Riders looking to avoid short-week blues against Tiger-Cats

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are hoping for a completely different result after this short week of preparation compared to the last one.

The CFL team is coming off a 45-18 win over the B.C. Lions on Saturday, but the Roughriders’ attention has turned to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — and backup quarterback Dane Evans — during a short week.

Kickoff for Thursday’s game at Mosaic Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m.

If the situation sounds familiar to Roughriders fans this year, it’s because the Green and White were in a similar place a few weeks ago.

The Roughriders defeated the Toronto Argonauts 32-7 on July 1 but were dismantled 37-10 by the Calgary Stampeders on July 6 following a short week. Calgary backup quarterback Nick Arbuckle led the charge in that contest.

Saskatchewan head coach Craig Dickenson said Monday that there was one thing he would like to see changed as the Roughriders have their second short week this season.

“Play better,” Dickenson said after practice at Mosaic Stadium. “We’re going to try and rest (the players) maybe a little bit more. I hate short weeks just because you can’t dive into the film like you want to.”

The last time Saskatchewan had a short week, Dickenson was quick to point out the team looked sluggish during practice. He was glad to see things were different this time around.

“We worked them hard in the weight room on Day 1 and I thought they had a good session in there,” Dickenson said. “I thought today (on the field) was sharper in comparison to the Day 1 against Calgary.”

Quarterback Cody Fajardo will also be looking to flip the script from his last short week of preparation.

Fajardo struggled against Calgary, throwing for only 89 yards and two interceptions before being replaced in the fourth quarter.

Fajardo admitted it’s tough to prepare during these times.

“There’s only so many hours you have to prepare, so it’s not like I can do any more than what I did last time,” Fajardo said. “It’s just going out there and executing at the end of the day.”

He said the biggest difference for the Roughriders is the fact they’re coming off two wins in a row and feel they are on a roll.

“We’re feeling good about ourselves so I think we’re really eager to play again. We want to be back out on the field,” Fajardo said. “Anytime you perform well the week before, you want to get back out there and play well.”

The Tiger-Cats will have Evans at the helm because starter Jeremiah Masoli tore the ACL in his left knee on Friday in a 23-15 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Fajardo was in a similar situation to Evans earlier this season. After starting quarterback Zach Collaros went down with an injury, Fajardo was thrust into the starting role.

“Us as young, backup quarterbacks, we’re just thriving for our opportunity,” Fajardo said. “I know (Evans) is going to be ready. We’ve actually shared the same quarterbacks coach so we haven’t personally met but we’ve had similar people help us get to where we are at.”

Fajardo has thrived for the most part as the team’s starting pivot. He has completed 98 of 129 pass attempts (75.9 per cent) for 1,326 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions in five games as the starter. He currently leads the CFL with an average completion of 9.5 yards.

He also has rushed for 137 yards and four touchdowns as the starter.

Fajardo and Evans are just two of the backups who have had to step up as starters in 2019. Only Winnipeg’s Matt Nichols, B.C.’ s Mike Reilly and Edmonton Eskimos pivot Trevor Harris have started every game for their team this year.

The Green Zone pre-game show will begin Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Notes

Guard Brendon LaBatte (leg) is practising for a second straight week. LaBatte, who has yet to play this season after getting hurt in training camp, was not with the starters Monday … Kicker Brett Lauther (groin) is expected to miss another week. Dickenson said Lauther is “close” but the coaches want to give him another week. If Lauther can’t go Thursday, Gabriel Ferraro would make his fourth straight start … Collaros (concussion) isn’t practising. Dickenson didn’t have much of an update, saying he needed to check with the trainers.