Riders News

It's going to be a tough first game for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Montreal Alouettes are rolling into town of course as Grey Cup champions.  On top of that, the Riders don't have any game film to go on which can be a frightening thing according to defensive back Lance Frazier.

"To be honest with you it's the scariest thing ever.  You're horrified because you have nothing to go off of...of course they're not going to come with the same game plan that they had before.  They're going to come out with a couple of different schemes."

The Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive line expects big things this year.

With a veteran quarterback in Darian Durant and an all star cast of receivers, their confidence is pretty high right now.  Centre Jeremy O'Day says having a guy like Durant behind him is a great thing.

"It makes us more confident knowing that he's back there with a full year under his belt.  He's seen pretty much everything he's going to see within the year, so now he's going to build on that and be even better."

The Saskatchewan Roughriders quite possibly have the best receiving group in the CFL.

Weston Dressler, Andy Fantuz, Rob Bagg to name a few.  Throw in the addition of Prechae Rodriguez, Jason Clermont, Chris Getzlaf and defences will no doubt have their hands full this year.

With the potential for three players to get  1,000 yard seasons, Bagg tries not to put too much pressure on himself.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have released 9 more players ahead of today's cut deadline.   And a surprise maybe to some is the release of 2nd year defensive lineman Joe Sykes.

Sykes came into last season with a lot of hype, but in the end defensive line coach Mike Sceper says the decision came down to one thing.

"In the end the cream will rise to the top and unfortunatly for Joe he wasn't one of them.  We're going to move on unfortunately without him."

Head coach Ken Miller says he was disappointed in the result.

After releasing six players on Tuesday, the Riders made nine more cuts on Wednesday.

A member of the 1966 Grey Cup champion Roughrider team has passed away. Ron Atchison died on Wednesday morning in Regina at the age of 80. Atchison was born in Central Butte, and raised in Saskatoon where he played for the Saskatoon Hilltops from 1947 to 1949. 

In 1952 he joined the Riders and played 237 games with the Green and White until 1968.

Atchison is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have made their first set of cuts before Thursday's CFL mandated deadline.

The following players have been released:

Kicker Ryan Elaschuk, Offensive linemen Jordan Rempel and Patrick Neufeld, wide receiver Aaron Waldie, defensive lineman Steven Riddick, and linebacker Taylor Wallace.

Head Coach Ken Miller says Neufeld, a fifth round pick in 2010, had an outstanding camp and will head back to the University of Saskatchewan for his senior year and should be back in training camp next season.

The Calgary Stampeders gave the Saskatchewan Roughriders a wake up call heading into the regular season. The Stamps used 21 second half points for a 41-17 victory at McMahon Stadium.

Calgary scored on their first possession of the ball game, with Henry Burris hitting Nik Lewis in the end zone. Saskatchewan responded, minutes later, when Wes Cates ran it in from five-yards out to even the score at seven but the Riders wouldn't find the end zone until two minutes left in the game when Cole Bergquist hit Cary Koch for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

In year 100 for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, no individuals will be inducting into the Plaza of Honor. Instead, the committee has decided to induct the three teams that brought home the Grey Cup in the first 100 season.

On October 15th, the 1966, 1989 and 2007 Grey Cup Championship teams will be inducted into the Plaza of Honor.

The three teams will join the 107 players, coaches, trainers and builders already on the cairn outside Mosaic Stadium.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders continue to work towards locking up the core of the team for years to come. Darian Durant, Andy Fantuz, Rob Bagg, Chris Getzlaf, Tad Kornegay and Omarr Morgan are the long list of players that were signed to contracts this offseason.