Riders look for improved play from special teams

It's been a nightmarish season for the Saskatchewan Roughriders' special teams.

They've been plagued by missed field goals returned for touchdowns, punt returns for touchdowns, and poor blocking for their own return guys.

Simply put, special teams need to be better. And linebacker Barrin Simpson was the one to speak up during a recent team meeting.

“I just said we need to forget about everything that's happened up to this point,” said Simpson. “We need to take the onus on ourselves to be great. We need to make that third of our team the most important from this point on. We need to go out there and be great at that, and that will help the offense and defense be successful in the long run.”

Special teams coach Jim Daley thinks Simpson's comments were outstanding.

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“They were great in terms of the importance of special teams and the focus required for us to be successful,” said Daley.

“Special teams, every time you go out on the field, is a big play. You've got to be focused, you've got to be intense, and you have to execute at a high level.

“Those are the type of comments Barrin made and I thought they were outstanding for our team to hear from a man with his experience.”

Daley believes the special teams unit has to get better for the team to have a chance to win the Grey Cup.

“We have to improve tremendously in terms of our execution,” he said. “That's something we've been working on and concerned for, and hopefully we can make some major strides.”

There's only one more regular season game left for those strides to finally kick in and help carry the team deep in the playoffs. The Riders are home to Edmonton Saturday at 5 p.m.