EDMONTON — The Edmonton Elks will look to improve upon their Week 1 performance when they host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night.
The season opener certainly wasn’t the start the Elks had envisioned as they fell 59-15 to the BC Lions in front of 34,082 fans at BC Place last Saturday.
Turnovers were one of the key issues that hampered the Elks against the Lions. Nick Arbuckle threw for 254 yards but was intercepted three times. While rookie quarterback, Tre Ford completed three passes for eight yards and was also intercepted.
The Elks will need to be mindful of ball security entering the second week of the season. Saskatchewan forced five turnovers against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week and the Riders were also able to muscle eight sacks in the Week 1 win.
Week 2 brings renewed optimism and a fresh start for the Elks.
Wide receiver Kenny Lawler will try to build off of his strong performance in the season opener. The Edmonton newcomer led the offence, catching five passes for 72 yards.
Edmonton’s next leading receiver, Derel Walker will be unavailable in Saturday night’s contest. Walker caught six passes for 64 yards in the loss to BC.
Running back, James Wilder Jr. was active in the teams’ passing attack, catching four passes for 48 yards. The veteran back added another 39 yards on eight rushing attempts for the Elks.
Wilder, alongside receivers Mike Jones and Shai Ross, will be called on to make plays for the Elks’ passing attack in the absence of Walker.
In the lead up to Week 2, the Elks added receiver Caleb Holley to the active roster. Holley caught two passes for 66 yards in a pair of pre-season games. According to the team’s depth chart Holley is listed as the team’s No.1 boundary receiver.
Finding ways to stress the Saskatchewan defence in order to create open space will be critical to the success of the Elks offence in Week 2.
Head coach Chris Jones knows that Week 1 isn’t reflective of what his team is capable of, but notes that remaining positive is important.
“There’s a lot of young kids out there but were going to get there,” Jones told goelks.com postgame. “We’re going to keep working. We have a lot of work to do but we will get there. We’ll correct the errors and coach them up better.”
In Week 2 the Elks be reliant on top defensive back, Jalen Collins in coverage against a Cody Fajardo led passing attack that totalled 311 yards and a touchdown against Hamilton.
Shaq Evans was Fajardo’s number one target in the season opener. The veteran receiver was targeted 10 times against Hamilton, recording 92 yards on four receptions.
The Riders will look to keep their offensive momentum rolling, after an 18-point fourth quarter helped to close out their first win of the season.
In addition to the big game through the air, Fajardo carried the ball 10 times for 42 yards and a touchdown. Ending Week 1 as the leading rusher for Saskatchewan.
Week 1 wasn’t the debut that running back Jamal Morrow was planning on, totalling 14 yards on nine attempts. However, the second-year back will have an opportunity for a bounce-back game against an Edmonton team that surrendered 187 yards on the ground to BC.
Morrow remained determined to make his impact felt, and did so by catching three passes for 61 yards in the Riders’ win over the Ticats.
For the Riders, it was their defence that was the story of the game in Week 1. Collectively, they allowed just one touchdown and a pair of field goals to a Hamilton team that was fighting for a Grey Cup just a few months ago.
Seven different players recorded a sack on Dane Evans and defensive lineman, Pete Robertson finished with two sacks, one of which resulted in a forced fumble. The relentlessness of the Riders defensive line will certainly pose a challenge to the opposing Edmonton offensive line.
Ahead of Saturday night’s contest, Robertson expects more of the same from his defensive unit against the Elks.
“We have a message to send and that’s to play well every game,” he told riderville.com. “I like to say we are all one. It’s not just the defensive line, not just the linebackers or defensive backs, we all work together. We want to continue to play at the level we’ve been playing at. We showed it Week 1 and Week 2 we want to work to improve to get even better because there’s always room to get better.”
Defensive back, Nick Marshall and linebacker, Derrick Moncrief both added interceptions in the opener. The Riders ability to force turnovers from multiple levels is something the Elks quarterbacks will need to be weary of in Week 2.
The Elks will look to show that their performance this past week was just a blip and brighter things are to come, while the Riders look to remain hot and improve to 2-0.
