THE CANADIAN PRESS
Regina – There was a time not so long ago when the Montreal Alouettes were a difficult sell in Saskatchewan.
Roughrider fans reserved their passion for the team’s more traditional rivals in the Western Division, or Winnipeg.
Times have certainly changed.
Coaches will deny it, players will insist on keeping it all in perspective, but a heated rivalry has developed all the same, and it has been built on Saskatchewan’s Grey Cup losses to Montreal in 2009 and 2010.
A regular-season shootout last July when the Riders and Alouettes went into double overtime in a 54-51 victory for Saskatchewan only served to underscore the rivalry.
The teams meet again Saturday at Mosaic Stadium and, not surprisingly, the subject of the rivalry was mentioned frequently Friday.
“It’s becoming that,” said Riders quarterback Darian Durant after failing to convince reporters that these are just “two teams that played in last year’s Grey Cup.”
“I think we bring out the best in each other,” Durant added. “There’s something about playing against the best that brings out the best in everyone.”
Rookie Saskatchewan head coach Greg Marshall described it as being more about “respect” than “animosity.” While he is new to it himself, Marshall understands that the rivalry means something to his players.
Marshall had the Roughriders watch videotaped segments of last year’s loss to the Alouettes in the Grey Cup as part of the team’s preparations this week.
But the more immediate concern for Marshall is that his defence allowed 42 points and 394 yards in last weekend’s 42-28 season-opening loss at home to the rebuilding Edmonton Eskimos.
Marshall was asked Friday how many questions he had fielded from reporters since the loss that contained the word “defence” in the sentence.
“I ran out of fingers and toes,” he said. “There were a lot.”
For Saturday’s game, Saskatchewan has added import defensive end Remond Willis to the lineup in hopes of strengthening its pass rush. The other significant addition to the defence is veteran import cornerback Tad Kornegay.
“We expect to turn it around, like we always do,” said Roughriders defensive back Lance Frazier, whose optimism is shared by, among others, middle linebacker Barrin Simpson.
“After our first game we wanted to get back on the field the next day,” said Simpson.
The Roughriders are facing an Alouettes team that opened the season with a 30-26 victory at home against the B.C. Lions, and are known for strong starts to the season.
Much of that has depends on Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo.
“I hope he missed the flight – that would help,” Marshall said when asked how the Riders planned to defend against Calvillo.
Simpson suggested that execution would be a better approach than trickery.
“We’re not going to throw anything at (Calvillo) that he hasn’t seen,” he said.
Asked if there is something that Calvillo hasn’t seen in a lengthy and storied CFL career dating back to 1994, Marshall thought for a moment and replied, “Twelve guys coming all at once.”
The Alouettes arrived in town Friday in their customary business-as-usual demeanour.
“We don’t know what (defensive) philosophy they’re going to go with,” Calvillo said. “It doesn’t really matter what people do. If I go by reads, I should be able to figure it out.”
The Alouettes’ offence opened strongly and finished the same way last weekend against the Lions, but there were times in between when drives were derailed by mental errors, “and for a veteran group,” Calvillo said, “that was disappointing.”
Like Calvillo, Montreal head coach Marc Trestman does not put much stock in rivalries. If he does, he keeps it to himself.
“The challenge is the same every week,” said Trestman. “To say that Saskatchewan is special is unfair to the other six teams.”
On this much, there is no disagreement whatsoever: Both Marshall and Trestman expect the Roughriders to respond to their loss to the Eskimos with a considerably stronger performance on defence.
Or, as Simpson put it: “The last thought on my mind is being 0-2.”
