Last-place Roughriders prep for rematch against 1st-place Stamps
The Riders have just one win after the first third of the season
The CFL's last-place Saskatchewan Roughriders were back on the practice field Tuesday prepping for a rematch against the West Division-leading Calgary Stampeders.
With one-third of the season already in the books, the Riders have dug an early hole for themselves. They boast the league's worst record at 1-5.
Fresh off a 35-15 defeat to the Stamps, it doesn't get any easier for the Green and White.
Darian Durant and company line up against their rivals again on Saturday.
We've got to figure out a way to finish in the second half.- Saskatchewan head coach Chris Jones
Despite being at opposite ends of the standings, Durant said it's mostly just minor errors that hurt the Riders in their previous match.
"We need to cut out the little mistakes," he said. "We [had] so many little mistakes, especially in that fourth quarter offensively. Things that stop drives. And also we need to make sure we have touchdowns in the red zone. We have to get our production better in that area as well."
Now, the team begins preparing to face an opponent fresh in their memory.
"I think the main thing for us is worry about us. Worry about the things we can control because they may come out with the same game plan and maybe totally different. We don't know that. So I think if we work on our execution that'll put us in a good position," Durant said.
Head coach Chris Jones said the team needs to improve, but he believes that most of the games they've played have been close — including last week's match against Calgary, in which the Stamps surged late in the game to overcome the Riders.
"We've got to figure out a way to finish in the second half," Jones said. "We've got to look at our conditioning and make sure that we're conditioning them enough. But I do believe in the process and how we're practicing the guys."
If all goes well in practice this week, Saturday's tilt will be Durant's second-straight start after a sprained ankle kept him out of two games.
Durant said the ankle still isn't quite feeling 100 per cent, but he's good enough to play.
In the three-and-a-half games Durant has played in, the Riders starting pivot has thrown for 978 yards, seven touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
Saturday's kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST at Mosaic Stadium.