Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach Corey Mace knows even the best-made plans go sideways when you deal with a quarterback like Tre Ford playing for the Edmonton Elks.
"It's a little bit of everything, players have to adjust how they do things, the scheme has to adjust sometimes depending on certain players," Mace said.
"There are a bunch of different ways to skin it. Ultimately, speaking to Tre, whether it was playing against our defence or watching him against others, there are some really good plans and sometimes his legs are faster than his plans. You want to look to see that you have a proper plan of attack. When the ball snapped, at that point, you hope we execute and he doesn't outrun it."
The Green and White lost to the Elks last year 42-31 in Week 9 with Ford starting at quarterback. The six-foot, 192-pound QB completed 81 percent of his passes for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while carrying the ball five times for 46 yards. This week, the Riders host the Elks at home on Friday and could be facing either Ford or former Riders quarterback Cody Fajardo.
"We've got to keep our eyes on it. Most teams will hold it tight to the vest, but realistically, we've got to prepare for both quarterbacks. That's certainly what we've been doing all week," Mace said. "They both have their strengths and have shown to be successful in this league during their time. We're expecting the best from each one of them."
In Saskatchewan's last game, the Riders defeated the B.C. Lions 33-27, which improved the team's record to 5-1, second place in the West Division.
"You always want to close out games, but we're not going to apologize for wins," Mace said. "That's the ultimate goal, whether that's by one point or 50, we'll celebrate that and move on to the next opponent the next day. As far as intangibles, we never want anybody to score ever and we always want to score every possession. We focus on those things and how we can get better with each play."
Saskatchewan hosts the Elks at home on Friday. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 4 pm. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 7 p.m. You can listen and watch all our coverage on the 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
