Riders lying in wait

[IE]

Esks need best game tomorrow





There's been plenty of talk about how the Edmonton Eskimos are going to claw their way back into playoff contention.

Improved lines on both sides of the ball leading to a better chance of more winning battles in the trenches.

Upgrading the quality of the assistant coaching staff.

One of the more deep and talented group of receivers to ever don the green and gold.

Even head coach Danny Maciocia's sidelines role in calling the plays.


A blue-collar attitude and mentality.

The game plan's in place, hashed and rehashed since the first training-camp whistle earlier this month.

Now it's time to walk the talk.

A curious preseason answered very little about this team's prospects once the shooting starts for real tomorrow night in Regina.

And, even though everybody to a man will tell you it's important to get off on the right foot, winning in Regina is a somewhat daunting task.

The Eskimos, winning in Pile O' Bones, does not compute.

The locals have won just once there since 2001, a 30-25 squeaker back in September Oh-six.

And, the most passionate fans in the CFL are sure to be doubly geeked as they celebrate their team's 2007 Grey Cup win against a team they most love to hate.

"It's already a hostile environment to walk into, but I'm sure they're going to be cranked up," said Maciocia. "They may even get their championship flag raised. I'm sure they'll be fired up to try and get another season going. They are the defending Grey Cup champions, so it'll be an exciting time for them.

"We'll be standing on the sidelines and witnessing it first-hand. After the festivities end, I'm sure the enthusiasm will carry on into the game."

Oh, goody. History's against them. The crowd's going to be into the joy juice and they've got something to celebrate for the first time in decades.

There have been many instances where a championship team gets overcharged by the crowd and falls flat on its face. Not that many of Saturday's crowd would be aware of that by the middle of the fourth quarter.

Still, it's not something any visitor can count on.

Quarterback Ricky Ray has been here for the entire period of the latest Regina drought.

"We just have to come out from the git-go and match their intensity," said Ray. "They've got loyal fans. They come out. They know how to cheer. It's just a tough environment.

"When you go play on the road, especially in Regina, it's loud and sometimes you can barely hear yourself."

Ray is keenly aware of the Esks' history in Regina and the fact they've won just one road game there during his tenure.

"It's been a tough place for us to play," said Ray. "Other than 2006, the only time we've won there that I can remember was winning the (2005) Grey Cup, but I wasn't playing. We just have to focus and let the crowd not sway the momentum."

The team has tried to help Ray out and plans to play either import lineman Garrick Jones or Calvin Armstrong to protect Ray from blindside hits.

"We definitely feel good about where we're at," said Ray. "It's just a matter of us going out and doing it."






Walkin' the talk.

Defensive lineman Fred Perry knows how much the Regina crowd means to the team.

"It's the fans," said Perry when asked why it was so tough to win in Regina. "Once the fans get behind you, you turn into a totally different team."

Now that he's here after three years in Regina, he knows how he's going to handle facing his old mates.

"I'm still going to feed off them," said Perry. "It's something I've been doing for years and I'm going to continue doing it."

 

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Retooled and ready


This Edmonton Eskimos season is on Danny Maciocia.

There is no easier way to say it in the Alberta capital. If the Green and Gold qualify for the post-season for the first time in three years, Maciocia can stand up to his vocal group of critics and shoot back.

But if this club misses the playoffs in an eight-team league this fall, it will surely be three strikes against Maciocia and he will be gone.

And while the head coach/director of football operations found plenty of new players this off-season -- Fred Perry, Jordan Younger, Noel Prefontaine, etc. -- his most important moves likely involved the coaching staff.

Maciocia and the Eskimos' upper management have too much class to come out and say it publicly, but the coaching staff appears to be much better than last year.


Unlike in hockey and basketball where freelancing by players is critical, football is a sport where coaches have far greater influence.

On the O-line, Ronnie Vinklarek replaces Carl Brennan. The Eskimos allowed 52 sacks last year, second most in the CFL.

"We have seen a significant improvement (on the O-line)," said Maciocia near the end of training camp this spring.

With NFL coaching experience in Buffalo and Tennessee, Vinklarek garnered interest from the San Francisco 49ers after the Esks signed him this off-season.

Don Wnek (formerly at Baylor University) replaces Malvin Hunter as the defensive line boss.

Knowing the $4.2-million salary cap doesn't include coaching salaries, the Esks brought in a full-time receivers' coach this year -- something the club didn't have last year.

Mike Kelly -- formerly an offensive co-ordinator in Winnipeg -- is trying to improve a cast that hasn't had enough playmakers.

"As soon as we signed (Kelly), Milt Stegall calls me up and says: Listen to whatever he says," relayed Eskimos receiver Kamau Peterson.

"I definitely think we'll benefit."

But the two most important changes involve Rick Worman and Noel Thorpe.

Worman is the new offensive co-ordinator, replacing Jacques Chapdelaine -- who is stuck with a reputation in this city as a coach who rubbed some players and personnel in the locker room the wrong way. And Thorpe takes over from Scott Squires, who failed miserably as a rookie special teams coach last year.

Edmonton gave up a stunning six touchdowns against on special teams in a 5-12-1 regular season. Needless to say, Edmonton has changed its schemes.

"We returned two touchdowns (in the pre-season). We haven't done that since 2005," said J.R. LaRose on Thorpe's special teams schemes.

If you read between the lines when Maciocia speaks, the play on the field and life in the locker room should improve this year.

"This staff looks united," said Maciocia, who led the Esks to a Grey Cup in 2005 during his rookie year as head coach.

"There's mutual respect for one and other. It extends itself beyond the playing field.

"Whether we are having a meal together or we are at some coach's house, there seems to be a good atmosphere."

That wasn't the case last year.

"I have no one to blame but myself for that. But it was a valuable experience," Maciocia said.

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ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

Last season: 5-12-1

Key departures: RB Tyler Ebell, DB Stanford Samuels, DB Omarr Morgan, K Sean Fleming, LB A.J. Gass.

Key additions: DB Jordan Younger, DE Fred Perry, DT Dario Romero, K Noel Prefontaine, QB Jason Maas.

 

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Lack of respect doesn't faze defending champs




The Saskatchewan Roughriders have yet to make a single tackle in defence of their Grey Cup championship, but the CFL club has already been written off as a one-hit wonder.

The question is: Do they care?

"I could care less," said defensive tackle Scott Schultz. "The fact of the matter is, we are on top right now. We're the defending champs. It's not arrogance or anything. It's just that our staff and our players get the idea that the only thing that matters is what happens in (the dressing room) and what we do on the field.


"Any outsider can say (what they want)," he continued, "but it takes a real insider and someone with football knowledge. I think anyone with that kind of knowledge would say we're up in the top tier of the CFL. But that's why we play the games. If we left it up to those guys, we wouldn't play the season. We'd be playing some kind of fantasy league."

In reality, while the Riders captured their first Grey Cup title since 1989 it hasn't affected their status as the Rodney Dangerfield of the CFL - they still get no respect. For example, out of 15 media members from across Canada who were polled this week by Canwest News, only one picked Saskatchewan to successfully defend its Grey Cup title. None of the writers or broadcasters chose the reigning champs to finish higher than second place in the West Division and five predicted they would end up dead last.

The media isn't the only source of cynicism.

It was also a restless off-season for the local fans, many of whom were critical of personnel changes that included trading MVP quarterback Kerry Joseph and all-star rush end Fred Perry. The team also lost coach-of-the-year Kent Austin to the University of Mississippi and veteran linebacker Reggie Hunt to free agency.

As a result, the 2008 Riders - despite a veteran-laden roster and the addition of several promising newcomers - haven't been getting much love outside of their own dressing room.

"I kind of stopped reading the newspapers and whatnot because you start believing what people are saying sometimes," said offensive guard Mike Abou-Mechrek, who insisted "he doesn't want any respect" from CFL pundits.

"We'll take the respect we deserve. We don't want it any other way. I hate talking about last year but last year they said, '(You have a) rookie head coach, a quarterback who's never really done anything, so many changes; Saskatchewan is gonna be last.' Well, they're saying the exact same thing this year so we're right on schedule. That's exactly where we want to be.

"To say we're not good enough, we're not talented enough to be there at the end, I think it's just ridiculous," he added. "But people are going to talk, especially in this province. I just wish people would be pushing with us instead of pushing against us. But whatever. It's up to the guys in this room. We'll show you! WE'LL SHOW YOU!"

Talking to Schultz, one gets a sense that the Riders understand "there's always something to prove" when the rest of the league is trying to knock you off the pedestal. Schultz also leaves the distinct impression that there's plenty of fight left in last year's Grey Cup champs, who open the season tonight against the visiting Edmonton Eskimos.

"I'm about as anxious (to get started) as Chuck Norris is to take on some ninjas," he quipped. "That's pretty (expletive) anxious."

 

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PREGAME ROBSERVATIONS . . .REGINA POST

The Saskatchewan Roughriders' regular-season opener is the best game of the year ? at least in terms of curiosity. The first authentic look at the team is always an attention-grabber.

This year's Roughriders are especially intriguing in that they are cast in the unaccustomed role of defending champion. The perennial underdog is no more . . . right?

Well . . .

Even after winning the Grey Cup, the Roughriders find that their chances are being widely discounted. I am not as pessimistic as some people who envision a decline in the team's performance. I expect them to win two fewer games than last year, for all that's worth, and finish third in the West. But some forecasts suggest that the Roughriders will lament a significant decline.

At this point, who knows?

In any event, here are some other random thoughts as the season-opener looms:

-- I am most curious to watch how Marcus Crandell performs. Quarterbacks are always under pressure in Saskatchewan, but Crandell faces scrutiny unlike any other signal-caller in league history. Crandell is the first Riders pivot to have replaced someone who piloted the team to a Grey Cup victory the year before. How will the offence look with Crandell, and not Kerry Joseph, at the controls? Head coach Ken Miller said the offence was built for a passer, such as Crandell, but was adjusted to suit the talents of Joseph last season. Will the offence be better under Crandell? Stay tuned.

-- Another curiosity: How will Adarius Bowman play in his first real game as a professional. I would be surprised if the Roughriders didn't incorporate the lanky wide receiver into the offence at a very early juncture.

-- And what about Weston Dressler? He was the talk of training camp, but did not catch a pass during the preseason. Dressler has the potential to be dazzling. Perhaps the Riders are saving him for the regular season.

-- What kind of pressure will the Roughriders apply now that Fred Perry is with the Edmonton Eskimos? Many people expect John Chick to fill the void created by Perry's departure, but the Riders' primary pursuer of quarterbacks may turn out to be Kitwana Jones.

-- Now that I am another year older, can I still make it up the ramps to the press box? Wish me luck.

-- The Roughriders' offensive backfield bears watching. Due to the injury to Chris Szarka, Saskatchewan has only two healthy running backs ? Wes Cates and Neal Hughes ? for tonight's game. The Roughriders seldom go with a two-back set, so they should be OK, but this is Canadian football. You never know.

-- It was interesting to watch the Toronto/Winnipeg game on Friday. Running back Jamal Robertson, whom the Roughriders recently traded to Toronto, scored touchdowns on a reception and a run. The trade will likely be second-guessed, especially given the Roughriders' paucity of healthy running backs, but where was Robertson going to play? As talented as he is, he wasn't going to dislodge Cates. When trading Robertson, Roughriders GM Eric Tillman opined that he may have relinquished a 1,000-yard rusher.

-- Kerry Joseph's Argos debut was largely unimpressive. The timing was not ideal for this scribbler, who points out in Saturday's column that Joseph will be missed by the Roughriders. Shortly after the column was filed, Argos head coach Rich Stubler saw fit to replace Joseph with Michael Bishop. Yikes . . .