The Saskatchewan Roughriders will try once again on Friday to pick up their first win of 2016 as they take on the Edmonton Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium.
The Riders are coming off a performance that saw some positive and some negative in a loss to the Toronto Argonauts in their season opener last week at home. The Eskimos are coming off a bye-week after they lost a shootout to the Redblacks in week one. Both teams are still trying to figure themselves out and this one could go along way in figuring in that out.
With that in mind, here’s six things to watch.
- The Return: After a pre-season warm-up, Chris Jones and most of his coaching staff return to Edmonton for the first time since leaving in the offseason for Regina. How will the crowd react? We don’t know. We’re sure Jones doesn’t really care as he does what he does without worry of what people think of him. Shamans Chambers (a former Eskimo himself) threw some fuel on the fire this week suggesting there would be more Riders fans than Eskimos fans in the stadium. It’s usually a good split which should make it an interesting pre-game. Once the game is on though, it probably won’t matter. I still think the CFL missed out not opening the new season with this match up.
- The Offences: This one could potentially be another offensive explosion like we saw a couple of weeks ago in the Alberta capital. The Riders defence was aided by a number of key drops by the Argos and they still managed to hang 30 on the Green and White. On the other hand, the Eskimos defence looked to be out in the wilderness against Ottawa as they try to come together after losing players to the NFL, other CFL teams and injuries, especially in the secondary. If defence is your game, this might be a game you want to avoid.
- Post-Lemon Era: This game marks the first since defensive end Shawn Lemon was dealt to Toronto. Outside of off-field problems, Lemon was also made expendable because of the rise of Johnathan Newsome and (former receiver) A.C. Leonard which pushed Lemon further down the depth chart. The Eskimos offence should provide a good test for this new defensive line.
- Short Yardage: One thing the Riders definitely have to improve on offensively is moving the chains. Last week against Toronto picking up one yard seemed rather difficult at times with Darian Durant getting stuffed once. Bryant Moniz then fumbled in a similar situation that led to an Argos touchdown. Little plays like this that keep drives alive can make all the difference.
- Punt Cover: Last season, the Riders pride and joy was their cover units. The punt cover team had a couple of major gaffs last week and will have to tighten things up to give a new defence a chance with a longer field.
- The offensive line: This could be a weekly thing in Saskatchewan. This week, Matt Sewell who they picked up in the Lemon trade is on the retired list, Chris Best remains on the injured list. Brendon LaBatte and Josiah St. John both suffered injuries this week too, though LaBatte only missed practice on Tuesday. Despite Jones’ best efforts this week, the Canadian depth still isn’t there. Better hold your breath again that no one gets hurt.
