Sam Emilus sporting an orange jersey during the 2023 season — this year's set will be auctioned on Sept 28
One week after leading a balanced offence, Trevor Harris took a comparably even-handed approach to a pre-game media conference.
He talked about being irritable … while smiling!
“I get a little irritated on Day 4, because I start getting a little ticked off and ready for the game and I start putting myself in that mindset,” the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ starting quarterback said on Friday.
Days 1 to 3 on a CFL team’s schedule routinely include a full-scale practice.
Day 5 is the game — in this case, Saturday’s clash between the Roughriders and Ottawa REDBLACKS (1 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
Day 4, while anything but unimportant, is a period of limbo.
“The calm before the storm,” said Harris, who is ordinarily one of the least-irritable people on Earth. “It’s just tying up all the loose ends.
“And mainly, at 38 years old, you just need this one day to get your body feeling a little bit better, coming off injuries and whatnot.
“I’ve never really felt like I needed a Day 4 resting time. With the knee (injury earlier) this year, it has been more or less getting that extra day.
“I’m going through the plan one more time, doing some visualization, and doing stuff that I’ve talked about with my mental performance coach.
“I’m getting on my ARP (electrical stimulation therapy device) and trying to get my body right and activated and feeling good and ready to rock.”
Harris is coming off a Sept. 20 game in which he completed 16 of 18 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown to help Saskatchewan defeat the host Calgary Stampeders 37-29.
He also ran three times for 17 yards and one TD. Most of the Roughriders’ rushing yardage was accumulated by newcomer Ryquell Armstead, who gained 207 yards along the ground.
Overall, the Roughriders compiled 248 yards through the air and 244 along the ground.
The latter total was Saskatchewan’s highest in a game since Nov. 24, 2013, when Kory Sheets produced 197 of the Roughriders’ 268 rushing yards in a 45-23 home-field Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
“If you watch the film (of the Calgary game), the offensive line was moving people,” Harris said. “They were getting to the second level and the receivers were incredible with their blocking, being able to turn those nine-yard runs into 25-yard runs.
“Not only that, there were a few times when (Armstead) made somebody miss. He broke a tackle and got to the next level himself and made it happen himself. It was just a mixture of those sorts of things.
“We were able to get good box counts (in terms of the number of defenders Calgary was assigning to the trenches).
“We had the run game going. We had a little momentum. Our guys had a little steam behind their engine and they were able to get moving while moving people.”
In light of Armstead’s rushing prowess, Harris was asked if he expects the REDBLACKS to “stack the box” on Saturday with the objective of repelling the run game.
“We’ll see,” he responded, “but I think this offence is built in a way that we can dictate the tempo ourselves and also do things to react to whatever their game plan is.
“They’re a good defence. They’ve been doing a great job all year. They’re physical, they’re fast, and they have a really good pass rush.
“It’s on us to make sure that we’re stretching the field horizontally and vertically, moving the pocket, moving in the run game, using play-action passes … doing all those sorts of things.
“I don’t anticipate them playing seven in the box. If they do, that would be incredible, but I haven’t gotten that sort of treatment since maybe ’15.”
HOME SWEET HOME
The Roughriders (6-7-1) finish the regular season with three out of four games at Mosaic Stadium.
“You can’t really ask for anything better,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “You always want to play at home, specifically with our fan base.
“In the same breath, there have been some games here this year that haven’t turned out in our favour. We’ve got to make sure that we keep the fan base engaged and we protect our home field.
“You’d rather be at home than on the road anytime. We all know what this fan base provides, so we’re looking forward to this one and the other ones that are coming up.”
The Roughriders’ final four regular-season games are on a Saturday.
After meeting the REDBLACKS, Saskatchewan plays on Oct. 5 (at Edmonton Elks), Oct. 12 (versus B.C. Lions) and Oct. 26 (versus Calgary).
Although the comforts of home are preferable, a road stretch isn’t necessarily a disadvantage.
The Roughriders, remember, opened the regular season by winning in Edmonton (29-21 on June 8) and Hamilton (33-30 on June 16).
“I thought the schedule early was kind of good for us,” Mace said.
“You kind of want to see what it looks like in different atmospheres and how the team is going to respond. I thought we did a good job of that.
“You’d rather play at home in front of your fan base and get that help from the fan base, but if we’ve got to go on the road — and we do next week — the job description doesn’t change.”
This season is only the fourth in franchise history in which the Roughriders will play three of their final four games at home — including the last two.
Before this year, such a scenario had unfolded in 1957, 1985 and 2017.
Those are also the only three years (until this one) in which the Roughriders have wrapped up the regular season with back-to-back home dates.
With exponentially greater frequency — 24 times — the Roughriders have finished up with two consecutive road games.
Those years, for the record, are 1934, 1940, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1981, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2015.
And get this: In 1953, the Roughriders’ schedule concluded with three straight games on the road.
HERE’S LANIER!
Roughriders defensive lineman Anthony Lanier II is ticketed to return to the lineup after missing seven games with a knee injury.
What does he bring to the defence and the team as a whole?
“Just disruption,” Mace said with a smile. “He is a disruptive guy. It’s exciting to get him back.
“Obviously, his personality — with him being out there every day — changes the dynamic of our practices.”
Routinely a defensive tackle, Lanier II will start at an end position on Saturday.
“Having him be able to swing outside this week helps us a lot,” Mace said. “He’s a load out there, so I expect him to be disruptive to help push our defence forward.”
