Roughriders prepare for a run on the Wilder side

OTTAWA The Saskatchewan Roughriders are hoping to accomplish what few CFL teams have been able to do — slow down Toronto Argonauts tailback James Wilder Jr.

Wilder has emerged as one of the CFL’s offensive sensations in his first season with Toronto. He rose to prominence in the final six games of the Argonauts’ season, rushing for 700 yards and five touchdowns and catching 37 passes for 441 yards over that span.

However, Wilder wasn’t as productive along the ground in his two games against the Riders — who are to visit Toronto for Sunday’s East Division final.

On July 29, he had 11 carries for 35 yards in a 38-27 loss at Mosaic Stadium. On Oct. 7, he had 13 carries for 72 yards as the Argonauts lost 27-24 to the Riders at BMO Field. His production was limited after he was injured late in the game.

“He didn’t have a breakout game in the two games that he played against us,’’ Riders middle linebacker Henoc Muamba said. “There are still a lot of things that we can do better as far as defending him as a running back.

“As the season progressed, Toronto really started to feature him. We want to focus on him, but we have to focus on us more and discipline in our execution.’’

The Riders and Hamilton TigerCats were the only teams to keep Wilder from rushing for more than 100 yards in the final six games of the regular season.

“He really wants to run downhill so you want to get to him before he gets running,’’ Muamba said. “Once he gets going, it’s hard to take him down and that’s not the best position to be in for any defence.’’

The six-foot-two, 232-pounder, who rushed for 872 yards over 17 games, provides a combination of speed, explosiveness, athleticism and size.

“It’s tough to compare him to any other back because each back has their own individual skill set that make them special,’’ Riders defensive tackle Eddie Steele said.

Wilder — the East Division rookie of the year — is also an effective receiver out of the backfield, as evidenced by his seven-catch, 89-yard performance against Saskatchewan on Oct. 7.

“He did very well as a receiver against us the second time we played them,” Muamba said. “When he didn’t have a lot of success against us running, he caught it out of the backfield and made plays out of nothing. Depending on whether we’re in zone or man, we have to be able to account for him.’’

If Wilder’s prowess as a ball carrier isn’t enough, he has improved as a blocker as the season progressed. That makes it even harder to pressure quarterback Ricky Ray.

“(Wilder) is a very good player,’’ said Chris Jones, the Riders’ head coach and general manager. “When they are feeding him right now … whether it’s throwing him screens or handing him the football, he’s doing a good job of breaking tackles. Last time we played them, we were right there on a screen play and he made five of us miss.’’

Gang tackling is a key to slowing down Wilder. “He’s very elusive and being that big he can make one guy miss,’’ Jones said. “With us, we have to get a bunch of people there because we’re not the biggest team in the world.’’