Saskatchewan Roughriders
Ticats.ca
Justin Dunk
Roughriders quarterback Darian Durant is adept at sitting back in the pocket and picking teams apart with his arm, but he might be even more dangerous when he is on the move. When Saskatchewan visited Ivor Wynne Stadium in 2010, Durant threw for 418 of his league high 5,542 passing yards.
Seventy of those yards came on one play when Durant sat in the pocket while trying to find a receiver before scrambling to his left and firing a strike to a wide open Rob Bagg near the sidelines, who took the football the rest of the way for six points. That’s an experience the Black and Gold would not like to repeat when the Riders come to TigerTown on Saturday.
“He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league hands down, he’s got a great arm and he’s got great vision,” defensive back Ryan Hinds said on Thursday.
One of the major keys in the Tiger-Cats defensive game plan is to limit the way Durant uses his feet and throwing arm in combination to make big plays for his side. Discipline in the Ticats pass rush lanes and coverage will help snuff out Durant’s penchant for making big plays with his feet.
“You’ve got to stay on your man and wait till he crosses the line of scrimmage. We got caught once last week, so we have to make sure that we’re in tune with that,” head coach Marcel Bellefeuille said.
Whether he is escaping a potential sack and buying his receivers more time down the field or picking up a first down carrying the football, Durant’s legs are dangerous.
“We need to make sure that if he gets yards with the run that they’re not big passes down the field, that he just crosses the line and we make the tackle,” Bellefeuille said.
At 5’11” and 214 pounds Durant is built like a full-time ball carrier.
“First of all he’s strong, you’ve got to really get your hands and arms around him and sack him,” Bellefeuille said.
“He’s a big guy, you can’t just run up and expect just to hit him and knock him down,” strong side linebacker Markeith Knowlton said. “You have to make sure you grab on, and sometimes it may take more then one guy to get him on the ground.”
“You have to run to him, break down and not just lunge. You have to come to a pause and wait till he makes his decision because he’s like trying to tackle a running back.”
Hinds is also aware of how much damage Durant can do with his right arm.
“No route is a route he can’t throw,” Hinds said.
A favourite target of Durant’s is Weston Dressler, who skinned the Ticats secondary with seven catches for 139 yards and a back breaking 43-yard touchdown catch just before halftime in the Riders 32-25 win at Ivor Wynne last September.
“Dressler is a huge component of their offence. But I personally don’t like to single out particular guys because as far as I’m concerned any guy can have a great day,” Hinds said. “We know they like to hit guys downfield, Durant will sit back there and he’ll pick you apart.”
Dressler is one of those targets that stretches the field for Saskatchewan, and the Ticats defenders are well aware of what they need to do to slow down the opponent’s aerial attack.
“It’s the same thing that we need to do to shut down any of the receivers we play against, just focus on our technique,” Hinds said. “We’ve shown and we’ve figured out in practice that when we use our technique, and use it well, we can play great man-to-man coverage.”
Limiting Durant’s feet and locking down Dressler would go a long way towards a Ticats win on Saturday.
