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As the Saskatchewan Roughriders travel to Edmonton to take on the Eskimos in the Western Semi-Final there are five things I’ll be watching for as both teams try to book a ticket to Calgary and take another step towards the Grey Cup.
Durant
The Darian Durant watch began on Wednesday and has gone on all week as everyone kept track of how many reps he took with the first team.
Durant was limited in his first team reps all week and as expected, head coach Corey Chamblin announced that he will not be starting for the Riders when they take on the Eskimos in the Western Semi-Final. It’s expected he’ll suit up in a backup role, and could see some snaps should Kerry Joseph flounders in his first playoff start since the 2012 Eastern Semi-Final.
Now, Durant isn’t the be all, end all of the Riders chances. As Joseph proved in the season finale, he can manage the game well enough and is still a big enough threat with his legs to wear down the opposition on the ground.
Joseph may have one last gasp at greatness, but Durant is in his prime.
Run Defence
The Edmonton Eskimos running backs must be licking their chops at playing the Roughriders.
John White had a career day when these teams first played each other. He had nearly 100 total yards from scrimmage in game two and back-up Tyler Thomas eclipsed 100-yards from scrimmage in the season finale last week.
While the Riders have one of the top defensive lines in the league, too often it’s the linebackers who have problems making the play at the line of scrimmage to limit big gains on first down.
Brian Peters and whoever he’s playing next to in the middle, which has become a bit of a revolving door as of late, have to pick up their game.
If the Riders can’t stop the Eskimos run attack it’s going to end up being another long night at Commonwealth Stadium for the Green and White.
Special Teams
You need all three phases playing well to succeed in the playoffs. Kendial Lawrence was kept in check in the regular season finale but has had success against Saskatchewan in their other two games this season.
You can’t allow big plays and the Riders have given one big play up per game on special teams, which can come back to bite you.
| 2014 Western Semi-Final Playoff Centre |
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The Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders face-off for the fourth time this year with more on the line than any other time this year. Get everything you need to know about this matchup with CFL.ca’s Western Semi-Final Playoff Centre. |
On the kicking side of things, both Chris Milo and Josh Bartel have to be better for the Riders to have a shot this season.
Milo’s field goal percentage of 70% doesn’t give much confidence when three points can mean the difference between winning and losing while Bartel needs to improve the punting game to help control field position, a crucial element of increasing your odds of winning.
Emotion
When the Riders play with high emotion, they win.
These two teams have played each other so often down the stretch that you could see it last week that there is no love lost between the two.
Dominic Picard swatting Almondo Sewell and several other post whistle scrums showed that the two rivals are more than ready to do battle one more time.
That emotion has to be within reason, though as a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty at the wrong time can extend a drive or kill your own and come back to haunt you.
Things will get nasty on Sunday, but it’ll likely be the team that doesn’t cross the line that comes out with a ‘W’.
Spark/Big Play
The Riders need a spark, a big play, a run play of 20+ or pass play of 30+, on offense to put a very good Eskimo defence on their heels.
If the Eskimos are allowed to keep the play in front of them on defence, they’re going to shut you down.
On Saturday, the Riders saw Anthony Allen, Steven Miller and Kerry Joseph all take off for big gains on the ground and Rob Bagg’s jumping 40-yard touchdown catch added to the excitement.
Those big plays, lead to positive emotion which can spread through a team and create momentum.
The Riders didn’t get any big plays in their first two games against the Eskimos on offence and it allowed the Eskimos to dictate the play.
Of course, only one of these five things was determined before kickoff as the Riders look to take out the Eskimos on their way to Calgary and the Western Final.
