DURANT AND CATES HAVE TO CONTROL THE GAME

By Rob Vanstone, Leader-PostAugust 20, 2009Be the first to post a comment


REGINA — Darian Durant has a certain Flair for the English language.

That was obvious when the Saskatchewan Roughriders' quarterback was asked about Friday's game against the Montreal Alouettes — whose 6-1 record is the CFL's best this season.

"As a competitor, you love the challenge,'' Durant said. "You love the opportunity to play the best. Ric Flair always used to say, 'To be the man, you've got to beat the man.' Right now, they're on top, so we're coming after them.''

Flair, for the uninitiated, is a legend of professional wrestling. In that arena, the outcome is pre-determined. Skeptics may suggest that the same applies to this evening's game at Percival Molson Stadium, given the fact that Montreal won 43-10 in Regina on July 18. Prior to that, the Roughriders had not lost at home by 33 or more points since 1992.

Such a disparity seemed to be unlikely during the first half of the Roughriders-Alouettes clash. Montreal led 14-8 before assuming control of the game during the third quarter, when Saskatchewan customarily falters.

The third-quarter woes have been frequently cited by the Roughriders' critics. Saskatchewan has also been inconsistent on offence and defence, and dismal on special teams. And now the Roughriders have to play in (gulp) Montreal against the high-powered Alouettes.

"They're considered to be the best team in the league,'' Durant said. "To go over there and beat them in their place, it would definitely give us a confidence boost going into the bye week. It would show us where we are as a team.

"When they came here, we don't necessarily feel we gave them the game, but we had our opportunities and we just didn't capitalize on them. We have to make sure we do that this time around.''

Or else . . .

The Roughriders would like to render Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo ineffective, but he is rarely neutralized by any team. As a result, the most practical method of silencing Calvillo is to force him to stand on the sideline. The Roughriders cannot hope to do that without deploying tailback Wes Cates to great effect.

"We have to establish the run,'' Durant said. "That's each and every week. We have to make sure we give Wes enough carries so he can get going and stay on the field.

"Our defence was on the field a lot during that (July 18) game, so we definitely have to give those guys a rest. The key is always keeping Calvillo off the field. They have a very potent offence, so the best defence against them is to not even let them on the field.''
Hence the need for a productive ball-control offence.

The Roughriders were successful in that regard during each of their past two victories. Cates rushed for 98 yards in a 24-23 victory over the host Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 1, and 117 yards in Sunday's 33-23 conquest of the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In both games, offensive co-ordinator Paul LaPolice kept the opposing defence off balance by adroitly mixing the run and the pass.

LaPolice can only do so much, however. The onus is on Durant to run the offence in efficient fashion, especially when his opposite number is seemingly destined to win the CFL's most-outstanding-player award for the second consecutive season.

"It's just a great opportunity to compete against a future Hall of Famer,'' Durant said. "It's just an honour for me. I just take advantage of it and try to put my team in the best situation possible and try to come out on top.''

In his young career, Durant has started twice against the Calvillo-led Alouettes. The Roughriders have split those games, the first of which was a 41-33 victory at home last season.
"It's not necessarily pressure (facing Calvillo), but it makes you that much more aware of what you have to do out there,'' Durant said. "I'm not saying that every game isn't the same, but you have to be conscious of that going against Montreal.

"They're a ball-control team. They move the ball up and down the field and try to keep your offence off the field, so to beat a team like that, you beat them at their game. That's our goal and hopefully we can do some of the same things that they do.''

rvanstone@leaderpost.canwest.com
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