Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ pass rush is getting a lot of credit for their eight-sack performance against the Edmonton Elks last week.
According to veteran defensive tackle Micah Johnson, who had two sacks in the 21-18 win over Edmonton which gave him 68 in his career, the defensive backfield deserves some praise as well.
“I tell people all the time, defensive backfield and D-line, they’re tied together on the hip,” said Johnson, 37. “There’s so many times where we could have a good rush and somebody could be open, we don’t get the sack. Or vice versa, they can have good coverage, and we haven’t got home when the quarterback sits in the pocket and finds somebody.
“It just hats off to the to the D-backs from how they played.”
Speaking on behalf of the defensive backs, veteran cornerback Marcus Sayles reciprocated the compliments.
“I’ll reverse it and say our success was because of them,” Sayles said on Tuesday as the Roughriders returned to practice. “For them to have eight sacks, that was game changing.
“It all just came together (last) week and if we can continue that success, I feel like we’ll have a really good season moving forward.”
Whether it’s complimenting each other on the field or in the media, head coach Corey Mace — who also serves as the defensive coordinator — knows the importance of a cohesive unit, which can result in big plays from both groups.
“It’s always a marriage; the front end and the back end,” said Mace. “And it goes both ways.
“Some interceptions are forced because of D-line pressure or front seven pressure. And then on the flip side, we can cover down and it gives even .5 more seconds to get after the passer.
“Certainly, I don’t want to take any credit away from the guys going to get sacks, because they were humming man, but yes generally, it’s a tight marriage.”
This week, the Roughriders (6-1), who lead the CFL with 20 sacks, are set to head East where they will take on the Montreal Alouettes (5-2) on Saturday in Week 9 of the CFL season.
With Als’ starting quarterback Davis Alexander sidelined with injury, Montreal is expected to start veteran McLeod Bethel-Thompson for a second straight week after he and the Alouettes knocked off the Calgary Stampeders 23-21 in Week 8.
“He’s going to sit in there, he’s going to find his reads, he’s going to go through his progression,” Sayles said of Bethel-Thompson, who completed 30 of 40 passes for 280 yards and a touchdown last week against Calgary. “He may not be as mobile as Davis, but at the same time, he’s a veteran in this league and he’s won a lot of games.”
And after giving up 346 passing yards and two touchdowns to Elks’ starter Cody Fajardo, Sayles says what’s important is that the team got the win.
“Some of the stats are a little bit inflated,” said Sayles. “Sometimes it’s in late games or it might be one play here, one play there.
“I don’t think those plays define our success as a whole.”
Still, the Roughriders — who rank last in the CFL giving up an average of 331.6 passing yards per game — want to clean up some of the late-game busts in coverage that led to the Elks scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns which made it a three-point game in the final minutes.
“They take advantage of when we mess up, but if we don’t mess up, I feel like the game’s not even as close as it was,” said Sayles. “We have good communication now, but when we play games and we give up two or three busts, we can’t have that.
“So if we can just lock in a little bit more on our communication and just know where all of our pieces are supposed to be, we’ll be fine.”
