July 7, 2017

The Roughriders are trying to get over the hump

In Kevin Glenn’s mind, the Saskatchewan Roughriders simply have to take care of business Saturday.

Several times of late, the 17-year veteran has used the word “business” to describe pro football — and winning pro football games.

That was the case again Friday, when Glenn was asked if his CFL team faces a must-win situation Saturday when it takes on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium (8 p.m., CKRM, TSN).

“I don’t like to use the word ‘must-win,’ but it’s a game that’s urgent, that we need to win, because we’re in the business of winning,” Glenn said. “Every game is like that.

“If you were 10-and-0, you still need to go out and win that next game because it puts you in a better situation than you were in the previous week. We need to win this game so we’re in a better situation after this game than we were a week ago.”

Saskatchewan enters the game with an 0-2 record, having lost 17-16 to the host Montreal Alouettes on June 22 and 43-40 in double overtime to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 1.

The Roughriders found different ways to lose those games, whether it was a lack of discipline and costly turnovers in Montreal to a dreadful third quarter and a field-goal attempt that hit an upright in double overtime against Winnipeg.

There also are different suggestions as to how the Roughriders can get over the hump.

“We’ve just got to put together a full 60 minutes,” guard Brendon LaBatte said. “That’s the one thing we haven’t been even really close to doing in the first two games is put together a full 60.

“If you said a full 50, I don’t even think we’ve hit that mark yet. We’re probably somewhere in that (range of) 45 to 48 minutes of good ball and then we’re having a 12- to 15-minute letdown.

“Offensively, defensively, special teams — it doesn’t matter which phase it is, that’s the sort of stuff that we’ve got to eliminate. We’ve got to come locked in and buckled in to go for the full distance of 60 minutes.”

Basically, the Roughriders have to eradicate the mental mistakes that have hindered them over their first two games.

Everything from pre-snap penalties to busted coverages that left receivers uncovered have been harmful for Saskatchewan, which needs to address those issues to have success.

Glenn said the Roughriders watched the video of the loss to Winnipeg and have attempted to fix their errors. The proof will be in the pudding Saturday.

“(It’s) just being disciplined and doing the little things,” he said. “(It’s) making sure that everybody does exactly what they need to do and never go out of character to try to do something that they’re not called upon to do.

“Just do your job. I think we have a good enough team that if everybody does their job, then we’ll come away with a victory.”

According to Glenn, the team’s veterans have tried to create a more relaxed atmosphere in the locker room that will keep younger players from pressing when they get on the field.

The veterans also can help create a mentality on the sideline and on the field that could create the right atmosphere for their younger teammates.

“We have to act like we’re going to win,” linebacker/special-teamer Glenn Love said. “I’ve been on teams where we’d be down by one point or 20 points and we knew we were going to win anyways. We’ve got to make sure we know we’re going to win.”

That would suggest the Roughriders need to learn how to win — and a 5-15-0 record over their past 20 games does, too.

For LaBatte, the key to learning that lesson revolves around the players’ effort.

“Eventually, if you drop close ball games enough, you’re going to get mad and put that little extra on it because that’s what it takes,” he said. “It takes guys running at that all-out, full 100 per cent for every play that they’re out there.

“Sometimes in the middle of the third quarter, the ball can be going the opposite way and you want to take a play off. Subconsciously, you might not even know you’re doing it; it’s just something that happens. That’s the sort of stuff we can’t have.”

Guard Peter Dyakowski concurred with LaBatte, noting that even one play can result in a close loss. Since the Roughriders have lost two games this season by a total of four points, they can’t afford mistakes.

“Leave the big turning-point plays as they are and just have a few guys do a few things a bit better on a few plays — ones that might not have even seemed that remarkable to anyone watching — and the game could go the completely opposite direction,” Dyakowski said.

“There’s no one around saying the sky is falling. Everyone understands that if each one of us does his job incrementally better, then the sum of that is going to show up on the field.”

Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones noted he doesn’t feel any more urgency to win Saturday’s game than he did the contest in Montreal. The game against Hamilton is just “a very important game to play because it’s the next game,” said Jones, who hopes his club can correct the errors it made in its first two games.

“Winning and losing are very closely related,” he added. “When you drop a ball game, it’s usually because of some mistakes. It’s not usually because somebody’s just that much better.

“We’ve just got to do a better job coaching it and we’ve got to do a better job taking it to the field.”