Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Saskatchewan Roughriders

[IE]

Skinny on the Riders


The storyline for Saskatchewan: The Riders are retooling after losing a number of players in the off-season, including every player that scored a touchdown in the 2013 Grey Cup game and Canadian safety Craig Butler, who joined the Ticats as a free agent.

What the Riders like to do on offence: The scheme of offensive co-ordinator and former Ticats head coach George Cortez features plenty of crossing routes and a fair amount of misdirection: plays often begin with similar looks but morph into substantially different outcomes. Saskatchewan was effective running the ball against the Cats last season ? and the rest of the league, too ? and may use their excellent offensive line to set the tone early.

What the Riders like to do on defence: Head coach Corey Chamblin, another former Ticat assistant, employed an aggressive scheme as a co-ordinator, but current Saskatchewan defensive boss Richie Hall plays a mix of man and zone with his experienced group of defensive backs. The Riders blitzed constantly during the Grey Cup win last November and will likely do so again, looking to test Hamilton's suspect offensive line and inexperienced quarterback.

Where Saskatchewan starts Canadians: Four of five offensive lineman (Dominic Picard, Brendon LaBatte, Chris Best, Ben Heenan,) receivers Rob Bagg and Chris Getzlaf, defensive end Ricky Foley and middle linebacker Sam Hurl.

Key injuries: Receiver Chris Getzlaf hasn't practised since the first day of training camp and, if he can't go, that could create a ratio issue for Saskatchewan.

Interesting factoid: In the last 13 years, the Riders are 10-3 in season openers while Hamilton has not won their first game of any season since 2004, a streak of nine consecutive opening week defeats.






Five funky Riders stats


(2013 numbers, league rank in parenthesis)

? Point differential: +121 (2)

? Turnover ratio: +19 (T1)

? 2nd down conversions: 46 per cent (3)

? Two-and-outs: 101 (5)

? Sack differential: +10 (3)


Skinny on the Ticats


The storyline for Hamilton: Facing three straight on the road against West Division teams to start the season, the Ticats have a tough start to yet another challenging year ? this time, it's uncertainty regarding the completion of the new stadium. Avenging last year's Grey Cup loss would be nice, too.

Where the Ticats will start Canadians: Three offensive lineman (Greg Wojt, Steve Myddelton, Tim O'Neill, receiver Sam Giguere, defensive tackle Ted Laurent and/or Brian Bulcke, linebacker Sam Giguere, safety Craig Butler.

Key injuries: receiver Andy Fantuz is out with a head injury suffered in the final pre-season game versus the Argos.

Interesting factoid: Tiger-Cats are the league's "youngest" team, averaging just 1.9 seasons of CFL experience among the 61 players on their roster, 34 of whom are either rookies or in their second year.


Five funky Ticats stats


(2013 numbers, league rank in parenthesis)

? Point differential: -15 (6)

? Turnover ratio: -13 (6)

? 2nd down conversions: 43.5 per cent (4)

? Two-and-outs: 98 (3)

? Sack differential: -30 (8)



The weather forecast: Cloudy, high of 19 C, 90 per cent chance of thundershowers with up to 15 millimetres of rain, winds from the west at 25 km/h.

 

[IE]

?Unfinished business? as Ticats take on Riders



It's said that revenge is a dish best served cold, but it might be tough for the Ticats to earn a full measure of redemption for last November's Grey Cup loss, given that it's expected to be a relatively balmy 20 degrees in Regina on Sunday.

It is, after all, all but impossible to avenge an inglorious defeat in a championship game with a comparatively inconsequential regular season opener. But it sure would be nice.

Talk to Ticat coaches and players and they'll spout chapter and verse about this being "just another game" or "the start of a new journey." One gets the sense, however, that those sentiments don't quite tell the whole story.

The loss wasn't just losing a shot of immortality ? those names on the Grey Cup don't come off ? but the dispiriting nature of how it happened, the missed opportunities, the lacklustre play ?. After showing remarkable resilience and toughness in 2013, the Ticats couldn't find their essential character traits when they needed them most.

"I thought about it for quite awhile after the season ended," said defensive end Brandon Boudreaux. "It eats at you a little bit. Going back there for week one, everybody is thinking about how it ended and it's a motivating factor, for sure.

"It's unfinished business."

Of course not every member of the 2014 edition of the Ticats was in Saskatchewan on that frigid November evening and the new faces aren't saddled with whatever baggage comes from losing a game of that magnitude.

New quarterback Zach Collaros, defensive tackle Ted Laurent and halfback Brandon Stewart will all play prominent roles in the updated version of the club.

"I've played against them on Labour Day and in the Banjo Bowl so I know what that team and their fans are all about," said Stewart who spent five seasons with the Bombers before signing with the Ticats as a free agent in February. "It's nice to be hated when you're walking into a stadium. It's make you angry and I love it."

As if starting the season in Regina against the defending champs wasn't enough of a challenge, Sunday's contest is the first of three road games against the tough West Division. The Ticats dug themselves a 1-4 hole in 2013 and spent the rest of the season climbing out. Another slow start would make winning a division title ? always the easiest way to the championship game ? very difficult.

"Week 1 isn't the Grey Cup, but it's the first step to the next one," said Boudreaux.

"And that's where we want to be."

Notes: the Ticats have added linebacker TaylorReed to the practice roster. The 6-foot, 240-pound Reed spent time with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as well as the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots in 2013 ... linebacker DavidCaldwell has been moved from the active roster to the one-game injured list, while JamesRogers moves from the practice roster to the active roster. Reed takes Rogers' spot on the PR. It means that Rogers will play Sunday against the Riders while Caldwell will not ...

 

[IE]

Roughriders look to stable O-line against Ticats




The Saskatchewan Roughriders' offensive line isn't getting a lot of media attention, and that suits quarterback Darian Durant just fine.

With much of the buzz in Regina centred on big changes on both sides of the football, the starting fivesome on the Riders' dependable offensive line remains intact for a third consecutive season.

Tackles Xavier Fulton and Ben Heenan, guards Brendon LaBatte and Chris Best, along with centre Dominic Picard will once again provide protection for Durant as the Roughriders open up their defence of their Grey Cup title Sunday at home against Hamilton.

"Those guys don't get a lot of the publicity that a lot of us get, but they're the unsung heroes on this team," Durant said. "Everything starts up front with this team and everyone here knows that."

"I feel good just knowing that I'm behind a wall like that. All of those guys have been all-stars at some point, so that makes me a lot more comfortable being behind them. The holes that they can open up for the running game gives us that balance we'll need to be successful."

Elsewhere the Riders are less stable. Injuries and key departures mean the Riders' offence will see a handful of first-year CFLers in Sunday's game, including the possibility of three new receivers and a fresh face at running back.

Durant explained he and the new receivers are working to find chemistry, and the three new running backs on the roster are learning the schemes and blocking tendencies.

Meanwhile, the offensive linemen are already ahead of the curve at this stage of the game. Having worked alongside the same guys for a few years allows such luxuries.

"We're starting to evolve with some of our stuff where we're able to work in dummy calls or multiple calls that mean the same thing," said LaBatte, the league's most outstanding lineman in 2013. "When you can expand on some of your concepts you can really start to get into a defensive lineman's head just by what you're saying and how you communicate."

Durant will work with offensive co-ordinator George Cortez for the second straight season, continuity the 31-year-old quarterback hasn't experienced since he became the full-time starter in 2009. But a few key Riders that were a part of the second highest-scoring offence in the league a year ago are gone.

Kory Sheets, the MVP from the Grey Cup game, who was second in rushing yards during the regular season, signed with the NFL's Oakland Raiders during the off-season. Speedy slotback Weston Dressler, one of three Riders who eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards a season ago, signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. Future Hall of Fame receiver Geroy Simon retired prior to training camp.

Best said as long as the line does its part, the Riders' offence will be fine.

"If we keep Darian clean in the pocket and if we open up some holes for the guys to run the ball then we're going to have a lot of success," said Best, an eight-year veteran on the Riders' offensive line. "It warms our heart when we see those guys get picked as all-stars or pile up the stats because it means we did a good job.

"It takes a while to embrace that kind of job as an O-lineman, but once you figure it out you'll get to celebrate in the end zone with them."

Just how much celebrating Durant and the Riders' offence will do this season remains to be seen. The receiving corps returns Taj Smith, Rob Bagg and Chris Getzlaf, although Getzlaf missed a good chunk of training camp with an injury. He has been limited in practices this week, too.

Running backs Keith Toston, Anthony Allen and the recently signed Hugh Charles are battling for the starter's job. All three are new in Green and White this season.

"The dynamic of (the offence) is different," Durant said. "We're missing No.1 (Sheets) and No. 7 (Dressler). I guess that's the obvious part. We have a different identity, we have new guys and we have to find out what we're good at and what we need to work on."

No work required along the offensive line.