The Roughriders aren’t new to the playoff party

The voices of experience are about to become a little louder in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ locker room.

Many players who have been to the CFL post-season before in their careers likely will start speaking out to get first-time playoff participants prepared for what awaits them.

The Roughriders are to face the host Ottawa Redblacks on Sunday (noon, CKRM, TSN) in the East Division semifinal.

“I’m going to be talking the guys up myself because nothing is guaranteed anymore,” Roughriders offensive tackle Thaddeus Coleman said. “You have to play a certain way in the playoffs.

“You can’t do the things we did (Saturday in a 28-13 loss to the visiting Edmonton Eskimos in the regular-season finale for both teams). You can’t have all these penalties and expect to win in the playoffs; it’s not going to happen.

“Guys who have the experience are probably going to be talking a lot during the week and hopefully it rubs off on the younger guys or the people who haven’t been there before.”

According to statistics in the CFL Guide and Record Book, the veteran players on the Roughriders’ active roster, practice roster, one-game injured list and six-game injured list collectively have played in 135 playoff games and 31 Grey Cup games in their CFL careers.

Quarterback Kevin Glenn leads the Roughriders in playoff games with 16, scattered between the Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Calgary Stampeders and B.C. Lions. He has started 11 of those contests and has a 4-7 record.

Guard Peter Dyakowski is next with 10 career appearances in division semifinals or finals (all with the Tiger-Cats), followed by slotbacks Chris Getzlaf (nine games, comprising seven with Saskatchewan and two with Edmonton) and Bakari Grant (eight games, including seven with Hamilton and one with Calgary).

Getzlaf, Grant and cornerback Jovon Johnson all have played in three Grey Cup games.

A few Roughriders have appeared in NFL playoff games in their careers (defensive back Crezdon Butler has three such contests under his belt) and others have played in NCAA championship games (including University of Alabama products Christion Jones and Trent Richardson) or high-profile bowl games.

Then there’s Saskatchewan’s coaching staff, which is led by a man who has been to the playoffs in 15 of his 16 seasons as a coach in the CFL.

Chris Jones has been to 12 division finals and seven Grey Cup games since beginning his coaching career in the CFL in 2002. He has four Grey Cup rings to his credit.

“Certainly, you can look at what has happened in the past, things that you’ve done in the past to try to help you win football games,” Jones said when asked if he can rely on his playoff experience. “Ultimately, it’s going to be the players who have to go out and execute a simple game plan.”

Having said that, the Roughriders won’t change the game plan too much with the playoffs on the horizon. The coaches have established a routine and the players have followed it since training camp started, so a major alteration now could throw things out of whack.

Besides, the players’ systems already will be affected by the team’s travel plans for the playoffs.

If the Roughriders win in Ottawa, they plan to stay in the nation’s capital to practise before heading to Toronto to face the Argonauts in the East final on Nov. 19. If the Roughriders prevail in that contest, they’ll return to Ottawa to prepare for the Grey Cup game at TD Place on Nov. 26. That’s two and a half weeks away from Regina.

“Anybody who has experienced something like the Grey Cup — like myself or Chad (Owens) or Kevin Glenn — you know what it’s like to be out of your element for a week-long process and a game with all the media buildup,” Grant said. “We can take that experience and use that for our road trip.

“Keeping guys on track is what’s going to be an advantage for us.”

“(The potential length of the trip) doesn’t matter,” Glenn added. “Me and my roommate can live out of one suitcase together if we’re going to get to that Grey Cup.”

Eddie Steele has appeared in seven playoff games in his career, including the East Division final last season when the Eskimos crossed over. He also was part of Edmonton’s run to the Grey Cup title in 2015, so he knows whereof he speaks when the post-season arrives.

But while Steele has a wealth of playoff experience, he won’t try to dominate conversations in the Roughriders’ locker room in the coming days.

“There is a certain factor of experience, but everybody has different traits and different things that they bring to the table,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Listen to me because I’ve been there and won a Grey Cup.’ That’s not it at all.

“There’s no denying that the experience helps, having been in the big games and understanding what’s truly at stake. But everybody brings their own little ‘it’ factor to it.”

• The Roughriders announced Tuesday that they had signed sophomore receiver Caleb Holley to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the 2018 season.

Holley, a 26-year-old product of Anchorage, Alaska, had 39 receptions for 608 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games this season.

He was eligible to file for free agency in February.