RIDERS OPEN MINICAMP IN FLORIDA
The Saskatchewan Roughriders hit the field at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL on Saturday with a “Play-In” Tryout Day. Players who were drafted or signed in the now-defunct Major League Football outfit were offered a chance to tryout with the Riders, and be carried over to the minicamp which begins on Sunday. The Roughriders’ Dan Plaster had a one-on-one with Rider boss Chris Jones on www.riderville.com after the workout and here is the transcript:
HOW PRODUCTIVE WAS SATURDAY?
CJ: Well I thought it was very productive. We did a good job — we were very efficient with our time and did all of our testing stuff within an hour-and-a-half. We had 100 guys show up and it’s one of those deals where we had some really good players and hard decisions to make. We’re gonna move forward with 12-14 guys and see where we go with them.
HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO OPEN CAMP?
CJ: There’s no doubt. There’s gonna be some great looking kids here and we look forward to pitting them against each other on Sunday.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
CJ: You gotta have a certain physical skillset. You gotta be able to run, jump and change direction. You gotta be in great shape. As you saw we did a ton of one-ones today. We’ll do the same thing on Sunday and the tempo’s going to be fast. Then you’ve got to have a certain amount of skill offensively and defensively. You’ve gotta be able to throw the ball, catch the ball, and get in and out of your breaks. That type of thing.
IS IT TOUGH TO RATE THE LINEMAN WITHOUT CONTACT?
CJ: It’s a little bit harder to evaluate but at the same time you can tell when a guy’s explosive and he’s able to change direction or if an offensive lineman can stay in front of everybody that he goes against. You take enough reps, you’ll see if they can play.
WHAT ABOUT THE QUARTERBACKS?
CJ: I’ve gone against Darian for so long. He’s quite the leader and he’s the field general. He’s tough as nails. It’s unfortunate the last two years that he’s had injuries so it’s going to be good to see him get back on the field.
IS NICE TO FINALLY GET IT GOING?
CJ: Yeah we started way back, Jeremy O’Day and I started back in January down here in Florida, in West Palm Beach actually, where we had our first workout. We’ve gone all across the country and now we’ve come all the way back. So it’s going to be real exciting. It’s like Christmas Day for the coaches. We look forward to getting the meetings started Saturday night.
Here are some photos from Dodgertown:
My hotel …
Is that Geezer on the plate of your car?
What patio?
It used to be the spring training facility of the Dodgers…they moved to Arizona back in 2008 I believe.
This round is like practice for Brandon and Red Deer. A chance to work on some things for the next round.
I happen to be visiting in Victoria right now. We like to think that in Sask we are a hockey province. Well driving around Victoria and greater Vancouver Island I have seen many many "Go Royals Go" signs on business' schools, churches etc. Whrn was the last time you saw a Go Pats Go sign in Regina. Let's put the mighty Riders on hold for awhile and get behind the Pats for once.
The old farts on Vancouver Island don’t have anything else to do but cheer for a junior hockey team and play golf. It’s too cold for most of them to golf still so all they have is hockey.
keep the Riders news rolling
terrific, just terrific!
Thanks for the useless pictures.
Old geriatric facility for geezers.
red deer better stopping practising or they will lose the series have you even watched the Red deer regina series I have and Red deer is very lucky to be up 2 nothing.
Actually this year the golfing has been year round (as it is most years here on the southern island in beautiful Victoria BC). And guess what, this summer when many folks on the prairies will be fighting off the mosquitos, we here again will be outside doing everything imaginable including golfing, hiking, fishing; enjoying our perfect days all summer long… Until the fall and winter that is, then we just simply put on a fleece and rain jacket, then continue golfing… tough life out here.
Old fart from Victoria
Go Royals, Go Riders!