Riders & Eskimos Battle in West Semi-Final

It’s going to be cold and it’s going to be a battle on Sunday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium.

It’s playoff football as the Saskatchewan Roughriders head into Edmonton looking to keep their season alive in the Western Semi-Final against the Eskimos.

Temperatures are expected to around minus-11 for kick-off and drop to minus-13 throughout the game.  The action won’t cool down however as these two teams meet for the second straight week and fourth time in the past two months.

“The number one thing that’s keeping me awake a night is the excitement for this game, I really don’t have a fear,” said Corey Chamblin, head coach of the Riders, on Friday.  “This team is prepared and whatever the outcome is going to be, the outcome is going to be.”

Saskatchewan isn’t heading into the playoffs on a very high note, having lost six of their last eight games, including a five-game losing skid that ended last week with a 24-17 win over these Eskimos.

The team has been repeating the mantra all week that the playoffs are a new season and they’re in a position to be successful with a blank slate.

“Once you get to the playoffs, something inside kind of triggers,” said slotback Weston Dressler.  “Every week you’re going out there trying to win, but when you get to playoff time, you know that you have to win otherwise you’re done.”

Last week’s win over Edmonton should give the Riders some added confidence moving into the playoffs as they have struggled against a tough Eskimos squad all season, including getting shutout 24-0 in Week 14.

The Edmonton offence has been strong all season, but solving the Eskimos defence will be Saskatchewan’s biggest challenge.  They’ve struggled to put up points against them in their three previous meetings and know they will be in for a test on Sunday.

“They have a very good defence, they have a great defensive line that does a great job of getting after the quarterback, their secondary works great together, so we've got to be on point with what we’re doing and execute,” said Dressler.

“They’re not ranked at the top for no reason, they have some great players on that side of the football,” added quarterback Kerry Joseph.  “We have to do our best to slow them down, we have to run the ball, we have to keep them off balance and do our best to keep them guessing.”

Joseph could be the biggest key for Saskatchewan this week as he makes his fourth straight start for the Riders after signing with the team a month ago.

The 41-year-old quarterback needs to continue the progress that he’s shown over the past three weeks and put together another masterful playoff appearance to help the Riders advance.

“He’s getting comfortable and getting back in the groove,” said Chamblin.  “He understands the game, that’s the biggest thing.  He understands the coverages, situations right now and we just have to depend on him for that.”

Joseph said a moment like this is why he decided to come back after getting a call to join the Riders late in the season.

“I want to make the most of it,” said Joseph.  “Three, four months ago, I wasn’t thinking about it, but it’s an opportunity that God has given me and I want to take full advantage of it and help this team move on.”

It’s an interesting match-up at the quarterback position this week with Matt Nichols expected to start over the injured Mike Reilly, however the Eskimos have been coy about how much action Reilly could see this week and exactly what his injury is.

Chamblin expects to see a lot of Reilly, but said the team is ready for which ever quarterback the Eskimos decide to throw at them.

“The way I approach the game is Mike Reilly is healthy, Nichols is healthy and that’s the way we’ll approach it,” said Chamblin.  “I’m going in game planning something, saying he won’t be mobile, so lets do this.  Everything that we have is for two guys that can run around.”

Joseph knows Nichols well after serving as his mentor when in Edmonton last season, even starting over Nichols at one point.  He said that makes for an interesting dynamic to the game.

The other dynamic is the weather.  It always is in the CFL playoffs and it will be a cold one at Commonwealth on Sunday.  Joseph said that the best way to deal with it is to block the cold out.

“It’s cold, but you just have to have a sense of mental toughness,” he said.  “This is our job, this is what we signed up to do.  You’ve got limited opportunities, you just want to take advantage of it, you don’t want to leave anything to chance and just want to make sure that you’re mentally and physically focused.”

The team isn’t focusing on the cold, the Eskimos defence or who’s starting at quarterback.  Dressler said they have one thing on their mind.

“Just win,” he said.  “That’s what our mindset is as players, we’re not worried about who’s doing what or who’s catching the touchdowns, who’s running them or throwing them, we just need to get them, so do what you can to win.”

We’ll find out on Sunday afternoon whether the Riders can continue their drive to repeat as Grey Cup champions or whether a new champion will be crowned in three weeks in Vancouver.  

Kick-off is at 3:30pm from Commonwealth Stadium.

The Eastern Semi-Final has the BC Lions travelling out to Montreal to take on the Alouettes at 12:00pm on Sunday.