The Saskatchewan Roughriders completed another practice without pads Thursday, but that didn’t have anything to do with a recent CFL edict.
In a joint decision announced Sept. 13, the league and the CFL Players’ Association decreed that padded practices were a thing of the past as the league attempts to increase player safety. Saskatchewan fell in line — but head coach-GM Chris Jones didn’t need to be told.
“We’ve been without pads for the last month, so it’s not really going to affect us that much,” he said after Thursday’s closed practice at Mosaic Stadium. “We never wore them (when he coached) in Montreal.
“Guys know how to practise. We still get in position to tackle and get in position to block.”
That said, Jones understands that some players will struggle without pads. Those who require what he called “some development in the fundamental areas” could have trouble, so CFL coaches may have to do a lot of teaching in training camp while they’re also evaluating.
Some observers believe that a number of players will have trouble adjusting to life without padded practices. If those players don’t learn the proper blocking and tackling techniques in practice, that will carry over into games — and improper techniques could lead to more injuries, not fewer.
Roughriders centre Brendon LaBatte will be interested to see how the CFL plan plays out in future seasons.
“Early in the year next year and as it goes, it’s kind of handicapping the young guys in a sense that they aren’t going to get those live-action practice reps anymore,” he said. “They’re going to have their two, three weeks in training camp to get all their hitting in and really try to learn what to do out there.
“When you’re not getting that constant muscle memory (of blocking and tackling in pads), it can be tricky. It’s going to force teams and O- and D-line coaches to adapt to still be able to get what they need done.”
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Otha Foster III wasn’t quite an impartial observer earlier this season.
Foster spent the 2016 season with the Roughriders, earning the team’s nomination for the CFL award as the league’s most outstanding defensive player.
He parlayed his efforts in Saskatchewan into a free-agent pact with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, with whom he attended training camp. On Sept. 12, shortly after he was released at the NFL roster deadline, the 28-year-old linebacker returned to the Roughriders.
But the whole time Foster was down south, he paid attention to the CFL — and to the Roughriders in particular.
While he doesn’t have any regrets about taking a shot at the NFL, he admits he thought about what it would have been liked if he had stayed in the CFL and started the 2017 season in Canada.
“Going down south, I missed being up here and playing,” Foster said. “I watched every game. I watched the (Roughriders’) opener against Montreal. I was tuned in and watching the guys play. To be honest, I was hyped for the first game like I was playing myself.”
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Foster left Friday’s 27-19 victory over the host Hamilton Tiger-Cats after just two defensive plays due to a back injury, but he expects to be in the lineup for Sunday’s contest against the visiting Calgary Stampeders.
The Roughriders will need all hands on deck against the Stampeders, who have won eight straight to improve their CFL-best record to 10-1-1.
In Jones’ mind, Calgary succeeds because it does all the little things right.
“We looked at their punt chart this morning for the last three games and they have not punted from inside their 35-yard line,” said Jones, referring to the Stampeders’ victories over the Edmonton Eskimos on Sept. 4 and Sept. 9 and a win over the B.C. Lions on Saturday.
“That means that their punt returner is doing a great job of getting the ball out when (opponents) do punt it down deep, their kickoff return team is getting it out and their offence — when they do get pinned — is coming up with first downs.
“We’ve got to do a great job, if we do get them down there, of keeping them down there.”
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The Stampeders may be without tailback Jerome Messam on Sunday.
Messam left Saturday’s game against the Lions after taking a shot to the back of the head from B.C. linebacker Micah Awe. That hit, as well as another high hit on Calgary’s Roy Finch, earned Awe a maximum fine from the CFL.
While Messam reportedly practised Thursday, his status for Sunday’s game has yet to be determined, so Jones was asked how much Calgary would miss the big back if he didn’t play.
“They’re not going to miss him, first of all,” replied Jones, obviously convinced that Messam will be playing. “He’s a big part of their offence. If you’re able to hand the football off and get six yards a carry, it puts you in second-and-four — and that’s advantage offence.”
