REGINA – How the Saskatchewan Roughriders are going to adjust to an incredible spate of injuries they’ve gone through in recent weeks has been one of the major topics of conversations heading into their matchup with the Ottawa Redblacks.
Running back A.J. Ouellette. Defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. Defensive back Tevaughn Campbell. Receiver Sam Emilus. Receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker. Fullback Albert Awachie.
That's a lot of key players.
It’s hard to look at a list like that and still express full confidence in a team to find victory, even against a winless opponent like the Redblacks. But TSN analyst Glen Suitor feels there’s a path – even if it’s a lot narrower than it was a couple weeks ago.
Suitor joined the SportsCage for his Press Coverage segment on Thursday afternoon and talked about the Riders injuries and what concerns him most about the damage to the team.
First up, the receiving corps.
“It reminds me a little bit like when the Lions early in the season lost basically their starting receiving corps and even Keon Hatcher who was playing was banged up. They lost a couple in a row there,” Suitor said. “That's the tough part and I'd like to sort of say, ‘Hey, it's next man up.’ I'd love to be able to do that and just be the half full guy, but this is big.”
Of course, Suitor didn’t completely disregard the Riders’ now-young receiving corps. KeeSean Johnson remains as dangerous as ever, Johnny Johnson III has shown flashes of brilliance, and Dhel Duncan-Busby and D’Sean Mimbs could be on the verge of breakouts of their own.
But if things don’t go well right off the hop, Suitor expects Saskatchewan will have to make quick adjustments, and that might come in the running game.
“The one way that you can maybe make up for it offensively is to just really pound the ball,” Suitor said. “Like the Lions went to Winnipeg with their third-string quarterback and their backup tailback and rushed for 360. A real good running game by Quali Conley can really settle things down, and if (quarterback) Trevor (Harris) only has to throw 25, 26 passes in a game, then the young receivers can ease their way into that. You can be productive, but it's a huge concern, this many guys, especially in one position group.”
On the other side of the ball, losing both Milligan and Campbell at the same time is exceptionally difficult, and Suitor feels that having Campbell sidelined might remove a bit of the intimidation factor the Riders have in their defensive secondary.
“What Tevaughn Campbell brings is a level of confidence in that an opposing quarterback has to think twice about going out there,” Suitor said. “If he wants to go on a deep ball outside, and it's Tevaughn he's working on, it's in the back of his mind. Tevaughn will allow receivers to look open and almost bait even veteran quarterbacks into throwing it and then he makes up that space that he gave the receiver in a split second and he's there to play the ball. That plants a seed in a quarterback's head, whether they admit it or not.”
Losing that presence and a similar feel with Milligan certainly doesn’t help matters.
“Even if it's three or four games for the majority of these guys, it's a big hit,” Suitor said.
A big part of the problem as well is that it’s Canadian players who are going down. Emilus, Campbell, Awachie and Schaffer-Baker all give Saskatchewan huge amounts of skill while also working in favour of the ratio, and replacing them with Canadian talent isn’t an easy task.
“Not to disparage any of the guys that are going to play, but there's a bigger drop off in your depth,” Suitor said, adding that development of Canadian players in the league sometimes takes a little more time. He used Schaffer-Baker as an example, with the Mississauga, Ont., product taking a season to round into form before becoming the potential all-star that he is.
“Once they're ready, they're as good as any player on the field,” Suitor said. “But the drop-off, if you lose a bunch of them, is slightly bigger than it would be from American to American.”
Suitor used Ouellette and Conley as an example, where the rookie running back has quickly found a spot in the starting lineup despite his inexperience.
“As good as A.J. is and as important as he is to the team, Conley is a great player. He's looking good. It's not quite the drop-off,” Suitor said. “So, we'll see. Can D’Sean Mimbs have a 100-yard receiving game? He'll have an opportunity. We'll see. But that's where Schaffer-Baker and him are further apart in their development than a Connolly and an AJ, I would say.”
Suitor had plenty more to chat about on his segment, and you can catch the whole conversation below.
