Riders should enjoy rush of excitement against Lions

REGINA Thanks to fortuitous scheduling, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are preparing for a home-and-home set with a

B.C. Lions team that is noted for matador pass protection.

Based on the recent calibre of play, the Lions have a $725,000 quarterback (Mike Reilly) and a $725 offensive line (consisting of five turnstiles).

The Roughriders’ defensive linemen, especially, should be salivating at the prospect of repeatedly putting Reilly on his back on back-to-back Saturdays, beginning with this weekend’s West Division basement bowl at Mosaic Stadium.

Saskatchewan, at 1-3, is hardly in a position where a victory can be presumed. But considering the plight of the 1-4 Lions, the Roughriders could easily be at .500 within a fortnight.

A sweep of the two-game set would not be a panacea for the Roughriders, who still have to establish that they can compete against top-tier teams.

However, back-to-back victories at the expense of a highly vulnerable opponent would provide some grounds for optimism after a shaky start.

The onus is on the Roughriders’ front four to set the tone.

Micah Johnson, in particular, stands to derive immense benefits from facing the Lions’ alleged offensive line.

Johnson, a CFL all-star with the Calgary Stampeders in each of the past three seasons, signed a one-year contract with Saskatchewan for a reported value of $250,000 on Feb. 12. At the same time the Lions were opening the vault for Reilly, the Roughriders were making Johnson the league’s highest-paid defensive player.

Johnson is coming off a standout season in which he registered 14 sacks, one fewer than Saskatchewan defensive end Charleston Hughes’ league-leading total. For an interior defensive lineman such as Johnson, a 14-sack season is extraordinary.

During training camp, there was friendly banter between Johnson and Hughes regarding which member of that duo would register more sacks in 2019.

The four-game tally: Hughes 5, Johnson 0.

Saskatchewan’s defence, as a whole, has been a disappointment.

The defence was the foundation of a 12-6 team last season, when Chris Jones was the head coach. Jones co-ordinated a defence that distracted quarterbacks with a variety of looks and pressure packages.

First-year Roughriders defensive co-ordinator Jason Shivers is much more reliant on a standard four-man rush.

And who better to rush against than the Lions?

Reilly was sacked five times in the first half of Thursday’s 33-6 home-field loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.

Edmonton had felled Reilly seven times during the teams’ previous meeting — a 39-23 victory by the Eskimos on June 21 at Commonwealth Stadium.

The life of Reilly is reminiscent of 1979, when a future

Hall of Fame quarterback (Tom Clements) was a helpless figure behind a porous Roughriders offensive line for half a season before he was mercifully dealt to the Hamilton Tiger-cats.

Forty years later, the Roughriders must ensure that the Lions’ protection problems persist.

Otherwise, the Roughriders could end up feeling the heat from people who wonder, quite rightfully, what happened to the vaunted defence.