Riders Wrap up Preseason Against Edmonton

The final dress rehearsal goes on Friday night for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as they take on the Edmonton Eskimos in the preseason finale for both teams.

When the Riders hit the field for the game, you can expect to see a whole lot of the starting offence and defence initially as they're scheduled to play for the first half before the rest of the players get on the field.

“You want to see from the ones how well they stop the opponent and how well we move the ball and do all those things right,” said head coach Corey Chamblin.  “When the guys that are behind those guys come in, I still want to see how well they are at winning the game because they may have to play for us at some point.”

While this game is important for the Riders' starters to find their groove and get ready for the regular season, the game is really about those bubble players getting one last chance to prove themselves.

Chamblin said his message to those players fighting for a roster spot is simple.

“The first thing you're trying to do is make this team and the second thing you're trying to do is if we do release you and we have an injury, you're trying to do well enough to make us bring you back,” he said.  “Third, you're trying to show for other teams in this league, so they have three opportunities and hopefully they can get some where.”

Darian Durant will start the game and play until halftime before giving way to Tino Sunseri, Adam Weber and Seth Doege.

“Darian and Tino will get a good portion of the reps and then I can't tell you exactly if it will be the fourth or the tail end of the third, but we plan on getting all of them reps,” said Chamblin.

Sunseri is essentially locked into that second quarterback spot with Weber and Doege battling it out for that third spot.  They will have to do it with limited playing time, making each drive in the fourth quarter that much bigger for each QB.

As the team heads into their final preseason game, Chamblin said he's happy with the progress the team has made throughout the past three weeks.

“As we've moved on into the weeks leading up to this game, I've noticed that guys are running a little faster and are making less of the same mistakes, so I'm pleased with that and where they're headed,” said Chamblin.

The Riders and Eskimos will kick off from Mosaic Stadium at 7:00pm on Friday night.  The game isn't being televised, so for updates, follow @MarcSmith18 on Twitter throughout the game.

Running Back Battle Down To Wire

The battle to replace Grey Cup MVP Kory Sheets will be coming right down to the wire as the Roughriders head into the final preseason game with three running backs still in contention for the starting job.

“All three will get a chance to play behind (the starting offensive line), so we can rightfully evaluate them and see how they look,” said Chamblin on the three backs remaining on the roster, Jermanie Thomas, Anthony Allen and Keith Toston.

All three had their flashes during the Riders' preseason opener against Ottawa last week, which is the reason that none of the three have been able to separate themselves.

“We got a group that's smart and are going to battle,” said Avon Cobourne, running back coach with the Riders.  “It's always good to have options and I'm excited to have options.

“It's extremely close because we have a diverse group of guys, but they're all great at what they do.  I'm excited to see how it pans out on the field.”

Thomas is listed at the top of the depth chart heading into the game, but Toston was the top performer out of the three backs during last week's game, while Allen also looked good against the RedBlacks.

“I've just got to be different,” said Allen on what he needs to do to separate himself.  “I've got to make plays and show that they need me on this team.”

Allen and Toston are two very similar backs – they're both big and punishing runners – but Allen doesn't feel that is working against either one of them.

“It's definitely tougher (to separate), but you've just got to be good at what you do and bring some other things to the table too,” he said.

With a job on the line on Friday night, you can imagine that all three running backs will be going full out every chance they get.  Toston said he's ready to show the coaching staff what he's capable of.

“Anytime I get a chance to go out and play with my teammates, I always want to show what I can do, so I'm going to treat this game like every other game and every game for me is a big game,” he said.

This isn't the first time that any of the backs have been faced with a situation where their jobs are on the line, having gone through NFL training camps.

“At this point in my career I've been through a whole lot,” said Toston.  “There's no pressure, I just hope that at the end of the day I'm here.”

One area that might be the deciding factor in who wins the starting job won't be when they have the ball in their hands, but when Durant does.  Being able to pass protect will be big part of the final decision.

“I stress that the most important thing is making sure that our quarterback is protected,” said Cobourne.

It will all shape up for an interesting sixty minutes of football at Mosaic Stadium.