REGINA -- Darian Durant isn't going anywhere.
For the second straight year, the Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback will remain in Regina for most of the CFL off-season. He has some vacation plans, but will be in the province for the majority of this extended off-season.
"I see myself as being part of the community,'' Durant said Sunday, two days after the Roughriders finished their 2011 season with a 23-20 loss to the host Edmonton Eskimos. "Besides the snow, I love it here and the fans are great.''
The 2011 season wasn't great for Durant or any member of the Roughriders (5-13) as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The Riders were winless (0-10) versus West Division squads for the first time in the team's history. The Roughriders never recovered from a 1-7 start, which cost head coach Greg Marshall and offensive co-ordinator Doug Berry their jobs. Ken Miller returned as head coach and provided a spark as the Riders won their first three games of September.
But that spark flickered out as the Riders closed out the season 1-6 and were eliminated from playoff contention with three weeks remaining. The regular season ended early for Durant, who spent the final two games on the sidelines while recovering from foot injuries. Durant said part of his off-season program will be devoted to recovering from the season and building strength in his lower body.
"Physically, I have to work on my feet because I tend to throw off my back foot, like a fade-away jump shot,'' said the 29-year-old Durant. "Sometimes that allows the defensive backs to get a jump on the ball. I want to make sure my fundamentals are down pat. That will definitely help with my accuracy.''
Durant will also work on the mental aspect of his game. He feels he's mentally strong, but that won't keep him from studying film from the past season.
"I'll work on reading defences,'' Durant said. "I'm only in my third year as a starter so I still have a lot to learn. I look forward to working with whoever is the next offensive co-ordinator and breaking down film with them.''
There are questions on the football operations side that are likely to be answered this week. The Riders are expected to reveal their plans to replace Miller — who resigned on Oct. 31 as the head coach and vice-president of football operations — this week. The Riders are also expected to announce the structure of the front office.
Durant will watch what takes place, but he doesn't expect to have input into the hiring of an offensive co-ordinator. The Riders didn't fill that position after firing Berry. It was primarily handled by committee with Miller serving as the final voice.
"I'm just a player on this team,'' Durant said. "If they asked me about different guys, I would give my opinion. I won't say who I like or who I don't like. Whoever is the offensive co-ordinator, I will support him 100 per cent, just like I did Coach Miller and Coach Berry, and just try to get wins.''
Wins were hard to come by this season. The coaching staff was the target of the discontent over the Riders' offensive struggles and issues on the defence. Durant didn't escape unscathed because it was his poorest season statistically since being named the Riders starting quarterback in 2009.
This season, Durant was 299-for-489 for 3,653 yards with 18 passing touchdowns and 14 interceptions, along with two rushing touchdowns. In 2009, Durant was 339-for-561 for 4,348 passing yards with 24 touchdowns, 21 interceptions and three rushing touchdowns. Last year, he was 391-for-644 while leading the CFL with 5,542 passing yards. Durant also had 25 touchdown passes, 22 interceptions and seven rushing touchdowns.
Miller feels that Durant will be able to rebound from the past season.
"Darian is a young quarterback who is going to continue to develop,'' Miller said. "He may have had a bit of a flat spot this year, but you'll see him accelerate and be the elite quarterback, or one of the elite quarterbacks, in this league as we go forward''
Durant feels that one of the reasons for the team's struggles this year was it was never at full strength. The Riders began the season without slotback Andy Fantuz, wide receiver Rob Bagg and defensive end Brent Hawkins, who were key contributors to the team's run to the 2010 Grey Cup game.
"I made some mistakes and we all have,'' Durant said. "I'm not one to make excuses, but take away the No. 1 receiver from each team and add Rob Bagg to that mix — who was becoming one of the best Canadian receivers in the league — and we were undermanned from the get-go. It's not rocket science why the season turned out the way it did. We would have loved for the season to have gone better, but when you're undermanned that's the situation we're left with.''
Fantuz played out his option this season and is eligible to file for free agency on Feb. 15. After returning from a failed tryout with the NFL's Chicago Bears, Fantuz was limited to four games with the Riders due to ankle injuries. Fantuz and Durant are close friends and Durant has talked to Fantuz about re-signing with the Riders.
"A lot of people don't know what Andy and Rob meant to this offence and having guys like Brent Hawkins and Tad Kornegay (who was released in July and signed with the B.C. Lions) on the field,'' Durant said. "They are game changers. You take away those type of weapons and you get this situation. That's why I can sit here with a smile on my face. I know what we can be when we're at full strength.''
Durant feels that the Roughriders can strengthen themselves by adding a quarterbacks coach. That position was vacant in 2011.
"It's always helpful to have one, but that's the situation we were in,'' Durant said. "As a player I can't question it. I just have to do my job.''
Durant will return to his position as the Riders' uncontested No. 1 quarterback in the spring. He will look forward to a fourth season in that position and reflect back on the past season as a learning experience.
"You just learn how to handle yourself and how to become a better professional,'' Durant said. "You learn how to deal with the negatives along with the positives. It's just being mature. Being in these tough situations this year definitely helped me in those aspects.''
Read more: http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Sweet+home+Regina+Riders+Darian+Durant/5671277/story.html#ixzz1d7fUFBf8
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