REGINA – Just looking at how they’re performed against the rest of the CFL this season, it seems pretty safe to say that had they played any other team than the Edmonton Elks last week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders would likely have picked up a win.
But Cody Fajardo’s crew had a much different opinion of how things were going to turn out, and a 36-34 loss dropped the Riders to 4-2 on the season.
That’s led to many a prognosticator offering their take on what Saskatchewan needs to do to defeat Edmonton in the rematch on Saturday night, especially when it comes to the defence. Rider Broadcast Network analyst Luc Mullinder offered his take on the SportsCage on Friday, and the former standout defensive lineman agreed with his contemporaries: blitz, then blitz some more, and, finally, blitz again until Fajardo is forced into mistakes.
It all starts with winning first down, though, and putting the Elks in a position where passing is the primary option. And that might be easier said than done.
“I'd love to more pressure manufactured at Cody Fajardo, but here's the problem: If he's able to get to his check down routes versus pressure, then you're kind of in those one-on-one situations where you've got to make a tackle,” Mullinder said, adding that Saskatchewan didn’t go a good job in that situation early in last week’s matchup.
“So I think defensively, you've got to find a way, whether it's just with the defensive line, maybe five, maybe stunting a lot more, but you've got to find a way to get to Fajardo. Historically, he's always been a quarterback that if you find a way to get pressure on him, if you find a way to start getting him hit, he is going to make a mistake. And really, in a game that's back and forth, one mistake from the quarterback might be the difference between the win and the loss.”
That’s where long second downs and the blitz comes into play. If Saskatchewan can get constant and unrelenting pressure on Fajardo, the pressure and hits will come, and that could lead to a big night for the Riders defensive secondary.
“You've just got to get them in a second-and-10 situation so you can actually pin your ears back and pass rush,” Mullinder said. “If they want to run like a screen or a draw, you're going to be able to recognize that, and now you can get guys running downhill and linebackers identifying.
“The good thing about it is normally in a screen play or even a draw play, you've got linebackers like Josh Woods and Jameer Thurman. They're going to recognize those right away, and your defensive line are going to be able to play and go back.”
There’s always the threat of running back Justin Rankin, though. The Riders last week and the B.C. Lions before them were able to largely shut him down over the last two games. But if Rankin is able to get into one-on-one situations, that could lead to some dangerous outcomes.
“I'd rather have him having to make his way through traffic, figure out and let blocks happen in front of him before he gets going,” Mullinder said, adding that Saskatchewan will need to watch for the checkdown routes that hurt the team last week.
“If you just let him flare out, you're blitzing, and Cody gets it to him in open space, it's one-on-one where if a missed tackle happens, he's got a lot of room to run. I think that that's what you've got to be cognizant of, and that's why, again, you've got to win first down. You've got to take Rankin's ability and put them in a second-and-seven-plus situation.”
The Rider Broadcast Network pregame show begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder will have the game call from Commonwealth Stadium at 5 p.m.
