Familiar foes: Riders prepare for showdown with former teammates, coaches

There are going to be a lot of familiar faces wearing blue and white when the Toronto Argonauts visit Mosaic Stadium to play the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday.

Linebacker Cam Judge, defensive end Charleston Hughes, offensive linemen Philip Blake and Dariusz Bladek as well as offensive line coach Stephen McAdoo were all with the Riders in 2019 but are now with the Argos.

“(McAdoo) is a good football coach and he’s smart and he will have that offensive line playing well,” Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said Wednesday.

“(Riders defensive co-ordinator Jason Shivers) worked with him for a long time and coached against him for a long time so they are a good team. They’ve got a lot of talent on that roster.”

Dickenson said the coaches think there’s an advantage going against someone they’ve coached with before — the Riders will know McAdoo’s signals and tendencies — but Saskatchewan’s bench boss says coaches tend to change signals yearly to avoid such situations.

“It still goes back to the players,” Dickenson said. “(It’s) those 12 against our 12 and whoever plays best wins.”

Shivers says it’s going to be fun going up against his former colleague in McAdoo.

“It’s sometimes good to just see our philosophies go head to head,” Shivers said.

Defensive tackle Micah Johnson said he looks forward to playing former teammates because of their off-field relationships. Johnson played with Hughes and Judge in Saskatchewan in 2019. Prior to that, Johnson and Hughes played together with the Calgary Stampeders from 2013 to 2017.

“You go to war with those guys and talk to those guys in the off-season. We know each other’s kids and families and it goes deeper than football,” Johnson said. “Once the game comes, you get to chattering out there and it’s fun to compete against guys.

“It’s always fun to compete against guys you used to play with.”

Hughes has been the league leader in sacks for the past four seasons but has yet to register one in 2021.

“We’re tied right now,” said Johnson, who also has yet to drop a quarterback this season. “I’m trying to figure stuff out over here (like) how to get that quarterback to hold the ball when I’m closing on him.

“Charleston is still a good player and he’s still doing good things when you watch the film. The sacks might not be there right now and it’s especially weird for Charleston because he usually starts off real, real fast.

“I tease him because I tell him he slows down (as a season progresses) but maybe it will be the opposite this year.”

The Riders (3-2) are looking to bounce back after two losses to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a combined margin of 56-17. Meanwhile, the Argos (3-2) will try to maintain their lead in the CFL’s East Division.

Kickoff for the game is set for 7:45 p.m.

Fajardo trending towards playing, some defensive starters still questionable

The Riders have a number of injuries they’ve been keeping an eye on ahead of the game.

One of the bigger ones concerns the status of quarterback Cody Fajardo, who has been limited in practice due to a concussion.

But things appear to be looking positive for the 29-year-old pivot.

“We increased his reps a little bit (Wednesday) and he looked fine. We think he’s going to be all right but he still has to get through a few things in terms of the (concussion) protocol, but we feel like he should be able to go for the game,” Dickenson said.

But the defensive side of the ball will be without a couple of key contributors. Safety Mike Edem (wrist) and tackle Garrett Marino (knee) have been ruled out for the game.

Defensive backs Loucheiz Purifoy (ribs) and Ed Gainey (toe) are questionable. Safety Elie Bouka and defensive back Christian Campbell could get the starts due to the injuries.

Shivers says it’s up to him to ensure everyone is ready to start if called upon.

“It’s almost like going back to training camp and I look at it as a challenge to get these guys ready to play and ready to roll and go out there and do the best they can do,” Shivers said.

Notes: The Riders announced they had signed defensive back Jeremy Clark, who was with them during training camp. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder spent the 2020 season with the XFL’s Seattle Dragons. Before playing in the XFL, the University of Michigan product was a sixth-round draft pick (197th overall) of the New York Jets.