Marcus Sayles\u2019 positional versatility is coming in handy for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.<\/p>\n
Marcus Sayles\u2019 positional versatility is coming in handy for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.<\/p>\n
The veteran defensive back moved from corner to halfback for last week\u2019s game against the B.C. Lions. With star corner Tevaughn Campbell closing in on a return \u2013 he\u2019s listed as questionable for Friday\u2019s tilt against the Calgary Stampeders \u2013 the move might be more permanent for Sayles.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s just fine with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this time of year, we\u2019re trying to win as many games as possible. If moving me to halfback is the best thing to do, then I\u2019m willing to take that opportunity,\u201d Sayles told Voice of the Roughriders Dave Thomas. \u201cI don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s anything that I so much need to learn at that position. I feel like I\u2019m comfortable in it, and I feel like I\u2019m making plays, so I\u2019ve got to keep going from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayles\u2019 adaptability to a new spot on the field is not unlike fellow DB Nelson Lokombo sliding back into the middle to his natural safety position when he replaced Jaxon Ford earlier in the field.<\/p>\n
Riders coach Corey Mace appreciates Sayles\u2019 willingness to help the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat he brings is a veteran presence and an understanding of our defence and being (in) multiple (positions),\u201d the coach said. \u201cWe\u2019re moving him around a little bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt bodes well for us. It allows us to be flexible in the back end. Incredible player. He\u2019s had a great career. Made plays wherever he\u2019s stopped. We\u2019re happy that this is a stop for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sayles is in his third season with the Riders and celebrates\u00a0his 32nd birthday on Thursday.<\/p>\n
He has 49 tackles \u2013 47 of which have come on defence \u2013 and five pass knockdowns in 2026.\u00a0He\u2019s still looking for his first interception after collecting two last season and four the year before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019m having a good year, but there\u2019s always room for improvement,\u201d Sayles said. \u201cThere\u2019s always plays on the table that I wish I could have had back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re right where we need to be. We\u2019ve still got control of our destiny of where we can go. I\u2019m just happy to be able to continue to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Riders have lost two straight games and four of their last six. It\u2019s a long shot that they\u2019ll win the West Division and earn a bye to the league semifinal. They\u2019re in third place after losing to the Lions, who own the head-to-head tiebreaker despite both teams owning identical 8-6 records.<\/p>\n
What Sayles means about the Riders being in control of their own destiny is that a win over Calgary secures them a playoff berth.<\/p>\n
To get a victory, they\u2019ll have to slow down Vernon Adams Jr., the Stamps quarterback who\u2019s thrown 30 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a mobile quarterback and the Riders have had their difficulties against players like him. Think B.C.\u2019s Nathan Rourke, Edmonton\u2019s Cody Farajdo, and Hamilton\u2019s Tre Ford.<\/p>\n
The key, Sayles said, is to avoid explosive plays, something that largely falls under the secondary\u2019s purview.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a great player,\u201d Sayles said of Adams.\u00a0\u201cNot only can he run, but he can sling the ball 60 yards if he needs to. We\u2019ve got to make sure that we contain in our rush. Our D line\u2019s been doing good all season. We\u2019ve just got to make sure that we do contain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got to make sure we get sticky in our zones when he\u2019s rolling out of the pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
What that comes down to being on the same page, something the Riders have said they had difficulties with last Friday against B.C. as Rourke scrambled and threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns.<\/p>\n
You can bet Sayles, from his new position, will be helping with that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to be a little more locked in, get our communication more right, and we\u2019ll be OK,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marcus Sayles\u2019 positional versatility is coming in handy for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Marcus Sayles\u2019 positional versatility is coming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":916403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-916402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=916402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/916402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/916403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=916402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=916402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=916402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}