Roughriders look for win No. 1 at home of the Grey Cup champs

If the Saskatchewan Roughriders are to pick up their first victory of the season, they will have to steal one in the home of the Grey Cup Champions.

Kickoff is at 8 p.m. CSTtonight.

It's not hard to find a storyline for this game, as the majority of the Riders coaching staff and a handful of players were with the Edmonton Eskimos last year.

But any discussion or fabrication of any hype regarding 'the return to Edmonton'is quickly snuffed out by the man who led the mass exodus.

Head coach and general manager Chris Jones had already gone through this last month when the Riders played a pre-season game in Edmonton.

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Jones's patience was getting thinner this week every time the subject was brought up. The suggestion being, the players and coaches would try harder because it's Edmonton.

"What are they going toplay110 per centbecause I'm going back to Edmonton? They don't care.Half of them probably don't even know I was in Edmonton last year. It's a deal where we got tomake sure we're prepared to play, and play fast, and play for everybody that's here in this room."

At least reporters in Regina received a response. Edmonton media got something more gruff.

"I'm tired of talking about all of that.I'm here to coach a football game," snorted Jones after the Riders arrived in Edmonton yesterday.

Saskatchewandepth chart against the Eskimos

So game twoof the rebuild goes tonight.

Even though the Riders are coming off a 30-17 loss at home to the Argos, there were at least some encouraging signs that Saskatchewan is a better team than the one which managed only three victories a year ago.

Considering nobody knew anybody else on defence just a few weeks earlier, they showed signs of promise.

Players like A.C. Leonard and Samuel Eguavoen look like keepers. Leonard played so wellhe made Shawn Lemon, the Riders big name off season signing, expendable.

Lemon was traded on Sunday.

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Defensive tackle Jonathan Williams suffered an injury in practice this week, and it sounds like it could keep him out for a while. He will be replaced in the starting lineup tonight by Ese Mrabure.

Former Hamilton Tiger-Cat Ed Gainey makes his Riders debut in the secondary, pushing Buddy Jackson to the corner, and bouncing Johnnie Dixon to the practice roster.

Changes on offense include Kennedy Estelle starting at right guard, and quarterback Mitchell Gale, who was acquired in the Lemon trade, now listed as Darian Durant's backup.

Last week's clipboard holder, B.J. Coleman, is now on the practice roster.

Durant: Mr.100

Durant will be starting career game No.100 tonight. His career record is 54-44-1.

Watch for that chemistry between Durant and receiver Naaman Roosevelt to continue developing. Earlier this week, Durant called Roosevelt "a special player"and a type of player who doesn't come around often.

Roosevelt picked up where he left off last season. He led all CFL receivers in week twowith 15 targets and 9 receptions.