Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders left their 2015 mini-camp in Bradenton, Fla. in a good frame of mind. Over the weekend of April 10-12, the Roughriders had 70 players at the IMG Academy going over their 2015 playbook and evaluating prospects. Here are some thoughts from the camp:
– General Manager Brendan Taman oversaw the lion’s share of putting the camp roster together, which included 20-some veterans and roughly 50 prospects from their negotiation list and players they identified from their series of walk-on free agent camps in January and February.
“I take a big picture approach,” Taman explained. “It’s not just evaluating players. It’s the facility and how the coaches are doing and everything. Things seemed to go pretty well. A lot of people did a lot of work to get this thing rolling and it went off pretty smoothly. We got a lot of work done on and off the field with our coaches getting familiar with our players and vice versa. That’s always good. And it’s a headstart on training camp and the productivity was positive”.
– Head coach Corey Chamblin oversaw the day-to-day schedule of the three day camp, which included plenty of classroom sessions along with five on-field workouts.
“I think this was an excellent camp,” Chamblin observed. “I thought the guys adjusted to the things we asked them to adjust to. I think the talent level was on par across the board. There was heavy competition and we accomplished what we needed to. It was excellent.”
– Of utmost concern was the status of star quarterback Darian Durant, who missed the last half of the 2014 season with a torn tendon and slight dislocation of his right, throwing elbow. However, he passed the camp test with flying colours and had his reps increased when he told the coaching and medical staffs that he felt “100 per cent”.
Chamblin was pleased with what he saw from the 10-year veteran, the face of the franchise.
“Darian did pretty well,” Chamblin reported. “I didn’t see any fatigue arm- or body-wise or anything like that. Early in this offence there will be some ups and downs but for the most part I was pleased with what I saw.”
– The Riders’ fortunes took a sharp downturn when Durant went down on Sept. 7 of last year and Chamblin vowed he wouldn’t let that happen in the future. He says steps have been taken to ensure they’ll be prepared if it happens again.
“We’re stronger in a lot of areas,” Chamblin continued. “Like anything else, when you have adversity for the first time, it does weaken you. I can tell you that the team is prepared to move forward in the sense that things do happen. I think that younger guys are more prepared to understand this role may come about and all across the board — everyone understands that. And we’ve made some signings to where we’ve put some more veteran depth in early instead of late. We’ve built off some things that we learned last year.”
– The Riders had four quarterbacks slinging the pigskin in Florida: Durant, Tino Sunseri, Seth Doege and rookie Brett Smith. Veteran Kevin Glenn was signed during the CFL’s free agency period but was unavailable for the minicamp due to a previous commitment. The pivots all performed admirably and although there were kinks with the offense of new coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine, all agreed it’s better to work these things out in April rather than in main training camp in June in Saskatoon.
– The Riders had almost all veteran receivers in Florida, including established stars Rob Bagg, Chris Getzlaf, Taj Smith and Weston Dressler. Jamel Richardson, who has been regarded as one of the CFL’s most-dangerous receivers in his prime, was signed in December. He’s been out of football since 2013 due to a severe left knee injury and participated in the Saturday morning walk-through, but was inactive the rest of the weekend as he continues his rehab.
“I have a never die attitude,” Richardson told reporters. “I know I still have a lot left in the tank. It’s all about just getting healthy and stronger and getting mentally prepared. I love being in green and white. I love it. I love it. If I wanted to come back, this was the team I wanted to be back with. Just to be back with Darian – a familiar face – it’s love. I know he’s a great competitor, a Hall of Famer in my book, and we have a lot of great receivers here. It’s going to be good.”
– The Riders had a half a dozen running backs in camp including incumbents Anthony Allen, Jerome Messam and Steve Miller. Messam, a Canadian and former 1000-yard rusher, saw some action with the first grouping and makes a tempting choice as a ratio-buster. It appears the Riders will have some flexibility there, and their historically strong ground game will once again be a force.
– If there are any questions surrounding the Roughriders entering the 2015 campaign, it’s along the offensive line. The Riders have two openings up front: at centre after the release of Dominic Picard for salary reasons and at right tackle with the departure of Ben Heenan to the NFL. Chamblin said the club will go with two American tackles this season and it appears returnee Levy Adcock will be at the top of the depth chart opposite former Rookie of the Year Xavier Fulton. Returnees Dan Clark and Corey Watman will battle for the right to snap the ball to Durant while long-time veterans Brendon Labatte and Chris Best will fill the guard spots.
– Defensively the Roughriders have a few openings, particularly at outside linebacker with the departure of tackles leader Brian Peters to the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. Chamblin said he felt there were some good candidates in minicamp ready to fill the void, but declined to name them.
– The Riders’ glaring void at middle linebacker was filled with the off-season acquisition of two-time Grey Cup champion Shea Emry, but it left a void at rush end as veteran starter Ricky Foley went the other way in the deal. It can be filled by an American, given Emry’s national status.
– The Riders’ secondary will be strong coming back for 2015 with the likes of all-star safety Tyron Brackenridge and trusted veterans Macho Harris and Terrell Maze. However, they’ll be pushed by some of the fresh faces including pro football rookie Tyree Hollins out of Grambling State, who dazzled onlookers in Florida with a pair of interceptions.
– The Riders are looking for a punter with what appears to be the loss of veteran Josh Bartel. The Australian punter is a free agent and continues to examine NFL opportunities and it looks like the Riders are moving on without him. They had four punters in Florida – three being American – but it was tough to gauge their progress as they worked on a different field from the offense and defense.
– Another item of good news is that 2013 Rider Rookie of the Year Levi Steinhauer performed ALL longsnapping duties in Florida and reported no issues with the torn right pectoral tear which ended his season on Labour Day of 2014. He was not adequately replaced the rest of the season but the team appears to once again be in good shape there.
All-in-all it was a wonderful weekend of watching and analyzing the Roughriders in the Florida sunshine! Next up for the Saskatchewan Roughriders will be the annual CFL Draft on May 12 and then the start of 2015 training camp in Saskatoon at the beginning of June.
How will the Riders be this season? That seems to be the most-popular question within the Rider Nation these days and after seeing and hearing from the Green and White at the minicamp, there’s no doubt this club will once again be a top Grey Cup contender. The team (other than Jamel Richardson) is at top form with regards to health and its talent is unquestionable.
