Saskatchewan Roughriders' Mike Rose knows consistency takes time with new players who come in at short notice.
"It's hard to win in football when you've got guys in and out of the roster," Rose said to the voice of the Riders, Dave Thomas.
"You feel for those guys who show up on Tuesday and play on Saturday and Friday, right? There's a give-and-take."
When it comes to Head Coach Corey Mace's thoughts on the defensive line, he was optimistic about what he saw from them so far this season.
"I'm gonna continue to say it, I feel like there are a lot of question marks about the group just because of the people: Micah [Johnson], Habakkuk Baldonado, Scoop [Malik Carney], all these guys that we lost. Who's gonna step up? The reality is you don't know because it could be any single one of them," Mace said to the media.
"They just work together as a group very well. That being said, there are still tons of things that they need to work on, and that's just not that group. It's everybody, but they're studious. They're workers, and there's no selfish play, and everybody eats."
Micah Johnson is the Riders' new defensive line coach after he retired in the 2025 CFL season. Baldonado left to go to the Ottawa Redblacks in free agency, and the same was true for Carney, who went to the Edmonton Elks.
The Riders bounced back from their loss against the Toronto Argonauts in Week 4, 40-34 and won their Week 5 matchup against the Ottawa Redblacks 27-22. After the game, Mace laid out how they will prepare for their next opponent, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
"We got to get to attack the film. Beat this game, get the corrections, and then we have a little bit longer of a week to spend time getting to know what they got going on. They got an explosive offence; they got some pieces back on defence," Mace said to Luc Mullinder post game.
"They're well coached. So it's going to be another tough battle. But I find whoever the opponent is, man, we're always in for it."
