Riders vets hoping to set tone on discipline in 2023

The Saskatchewan Roughriders know that if they want to have any success on the field this CFL season, they’ll have to keep the penalty flags in officials’ pockets.

In 2022, the Riders took 173 penalties in 18 games for an average of 9.6 per game, which was the most in the CFL. The Edmonton Elks were the next-closest, averaging 8.8 flags per game.

The penalties the Roughriders took cost them yardage and momentum in games over the course of the season.

Defensive lineman Pete Robertson says discipline has been a message preached by the coaching staff since Day 1 of training camp.

“(There’s) been a lot of talk, but there’s been more action than talk,” the veteran said after Wednesday’s workout at Griffiths Stadium in Saskatoon. “Anything that would cause a penalty that the coaches would see or the players see, (we’ve) been really good at calling each other out (on). We do our own little pushups and stuff like that to try to keep each other honest.

“There’s going to be penalties regardless — that’s how the game goes — but we’ve been working on keeping the penalties to the side. There were a lot of games (last year) we could’ve won without (taking) too many penalties. We try to flush that down.”

While it’s early in training camp, Robertson says he’s already noticed a difference in players wanting to be more responsible this year.

“You can see a lot of guys actually putting it on themselves to get the job done,” he added. “Still, there’s a lot of people who has to say this or say that to them, but there’s a lot of people taking their job serious and they know what we’re trying to get done.”

Centre Peter Godber knows all about how important discipline is when it comes to trying to win football games.

Last year in B.C., Godber and the Lions were the least-penalized team in the league. That discipline likely helped them win 12 games and earn a spot in the West Division final.

Godber feels the Riders’ habits need to start in practice in order to make their way onto the field.

“It really starts in practice. We’ve got to hold each other accountable and set a high standard in the room. If we’re all accountable to each other, there will be a lot less penalties,” he said.

He says in B.C. last season there were lots of veterans who held each other to high standards when it came to keeping players’ discipline in check.

Godber mentioned it’s important to play a clean game.

“Football games are won and lost on turnovers and sacks, but if a team has 100 yards in penalties and the other team has zero, the team with zero penalties is probably going to win the game,” he explained. “It’s a big part of the game and we’ve got to stay disciplined.”

Head coach Craig Dickenson said after practice Wednesday that he’s happy to see players holding each other accountable.

“That has been our message from Day 1. We started camp with a big long spiel about what we’re all about and what we expect from the players and what they can expect from us and we spelled it out pretty clearly,” Dickenson said.

“I think with that happening — it’s going to be an ongoing thing where we are every day going to have to talk about (penalties) — but I do think we’re seeing early returns from that (message). I think the guys are getting it. They’re taking care of each other and still competing at a high level. That’s going to be a big key to our success this year.”

Training camp update

The Riders practised in the rain Wednesday. They were initially supposed to be on the field from 9 a.m. until noon, but ended practice at 10:45 a.m.

While Dickenson didn’t specifically answer why they changed the practice time to end early, it likely was because there is a 100 per cent chance of showers that were scheduled to hit Saskatoon in the late morning and early afternoon.

While some aren’t fond of the rain, Dickenson felt it helped get his players moving.

“It actually was just what the doctor ordered. I think the guys were a little tired, I think the routine was getting old, so to get out in the rain and some puddles, I think the guys actually enjoyed it,” he said. “I was glad it rained. It was good to get us used to some elements and it just changed up the feel a little bit.”

Dickenson felt the execution was much better Wednesday after he described it as “sloppy” on Tuesday.

“The execution was pretty good,” he added. “We tried a new drill at the end there where we added a little pass rush at the end of skelly, so all in all it was a good day.”

Quarterback Trevor Harris was away from training camp on Wednesday and won’t return for a couple of days. He left Saskatoon en route to Columbus, Ohio, so he could be with his wife for the birth of their third son.