RIDERS PRACTICE IN THE RAIN
With an 0-2 start to the 2016 season, the Saskatchewan Roughriders weren’t going to let moderate rains in Regina deter their practice plans.
The Riders held a 90-minute walk-through in a downpour Tuesday at Mosaic Stadium as they work to fix their errors from Friday’s 39-36 overtime loss at Edmonton, and prepare for Saturday’s home game against the B.C. Lions (5:00 pm, TSN, CKRM Rider Radio Network).
One of the problems staring the Riders in the face is their lack of execution in short yardage. The club is just 2/6 converting 3rd-and-1 situations and quarterback Darian Durant said it’s a lot harder than it looks.
“There’s a lot to it!” Durant admitted. “First and foremost, when you’re dealing with a front four like Edmonton has, it’s not easy to move those boys. And then secondly, it just takes repetition.”
Durant conceded that they can work on it all they want in practice but when the bullets are flying in a regular season game, things get ratcheted up a notch.
“When you’re in the heat of the moment, reps are a lot different than they are in practice. We just have to make sure that we get plenty of repetition at a full speed level and it won’t be hard to fix. But we need to do it right away.”
Riders Head Coach & GM Chris Jones was asked if he agrees with Durant that their short yardage woes can be an easy fix.
“I certainly hope so,” Jones said. “Because we’re gonna be faced with those situations again and our philosophy hasn’t changed.”
By that, Jones means they’ll continue to “go for it” in 3rd-and-1 situations.
Other than that, there wasn’t a whole lot to report from Tuesday’s soggy workout. Newcomer defensive tackle Cedric McKinley practiced for the first time with his new club after being acquired from Edmonton on Sunday. McKinley admits that it’s “weird” to be practicing with the Roughriders just days after lining up against them Friday at Commonwealth Stadium.
New quarterback Jake Waters participated in practice as well, along with #1 overall pick Josiah St. John who missed practice time last week with an ankle injury.
RP
@rodpedersen
Why do they take every one out of the back field except the QB on a third down gamble??Remember the old "I" when it could be a QB sneak, a halfback around the end or a fullback plowing up the middle. My thought was nobody tries anything except grunt force now. Why? Is that the only possible play? I worked with a former Rider who said the philosophy at that time was less than a yard,QB sneak. A yard or more Fullback or Halfback.Just to mix it up occasionally pull the ball and try a pass. If there was some… Read more »
Heptiro… Your comments read well. They also read as though your a true Rider fan. Which is great. Then I see your Avitar or what ever it's called. A Rider fan with a bag over his head in embarrassemt. Just curious as to which fan your are? I'm hoping that you are a Rider Prider and its an attempt at some form of humour. An embarrassed Rider fan not wanting to show his face … really isn't funny. Here's hoping you show your true colours to the new Management and Coaching staff. They are going to have a good team… Read more »
Maybe we could use that Matt Walters kid we signed this offseason. He was great for Calgary coming in off the bench. Otherwise why bother if he's never going to see the field on Offence?