The Saskatchewan Roughriders are hoping to clinch a playoff spot with a win against the Calgary Stampeders. On the flip side, the team also risks missing the playoffs altogether with a loss, as they wouldn’t have the tiebreaker over the Stamps or B.C. Lions who are also in the hunt. This time, the Green and White will face a Stamps team that’s without CFL All Star running back Dedrick Mills. Former Rider Wes Cates told CTV News the loss of Mills might make Calgary’s offence more one-dimensional, putting more of the onus on Vernon Adams Jr. to make plays. “He does tend to do too much,” Cates said. “I think if you can keep him in the pocket, kind of make him throw under duress, maybe not really [throw] on platform, but falling and fading away and trying to kind of stick things into windows that aren’t really wide open — I think that’s the key.” Cates noted that although Adams Jr. doesn’t run as much as he used to, he’s still capable of evading a pass rush and connecting with his receivers while extending plays. “It’s mostly about this defence. Just this Riders’ defence staying consistent, getting a decent brush on Vernon Adams and just not having any busts on the back end,” Cates said. “And then offensively, we saw the Riders’ offence pick up against B.C., which is a great defence right now. So, I think if they just can keep building on what they did last week, they should have a lot of success.” Cates said the Riders will have to find creative ways to convert drives in the red zone. The former Rider running back said offensive coordinator Marc Mueller’s playcalling can get somewhat predictable at times in the red zone. “I feel like a lot of times when you have a good offence, when you have great playmakers, you kind of feel like my guys can beat your guys. So, you kind of stick to the stuff you know,” Cates said. “I feel like Mueller kind of falls into that trap a little bit — not trying to get creative or just having those plays in your back pocket that when you really know you need to score, you can kind of pull them out.” “Most teams have a few of those, they don’t like to use them all the time, but you always work in some plays nobody’s seen and I think he just doesn’t pull the trigger on calling them in those sticky situations.” Cates said more creative red zone playcalling could have produced a different outcome in Saskatchewan’s most recent loss to B.C. “It’s time to quit holding stuff and just let it all fly,” he added. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Mosaic Stadium.
