September 18, 2016

Game Day Preview- Edmonton Eskimos at Saskatchewan Roughriders

Edmonton Eskimos (5-6) @ Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-10)
Mosaic Stadium – Regina, SK
2:30pm (CST) Kickoff

TV: TSN 1/3/4/5
Radio: Rider Radio Network (Pre-game Show begins at 2:00pm)

CKRM 620AM – Regina
CJGX 940AM – Yorkton
CFWD (Cruz FM) 96.3FM – Saskatoon
CJNB 1050AM – North Battleford
CJNS 102.3FM – Meadow Lake
CKBI 900AM – Prince Albert
CKBI 92.5FM – Big River
CKBI 95.9FM – LaRonge

Estimated temperature at Kickoff: Cloudy, 30% chance of rain and 19C (66F)

“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” – Herbert Spencer

Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher who coined the term “survival of the fittest”, based on Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

The Riders have had to manage a lot of change this season. With the addition of Jarriel King and Tyler Hunter, the Green and White will have dressed a CFL record 86 different players so far this season.

Going one step further, with the deletion of Naaman Roosevelt and Ricky Collins Jr., there are only a handful of players to have played all 11 games this season: Josh Bartel, Jonathan Newsome, Justin Capicciotti, Otha Foster, Kevin Francis, Thaddeus Coleman, Justin Cox, Greg Jones, Kendial Lawrence, and Corvey Irvin.

While this is rarely a great recipe for success, there have been some gems unearthed during this time, and they are amongst those ten players.

Thaddeus Coleman has been the only offensive lineman to have played every game this season. He has had to play both left and right tackle and has been solid throughout the season.

On defence, Greg Jones and Otha Foster were brought in to solidify the defence. They have been the leaders of a group that is starting to play their best football of the season. Foster has had to play a myriad of positions and Jones has locked things down at middle linebacker.

Kevin Francis has probably had the biggest whirlwind journey from supplemental draft pick a week before training camp, to changing positions (receiver to safety), and now starting in his first ever CFL game. It has been an up and down season, and at times Francis has had to drink from the firehose, but he has the building blocks for a solid CFL career.

The most polarizing player has been Justin Cox. He has been the Riders best defensive back, and has been given the tough assignments each week against the league’s top receivers. One minute, Cox looks like a future star in the CFL, then the next his youth and inexperience takes over with missed coverages and bad penalties.

This week, the Riders can make the Edmonton Eskimos road to back-to-back Grey Cups very difficult. A victory would drop Edmonton to a couple games under .500 and with the trio of Calgary, B.C. and Winnipeg playing so well, their only option may be the crossover to the East Division.

If the first two meetings between the Riders and Eskimos are any indication, the Green and White match up very well with the defending champs. The tough part is that the Riders top two receivers are out; Naaman Roosevelt is third in the CFL in receiving yards (1,095) and Ricky Collins is just outside the top-20 (513). Ryan Lankford and Armanti Edwards will be filling in for the injured pair.

Lankford has a handful of CFL catches, while Edwards will be playing in just his second CFL game.

What will help is the addition of the aforementioned Jarriel King at guard and running back Curtis Steele. Steele hasn’t seen the field since the Riders week five win over the REDBLACKS. There hasn’t been a 100-yard rusher for the Riders this season and Darian Durant leads the Riders in rushing with a meager 157 yards. To get Steele going would be a nice option for Durant and the offence.

Defensively, it’s pretty simple: try to slow down the top two pass catchers in the league (Derel Walker and Adarius Bowman) all while trying to keep quarterback Mike Reilly in the pocket.

It will be an interesting afternoon at Mosaic Stadium.

Cheer loud Rider Nation!!

School Ties:

–   James Franklin (EDM) and Kendial Lawrence(SSK) at Missouri (2010-12)

–   Grant Shaw (EDM) and Ivan Brown (SSK) at Saskatchewan (2006-08)

–   Tony Washington (EDM) and Mitchell Gale(SSK) at Abilene Christian (2009)

–   Joel Figueroa (EDM) and Kacey Rodgers (SSK) at Miami (2011-12)

–   Matt O’Donnell (EDM) and Matt Webster (SSK) at Queen’s (2010)

–   Michael Buchanan (EDM) and Ryan Lankford(SSK) at Illinois (2010-12)

–   Casey Chin (EDM) and Justin Capicciotti (SSK) at Simon Fraser (2010-11)

–   Heading into week 12 the Riders are leading the league in attendance (31,587) and are also the top draw on the road (29,552).

–   The last Rider win over Edmonton was November 8, 2014.

–   Welcome to the CFL Tyler Hunter.

–   Welcome to Rider Nation Jarriel King.