Riders aim to halt three-game skid with showdown in Edmonton

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are hoping for a fresh start as they enter their next six-game stretch.

In fact, Riders head coach Craig Dickenson wanted to get that point across so much that he shaved off his goatee for the first time in years.

“I told the players when we left (for the bye week) that we were going to get a fresh start,” he said, “so this is kind of my way of showing that I too was going to have a fresh start.”

Saskatchewan entered its first bye week of the 2022 season on a three-game slide and will try to get back in the win column Saturday against the Edmonton Elks.

Kickoff for the game at Commonwealth Stadium is set for 8 p.m. The Green Zone pre-game show begins at 6 p.m.

“We needed (the bye week). It got us back mentally to where we want to be,” slotback Duke Williams said. “We’re ready to compete and ready to get back to what we know best and that’s play football.

“We’ve been trying to do too much lately and it’s been bad; we’re on a three-game losing streak.”

Williams himself will be looking for a bounceback game after catching only five of the 11 balls tossed his way in a 32-17 loss to the B.C. Lions on July 29.

“This is the most the ball has ever touched the ground for me, so this is new for me,” Williams said. “I’ve got to learn how to adjust to it and play my game – I haven’t been playing my game.
“I’ve got to get back to my old ways and get back to me.”

When the 4-4 Riders face the Elks, they will also be facing a team trying to get their season on track. Edmonton comes into the game with a 2-6 record and will look to make amends after a 46-14 drubbing by the Lions.

“They are hungry. They have their problems but hopefully they don’t get it going against us and we’re just looking forward to competing and getting back on track,” Williams said.

“We’re in Week 9 now so you have to start stacking wins. We feel it’s an important game,” Dickenson said. “If we can beat them, we put a little breathing distance between us and Edmonton and if they beat us, they’re right in the middle of it and they are in the mix.”

Despite the bye, defensive end Pete Robertson isn’t ready to return after missing three games with a foot injury.

Without Robertson, defensive end A.C. Leonard and defensive tackle Garrett Marino, the team has only averaged 1.66 sacks per game. Prior to losing those three defenders, the team was averaging 4.6 sacks a game.

“The thing about this league is anybody can beat anybody on any day so we’re just excited. It’s just another game for me personally – I treat every game the same,” linebacker Darnell Sankey said. “I’m always a believer that if they score, then we didn’t play good enough.”

The Elks have made a lot of roster changes throughout the season, with a league-high 79 players playing in at least one game. The Riders have the second-most at 68.

One of those changes is at quarterback, with Taylor Cornelius now the team’s starter.

“I think his arm is second to none in the CFL,” Sankey said. “I think he’s really underrated in a lot of aspects.”

While Saskatchewan’s offence won’t be getting back any returning starters, the health of the quarterback is expected to benefit from the week off.

Cody Fajardo has been dealing with an injured medial collateral ligament in his left knee since Week 2, but feels the best he has felt since then.

“Physically I feel really good and trying to get my legs back underneath me and just get used to being a football player after taking a week completely off,” Fajardo said. “I feel explosive again. I feel like I can get my legs underneath me and add that to my game.”

The Riders’ offensive line will be tasked with keeping the pressure off the 30-year-old pivot, something it has struggled to do so far. The Riders have allowed a league-high 29 sacks in 2022.

“It’s shared between quarterback, O-line and running backs and we need to do a better job of getting into plays where we don’t necessarily have to throw it,” Dickenson said.

In a tough West Division, this will be an important stretch of games. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers sit at 9-1 with the B.C. Lions (6-1) and Calgary Stampeders (5-2) playing at 5 p.m. Saturday.

“Coming into this last stretch, I think we just need to understand that it’s do or die. We’re on paper an average team. Do we believe that? No, but that’s what our record says,” Sankey said.

“We have to go in there and do what we’ve got to do because we know we’re a great team and we’ve got the guys to take us all the way to win the Grey Cup.”