The Saskatchewan Roughriders lost their third straight game on the weekend when they fell to the Toronto Argonauts, 31-26, at Mosaic Stadium. Despite the loss, head coach Corey Chamblin isn't too worried as they head into the final week of the regular season.
Meeting with the media on Tuesday for the first time since the loss to Montreal, Chamblin was sticking to the plan he's used all year and kept it positive despite being in the second losing streak of three or more games this season.
“At any given time, you can win a football game,” said Chamblin. “I think if we put all the key pieces in place and the timing is right we'll win those games.
“You can win a Grey Cup as an 8-10 team, a 9-9 team, and you can loss as a 14-4 team, so you just want to make sure that you're playing your best ball when you need to be and I think that's what we're striving to do.”
The Riders, who sit at 8-9 on the year, haven't lost by much when they do this season with an average loss of under nine points in their nine losses. That was something that Chamblin pointed out on Tuesday, “You never want to lose a game, but if you're losing by 20 or 30, you never have chance. If you're losing by one touchdown or close to two scores, you have a chance to be right there in it. Sooner or later, you find those little things and it goes from being a nine point loss to a nine point win.”
The first year CFL head coach adds that he's only focused on the plan they have in place and that's winning in the playoffs, “Step one was to get this team to playoffs, and step two is to make sure that we can win games in the playoffs and that's what we're working towards right now and there's some pieces that we'll continue to put together and I think we'll reach that.”
While heading into the post-season on a hot streak always seems to be key in the CFL, or any sport for that matter, but Chamblin says he's planning on resting some players during their final game to make sure they're ready when it counts, “You want to be the healthiest that you can be going into the playoffs. If you're fortunate enough to get a first round bye, then there's some guys you can rest, but if you're not then you need to rest guys so you have your ultimate squad heading into the playoffs.”
Part of that plan might to be sit down starting quarterback Darian Durant for the week after he took a pair of nasty hits near the end of the Toronto game last week. Chamblin wouldn't give a definitive answer as to whether Durant would be in the line-up come Saturday in Vancouver, but he did reveal that the QB was only suppose to play a half last week before they broke that plan.
“He did take some hits there and whether there is some after effects on that, that's up to the medical staff, but we'll evaluate and see how that goes with Darian,” explained Chamblin.
“There's a chance he may not play. It could be medical, it could be physical, there's a lot of different reasons he might not play, philosophical, but there's a chance he might not play.”
The Riders have been a streaky team this season, so it might not take much to get them back on the winning track whether it be this weekend against BC or in the playoffs.
The Green & White are back on the practice field on Wednesday, but they'll be doing it indoors this week at the Credit Union Eventplex. They'll be there on Thursday as well before flying out to Vancouver. The Riders and Lions kick off from BC Place on Saturday at 8:00pm.
Fri, Apr 26, 10:00 AM
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