It’s a question all us Rider fans have asked ourselves since Quarterback Darian Durant won the starting job against Michael Bishop in the 2008 offseason (remember that guy?). The two QBs were really put in the pressure-cooker as Kerry Joseph was dished off to the Toronto Argonauts the year prior (after the Riders 2007 Grey Cup win). Bishop was viewed as the starter for 2/3 of the season.
But Bishop’s obvious lack of football IQ was what won Durant the job.
Heading into 2009, it was clear that Durant was the Quarterback of the future for the Green & White. Durant’s 3rd year in the CFL was a very successful one. “Doubles” started all 18 regular season games and he finished the year with a 60.4% completion percentage, 4,348 passing yards, 24 TDs and 21 INTs. Horrible touchdown to interception ratio aside, Durant’s first full year as a starter was a huge success. At the time he appeared to the league as “that new breed of Quarterback”. A guy who can be a pocket passer that also has incredible speed. Durant used that speed to escape the clutches of opponents and scramble for huge gains.
Lord knows I would rather sit painfully through a New York Jets game than talk about the 2009 Grey Cup (sorry for the zinger straight out of left field Jet fans!). But it’s truly unavoidable. Durant played pretty good for such a situation. He had one TD through the air and one he took to the house himself. Sure, Durant could have got a few first downs late in the game to maybe seal the Roughrider victory, but now we are just going into that “what if” part of sports. At the end of day Durant was far from responsible for the most infamous loss in Roughrider history (I think we can agree that this dethrones the Tony Gabriel catch of the 1976 Grey Cup).
Durant was so close to finding that promise land. And if it wasn’t for the 13th man I wouldn’t be writing this article because he would’ve already proven he could bring Earl Grey’s Cup to the province of Saskatchewan. But I digress.
2010 rolls along and Darian Durant tallies up his best season yet. He threw for a league best 5,542 yards. His completion percentage stayed almost identical (60.4% in 2009 and 60.7% in 2010). He also had passed for 25 TDs and was picked off 22 times. Durant was quickly becoming the face of the franchise.
The 98th Grey Cup was a rematch of the previous year’s. It was the Montreal Alouettes versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders yet again. This game was different. Durant really was put into place by a strong Alouette defense that kept him in check until late in the 4th where Durant found Marc Parenteau in the end zone. Yet the late effort fell short. This loss was due to a lack of offense so immediately some fingers were pointed in Durant’s direction.
It’s 2011 and Rider Nation has suffered through a couple tough-to-take Grey Cup losses in a row. And the suffering didn’t stop there. 2011 was a horrible year for the Riders. They placed last in the league and missed the playoffs. Durant really struggled, but so did the entire team. In Durant’s defense, he had the worst offensive line in the CFL to protect him that year. Marc Parenteau was put into the Centre role despite his natural position being Guard. Parenteau had Durant playing Shortstop all season. He would always be picking the snaps up off his cleats or he would be leaping as high as he could to try to grab the football that soared right over his head. I wish I actually sat down that year and counted every bad snap Durant received. It was bad. Durant threw for 3,653 yards, had a completion percentage of 61.1% and threw 18 TDs and 14 picks.
Finally, we come to last year. The 2012 campaign was a much better one for both Durant and the Roughriders. Durant you could argue looked like the Durant we knew just 2 years ago. Making exciting plays by slinging the ball to the likes of Slot Backs Chris Getzlaf and Weston Dressler and by using his feet to leave the pocket and break into that second level for a big gain. Durant passed for 3,878 yards had his best year for completion percentage with 64.4% and threw 20 TDs and only 12 INTs.
This season is so close to arriving. And purely on paper the Roughrider offence looks like it could be lethal. Durant will have by his side in the backfield elusive Running Back Kory Sheets who amassed 1,277 yards on the ground in his 1st year in the CFL plus an exceptional receiving core including Weston Dressler, Geroy Simon, Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg, Taj Smith, etc. (believe me, the list goes on).
While Durant is resting on the bench with a Gatorade in hand, he will be watching a denfense that can be one of the best in the CFL with a linebacking core that contains Renauld Williams (MLB), Tyron Brackenridge (OLB) and Abraham Kromah (OLB). The secondary is also impressive with a couple new faces like Dwight Anderson (DB) and Weldon Brown (DB). And of course some familiar ones such as Terrell Maze (CB), Woodny Turenne (CB), Eddie Russ (DB), Milt Collins (DB) and Craig Butler (S). The D-line looks solid as new comers Ricky Foley and Jermaine McElveen will probably take the End spots. Reliable Tearrius George and Keith Shologan will be down the middle as the Tackles as usual.
The season is fast approaching and Rider fans are asking themselves, “Can Durant lead the Riders to a CFL title?” With this team and the weapons he has at his disposal, he has a really good chance of bringing the Grey Cup to Saskatchewan. Training Camp opens Sunday (June 2nd). That’s where the journey begins.
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