RIDERS PREGAME COMMENTS

The Roughriders (0-5) arrived in Edmonton late Thursday afternoon in advance of Friday’s Week 6 showdown with the Eskimos (3-1).  Kickoff is at 7:00 pm Sask Time on TSN and the 620 CKRM Rider Radio Network.  Here are some comments from the Riders in advance of the game:

HEAD COACH COREY CHAMBLIN

ON QB BRETT SMITH’S 1ST CAREER START

CC: It’s been a been a very short week for him and that’s always tough but he’s looked clean and crisp in practice.  He’s made his reads pretty good.  He’s a game time guy.  What I mean by that is he’s been in big games.  He’s a high energy guy so I expect him to go out and perform.  There will be some things he has to learn but I expect him to perform.

WHAT’S HIS DEMEANOUR?

CC:  He’s cool but I’m not gonna say calm.  He’s wired.  He’s excited and he’s very amped and he’s ready to go.  That’s what I like about him.  He brings a lot of energy to the football team and to that position.

Brett Smith

HAS THE TEAM RALLIED AROUND HIM?

CC:  Yes.  I think they’ve done a very good job of rallying around him and understanding that this is his opportunity.  That’s the biggest thing is looking at him, and seeing the way that he sees the opportunity.

YOU’VE WON A GREY CUP, HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH 0-5?

CC:  Like anything else I’ve tried to stay centred and look at the situation as it is.  One of the things I looked at today, coming over on the plane, is I looked at Brett Smith.  Where others are writing that it’s doom and gloom, I highly doubt that’s what Brett Smith is saying.  He’s saying ‘Hey this is a fresh opportunity for me’.  That’s the way I’m taking it now.  This is a fresh opportunity for me.  I’ve won the Grey Cup, we’ve been competitive.  This is a fresh opportunity for me to take an 0-5 club and look at it and see how I can turn it around.

IS TRISTAN JACKSON PLAYING?

CC:  Tristan Jackson is not playing.  He would love that.  He’s close.  He’s very close.  If this was a long week you probably would’ve seen Tristan Jackson but this is one of those things where he’s very close.

DO YOU TELL THE GUYS ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE CFL?

CC:  That’s our message from the get-go, that no matter what goes on we have to be able to move forward.  There’s a lot of possiblity.  There’s a lot of life still left out there for us to accomplish.  The one thing about this league is you don’t have to be 13-5 or 14-4 to win a Grey Cup.  You just have to be able to get into the dance.  There’s a lot of time left for us to do that.

DEFENSIVE END JOHN CHICK

WHY IS THIS TEAM STAYING POSITIVE?

JC:  I don’t know if I could give you the secret or put the finger on it myself.  That was one of the things that I first fell in love with with this team when I was a rookie in ’07.  It’s a tight-knit team.  I don’t know if it’s because of the community or whatever, you’re underdogs, that’s always the sense I always felt there.  Guys just come together there.  Maybe because there’s not a whole lot other things but guys come together.  Right now we’re ‘Oh-Fer’ but we’re still a very tight-knit group and you wouldn’t sense we’re 0-5.  There’s a sense of urgency, yes, to get this win, but it’s a confidence that we’re that close and it’s any moment.

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE CFL…

JC:  Right.  And you see it year-in and year-out — teams that have started this way.  I can’t remember who it was but one of those teams within the last five years made the Grey Cup.  That’s what we talked about this week in meetings – nothing we set out to do, other than go 18-0, is lost.  The West is still to be won, the playoffs are still to be made and the Grey Cup is still to be made.  All of our goals are still intact and it’s just how we start and, more importantly, how we finish.

HOW CAN YOU HELP BRETT SMITH?

JC:  I think we always sense that urgency that no matter whether our offense is up or down, shoot, we know that the quicker that we get 2-and-out and get our offense back out there more, to do what they do, it helps them all the more.  There is that urgency already on defense that we need to improve but now with a new quarterback, it’s all the more.