Blue morphing into Prairie rivals

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This article was published 22/06/2015 (3759 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery, there should be no shortage of blushing brides on the sidelines of the Saskatchewan Roughriders this weekend as Winnipeg prepares to meet them in the regular season opener.

Regardless of the player and coaching acquisitions this off-season from these Prairie brethren, you don’t have to be a lucid John Madden to realize the Blue and Gold are starting the year against the team they are hoping to become. There will be schematic and play calling differences to be sure, but at their most fundamental and philosophical levels, it seems the Blue Bombers are being built and moulded in the image and framework of their fiercest rivals to the west. Some may say it’s coincidental that the Bombers have simply been addressing their weaknesses this off-season.

Others will insist they are following a blueprint for success the Riders have employed for almost a decade.

With all due respect to the Calgary Stampeders, the green Riders almost perennially field the highest number of homegrown offensive linemen in the CFL, and most frequently the best. Their front fives seem to characterize all of which their franchise hopes to embody: tough, physical, unrelenting and workman-like players.

Seventy-one sacks surrendered or not, Winnipeg has followed suit and made the men up front priority No. 1 this year. They jumped at the chance to sign ex-Rider Dominic Picard, and have spent their last two first-round draft picks on offensive linemen. They also signed a top left tackle free agent and are now openly recruiting any and all line candidates with an edge of hostility to their games.

The Riders have been a run-heavy team for some time now, and as a bare minimum they usually employ a two-pronged rushing attack expect to see heavy doses of Anthony Allen and Jerome Messam on Saturday and sometimes even three backs. It is no secret the Blue and Gold have also coveted a ‘thunder and lightning’ rotation themselves, and are eager to see if they have found it with both Paris Cotton and Cameron Marshall on the active roster and in their backfield.

When Saskatchewan wins at the line of scrimmage, no team, other than maybe Calgary, are as seemingly assured of winning as they are. Everything they do offensively and defensively seems to be linked to and stem from winning that yard of neutral zone in the trenches. There have been games between the Bombers and the Riders in the past where Winnipeg has virtually won every stat line save for the spoils of dominant line play, and of course, the score and the game. To that end, few teams have improved both sides of their lines to the extent Winnipeg has this off-season.

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Defensively, for some time, the Green and White have been able to pressure pivots with very capable and competent front fours, which has allowed them to get numbers to the football and doesn¹t leave them exposed in the back end very often. It would be hard to argue this hasn¹t created an impression on this new Bomber staff since 18-year Rider man, Richie Hall, is now trying to right the defensive ship, and he brought with him defensive line coach Todd Howard and secondary coach Barron Miles.

Add to the fact Bomber quarterback Drew Willy spent his formative years in Ridertown, along with a number of other recent additions by this regime, such as Patrick Neufeld, Kris Bastien, Sam Hurl and Picard, and it’s hard not to notice what direction this policy shift is headed in.

The Riders have been a post-season participant for six straight years and have been to the big show four times in the last eight years, winning two of them. They have established a controlling style of play and a methodology of trench dominance for nearly a decade, while the Bombers are in year two of their transformation into something similar they must be hoping produces approximate results. Saturday will give us an early indication as to just how far this team still has to go as they try to join the ranks of those of whom they have not beaten.

Doug Brown, once a hard-hitting defensive lineman and frequently a hard-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays in the Free Press.

Twitter: @DougBrown97