Roughriders paying for mistakes after pre-season loss with burpees at training camp
Despite loss, Chris Jones says he’s 'proud of our effort'
The Saskatchewan Roughriders resumed training camp in Saskatoon on Tuesday, two days after a 35-12 pre-season loss to the Eskimos in Edmonton on Sunday.
The game tape confirmed what Riders head coach and general manager Chris Jones suspected in the first place.
"Once we watched the film it was the same thing. I mean, penalties and turnovers were the difference in the game," Jones said.
"I was proud of our effort, I thought we played hard. But discipline is certainly something that we've got to address and we started today," Jones said.
For every mistake made on Tuesday during their camp session at Griffiths Stadium, the players were forced to do burpees, or up-downs.
Jones says they have to eliminate the mental mistakes early.
"We had to come up with something to give them some immediate feedback, like when they line up in the neutral zone or jump offside or we take too long in the huddle — there's gotta be some negative feedback," he said.
"You don't want to fatigue their legs but you gotta do something."
Following the loss, four players lost their shot at making the team. They were quarterback Marquise Williams, defensive lineman Justin Horton, running back Josh McPhearson and defensive back Sam Williams.
The Riders' final pre-season game is June 8, when they host the Calgary Stampeders.