The Saskatchewan Roughriders were back at the University of Regina for Day 2 of preparation before their season opener on Saturday in Edmonton.
With winds gusting to 90km/h, the Green and White went through their regular practice regiment.
Wednesday’s workout featured sessions with offensive and defensive scout teams, work on special teams, and an interesting session of fielding punts in the breeze.
That said, the team was focused on their playbook execution.
Defensively the priority will be to stop the Elks running attack, led by Kevin Brown. In the last meeting of the teams in 2023, Edmonton racked up 265 yards on the ground. Defensive Tackle Micah Johnson says, “remaining assignment sound,” will be the key to stopping the run game and, “trusting the system and the player beside you.”
Offensively, the intriguing match-up is between Rookie Rider offensive Coordinator Marc Mueller, and Elks Defensive Coordinator Jason Shivers, who spent the last five seasons in the same role with the Riders.
So, who has the advantage? According to receiver Mitchell Picton, “a little bit of both. A lot of receivers are returning,” that he knows, “but then again a lot of us have been playing against his defense for years.” If there is one thing for sure, “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Edmonton Elks kick off their season on Saturday at 2 pm at Commonwealth Stadium. Countdown to Kick-off Coverage begins on 620 CKRM at 11 am.