Brett Swain out of a twin tightend formation.  The tightends were Dan Clark and Spencer Moore.

– Linebacker #30 Brandon Isaac laid a big hit on running back #42 Keith Toston.

– On the very first play of the second team session Darian Durant was picked off by outside linebacker Brian Peters who returned it to the house.

– The Riders will be on the field for a walk-through on Wednesday morning.

– Luc Mullinder and I will have the SportsCage live from Griffith’s Stadium at 4:00 pm on 620 CKRM.

RP