The Saskatchewan Roughriders want to desperately make it a three-peat of host cities winning the Grey Cup.
How desperate are they? Put it this way, if this was a poker game, President Jim Hopson, General Manager Brendan Taman and Head Coach Corey Chamblin would be all in.
They may even be going to the cashier to find more chips for free agent defensive end John Chick. But with all this change in the off-season it will be interesting to see how everyone comes together at training camp.
Along with the changes to the roster, there were some significant maneuvers made to the coaching staff. And as Chamblin told the Roughriders website, he wants his team to become a family, which means there is plenty of team-building to be done.
The Riders had a very young team last year, with a lot of new faces added not only to the team but to the CFL as well. They felt that this year was the time to add experience and leadership to compliment the new talent they found in 2012 standouts Kory Sheets, Terrell Maze, Tyron Brackenridge and Xavier Fulton.
With the signings and trades that brought in Geroy Simon, Ricky Foley, Rey Williams, Dwight Anderson and Weldon Brown, the Riders suddenly have experience from top to bottom. That alone was a big reason the Riders pulled their rookie camp from the regular schedule, opting instead to give the rookies a lot more classroom time before they hit the field in Saskatoon on Sunday.
Now, the Riders have an interesting dilemma heading into camp. As far as ‘camp battles’ are concerned, there aren’t many of them when you consider the money spent on free agents and the time put into the returnees.
That’s not to say nobody has a chance to take someone’s job. It happens. Eddie Russ took Lance Frazier’s job last year. Kory Sheets took away what was supposed to be Brandon West’s starting running back job.
There are always surprises but right now, you can easily fill out the starting 12 on offence as well as the starting 12 on defence without including any players with little or no CFL experience. As a result, Rider Nation has some very high expectations for the 2013 Saskatchewan Roughriders.
While the team can’t let complacency set in, training camp will be a great way for these players to start to gel as a unit, and especially on the defensive side of the ball where there are only five or six returning starters. They don’t need to have a bunch of new faces rotating in and out for the next month taking away from chemistry.
The offensive terminology being implemented by George Cortez will be another major adjustment to overcome for an offence that has little change, with potentially 11 of the 12 starters returning. Darian Durant will be prepared for this new challenge and is willing to learn from the CFL offensive guru.But if there is room and intrigue for ‘camp battles’ there are a few. The team needs to find a kick returner with the departure of both Brandon West and Tristan Jackson.
The Riders also need to see if newcomers like Will Davis, Hilee Taylor and Antonio Coleman or sophomores Kenny Rowe and David Veikune can be the dynamic defensive end lacking in Saskatchewan for three seasons.
Saskatchewan has put together an impressive list of talent over the off-season, but we’ve seen teams built on free agency go both ways.
That’s why Corey Chamblin’s second season in Saskatchewan as head coach may be harder than his first. Everyone knew his rookie season was going to be a growing/rebuilding year. But with the Grey Cup in his own back yard and the money invested in the roster this year, the expectations are much higher.
Chamblin has to make sure his team isn’t sitting back and admiring the talent assembled. He needs to ensure the effort and work being put in matches or exceeds what they did last season.
Luckily for the coach some of the new assembled talent like Simon, Anderson and Foley have championship rings and can show what that effort and work looks like.
