Dickenson isn’t stressing about Riders’ pre-season record

Craig Dickenson won’t get preoccupied over the pre-season.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders go into Thursday’s game against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers with an 0-1 record in the 2019 CFL’s exhibition season, and now are winless in their past 10 pre-season games.

But history has told Dickenson — the Roughriders’ head coach — not to be overly concerned.

“I was in San Diego (with the NFL’s Chargers) in 2000 and we started the pre-season 4-and-0 — we didn’t lose a game — and we didn’t win another game until November,” Dickenson said during a media conference Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium. “We were 0-and-9 (to start the regular season).

“The reality is, pre-season does matter. I agree (that it helps) you in establishing rhythm and continuity and some sort of relationship with the guys. But how many games you win in the pre-season, I just don’t think it carries over.

“But we want to play well; I guess that’s the main thing.”

The Roughriders haven’t won a pre-season game since June 14, 2014, when they beat the host Ottawa Redblacks 21-17. Since then, Saskatchewan has gone 0-9-1 in exhibition games — including a 37-1 loss to the hometown Calgary Stampeders on Friday.

Before that game, Dickenson said the Roughriders were worried more about competing than winning. That, he said, is still the focus Thursday.

“We’d like to win and we’re going to try to win, but it’s still about competing and evaluating guys,” he said. “But we expect to be a lot more competitive this game. We’re playing our starters all the way into the third quarter if we need to just to get rhythm.

“The goal is still to evaluate your team and put your best 12 out there when the real games start, but we certainly expect to be much more competitive this game.”

Saskatchewan sat a number of its first-stringers in Calgary, but many of those players are slated to get their first action of the season Thursday. That list includes the likes of defensive backs Ed Gainey and Loucheiz Purifoy, defensive linemen Zack Evans and Charleston Hughes, receivers Shaq Evans and Naaman Roosevelt, tailbacks William Powell and Marcus Thigpen, and quarterback Zach Collaros.

Frontline players like guard Brendon LaBatte (hip) and defensive tackle Micah Johnson (rest) won’t play.

The starters are expected to play at least the first half before being replaced by players who are hoping to earn roster spots.

“We see what are the key battles and want to make sure we do a good job of putting those guys out there in the second half to see if there’s any separation at a couple of key spots,” Dickenson said.

Collaros travelled with the Roughriders to Calgary, but didn’t dress.

Asked Wednesday what he’s looking to get out of his first appearance of the season, the veteran pivot mentioned getting his teammates into and out of the huddle in a timely manner, making sure they’re lined up properly, and executing the play calls.

When it was pointed out that he didn’t say winning, Collaros replied: “You always want to win the game and you want to score a touchdown every drive and you want to have as many first downs as possible, but if you can perfect the process or at least get close, those things tend to take care of themselves.”

The coaches want to see Collaros move the offence and show that he’s in command of that unit before he’s replaced in Thursday’s game. The QB shares those goals, but he’s also eager to help establish a winning mentality before Saskatchewan opens the regular season in Hamilton on June 13.

“I said to the guys before we walked off the field today, ‘This is Step 1 in creating our identity for 2019. How do you want to be perceived?’ ” Collaros said. “Like I say all the time, every play matters.

“Whether it’s a real game or a practice, every rep counts (and) every opportunity matters because you don’t get a ton of them. You never know when your time’s up.”

Game time Thursday is 7 p.m. Listen live to the Green Zone Game Day pre-game show, which begins at 5 p.m.

Here’s the Roughriders’ depth chart for the contest: