Darian Durant will be back under centre and Rob Bagg will be with him on offence, but other than that there won’t be a whole lot of familiar faces on the field for the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday night.
There were a lot of changes for the Green and White over the course of the off-season and now it’s time to see if they worked as they kick-off the 2016 CFL season by hosting the Toronto Argonauts at Mosaic Stadium.
“I look very forward to (the opening game), we’ve got a good football team, we’ve got some excellent character in our room and I look forward to seeing where we stack up,” said head coach Chris Jones.
The changes won’t be deemed a success or failure after one game, but the Riders will get a good idea about the direction that they’re headed and where they need to continue working.
“Like I told the team, this is for real, this is our first regular season game, we’ve talked a good game and now it’s a matter of seeing where we are,” stated Jones during his pre-game press conference on Wednesday.
The Riders will be kicking off their 2016 season after having a bye in Week 1, while Toronto comes in off a 42-20 home loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week in their first ever game at BMO Field.
This is the Riders’ final season opener at Mosaic Stadium.
Jones will be coaching in his first regular season game as the head coach of the Riders after the team cleared house following their 3-15 season in 2015 and gave full control over to the former Edmonton Eskimos’ field boss.
The Riders will also trot out 19 new starters for Game 1 of the regular season, that kind of turnover will no doubt require time to gel, but the team feels like they’ve made some good progress and are ready to go for the opener.
“Everybody is a work in progress,” said Jones.
The Riders’ defence has seen the most changes with every player listed as a starter on the depth chart playing their first game with Saskatchewan.
“We’ve been gelling together, we’ve had the chance to spend some time together off the field to come together as a group and we’re going to be a fast, physical defence, so it’s going to be fun to play in,” said defensive end Justin Capiccotti, who was one of the Riders’ big off-season acquisitions.
Capiccotti is expected to be one of many defensive linemen that you see during Thursday’s game with Jones working in a big rotation of players to make sure that they stay fresh.
With an all new d-line, Capiccotti said it’s been a different experience learning how each guy plays.
“It’s going to be a good group,” said Capiccotti of the d-line that also includes Shawn Lemon, Jonathan Newsome, Jonathan Williams and many more.
“We have a few guys that have played together in the past, which is nice, and then the new additions. It’s a good group, some good guys on our d-line.”
After putting out one of the worst defences in CFL history last year, the Riders are hoping that the wholesale change will lead to them keeping teams out of the end zone more in 2016.
“We’re going to be very good,” said Jones. “We’re going to be fast and athletic and I look forward to seeing exactly how we play.”
Kevin Francis is one of the players that will be bringing a high level of athleticism to the Riders’ defence this season. The 2016 CFL Supplemental Draft pick by the Riders was quickly converted from receiver to safety and will get the start at the position in his first CFL game.
“I’m ecstatic, I’m ready to go,” said Francis after Wednesday’s walkthrough. “This is still like a dream and I’m embracing it, I’m taking it one day at a time, one play at a time.”
Francis – six-foot-five, 220 pounds – played four seasons at North Carolina A& T and has transitioned well from the offensive side of the ball to the defence. He said it was an interesting change during training camp.
“Didn’t expected, I talked it over with Coach Jones a couple of times afterwards, but he put me in a position for success and I went after it,” said Francis.
“I played a couple of games at safety in college and high school, so I’ve utilized some of the stuff that I learned in high school and from playing receiver and just transferred it over to defence.”
Curtis Steele will get a chance on Thursday night to show the Argos what got away as the running back prepares to face his former team. Steele said there’s no extra motivation to facing Toronto.
“They’re just my old team, I’ve got some good relationships with guys over there,” he said. “They know what I’m about and it’s just time to play.”
Steele was anointed the starting running back early in training camp, but Jones said he earned it.
“He’s a very high character guy that I’ve known for a long time, he’s a hard worker and you can play him on any special team,” he said. “He’s the kind of guy that you want to try and surround yourself with.”
Steele has his sights set on 1,000 yards and is hoping to establish himself as an all-around threat.
“I’m really excited, I feel like a new Curtis Steele,” he said. “Just want to re-establish myself and I’m just excited to get out here and show everybody what I can do.”
The Riders will have a tough test on their hands with a motivated Argos team after losing their home opener. Capicciotti said they’re expecting veteran quarterback Ricky Ray to have a bounce back game and be at his best.
“They’re definitely going to be better than they were last week, they knocked some rust off and Ricky Ray will be better than he was last week,” he said.
“I’m expecting them to come in here and play us,” added Steele. “When I was in Toronto, every time we faced Chris Jones and his defence we came in with the mentality that we’ve got to take it time, so I know they’re going to bring it to us and we’ve got to be ready to dish back out.”
Kick-off is at 8 p.m.
Fri, Apr 26, 8:00 AM
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