The Saskatchewan Roughriders take on the Montreal Alouettes in CFL action on June 22th, 2017 at Molson Percival Stadium in Montreal, QB. Liam Richards/Electric Umbrella
The Saskatchewan Roughriders experienced some grass from the past Wednesday.
With preparations for Sunday’s Guns N’ Roses concert taking place in Mosaic Stadium, the CFL team practised Monday and Tuesday at Leibel Field.
On Wednesday, the Roughriders stayed closer to home and worked out on the grass practice field adjacent to historic Mosaic Stadium. Long-serving employees believe the Roughriders haven’t practised full-time on that field since the 2006 CFL season.
Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones said the decision to move to the field was made to save time. The round trip to and from Leibel Field was about 40 minutes in duration.
“We just decided to stay over here a little bit closer,” Jones said after the Roughriders’ last full practice before Friday’s game against the host Edmonton Eskimos. “Forty minutes of bus time is big for us.”
Jones wasn’t happy with Monday’s practice — the team’s first after its second bye week of the 2017 season. He noted that Tuesday’s workout “was OK,” while Wednesday’s was more of what he wanted to see.
“Today was a very good practice,” he said. “I thought we came mentally prepared and even though we’re at another different venue, the guys seemed to be prepared.”
Not that that always helps in games.
Asked if there was any correlation between a good week of practice and a good game, Jones shook his head.
“Just about the time you think that you’ve practised really good and you’re all prepared, you’ll play the worst,” he said.
“I’ll be honest with you: The Calgary week, I thought we practised really well coming off that bye but, unfortunately, we didn’t execute (and lost 27-10 to the host Stampeders on July 22). And I’ve seen it just exactly the opposite: You have a terrible Day 3 and Day 2 and you think, ‘Man, we may get smoked,’ and end up playing well.
“It’s pro football. It comes down to the game and executing.”
•••
Aaron Milton is reliving his high school days.
The 25-year-old product of Toronto played running back at the University of Toronto and during his first three seasons in the CFL. Now, the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder has followed the lead of other Jones-coached players and moved across the line of scrimmage.
This week, Milton has been working out at weak-side linebacker.
“I played safety in high school; that was the last time I played defence,” he said. “It’s different. Everything is kind of flipped and reversed. I have new techniques to learn and new things to read. I’m trying to get it to be instinctual again, like playing on the other side of the ball.”
Milton was selected by the Eskimos in the second round (15th overall) of the 2014 CFL draft and played 14 games with them over the next three seasons.
He signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent in February of this year, but retired on May 27 to deal with a personal matter. After addressing that issue, Milton reported to the Roughriders on Aug. 1.
He was put on the practice roster on Aug. 11 and, two weeks later, is working in a new position.
“I know Coach Jones has done this with a lot of guys before,” Milton said. “If you’re athletic enough and he believes that you can do something, he’ll move you.
“Actually, I kind of take it as a challenge. He wants me to do something and he thinks I can do it, so why not put the onus on myself to be good at it?”
•••
Milton may not come off the practice roster for Friday’s game, but there could be a change at strong-side linebacker.
Erick Dargan, who was on the one-game injured list for the Roughriders’ 41-8 victory over the B.C. Lions on Aug. 13, may come off that list and replace Derrick Moncrief.
Moncrief — who had two tackles, two pass knockdowns and a 54-yard interception return against the Lions — didn’t practise Wednesday.
“Moncrief and Dargan both have been bitten by little nicks and bruises and stuff like that,” Jones said. “We’ll just see exactly who ends up at Sam.”
•••
Milton is one of a handful of former Eskimos players on the Roughriders’ roster.
Players like defensive linemen Willie Jefferson and Eddie Steele and offensive lineman Thaddeus Coleman also played in Edmonton when Jones was the Eskimos’ head coach.
The former Eskimos — including Jones — always talk glowingly about Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly, who piloted the team to a Grey Cup victory in 2015.
“At the end of the game, when the game is tight and there’s only a few waning seconds left to go in the game, his heartbeat’s still the same as it is early in the game,” Jones said. “He’s just a tremendous competitor.”
“When I started playing with him back in ’13, I could see the dude is passionate,” added Coleman. “It’s not fake. It’s not, ‘Hurrah, blah blah blah.’ The guy loves football and he loves to win.
“He’s a competitor. Early in his years, he never wanted to slide and that sometimes got him in trouble. He’s very true to this game and that’s why I respect him so much.”
