After saying goodbye to each other, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are hoping for a good bye week.
The CFL team has the week off, so the players and coaches have scattered across the continent. They left happy, having posted their first victory of the season Saturday — a 37-20 triumph over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium.
Saskatchewan went into the bye week with a 1-2-0 record.
The time off could blunt the momentum the Roughriders generated in Saturday’s impressive performance, but they’re not worried about that.
“I don’t think it’s a bad time for the bye,” quarterback Kevin Glenn said after the game. “It’s a good chance for people to enjoy this win and come back focused to put some more wins together.”
Saskatchewan is idle until July 22, when it’s to face the host Calgary Stampeders. The Roughriders aren’t expected to practise until Monday or Tuesday of next week, so the players and coaches who wanted to get away for a bit have done just that.
“I’ll relax, hang out (in Detroit) with the kids and the wife and do some things. Maybe take them to an amusement park or something. Try to enjoy the kids and their summer vacation.” — Kevin Glenn
“I’m going home (to Phoenix) for a couple of days, pack up, probably get some more clothes and bring my car up. I’ve got to see my family. I haven’t seen them in more than a month now, so I’ve got to see my mom, my sisters, my grandma — make sure everybody’s doing OK.” — Glenn Love
“I’ll grade the film (of Saturday’s game) and then I’ll take two or three days off just to try to get away from it for just a bit. I’ll probably take my computer with me, but I’m going to go up to northern Saskatchewan somewhere and see what’s going on up there.” — Chris Jones
The organization’s hope is that the players and coaches will be able to relax during the bye, but it’s unlikely that the game will be very far away.
“It’s kind of hard to shut it out during the season, even on a bye week,” Glenn said. “We’ve got all this technology. We have iPads with all the game footage and all that kind of stuff on it, so I’ll still probably watch game footage just to stay in football mode. I think everybody probably will.”
Even if they don’t gaze at iPads to analyze what happened in Saturday’s game — or in either of the Roughriders’ two previous games this season — the players likely will stay connected to the game just by looking at their phones.
Such is life in the era of social media.
“I open up my Instagram or I open up my Twitter and football’s everywhere I go,” said kicker Tyler Crapigna. “You can’t really shut it out. You’ve just got to deal with it.”
“I’m heading back to Ottawa to see some family and stuff. I’ll get some workouts in at my gym back in Ottawa and go from there.” — Tyler Crapigna
“It’s time for us to get our bodies right. Everyone’s feeling good now, so it’s up to us to relax, get our bodies right and just come focused for the next game.” — Naaman Roosevelt
“We’ve been going at it pretty hard for six, eight weeks now. Our strength coach is telling them exactly what they should eat, exactly what they should be doing in the weight room and how many times they should run. They’ll take care of themselves. We’ve got a high-character group. I’d be very shocked if we come back after the break and people haven’t run or worked out.” — Chris Jones
The bye comes six weeks after the Roughriders opened training camp in Saskatoon. Last season, the team had a bye in Week 1 of the regular season.
After Saskatchewan’s first bye in 2016, it played games in each of the next 13 weeks before getting another break. The Roughriders then finished the regular season with five games in as many weeks.
This season, the Roughriders get a bye after three games. After this break, they’re to play only four games before getting another bye. When they return from that hiatus, they’re to play 11 games in as many weeks to complete the regular season.
“We’re trying to look at the season in sections rather than just one full thing,” Crapigna said. “We wanted a winning record in this section, but we came out 1-and-2.
“Now we have this bye and we’re going to come back and play three or four games until our next bye, so we’re going to try to look at that little section and come out above .500 in that.”
Several of the players planned to use the week off to get things in order at home, especially those who were added to the roster late in training camp or early in the regular season.
“I have a car (in Vancouver) and all my stuff is out there. I’ll fly out there, drive my car back and then settle in here in Regina. All of this stuff has happened so fast that it has been a shock. I’m really excited to get my car here, get settled in and be comfortable with making this place home.” — Cameron Ontko
“I’m going to go back to Hamilton. My wife’s brother has been living in our house keeping everything occupied and looking after the cat. I’m going to go back, enjoy Hamilton, do some gardening and all that stuff.” — Peter Dyakowski
But for the most part, the Roughriders will try to use the break to rest and recuperate.
“I’m just going to relax and hopefully make a few appearances (on behalf of the organization),” said defensive back Ed Gainey, who decided to save a few bucks and stay in Saskatchewan instead of flying home to North Carolina.
“I’ll probably get with a few of my teammates. Rob Bagg and I were talking about doing some go-karting.”
Cameron Ontko faces a two-day drive back from Vancouver, so he’ll have an opportunity to let his mind wander away from football. After he gets back later this week, he’ll get back into game mode.
“All year round — from training in the off-season to camp to practice and game prep — this sport is tough,” said Ontko, a former B.C. Lions special-teamer whom Saskatchewan signed on June 27. “But I’m not taking the whole week off. I’ll just be chillin’.
“I plan on getting back here, putting my feet up, watching some TV and getting my body back.”
