Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will head to Saskatchewan this weekend to take on the undefeated Roughriders, and their defence will have their hands full trying to contain Kory Sheets and Geroy Simon.
But the Riders don’t only claim dominance on the CFL due to their high-powered offence. The Saskatchewan defence has grabbed a league-leading four interceptions, and have tallied 10 sacks, third in the CFL behind only the Alouettes and the Blue Bombers.
“They’re really good up front, which makes their back end better,” said Coach Austin after the Ticats final practice on Friday. “They get a lot of pressure on the quarterback, but they’re talented in the secondary as well.”
But Tiger-Cats quarterback Henry Burris is no stranger to teams who get pressure on the quarterback: he was taken to the ground seven times last week by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, yet still managed to complete over 80% of his passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Riders will surely present another difficult test this week for Burris and the offence, but he isn’t concerned, and cites his trust in the offensive line as a significant factor.
“We know we’re going to have our hands full,” said Burris, “But I’m confident our offensive line can do the job, I feel I have the best group of guys in the league.”
He also offered an explanation for why the Riders defence has been so successful in creating turnovers so far this season.
“They’re getting a lot of pressure up front which has caused a lot of quarterbacks to throw off-balance passes and throw under pressure while they’re getting hit,” he said.
Despite the sacks and interceptions, attacking through the air is where many teams have found some measure of success against the Roughriders. They’re in the middle of the pack when it comes to passing touchdowns against, and have allowed the most passing yards and completions in the CFL through three weeks.
The Ticats veteran pivot is once again at the top of the CFL ranks for passing yards, and has had no trouble finding success, despite the revolving door of injuries the team has been forced to deal with early in the 2013 season. Still, Burris won’t be sleeping on a Riders defence which has only given up seven total touchdowns through the first three games en route to the second best points against total in the league.
“Saskatchewan are the top dogs,” he said. “We have to focus on what we have to do, which is executing especially on the offensive side.”
The matchup on many people’s minds is how the Tiger-Cats defence will be able to handle the CFL’s leading rusher in Kory Sheets, but it will be just as interesting to see what Burris can do against the Riders D.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Burris. “This is a great test for us at the right time, and we’re going to see what we’re truly made of.”
