The Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking for a little more consistency from their offence. After a couple of sub par games the past two weeks, they're looking for that spark to light a fire underneath them.
Wes Cates says the loss to the Stamps is that spark they need.
"I think we just needed a team (Calgary) that was hungry and was going to come out and challenge us to let us know that it's not going to be easy. Calgary showed us that we need to work hard week in and week out."
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to fix some holes in its defence. Tied for first in the CFL with 129 points allowed, there is a lot of room for improvement.
Defensive back Lance Frazier says that's a number that needs to get better.
"I take it personal because most of that's in the back end. We've allowed a lot of passing yards this year and that's something we have to tighten up on and I take it very personal. I have complete confidence we will get better."
The Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders looked like two teams trying to find their game after the first half. Too bad for the Roughriders the Stampeders found it the second half and Saskatchewan did not.
The Stampeders outscored the Riders 33-13 in the second half for a 40-20 victory and a share of first place with Saskatchewan in the West Division. Both teams are now 3-1 after the first four weeks.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a confident group heading into Calgary to face the Stampeders.
Holders of a number of offensive categories in the CFL, the team is looking to come up big in a first place showdown for the Western Division lead.
Rob Bagg knows they have to approach this game like any other.
The Roughriders will start off the 2010 season with not only three straight wins but three straight sell-outs at Mosaic Stadium.
The tickets for the July 31st game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats is now a sell-out. The Roughriders sold out their first two home games against Montreal and Edmonton. They have also sold out the Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on September 5th.
There was a new face at Rider practice.
Kicker Eddie Johnson was brought in on a tryout basis and signed a practice roster deal with the Roughriders afterwards. He was with Toronto last year before a shoulder injury.
You can put two and two together and realize he was brought in after Louie Sakoda's tough game against Edmonton.
Head coach Ken Miller says there's nothing wrong with some healthy competition.
You could say the Riders offence is off to an excellent start in the first 3 weeks.They lead the league in scoring avearging 38.3 points a game, touchdowns scored with 12, passing touchdowns with 7and rushing touchdowns with 5.Darian Durant says new offensive coordinator Doug Berry has been a key piece."Coach Berry has done a great job of utilizing the talent we have. He's always putting guys in the right position to make plays. It's showing up on the board and the score column."
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have played well for the most part in this early CFL season. But a 213 yard performance by Edmonton Eskimos receiver Freddy Stamps has posed some questions.
Lance Frazier takes the performance of himself and the defence personally.
"You know you definitely take those big games against us personally with me being in the backfield. That's something we have to get ironed out sooner rather than later.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders didn't play their best football game, but it was enough.
The Riders came away with a 24-20 win over the Edmonton Eskimos. Wes Cates ran for 112 yards on 12 carries highlighted by an 83 yard run in the 2nd quarter that set up a Hugh Charles 1 yard touchdown.
The loss by the Eskimos drops their record to 0-3, which is their worst start in 45 years.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders know they're in for a test. Even though the Edmonton Eskimos come in with an 0-2 record, they're a hungry team.
Darian Durant says they're not taking the game lightly.
"We know what they're capable of. We know Ricky Ray is a great quarterback, they have a great defence, they have weapons all over the field. We deifinitely can't be complacent. We have to come out and take care of business."
Head coach Ken Miller says his team takes it one game at a time and doesn't worry about what the other teams record is.
