The Canadian Press
When the Hamilton Tiger-Cats walk into Mosaic Stadium it will be the first of multiple storylines to be played out during Sunday’s game.
Will the crowd boo or cheer Kent Austin? It seems like the sentiment is split 50/50 for a man who won two of the team’s three Grey Cup Championships.
But he also left twice, and the belief is he left too soon on both occasions for some in Rider Nation.
As much as Austin will say the game is not about ‘him.’ It is.
| Austin and the Riders |
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Kent Austin’s history with the Roughriders is a legendary one, having led them to two Grey Cups as a player and a coach. » Austin’s Riders win 95th Grey Cup |
Austin is a larger than life icon for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He is after all the 2nd all-time passer in the team’s history and one of only three coaches to lead this team to a championship. Austin’s return is a big deal!
Fans want to see the Green and White push around an Austin lead team. Call it a confidence boost that the team made the right choice in picking up former Ticat defensive coordinator Corey Chamblin to be their head coach last season and them former Hamilton head coach George Cortez to the lead the offence this season.
So far that tandem has been extremely dangerous.
Austin was near the top of many lists of coaching candidates for the Riders when Chamblin was hired. The former was either unwilling or unable to leave Cornell after 2011. A year later, the situation changed and Rider Nation felt a little envious that the one year wonder of a head coach was on the opposition sideline.
After three games in 2013, things have changed some more. There is no longer any envy from fans in green and white.
Whatever the treatment Austin gets, it’s going to just start an eventful game between the two teams over the next 60 minutes.
Williams’ revenge
Austin arrived in Hamilton and started turning the team into his. That meant veterans like linebacker Renauld Williams were expendable.
It should be no surprise where Williams stands on whether to boo or not to boo Austin.
“They better boo him as soon as he comes in here. I want boos. I want the ‘Hank’ chant. So boos and the ‘Hank’ chant and I’ll be happy.”
Williams is taking extreme pleasure that the Riders defence is stopping the run and dominating the opposition. And says Austin won’t only be hearing from the crowd but from the Riders new middle linebacker.
“When I make a play he’s going to know. But it is football and it’s all in fun but when you get released, you just want to go out there and prove your worth.”
Simon’s debut
After three weeks of Geroy Simon watch in Saskatchewan, the receiver finally makes his regular season debut.
A hamstring has put Simon on the sideline through the first three weeks of the season and his replacements have a combined three catches for 15 yards.
Simon is ready to prove his trade in the off-season was worth it for a team who didn’t seem to need him after a pretty hot start.
“I’ve been up at 5:30 every morning just ready to rock and roll, just ready for practice. I’m just really excited to get out here and play in front of these fans and this organization. It’s going to be a treat.”
Quarterback Darian Durant is a ‘game-time decision’ but is excited to throw his new weapon the ball.
“If there is a look they are giving us where I could get him an easy catch right away and get him in the flow then definitely. I’m sure the crowd is going to erupt when he touches the ball. So I definitely want to get him involved early, if the look presents that.”
What Simon may give up in speed, he makes up with knowledge. In practice, he’s consistently getting open and appears to be a great option for Durant when the team needs a key catch in a key situation.
Now, we wait to see if the production is there between the two when the lights are on.
Durant’s right foot
Durant has also garnered a lot of attention this week after missing Monday and Wednesday’s practices. His right foot was seen in a boot but it was taken off mid week so the quarterback could get back to practice on Thursday and Friday.
It appears Durant will get the ball on Sunday but there are questions over just how effective he’ll be when he has to scramble out of the pocket.
Durant doesn’t think the injury could get any worse by just playing on it and the pain is manageable, but whether or not the team wants to risk the injury any further is a different story.
Chamblin wants to stay true to his message that they’ll plan to play Week 4 like Week 18.
“Our previous record doesn’t play into this decision. It’s just where are we this week and where we are as a team, what we feel we can do with the team that we have. Previous record, 3-0, 4-0, whatever it is. Doesn’t matter. We just have to make sure we’re ready to go this week.”
With all these storylines playing out, Sunday is easily the game of the week in the CFL.
