Every Monday afternoon on the SportsCage, join Barney Shynkaruk and members from the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ coaching staff with a breakdown of game match-ups and the very latest from inside the Riders’ locker room.
On September 3, defensive line coach Phillip Daniels was our guest on the Riders Coaches Show.
Barney Shynkaruk:
Coach Philip Daniels is with us. Hey, you got the win on Labour Day. Your crew, that defensive line is causing havoc. Now that you've watched some tape, how do you assess things, coach?
Phillip Daniels:
We played well. But of course, you know me, we've got a lot to work on. They've got a lot to improve on.
We can play a lot better. We left some stuff on the field, of course. But anytime you come out with a win, it’s good. We have to learn to finish, and that’s for the whole defence.
Overall, I was proud of the guys' performance, and I think we have a lot of room for improvement.
Kris Mazurak:
Hey, listen, I'm glad you didn't say anything to wreck the juju.
Does Malik Carney get extremely hot wearing a winter Saskatchewan balaclava in the middle of summer while he's playing a professional football game in Saskatchewan? He looks incredibly uncomfortable when they show him on the sidelines with his helmet off.
Daniels:
I have no idea, and I'm not asking him about that. All I know is that he's playing well, and that's all that matters to me.
You don't change it if it's working. I think he's one of those guys who comes prepared every week. He's a guy who goes out and plays hard. He's a true leader for the defence, especially on the line.
He keeps the guys together. He's improving every game; this was his game to go out and do some great things.
Shynkaruk:
What's with the sack dance? What does that represent?
Are they like revving the motor? But what's going on there?
Daniels:
Each of my guys has their own unique thing they do, and they do the same thing every time so that all the other guys can join in. On the sidelines, I know they won't see me, so I don't join in. At the same time, they come over, I pat them on the head and say, Good job.
We tell guys to celebrate together, and that's how it is.
If one of us gets a sack, we all should be out there doing the same thing that he's doing, celebrating together. I know all their dances.
Sometimes, I go into the meeting rooms and tell them I need a lot of this and a lot of that. (celebrating.)
They said, Coach, you know all of our stuff.
I like Ali. I didn’t know what he was going to do (when he recorded his first CFL sack on Sunday), but he came with the wiping of the brow. It's good to see them out there celebrating and having fun together.
We don't have any hidden insecurities, and that’s because everybody is working together to better the team and the defensive line.
Shynkaruk:
What was yours when you were patrolling?
Daniels:
I just flexed, man. I have all these muscles, so I just flexed and yelled. I didn't have anything too special.
Mazurak:
When you put this group together, can we rewind to May and training camp in Saskatoon? We're seeing what they're doing now. Did you see this in them?
Obviously, you're going to say there's probably more to come, but was it special from day one of training camp with the athletes they've given you to work with?
Daniels:
Yes, of course, they were special. I saw it in every guy.
We had Mike Rose join us, and Shane (Ray) join us.
I saw some special things in all of them, even some of the younger guys who are coming up, guys who have yet to get on the field.
I feel like the group cares about each other. They love each other. They hang out together. They talk.
We didn't have that in the past. It's all about gelling your chemistry. You only build that with guys who like each other and like playing with each other.
I saw that in training camp. I saw the guys come together, eat together, talk, and not just listen to the conversation. It tells me a lot.
It takes that to have a good D line. You've got to have guys out there that you can trust. They’ve got to have your best interest at heart.
We're going to go out and do this thing. You listen to me, and I listen to you. Let's get it done, and that's what my group is doing right now.
Mazurak:
Was that something Coach Mace had a relationship with a few, or a guy like Rose comes in? Was that something that you guys knew? Like, OK, he's going to slot in nicely. He’s going to be one of the guys who fit in seamlessly. Did you know that beforehand with some of them?
Daniels:
I met Shane (Ray) when I was in Toronto. About three years ago, I was a motivational speaker for them during the Grey Cup, and I met him. We talked a lot on the sideline.
He was hurt at the time, but I knew he knew the system—I knew he had been in it.
All these guys—Rose, Shane—had been in the system before, so I knew they would gel well.
All they had to do was refresh their minds on the playbook and the terminology. It changes as you go from team to team, but I knew they would come together fast by playing in the system before.
That's exactly what they did.
Shynkaruk:
We had Glen Suitor on in the first hour of the show, and he said on Saturday that the season's hardest two points to get for the Riders are when they go to Winnipeg. You guys were able to hold Brady Oliveira to under 30 yards, which is incredible, but he can break it big. So, not that you're going to tell us anything. What do you do to get that repeat performance?
Daniels:
We know how good a back he is. He killed us in the final, and you have to be prepared for him.
He only ran five times, and I think we shut down the run early in that game and caused them to go to the pass.
Nothing's changing for us. We have to improve on the things we know we've messed up and didn't do well. You have to improve going into this game.
I expect them to devise a different strategy, give him the ball more, and get the running game going slightly more. As a D-line coach, I always expect that. I expect them to run the ball.
My job is to help my guys stop that run as best as we can. I feel confident about our chances of going there, but they're a good team. That's a tough place to play. The crowd is going to be loud, and it's going to be tough for our offence.
We got to carry the offence for a while. It's going to be difficult for them. We've got to go in there with that attitude or mentality, saying that our offence will go through a lot with all this crowd noise. We have to play better than their defence and go out and do our thing and try to win this game. If the offence can handle that noise and then do well, that's a bonus.
I expect us to go in and play well. I don't expect it to be anything different from what we've been doing, but I expect us to improve on the things we didn't do in this last game.
Shynkaruk:
That atmosphere at Mosaic Stadium is one of the greatest things. But you can tell us any stories from the guys who maybe haven't been through it, because that place was rocking.
Do you get goosebumps when you're getting ready to go on the field, as a reminder of your time going out with Washington or something back in the day?
Daniels:
Well, I played in the SEC, where crowds were like this all the time. So I'm used to it.
You get into an atmosphere there, and you know, the rivalry and stuff. Just like when I played with Washington against the Cowboys, it's a rivalry that means a lot to the fans.
When we go in, there will be many fans in the stands. It means a lot to them, so we know they’ll give us their best shot.
We've got to go in there and be well prepared to handle anything, any controversy, anything that comes our way. We have to get through it and move on to the next play, and that's the thing.
The play in front of you is the most important one, and then we'll move on to the next one.
We know they want to beat us there and split this thing. We have to go in there prepared. Like I said, preparation this week will be essential to getting that done.
Mazurak:
Phil Daniels, the Saskatchewan Roughriders' D-line coach, is with us. When you take off your coach's hat and put on your dad's hat and talk to your son, Davarus, from the Toronto Argonauts, I said, "That's the best 4-8 football team I think I've ever seen, and I don't want to play them because they are scary."
What are your conversations like? Because that team, holy smokes. Up, down, up, down.
They can't not score 50 points. It's got to make for some fun conversations with dad.
Daniels:
That team won the Grey Cup last year. We know they had some injuries early on and were plugging people in. It hurts the special teams a lot when you've got guys coming in off the street, trying to plug them in because they only have a week to prepare and have to go play. The defence has been up and down a little bit there, but they put up a whole lot of points.
When you can put up a whole lot of points like that, you should win games. But if the defence can control the other team from getting too many yards rushing and controlling them a little bit, then I think they have a good chance of getting back in the hunt here.
Davarus isn't getting the ball as much as he usually does, but he's a leader. He will stay with that team and do whatever he can to help them.
I wish he were on our team with me, but I understand the sport, and he'll do everything he can to help them get where they need to go.
They did win the Grey Cup with the quarterback that they got, Arbuckle. If their defence can click in and stop some people, they will get into the hunt and maybe sneak in there.
Shynkaruk:
Watch, there's a bunch of dads listening right now, and Regina minor football dads are like, see, I'm going to go tell the coach they need to throw to my kid more if they want to win.
I want to ask as a football guy because you go through your resume right as a coach and player, in the NFL and all that.
I brought it up at the beginning of the show because I am a Patriots fan. I saw Tom Brady punt twice on third down, not even fourth, as an element of surprise. Trevor Harris laid down a nice one on Sunday.
I don't know if that's his first career punt. Is that something you've seen a lot, coach, in your days?
Daniels:
I have, but the funniest thing about it is that Trevor was stretching right before he did it. He's having a full stretch on the field, stretching his hamstrings, everything. So, I hope he didn't give that away, but it was a great kick by him.
I have seen teams do that. I know we've done it on teams I've been on, and it's not just a way to say, "Hey, we're going for it on third down.” If they're not ready, we kick it, then we get them deep down in their territory. In this case, we end up getting points.
So, Trevor's kick was great. I'm glad he stretched his hamstrings out and got it off. He did a good job, man. That was good for us and the team.
Mazurak:
I was going to say, you mentioned you played in the SEC. College football started on Saturday. You're a Georgia Bulldog.
What's better, a Georgia win or watching Alabama lose to Florida State? Kalen DeBoer, what is happening to the program?
They're calling for one loss, Phil, and they're calling for his head. They want Nick Saban back. Give him whatever money he wants. You have to love that the Roll Tide isn't rolling all that well today.
Daniels:
I love it. I love it. Now, I love it when Alabama loses.
I expect my dogs to win. It seems like a no-brainer, but I mess with their fans.
I'm on my Facebook page messing with their fans so much. My number one thing that I always say to them, ‘Ain't no fun when the rabbit got the gun.’ You know what I'm saying?
I always throw it out there, and I put this rabbit on there with a gun, so I'm messing with them.
I love it when they lose. Their fans get on your nerves. They're just too arrogant. So, whenever they lose, I'm happy about that.
With the coach, it's hard to come in and replace a legend—a guy who wins all the time. I probably wouldn't have taken that job. My thing is, he had a nice career going at Washington.
He came in here and knew he could do it. I think that, with his offence, he needs a quarterback. Somebody who can sling that thing out. Somebody who can run around, throw it. You saw the quarterback he had in Washington. That's what you need.
It's going to take him some time. And I think the Alabama people have to realize it's sports.
With the NIL and getting into the portal, everything changed. Many people like to say that Nick Saban probably left because of that.
Everybody has a chance now, and if you aren't up on recruiting and getting the right people out of the portal, I mean, look at Florida State and what they did.
You have to be able to access that portal and recruit the right kind of guys who fit your system and will come in and play hard for you. It'll change, but to tell you the truth, I love it when Alabama loses.
I don't care about Alabama. We play them this year, and it's going to be fun.
Shynkaruk:
I went to the game last year in Tuscaloosa when Georgia was there. What an atmosphere that was.
There might be a head coaching job available soon at North Carolina. The guy just might not show up there anymore.
Daniels:
How bad was that?
Shynkaruk:
I want to ask you as a former Redskin. Have you watched the Cowboys Netflix series at all? I know you don't have a lot of time.
Daniels:
I haven't, man.
Shynkaruk:
You have to get into that in the offseason as a guy who played against that team and everything. It is unreal.
OK, I know we kept you a little bit long, but I have to get to Dallas, Philly, Thursday night.
Philly is minus eight and a half. So you have ties to Philly, but then there are the Giants in Washington. I heard today that people are taking the Giants to beat Washington. Is that crazy?
Daniels:
McLaurin held out for a while. They traded the running back Robinson away.
You got a young guy back there now, and they got Eckler.
I don't know how New York is going to be. So, if they can stop the run and have the guys and the size to do that, they may have a chance, but I can't go against Washington.
Looking at Philly and Dallas, I'm saying that will be an excellent game.
I think Philly got too much for them. I like Saquon (Barkley) running that ball, and I know how hard it's been for Dallas to stop the run.
The Cowboys bettered themselves by trading away Micah. They bettered themselves, not because they traded him away but because of what they got back in return. They got a tackle back in that trade that can help them a lot with that run game, because I know Green Bay was like number seven last year.
They were number 30 last year. If you can improve on stopping the run game, you'll be that much better. When you look at the playoffs, teams that get to the playoffs, and teams that win games, it's all about stopping the run.
Everybody thinks sacks are sexy. You know what I'm saying? You trade a sack guy away. I need to stop this run to give me more opportunity to rush the passer, and my other guys will get more sacks.
So people look at it the wrong way, and coaches look at it the wrong way. And that's where they fail.
We’ll see what happens, but I think Philly is a little bit too strong for them, especially in the first game of the season when you have all this stuff going on all off-season. It's going to get crazy.
Shynkaruk:
We're looking for an NFL insider on the show. So we might be calling you more—some good insight.
Daniels:
Let me know. I'm good at that.
Shynkaruk:
All right. Best of luck. Have a good one in Winnipeg on the rematch.
Get it.
Appreciate you taking the time today again.
Daniels:
I thank you guys for having me.
