The Saskatchewan Roughriders are gearing up for Sunday’s Labor Day Classic against the league’s number one team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“They pressure the quarterback every week. They make it very difficult, I’m sure, for any coordinator to plan a game against them. They are physical threats no matter what, so it’s about the ability of the O line to play together,” said Jason Maas, special teams coordinator for the Riders.
The offensive line continued to take the brunt of criticism for the Riders’ current 6-5 record that puts them fourth in the West Division. Now the offensive line is tasked with taking on one of the best defenses in the league, as the Blue Bombers have given up the fewest points per game this season in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
However, the Riders were able to see the return of left tackle Terran Vaughn to the O-Line. Vaughn has missed the last two games due to injury but returned to practice on Tuesday.
“We’re just trying to get everybody’s reports, get everybody’s feet wet. But I’m up for the week, ready to go,” Vaughn said.
“The offensive line has no continuity. Every week it seems like we have a new offensive line, someone new starting. So once those guys feel comfortable playing up front, five strong, I have all the confidence in the world in them,” quarterback Cody Fajardo said.
Fajardo will have to keep faith in them as he faced seven more sacks in last week’s win over the BC Lions. However, Fajardo says the sacks aren’t always the O line’s fault.
“There are some really good defensive players in this league, so not all of those sacks are on our offensive line. I feel like everyone is pointing the finger at them, but there are some that are just blanket bags,” Fajardo said.
One defensive player the Riders will be looking to stop is former teammate Willie Jefferson. Jefferson has recorded more than 50 sacks during his CFL career, including just four this season.
“You just have to keep an eye on what they are doing and where they are. Each game plan consists of draws and screens, but they’re still pretty good against that. So it’s more about unbalancing it and doing a number of things to make it look different,” Maas said.
Vaughn knows a lot about Jefferson, not only as a former CFL teammate, but also at the high school and college level.
“Coming back to high school, he was in senior year, I was in first year. At Stephen F. Austin, he was a senior, I was a freshman. So he always did a good job pushing me. From both of us, we always expect the best from each other and that’s usually what we get from each other,” Vaughn said.
The Riders will look to shut down the Bombers defense on Sunday. The Labor Day Classic kicks off at 4 p.m. on TSN.
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