The Saskatchewan Roughriders might have the full force of their lethal passing attack at their disposal in the Western Semi-Final on Saturday afternoon, but TSN’s Farhan Lalji feels that might not be the major factor in the contest.
Instead, look to the ground game.
Lalji joined Barney Shynkaruk on the SportsCage on Friday afternoon and pointed to a spate of injuries to the B.C. Lions' defensive interior as a point of contention for the host team. As a result, Riders running back A.J. Ouellette could be in for yet another huge showing in a CFL playoff game.
“The Lions aren't healthy,” said Lalji, pointing out that standout weakside linebacker Parker McKenna is out and a good portion of the interior of the defensive line are in less than ideal shape. “A.J. Ouellette has the ability to control this game on first down and then it opens up Trevor Harris to do everything he wants on second down. Given the Lions' lack of health in the middle of that defence, it could turn into a day for the big man.”
Now, that’s not to say this whole thing is going to be a surprise walk-in-the-park for Saskatchewan. As good as the B.C. defence has been this season, this is still quarterback Nathan Rourke’s team. It’s very likely that as his offence goes, so go the Lions.
To that end, Lalji expects B.C. to rely far less on explosive plays to get the job done and instead rely on consistently moving the ball down the field in chunks — but don’t be surprised to see Rourke air things out if the opportunity presents itself.
“The first win at B.C. Place against Saskatchewan, they had five receivers with 20-plus yard receptions. The second win, they had two players with 50-plus yard receptions that led to two-play 70 yard drives. That's the definition of being explosive,” Lalji said.
“I think they don't want to be completely dependent on that. I think they want to be able to get into some consistent situations and to be a bit more manageable on second down and let the explosive plays come to them and not have to force them.”
As what he expects from the game score-wise, Lalji isn’t so hot on B.C. being a six-point favourite and feels it’s going to come down to the final moments and a big field goal.
“Saskatchewan has the ability to beat that team, but this is absolutely going to be a one-possession, come down to the final drive type of game,” he said. “It could come down to Sean Whyte or Brett Lauther.”
The Rider Broadcast Network will have all the action from the Western Semi-Final beginning with the pre-game show at 11:30 a.m. Dave Thomas and crew will get listeners set up for the game, and he’ll then join Luc Mullinder with the game call at kickoff at 2:30 p.m.
