The Saskatchewan Roughriders head into their road playoff game against the B.C. Lions as the underdogs as they prepare to visit a place they lost decisively twice this season.
But legendary Riders quarterback Darian Durant thinks there’s a blueprint for them to walk away with a win on Saturday – and he laid that out on the SportsCage.
“Just tune out the noise,” Durant said Monday. “No one’s really giving the Riders a shot. The guys should use that as motivation. Don’t worry about anything outside. It’s all about the guys in house. It’s going to be a tremendous environment, a tremendous opportunity for these guys to go out there and pretty much shock the entire league.
“And it’s all about penalties in big games like this. Penalties will kill you, especially on the road. You can’t get behind the sticks. You can’t put yourself in situations where you make the environment and the game even tougher than it already will be.”
Durant’s comment about penalties was fitting considering the Riders were called for seven penalties, costing them 72 yards in a 30-16 loss in Vancouver on Aug. 23. Worst of all, they had two touchdowns taken off the board because of flags.
Durant also touched on another aspect the Riders struggled to deal in their head-to-head matchups this season: Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke.
The focus is on the Saskatchewan defence.
“The main thing is just not give up the big play,” Durant said. “This team has just been plagued by the big play, and it comes from quarterbacks who are able to extend the play their legs. The Riders are much more of a zone-coverage team. Once guys can scramble around on the back end, control what’s going on, they’re able to find open receivers down field.
“If you look at Nathan Rourke, he’s thrown for 330, 355, and 375 (yards) in the three meetings against the Riders. It’s going to be a tough task for this secondary to control him and those receivers. If they can just make B.C. march down the field every single time – hopefully Nathan Rourke makes some bad decisions – but the more and more you control the big plays and make him have to fit the ball into tight windows, you give yourself a chance to slow them down.
“If give up the big play against this offence, you’re going to be in big trouble. It’s going to be a long day for that secondary.”
Regardless of how the defence performs on Saturday, the offence must contribute.
Durant said the offensive line must protect quarterback Trevor Harris to “allow him to pick apart that (Lions) defence,” something he’s had success doing in the past.
When it comes to an offensive game plan, Durant’s approach is simple. Harris should look for top receiver KeeSean Johnson whenever possible, he said.
“He’s a guy who’s built for these types of games,” Durant said. “He’s been your guy all season. You have to feed him. When you get in the red zone or the scoring zone, you have to take advantage of those opportunities – even if that means throwing it up to him and letting him make a play.
“You can’t settle for field goals. You have to be able to score touchdowns. B.C. has shown that they are able to put the ball in the end zone. The Riders haven’t shown the ability to do that. In order for the Riders to win, they definitely have to turn the tide. Field goals won’t get it done against such an explosive quarterback and all the weapons that he has.”
The one other thing the Riders need to be cognizant of, Durant said, are the conditions. They’re used to the elements, and especially, as was evident in the regular season finale, the wind.
Saturday’s game is at B.C. Place, the only indoor stadium in the CFL. The Riders are holding practices indoors this week at AffinityPlex.
Durant said they better pump in crowd noise, too, to prepare accordingly because the Lions’ home venue can get loud if that upper deck is open and full. The Riders offence might need to use a silent cadence on Saturday, he said.
“It’s going to be a different environment for the Riders,” Durant said. “It could cause some problems if you haven’t been practicing with that type of crowd noise.”
The Rider Broadcast Network pregame show begins at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 2:30 p.m.
