Saskatchewan Roughriders respond after heated practice

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders responded just the way head coach Corey Mace wanted them to on Wednesday.

“Exactly how I figured,” Mace said after Day 3 of practice this week at Mosaic Stadium. “Excellent practice today.

“I anticipated two steps forward; I thought we did that today. Proud of the guys’ professionalism and just how they handled that.”

Following Saskatchewan’s second bye week of the season, Mace said the team had an “outstanding” practice on Day 1 on Monday before the head coach stopped practice on Tuesday to lecture his players at midfield before halting the workout a second time nearly an hour later.

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Mace proceeded to pull the team off the field and into the locker room before a second profanity-ladened speech about the team not meeting the “standard.”

At Wednesday’s practice — which was closed to the media and public — Tuesday’s message obviously was heard loud and clear.

“I think it was a positive response,” said offensive lineman Logan Ferland. “We were locked in, focused, ready to redeem ourselves.

“What happened yesterday was unacceptable and as a full team, we have to be better.”

“You could tell everybody was going to come in focused today,” echoed receiver Shawn Bane Jr. “I think we probably needed to be screamed at a little bit. Sometimes it takes that just for you to get refocused.”

“That had to be done,” added right tackle Trevon Tate. “Sometimes when you come out, especially after a bye week, you kind of just forget the little things that you’ve got to do to be great.

“All day yesterday, when I was back at the house, I just kept thinking to myself, ‘Man, what could we have done to prevent that?’

“I know I’m not the only one who thinks like that so when a group of guys go home and they think about it, especially the ones who want to be great, they’re going to say to themselves that we will do whatever to not experience that again.

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“When you’re on the receiving side of that, it doesn’t feel good. And as a head coach, I know it only feels worse because it’s 50-plus players that you’ve got to hold accountable versus us holding us accountable.”

After starting the season 5-1, the Riders are winless in their last seven games (0-6-1) and could be on the verge of falling out of a playoff spot in the CFL’s West Division standings.

Next up for Saskatchewan (5-7-1) is a road game against the Calgary Stampeders (4-8-1) on Friday (7:30 p.m., TSN) in Week 16 of the season. If the Riders lose Friday and the Edmonton Elks (5-8) beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-6) on Saturday, the Riders could find themselves out of a playoff spot for the first time this season.

And while Tuesday’s message from the head coach was about the execution in practice, from a wider lens, the hope is that the players understand what’s at stake with five games left.

“I think we really needed that,” said Ferland. “In order for us to realize, not that we don’t realize the situation that we’re in, but some guys need to give their head a shake and just realize how quick this game can go away.

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“Just continue to lock in and realize how grateful we are to be here and not take it for granted.”

As quarterback Trevor Harris noted after the heated practice on Tuesday, the captains were also the ones to decide to return to the field and finish up the previously shortened workout.

After practice on Wednesday, the captains — which include Harris, Ferland, linebacker Jameer Thurman and kicker Brett Lauther — met at midfield following the workout.

“Just talking about accountability and how we can be accountable to each other as teammates within the locker room,” said Ferland. “It should never be on the coaching staff; it should never be their job to keep us accountable.

“It should be our own job and just doing that internally.”

For Mace, to see his leaders step in and have his message get across the way it did was exactly what he had hoped to see.

“You love that as a coach,” said Mace. “It can’t just come from myself or other coaches on staff; it has to be built within.

“The team voted on their captains and that’s a time where I do believe they have to stand up and hold each other accountable.

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“It’s a total team thing. Everybody’s got to buy in to what is being said and certainly I thought whatever was said worked because today was excellent.”

Injury update

After suffering a knee injury late in Tuesday’s practice, linebacker Nick Wiebe will be out this week.

Wiebe, a Calgary product who was selected by the Riders in the second round of the 2024 CFL Draft, spent the first 12 games on the injured list this season as he recovered from a torn ACL suffered last year with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.

After making his CFL debut in Week 16, Wiebe will unfortunately be heading back to the injured list this week.

“We’re still getting tests and everything done just to kind of get a little bit more clarity,” said Mace. “But for sure this week it’s probably not looking good for Nick.

“There’s a little bit of hope there that it’s not anything crazy so we’ll get some more information probably in the next day or two.”

Defensive end Malik Carney (ankle) will also miss Friday’s game after not practising all week. Linebacker Justin Herdman-Reed (elbow) is also out.

Meanwhile, it doesn’t appear right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick will return this season.

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The towering offensive lineman posted social media Wednesday, “I’ll be back” followed by “2025.” Hardrick has been out of the Riders lineup since suffering a quadriceps injury in Week 6.

tshire@postmedia.com

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