Twitter jabs come with the territory says Riders’ Dennis

Derek Dennis has felt the love from Rider fans on Twitter, but after Saturday’s game, he also felt their wrath.

“Apparently I deserve to be cut according to a lot of Rider fans,” Dennis tweeted on Monday.

Apparently I deserve to be cut according to a lot of Rider fans…. pic.twitter.com/KfOTjgvcY3

— Derek Dennis (@6BONECRUSHER3) July 24, 2017

It’s true, Dennis did not have his best game against the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday. Many people were looking forward to the match up between Dennis and his former teammates, including defensive end Charleston Hughes. Their trash talk overtook social media leading up to the game, but it was Hughes who came out on top.

The offensive line was burned by the Stampeders defence, allowing Kevin Glenn to be sacked five times in one half. Hughes got three of those sacks and Dennis was the first to admit he didn’t have his best game.

“I think I was just just so excited and so juiced up to play my old team and see my old friends that the jitters was kind of getting to me in the first half,” Dennis explained. “I let the hoopla of everything going on get to me. After the half I kind of calmed down.”

“I expected him to win some battles,” Dennis said of Hughes. “I really would have loved to just not let him get anything because I felt like it would have validated me more in my position, my status in the league … he beat me with some pretty good moves.”

Dennis was the first to admit that he “shit the bed” against the Stampeders, especially in the first half, and the fans let him know it.

Looks like @6BONECRUSHER3 should have spent less time on @Twitter and more time in the gym this winter #rollerskates

— Taylor Engele (@tengele91) July 23, 2017

“It’s expected., I think, where it comes from is that some people have such high expectations of me just from coming off winning that award and the hoopla of me being a big free agent signing,” he said.

“I expect people to say good things when we’re doing good and I expect people to say bad things when we’re doing bad,” he continued, but he wishes fans would be a little more understanding.

“I can see where they’re very invested in how good this team does and the success that we have and the not-success that we have, so I mean I can understand where they’re coming from it’s hard to understand what’s going on in this locker room if you’re not in it.”

And besides, no one feels as bad as Dennis does about how many times Glenn was hit in Saturday’s game. He said there is no worse feeling in the world than watching your quarterback get sacked.

“I went up to Kev after the game, and even a couple days after, just to apologize and let him know I take the brunt of everything. (He) shouldn’t take some of those hits (he) took and I’ll get it corrected.”

Odds and Endzones

• Kacey Rodgers and Caleb Holley returned to practice Tuesday after being sent to the six-game injured list.
• Kevin Glenn hit 50,000 yards in Saturday’s game with a laser to Naaman Roosevelt. When asked if he was a hall of famer he quipped “is an elephant heavy?”
• Head coach Chris Jones says Chad Owens’ injury has allowed them to see how good a returner Greg Morris is. “If he gets his hands on the football, he’s very dynamic.”
• Owens’ return is still up in the air after he had another procedure on his injured foot. Jones said it was a four-week recovery from that, so hopefully he’ll be ready in a week or two.