Riders’ defence expects Ti-Cats’ offence to come out roaring after Week 1 woes

The Saskatchewan Roughriders don’t expect the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to turn in a repeat performance.

The Tiger-Cats, who usually come in with a roaring offence, were held to a whimper for most of their Week 1 game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Ti-Cats scored a touchdown on the opening drive of that CFL game, but failed to accumulate another point the rest of the way in a 19-6 loss.

“I think they’re going to be a wounded animal this week and I think they’re going to come out hard and they’re going to come out fighting,” Riders head coach Craig Dickenson said Wednesday, three days before his team is to face the Tiger-Cats at Mosaic Stadium.

“Our guys need to play fast and we need to be good from the start because Hamilton, I think, has something to prove and I think they need to come out fast and we need to match that intensity ourselves.”

The Riders’ defence could have its hands full with Jeremiah Masoli, 2019 CFL most outstanding player Brandon Banks and the rest of the Tiger-Cats offence.

“During the off-season, they’ve been beating themselves up over losing the Grey Cup and I’m sure they wanted to come out and get that win against Winnipeg with the rematch and everything. I’m pretty sure they’re going to come out with a chip on their shoulder,” Saskatchewan defensive back Ed Gainey said.

“Their offence didn’t do as much as they usually do — they are a high-powered offence —  so I’m pretty sure they are going to have a plan and try to get it rolling.”

Banks presents an interesting challenge for the Saskatchewan defence and Gainey, who could like up across from the slotback for much of Saturday’s clash.

Banks had 112 receptions for 1,550 yards and 13 touchdowns during his 2019 season. He had eight catches for 77 yards in Week 1 of this season.

“You have to know where he is at at all times. They are going to move him around a lot and specific areas on the field where he is, we’re going to get a bead on him and know if they are trying to get him the ball or clear out the formation,” Gainey said.

“We just always have to keep our radars up and know where he’s at on the field.”

The defence will also need to bounce back after a second half from the B.C. Lions that had Saskatchewan fans holding their breath.

While the defence was pitching a shutout for most of the first half against the Lions, with 3:48 left in the second quarter, B.C. connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nathan Rourke to wide receiver Lucky Whitehead.

The Lions then put up 23 points compared to just two for the Riders in the second half.

Saskatchewan linebacker Deon Lacey, who had a team-leading seven tackles and one quarterback sack, says the Riders need to show the same energy in the second half like they did in the first.

“The extended plays late in the game, sometimes you feel like you might have the game won when you really don’t. That kind of came into play,” Lacey said.

“It being the first game and us not having pre-season games and some of the things in practice being limited after we had certain injuries, all of that came into play and it showed a little bit in that fourth quarter.”

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 8 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show gets underway at 6 p.m.

Notes: Slotback Justin McInnis (hamstring) was a full participant in practice for the second straight day … Defensive end Pete Robertson (hamstring) and linebacker Kevin Francis (hamstring) did not participate.