SportsCage CFL analyst Glen Suitor shared his concern with how the Riders will protect Trevor Harris since A.J. Ouellette won't be playing in their next game against Toronto.
"Well, the one thing I'm going to be looking for in a big way is the protection for Trevor Harris without A.J. Ouellette in there," Suitor said to SportsCage host Barney Shynkaruk.
"Depending on what they do as far as who gets how many reps and who's going to be the tailback. Most of the time, a young new running back in the league is going to be fine when it comes to handing the ball and giving it to them. If it's Conley or whomever, that's not a problem; they've done that all their life, and they're going to be fine with that."
Ouellette injured his ankle in the third quarter during the Riders win over the Calgary Stampeders in Week 3, Saskatchewan won 40-37 in double overtime. The Riders put Ouellette on the reserve roster for Week 4, which gives American rookie Quali Conley a chance to play.
“The problem becomes or the issue or the worry is protection because A.J. takes it personally, and this is his buddy. He's protecting in the pocket, and he's one of the best in the business at it," Suitor said.
Stylistically, Suitor explains how Toronto can test the Riders and their protection of Harris.
"What I'll be looking at is how Toronto goes after them. They don't have to send more than they can block; they just have to run some stunts up front with one extra rusher and see if whoever is playing tailback at the time can locate that extra rusher and provide protection for Trevor Harris,” Suitor explained.
“If Saskatchewan is solid there, Trevor has been red-hot all season."
The six-foot-three, 212-pound quarterback has started both games for Saskatchewan, he has completed 74 percent of his passes for 766 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions.
When analyzing Toronto, Suitor reflects on how quarterback Chad Kelly is doing this season and his last game.
"I think sometimes, though, you can get in his head a little bit, and he starts to get distracted is the best way to say it,” Suitor said.
“Sort of leave the concentration point and then now I'm going to just knife it through two defenders to make this throw, that's where he gets himself in trouble a little bit. But anytime you can throw four interceptions in a game and win, then you're doing a lot of good things. I think Chad Kelly, from just a pure throw the football kind of guy, he can make all those throws.”
In Toronto's last game, the Argonauts defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 44-24, Kelly finished with 424 passing yards and four touchdowns plus four interceptions.
"He makes them in tight windows. So I think the important thing for the defence for the Riders here is to be patient, give up field goals, not touchdowns,” Suitor detailed.
“So they get into the red zone, and Kelly has put together a nice drive for 60 yards. Make sure you're giving up field goals, not touchdowns, and at that point you give the ball back to your star quarterback, and he goes and puts majors on the board, and you'll be fine."
The Riders pre-game show starts at 4 p.m. on Friday, and later Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 7 p.m. You can either watch the stream or listen on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
