Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Ken Miller
Photograph by: Don Healy, Leader-Post files
REGINA — The Saskatchewan Roughriders have trouble getting an early start, but their head coach is a notable exception.
"Very often, I have a 3 a.m. meeting with myself,'' Ken Miller said on Tuesday, "and this morning I took notes.''
The meeting was, by all accounts, amicable. A consensus was achieved. Miller decided that his next address to the players would pertain to focusing on matters that were within the team's control. And sure enough, he waxed eloquent on that topic.
The matter did not end there. After the Canadian Football League team practised Tuesday on Taylor Field, Miller had the following exchange with Jamie Nye, of News Talk Radio fame.
Nye: "Do you look at the B.C. Lions as a wounded animal coming in here with five straight losses?''
Nye: "Do you look at the B.C. Lions as a wounded animal coming in here with five straight losses?''
Miller: "I'm glad you asked that question.''
He paused. He smiled. We laughed.
"I talked with the team this morning before we went to meetings and told them that our philosophy is that we take care of the things that are important for us to take control of. That's how we play,'' continued Miller, whose team plays host to the Lions on Thursday (7 p.m., TSN, CKRM). "We can't control officials. We can't control opponents. We can't control weather. We're going to control the things that we can control.
"Really, I expect that every team that comes in here is going to play their very best, and I think it's insulting to think that a team would not come in and play their very best here. On the other hand, I think it's insulting to us to think that we would adapt our level to somebody who we perceive to be playing at a lower level, because we want to play our best all the time. Just as a finishing touch on that — it's not so much who we play, it's how we play.''
The Roughriders used to have a penchant for performing at the level of their competition. Losses to lower-ranked opponents were routine, to the point where the letdowns were predictable. Some of those defeats were counteracted by surprising victories over upper-echelon teams, but that only served to make the meltdowns more exasperating.
Then came 2007. Kent Austin took over from Danny Barrett as Saskatchewan's head coach. Suddenly, the Roughriders began winning the vast majority of their games against the CFL's soup cans. That trend has continued in 2 1/3 seasons since Miller succeded Austin.
Not surprisingly, the Riders have a 38-21-1 record since 2007. They have appeared in two of the past three Grey Cups, winning three years ago. Unless the opposition happens to be the Montreal Alouettes or Calgary Stampeders, it is an upset when Saskatchewan loses.
"When everybody has a game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, they're going to prepare their best,'' said Miller, who last season guided Saskatchewan to its first first-place finish since 1976.
"They're going to do their very best that they can in that game, and we want to anticipate that and compliment people for playing their best against us. We want to be prepared for that kind of competition. If you aspire to excellence, you want to beat people when they're at their best.''
The 1-5-0 Edmonton Eskimos, for example, played one of their better games of a generally dismal season on July 17, when they lost 24-20 in Regina after leading 14-10 at the 30-minute mark. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats also threw a scare into Saskatchewan, leading 14-13 at halftime, before the home side won 37-24 on July 31. Even though the Roughriders won 37-18 in Vancouver on July 10, the outcome was in doubt at halftime, when Saskatchewan led 13-10.
One of the Roughriders' priorities this week has been to correct a faulty ignition. Saskatchewan has scored only two first-quarter touchdowns this season, while surrendering six. The Green and White has trailed at halftime in three of the four games it has won.
One of the Roughriders' priorities this week has been to correct a faulty ignition. Saskatchewan has scored only two first-quarter touchdowns this season, while surrendering six. The Green and White has trailed at halftime in three of the four games it has won.
In other words, the disparity between the league's best and worst teams is not as pronounced as the standings suggest.
"Talent level across the league is fairly even, I think, so it's not so much talent (that decides games),'' Miller said. "It's a matter of cohesiveness and preparation.''
If the preparation begins at 3 a.m., all the better. You snooze, you lose.
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