Rider pride on home field

If you ever wondered why home field was so important to the Saskatchewan Roughriders you either needed to tune into Saturday night’s win against the BC Lions or been there in person.

The Riders 27-21 win over the BC Lions was some of the most disciplined fan behaviour seen following a week where Rider Head Coach Cory Chamblin told fans when to make noise to be most effective to disrupt the Lions. How well did it work? BC receiver Geroy Simon told the Vancouver Province the “noise was deafening; we couldn’t hear and couldn’t change any plays”.

The game was expected to be tight, and considering BC and Saskatchewan are number one and two respectively, a scoreless first quarter was not unexpected. But Weston Dressler, who had the day before just buried his grandfather, came through with an epic second quarter getting open and should have had the hat trick in touchdowns.

Jock Sanders also demonstrated again why he is the second coming of Corey Holmes with his play at running back, receiver and running back kicks. The injury that took him off the game looked especially ugly, but believe it or not, he was walking to his car in the parking lot with just a bit of a limp. He said he would be back and if not against Toronto next week, then definitely against Montreal. 

Darian Durant’s hip flexor may have limited his mobility but it seems to improved his decision making process. Even the interception he threw at the end of the first half was more on receiver Scott Henry, the intended target, who did not work his way back to the ball and let the BC defender step up to the ball.

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The loss of Sanders was particularly evident in the fourth quarter when the change-up that Sanders offers was missing from the Riders offense. But the Rider offense was not the more interesting of the units on the field.

The Rider defense was stitched together with Brent Hawkins out following hernia surgery; Matt Williams and Keith Shologan also out on the defensive line and Eddie Russ out in the secondary. The Riders responded with a discipline pass rush and pass coverage, at least until the fourth quarter when Tristan Jackson got burned on a deep pass to allow the Lions to come back in the game.

Odell Willis is clearly the engine that is running the Rider defense, but the worrisome thing is perhaps the lack of depth in the Rider secondary. Eddie Russ should be back next week, but Milt Collins in a massive hit on Arlan Bruce III which knocked them both out, is likely out with a shoulder injury.

Jackson may have experience on the corner, but he seems to have either concentration problems or perhaps a bit of lack of discipline, drawing the occasional interference penalty as well. It will be interesting to see what the Riders do to address their defensive secondary shuffling, but the positive is we play the Toronto Argonauts next week.

The defensive line with the addition of Rob Rose and Zac Evans did acquit themselves well, with the line getting enough pressure to throw the BC Lions off their game. Getting Hawkins back will help, and Williams has been a force by contributing through deflecting two kicks in his last two games.

If you are the type that believes in foreshadowing, then consider in the last two weeks, the Riders have beaten the two teams they will have to beat in the west to get to the Grey Cup. Next week the Riders go to Toronto to familiarize themselves with the Skydome they hope to visit at the end of November.

The Riders should be able to win that one, and then go to Edmonton to play the Eskimos who managed to go through September without winning a game, the first time that has happened in their team history. Considering the Riders play on Thanksgiving Monday and then go to Edmonton for a Saturday game, it is possible the Riders may have a tough game on their hands.

However, the Riders are now 7-6 and can easily go to 9-6 by the time they return to Regina to play Montreal in a potential Grey Cup preview. But this is getting ahead of the curve. If the Riders maintain their focus on one game at a time, they could finish 10-8 or 11-7.

Third place is likely when you consider the schedules of BC and Calgary, but third isn’t a bad place to be. The important thing is the Riders now start positioning themselves for a playoff run, and making sure they have all their key performers back when it counts.

What a difference a month makes.