Saskatchewan Roughriders legend Darian Durant approves the Green and White signing veteran American running back Ka'Deem Carey.
"I hate to see A.J. Ouellette go down so early again. It's been trending in the past couple of years, him getting banged up. I know it has to be super frustrating for him to work so hard to go down early in game one, it's a tough thing for him," Durant said on the SportsCage.
"Bringing in Ka'Deem Carey, a guy who's versatile, can catch the ball out of the backfield, veteran presence, blitz pickup, you name it — that'll definitely help this offence."
The Riders signed the 32-year-old Carey after Ouellette suffered a head injury, according to 3DownNation insider Justin Dunk, in the team's season opening win over the Ottawa Redblacks as Canadian Thomas Bertrand-Hudon performed well in relief.
Durant used his crystal ball to predict Saskatchewan to win the team's two road games out East in Week 2 and Week 3. The Roughriders travel to Hamilton on Saturday and then play the Argonauts in Toronto on Friday, June 20.
"This is a perfect opportunity for the Riders to go out East and come back 3-0," Durant said to the SportsCage. "To try to come back 3-0 after this East coast swing would be a great thing going into a tough stretch of Western games."
Durant believes the Riders defence needs to be aggressive in going after Bo Levi Mitchell, the Tiger-Cats veteran franchise quarterback.
"You have to attack Bo, you can't let him sit back there and get comfortable. He's not a guy who will get tired of taking the underneath throws and try to force one downfield. He'll take what the defence gives you as long as you give him time. You have to attack him, make his feet move, make him get outside the pocket, make him uncomfortable. That's the way to attack him," Durant explained.
"He's going to get his yards, if they go with the bend but don't break style that coach [Corey] Mace usually goes with, then Bo is going to throw for a lot of yards. It's really up to this offence to put pressure on that young Hamilton defence and make them uncomfortable. Then you make Bo one dimensional and that's the best way to attack him. There's blood in the water, Hamilton got bit by a shark last week in Calgary and has a little wound. I think the Riders will jump on that, I think the Rider defence, they'll get after Hamilton and Bo Levi. I don't see much of a run game with this Hamilton team."
The Tiger-Cats lost against the Stampeders 38-26 in Week 1. That marks the fifth year in a row that the Ticats dropped the team's season opener.
