Riders’ Dickenson not expecting perfection in first game

Head coach Craig Dickenson isn’t expecting to see a virtuoso performance on Thursday.

His Saskatchewan Roughriders are on the road to meet the Hamilton Tiger-Cats for the first game of the 2019 CFL regular season.

“The reality is everything is a work in progress for the first four to six weeks of the year,” Dickenson said earlier this week. “You’re going to see mistakes made. You’re going to see guys that do (wrong) things and later in the season you will figure out there’s some situations that you still need to cover.

“It’s going to be a competitive game. You’ll see high-level football on both sides but I think you will see a little sloppiness just because there are a lot of new faces out there and they’re still learning.”

Dickenson will also get a learning experience from the game; it will be his first as bench boss for the Roughriders. Dickenson was named the team’s head coach in January after Chris Jones left for an opportunity with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

“The main thing is (now as a head coach) is that I’ll finally be able to call what I want to when I want to. Nobody’s going to overrule me on that,” Dickenson said.

On the other sideline, Orlondo Steinauer is also making his CFL head-coaching debut after being an assistant head coach in 2018 with the Tiger-Cats.

This is only the fifth time in league history that two head coaches will make their debuts against each other. The last time it happened was in a game June 29, 2012 between the Tiger-Cats and Roughriders when Hamilton’s George Cortez and Saskatchewan’s Corey Chamblin made their debuts.

Dickenson has made no secret of the fact that he wants to run the ball a lot this season and will rely on his running backs in games, a strategy with which quarterback Zach Collaros agrees.

“It sets up a lot of things if you can run the football. It dictates to the defence what they can and can’t do,” Collaros said. “Anytime you can dictate what (their defence) is doing, the better.”

This is the first time Collaros will suit up against the Tiger-Cats since they traded him in January of 2018. He missed both games last season due to a concussion.

While off-season acquisition William Powell will draw most of the attention as the Roughriders’ tailback, former Tiger-Cat Marcus Thigpen is expected to provide a large spark to the offence in Week 1.

“Thigpen is going to be heavily involved in the game plan. He’s going to be back there returning kicks for us and the offence is planning on using him quite a bit,” Dickenson said. “He will get his jersey dirty in this game.”

Thigpen can break away for a touchdown anytime he touches the ball. In two games against the Tiger-Cats last season, Thigpen ran for two touchdowns — one was in overtime in the first game and the other was an 80-yard scramble in their second meeting.

Thigpen was cut from the Roughriders in 2010 during training camp but ended up with the Tiger-Cats that season. He spent two seasons there before making the jump to the NFL. He returned to the CFL in 2017 with the Roughriders.

“I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be (in Hamilton) and to have my professional career start there,” Thigpen said.

The first road game of the season hasn’t been an easy one for the Roughriders in recent years. The last time they won one was in 2013 against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Thigpen said getting that first win on the road is important.

“(The game) is going to establish our identity as a team. I want to get that first win for Coach Dickenson as well and just starting our season off right,” Thigpen said.

One major injury on the offensive line could make things difficult for the team in the trenches. Perennial all-star guard Brendon LaBatte was put on the six-game injured list due to a groin injury after not practising all week. Veteran offensive lineman Philip Blake will take his place.

Receivers Jake Harty and Patrick Lavoie and defensive lineman Jordan Reaves are also on the six-game list. Linebackers Solomon Elimimian and Micah Teitz and receivers Emmanuel Arceneaux and Brayden Lenius are on the one-game injured list.

Wide receiver Justin McInnis, who was dealing with a hamstring injury throughout training camp, is active for Thursday’s game.

Game time Thursday is set for 5 p.m. Listen live to the Green Zone Game Day pre-game show, which begins at 3 p.m.

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