Today's another day of going over the X's and O's for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as they continue to get prepare for a Saturday date with the Hamilton Tiger Cats at Mosaic Stadium.
As the Riders battle teams across the CFL there's also healthy competition among themselves for playing time and position on the depth chart. Weston Dressler and Chris Getzlaf are their two leading receivers, and with Rob Bagg on the nine game injured list Head Coach Corey Chamblin says that's an area where players will be looking to catch the eye of the coaches.
"The one thing that we always talked about is this is a production based business, we have to look at it week in and week out because we are graded on the end result which is a win," said Chamblin. "It's not that some guys are not producing, we just have to make sure we're getting the ultimate amount of production out of each position. It's going to be tough, we're not down on any players saying you have to do this, we just simple know what we have to do to win."
Running back Kory Sheets has played a major role in the teams early season success, his 317 rushing yards is second in the CFL, Chamblin says Sheets has obviously looked good through four games. "I think he's hitting his stride and he's learning what this league is about. There's still things that he has to get down like his waggles and different things, and he's getting better in protection each and every week and I'm proud of him there. I think he's just learning the league and getting more comfortable with what he's seeing out there."
Chamblin spent last season on the sidelines with Hamilton as their Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Back Coach and says even though they're are a number of players still there from his time it's a different defence, adding that they're aggressive style will make it hard on their offence.
"(Linebacker) Renauld Williams is stepping up and phenomenal in it, and you're just seeing guys make plays," said Chamblin. "It's a totally different defence, (Defensive Coordinator) Casey (Creehan) is more of a front guy and you can see that the front is getting real active over there, the backend is playing some simple coverage's, he's doing a good job with that defence right now.
Rider nation is anxiously awaiting Saturday as it will mark the return of Andy Fantuz to Saskatchewan for the first time since he signed with the Ti-Cats in the off season. It'll also see Henry Burris coming back to Regina, Burris has been on the receiving end of boo's from fans ever since he bolted from the province a number of years ago.
Burris is third in the CFL in passing yards with 1,184 and Chamblin says the Ti-Cats QB will keep his defence on their toes. "Once Henry gets on the fire he's on fire. To this day no one know's what makes him 'Smilin Hank' or Henry, but at this point he's grown," said Chamblin. "I think whether it's (Andy) Fantuz and adding (Dave) Stala to the lineup and just getting more familiar with the guys around him, and having Chris Williams, he's doing a good job right now. They're doing some good things, they start pretty fast, as a football team I think they're the best in the league at starting fast right now."
The Riders downed Hamilton 43-16 in the season opener back on June 29th in Steel Town, Saskatchewan practices today and tomorrow, they'll have their walk through at Mosaic Stadium Friday, the Ti-Cats and Riders kick off Saturday, 4pm, in the provincial capital.
Click here for the full interview with Chamblin
Tue, Apr 23, 1:00 PM
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