Saskatchewan Roughriders Head Coach Craig Dickenson was in good spirits on Monday as he made his weekly appearance on the SportsCage with Michael Ball, as the Riders are coming off a key road win in BC on Friday and are set to meet their arch rivals, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the annual Labour Day Classic on Sunday.
Earlier on Monday, there was plenty of discussion about Garrett Marino creating an issue about him not being named a starter against the Lions, Dickenson said severity of the matter was overblown and said the situation was an oversight.
“He (Marino) did come and ask us why he wasn’t listed as a starter and my answer to him was actually that it was just an oversight, he is supposed to be listed as a starter, he is just concerned, you know these guys have pride and they wanted to be listed as a starter, it means a lot to them and that’s all it what was, and I think he reached out to our P.R. people and asked why he wasn’t listed as a starter, he didn’t freak out, that’s something that happens every year guys want to be listed as starters, they want to see their name up on the board, they want to be announced as a starter and that’s all that was.”
The Riders Head Coach added that there will be plenty of attention following around Marino going forward.
“He knows that the microscope is going to be on him is pretty tight.”
Dickenson says the team is working towards helping Marino create a new reputation as a football player on the field, including one with the defensive tackle playing within the rules.
Returner Mario Alford’s status for the upcoming Labour Day Classic against is in question with a groin injury according to Dickenson. He added that if Alford can’t go, the returning game will be filled with a possible combination of Frankie Hickson at kickoff returner and Kyran “Swerve” Moore and Samuel Emilus at punt returner. Dickenson also didn’t rule out the possibility of newcomer Shaun Wilson helping out in the returning game.
There are some challenges to inserting a newcomer like Wilson to the lineup says Dickenson.
“Catching the ball and running is nothing new to them, but there’s so many rules up here, that you really have to do a good job of teaching them about the halo, teaching them about the last touch if the ball is on the ground , teaching them about the fact there could be a onside player behind the punter , it’s a always really a risk throw a rookie or a new player out there just because there’s so many rules especially in the kicking game, but we’ve done it before, if we have to do it, we’ll do it again.”
Tevin Jones caught a touchdown pass in last week’s win over BC, and the wide receiver has caught the attention of his head coach with his play on offence and special teams recently.
“He’s a throwback player in a lot of ways, he’s a receiver that you can tell when he was growing up who played a lot of defence, and he’s got a knack for getting to the football when you throw it to him, he’s a knack for catching it and when you put him out there on special teams Ballsy, he goes to the ball and he goes to the ball with speed ad with bad intentions he gets there and he’s trying to tackle the guy.”
On the injury front for the Riders, Dickenson said Canadian Micah Teitz is close to retuning to the lineup. He says the linebacker will be back practicing this week with the anticipation that he will return to the roster in Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl on September 10.
As for centre Dan Clark, the Riders head coach says that he’s a few weeks away, he noted Clark is eligible to return to practice in the leadup to the game on September 16 against the Elks with a possibility of returning to the the lineup after the team’s bye in late September.
It’s a 50-50 chance that Brayden Lenius returns to active duty for the Riders against the Bombers according to Dickenson, he noted the issue for Lenius will not be the familiarity of the offence, rather conditioning, since the receiver has not played meaningful football over the last month, following a tryout as a tight end with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
With the Labour Day Classic taking part on the last weekend of summer for many, Dickenson compared the practice regiment for this week to a slow cooked meal on the outdoor slow cooker that many families will likely be enjoying this week.
“I won’t get them too jacked up on day one, it will be a slow burn, I like to use the term like a good cooked meal, it’s a slow process, let it just marinate and then you put in that slow cooker and then seven or eight hours after you put it in there it’s ready to eat, that’s the message to the guys this week, let’s get a slow burn going.”
The Riders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the annual classic Labour Day Classic at Mosaic Stadium. You can listen to the game on 620 CKRM with an opening kickoff at 4:00.