'Big advantage for us': Riders' defence looks to stop surging Bombers

The Saskatchewan Roughriders are coming off their first loss of the season as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are on the upswing garnering their first two wins on the year in their last two games.

Despite the Riders losing their spot at the top of the West Division following last week’s loss to the B.C. Lions – they are still atop of the league in a number of other areas all thanks to the work of their defence.

“It’s a testament to what the coaches are doing with that back end and them being savvy enough to take their opportunities and run with it,” said head coach, Corey Mace following practice on Wednesday.

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The team is leading the league in interceptions with 11, four of which have come from Rolan Milligan who is leading the league himself amongst players in interceptions.

However, he remained humble when asked about his stats.

“As long as we’re winning, I don’t care. I just want to win. With most guys that play football you want to be as close to perfection as you can. I’ve had a few opportunities I should’ve made [too]. Playing on defence it’s hard to get interceptions, it’s hard to get your hands on the ball,” Milligan explained. “So when you get the chance and you don’t make the play it’s like ‘Damn that’s a missed opportunity.’”

When it comes to the team’s turnover ratio, they are also leading the league at +8. If you compare it to their opponents this week who are -1, it could mean Winnipeg will be in tough against the Green and White’s defence.

“I feel like that’s a real big advantage for us. I know we preach about it every day so hopefully we can get a couple more against Winnipeg,” DaMarcus Fields shared.

“Whenever you win the turnover battle that’s huge. All three phases, offence has been taking care of the ball, defence has been taking away, special teams has also been taking away. So when all of those things come together, we’re going to come out with a win,” added linebacker, Jameer Thurman.

But their coach does not want the stats to go to their heads and says they do not always depict the outcome.

“They’re just numbers. It looks nice but you know I think we were plus 10 to minutes one last week versus B.C. so you know they’re just numbers,” Mace shared. “You have to go out there and prove it each week. Certainly that’s something that we always preach is ‘Obsession for possession.’ Take care of it when you have it and take care of it when you won’t.”

The Riders will look to continue to prove that they can stop the ball on the ground as the team has also allowed the least rushing yards against this season with an average of 3.5 a carry.

That dominance will be key when they try to stop the league’s leading running back, Brady Oliveira.

“I think the question is, ‘How is he going to run the ball against the best run defence in the league?’ In my opinion,” Thurman smirked when asked about stopping him.

“You know we’ve set a standard and we’ve handled that challenge so far this season. It doesn’t matter who we’re going against.”

The Riders and Bombers will face off on Friday at 7:30 p.m. local.