RODSERVATIONS
A RIDER DOZEN NOTES
1 – Tuesday was a very good day for the Saskatchewan Roughriders Football Club. V.P. of Football Operations and Head Coach Chris Jones cleared up all speculation on the future of Justin Cox when he told reporters after the Day 3 workout that, “We’re going in a different direction”. The club will not be re-signing the troubled defensive back.
Jones admitted that they’d thought “long and hard” about the situation involving Cox, who was cleared of a Domestic Violence charge on Monday but in the end, the right choice was made.
And just like that, it was back to business as usual for the Green & White. Football, and this 2017 Training Camp.
2 – Sportsnet’s Arash Madani questioned on the SportsCage on Tuesday if this was Jones’ own decision or if it came from higher up in the organization – and that thought crossed my mind as well – but in the end, it really doesn’t matter. The right decision was made and if you listened to what Jones said, he didn’t sound like a man who was using forced words. In fact Jones admitted, “It comes down to me”.
There were several in the media and other advocates who were ready to pounce on the Riders if they brought Cox back, but now they’ve got nothing to say.
And this move might’ve earned the club some extra points with is fanbase, which was uneasy with some of the off-season transgressions. Many are already seeing Jones in a different light.
Again, it was a great day for the football club.
3 – As far as training camp goes, Tuesday was scaled back to just one practice rather than the normal two-a-days but it was a fluent, physical session in pads. CKRM’s Luc Mullinder mentioned that it was the type of workout the team likely would’ve liked to have seen on Day 1. Additional plays were implemented, assignments were carried out well and the ball rarely hit the ground.
The conditions were nearly perfect too: sunshine, 16 degrees Celsius and a 13 km/h wind from the SSE.
It’s supposed to be in the high-20’s on Wednesday.
4 – Who’s standing out? Well the clubhouse leader for our annual Terrence Nunn Award for training camp MVP is a two-horse race in the early going between a pair of rookies: defensive back Mark Roberts and receiver Jenson Stoshak. Roberts continues to be a ball hawk and did a real nice job covering star receiver Duron Carter. Stoshak, on the other hand, has steadily seen work with the “1’s” and doesn’t look out of place. With the well-documented stable of stars in the receiving corps, it’s impressive that Stoshak has already moved towards the front of the pack.
5 – The Good News: Quarterback Kevin Glenn picked apart the secondary, throwing back-to-back 25-yard touchdown passes to Naaman Roosevelt and Stoshak on the first two plays of the Red Zone session, finding them in the corners of the endzone. The Bad News: Quarterback Kevin Glenn picked apart the secondary, throwing back-to-back 25-yard touchdown passes to Naaman Roosevelt and Stoshak on the first two plays of the Red Zone session, finding them in the corners of the endzone.
The point? The secondary would be upset that Glenn found paydirt with such relative ease.
Kevin Glenn has been sensational in Saskatoon.
6 – Tuesday was the first day the football club played with a full deck. Veteran linemen Derek Dennis and Peter Dyakowski participated for the first time along with receiver Bakari Grant. Early thoughts? Dennis is spectacular and he immediately stabilizes the offensive line. Meanwhile Grant is far bigger than I remembered, and he’s a force.
But the injured list is a Who’s Who including RB Kienan LaFrance, WR’s Caleb Holley and Ricky Collins, LB’s Sam Eguavoen and Glenn Love, DE Ivan Brown, P Josh Bartel and LS Jorgen Hus.
7 – Dyakowski took some time to settle in but he figures to fill a vital role up front. However he was most at home when addressing reporters after the practice, holding court in the north endzone. When asked what he most brings to the offensive line, he remarked, “Modesty”.
He’s like just about every Canadian offensive lineman I’ve ever known; smart, articulate, and mature. He adds to that a pretty sharp sense of wit as well. Dyakowski’s certainly gotten out a lot of mileage out of winning CBC’s Canada’s Smartest Person contest.
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| Wayne “Clamps” Shaw on Tuesday |
8 – It took three days but I finally found him! Rider Hall of Famer Wayne “Clamps” Shaw was in attendance at Tuesday’s practice and I cornered him for a prediction on how many wins the Riders will collect this season.
You may recall that last year Clamps predicted in training camp the Riders would win only five games due to the massive roster turnover and first-year coaching staff. I told him he was off his rocker!
Well, lo and behold the Riders struggled to a 5-13 record and now Shaw is considered something of a football Swami in the Rider Nation.
Surrounded by a bunch of his old Hilltops cronies on Tuesday, Wayne was very hard to pin down for a prediction on this year. He preferred to lament the fact his doctor told him that he needs to be fitted for a pacemaker. He was much more distressed about that situation – and rightfully so – but he offered a prognostication, albeit reluctantly.
7 wins.
Please discuss.
9 – Just like the Florida minicamp, the rookies are in awe of being on the same field as NFL great Vince Young. But in Saskatoon, the same goes for the veterans!
“Certainly!” gushed 32-year old WR Rob Bagg. “That Rose Bowl in 2006, I watched it from college obviously, and I remember that whole game. It was awesome.
“There’s moments where you look at a full stadium like the Rose Bowl was that night and you go ‘Wow! That’s something’. To be on the same field with him, I’m not sure I could’ve ever predicted that. The coolest part is my buddies back home. Everybody wants to know what Vince is really like. That’s been kind of cool and he’s turned out to be a great guy. Very humble and he’s approaching learning the CFL game the right way.”
10 – So we’ve established that this is Kevin Glenn’s football team and it would take a miracle for him not to be starting in Week 1 in Montreal. So how’s the battle behind him? That appears to be shifting on a daily basis. Bryan Bennett has had a very good camp throughout and Brandon Bridge took a big step forward on Tuesday. Vince Young has gotten better everyday too so it appears to be a wide open race for the #2 spot.
This will all likely be established in the two preseason games, beginning on June 10 when the Riders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at new Mosaic Stadium.
Can’t wait!
11 – TUNE IN: I’ll be talking Riders on 96.3 CRUZ FM in Saskatoon Wednesday at 8:10 am and on 104.9 FM The WOLF in Regina Wednesday at 8:20 am. For more Rider news, tune those stations in.
12 – Sports Illustrated senior writer Greg Bishop is spending four days in Saskatoon at Roughriders training camp doing a piece on Vince Young for the July 4 issue. He certainly got plunked into a hornet’s nest whatwith the Justin Cox situation, and has received a crash course in Rider Pride. He’s compared this franchise to the Green Bay Packers and even the Dallas Cowboys.
Bishop will be on the SportsCage today and you can follow him on Twitter at @GregBishopSI.
RP
@rodpedersen
