Piffles Top 5 – Things to Watch for Riders vs Elks
Published: Thursday, Sep 14th 2023, 12:09pm
By Alex Dormuth (@RealAlexD)
The Saskatchewan Roughriders look to back above .500 on Friday night against the surging Edmonton Elks at Mosaic Stadium. The Riders have gotten pretty lucky against Edmonton this season, but both those teams were vastly different than the ones we will see Friday. Here’s what I’m looking for from the Riders this week:
1. Containing Tre Ford – The Riders couldn’t contain Taylor Cornelius running the ball earlier this year and he was awful… how are they going to contain Tre Ford when he is playing well? The Riders have been getting gashed by the run often this year, they’ll need to find a way to limit the type of running the Elks do this week.
2. Philip Blake & the O-Line – I honestly don’t think the O-Line was that bad in the Banjo Bowl. Logan Bandy did okay, but the team did miss Evan Johnson (I never thought I’d say that). They were starting to come into their own before Colin Kelly and Johnson got injured, but with the return of Blake, the team now has more options with the ratio and have a very solid veteran with them. How much (if any?) rust will there be? Either way, it’s a GREAT addition for the Riders this week and going forward in the final stretch of the regular season.
3. Stop Geno Lewis from a huge play – He’s heating up again for the Elks and he did have a 102 yard TD against these Riders earlier this year. The secondary has been getting beat up both in terms of injuries AND by receivers lately. Whoever is covering Eugene Lewis is going to have to bring their ‘A’ game.
4. Which team shows up? – At home, the Riders play pretty good, at least recently. I still can’t figure out who this team is and I have no idea what to expect from them anymore. They have the ability to put up 30 points, but can also struggle to get 10. I hope they come out with fire and emotion because they play their best when they do.
5. Robertson’s Return – The Riders got very little pressure on Zach Collaros last week with Pete Robertson serving his 1 game suspension. With Robertson’s return to the lineup, I hope the return of the pass rush happens as well. Or will he be used to play contain on Tre Ford? Regardless, Robertson will be needed to get the team their 7th win tomorrow night.
For more on this game and everything else going on in Riderville and the CFL, check out this week’s episode of the Piffles Podcast (presented by Dairy Queen Grill & Chill)!
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