Think of it like this.
You decided to buy a car and spent several months doing your research. You knew exactly what you wanted, the type, the model, how it would perform. You even took it for a test drive to see how it handled.
Then, the day you show up with money in hand, the dealership doesn’t have that particular model. So you settle on a slightly older version. It’s still a very good car, but maybe doesn’t have all the features you had originally planned for.
That’s kind of the scenario Jacques Chapdelaine has found himself in. All winter the new Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive co-ordinator plotted and planned a scheme designed around Darian Durant being the CFL team’s quarterback this season.
That plan hit the ditch in the first half of the first game when Durant ruptured his left Achilles tendon, finishing him for the season. Veteran Kevin Glenn, who the Riders signed as a backup in the offseason, has been handed the keys to the Saskatchewan offence.
Any good plan takes into account what happens if things don’t go as planned. That’s why Chapdelaine kept the 36-year-old Glenn in mind when developing the Rider attack.
“We did not make this system a Darian Durant-exclusive system,” said Chapdelaine. “We wanted to make sure there were parameters in there that would fit both quarterbacks.”
“Any co-ordinator in this league has got to plan for the alternative situations when you lose your starting quarterback. You have to do that in the off-season or you are scrambling during the season.”
The Riders are not the only team to lose a quarterback early in the season. The Montreal Alouettes lost starter Jonathan Crompton and backup Dan LeFevour to shoulder injuries. Edmonton’s Mike Reilly went down with a knee injury.
During his years with the BC Lions, Chapdelaine dealt with injuries to starters like Dave Dickenson, Casey Printers, Buck Pierce and Travis Lulay.
“I don’t know if I can say I know how to deal with the situation better,” Chapdelaine said. “I think I can prepare for it.”
“You cover your bases. You try to project as best you can. When the situation occurs… you go into the transition and see how well you can do that. That is where are at right now. I don’t necessarily think we are on the straight and narrow just yet.”
Glenn showed he has a pretty good grasp of the Rider playbook last week when he completed 33 of 40 passes for 477 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in Saskatchewan’s 42-40 overtime loss to Toronto. He would like to be even better when the Riders (0-2) face the B.C. Lions (0-1) Friday at B.C. Place Stadium.
“We just try to get better every week,” Glenn said. “We look at it like we’ve hit a certain plateau. We want to make sure we are climbing that ladder every week.
“We want to get better every week and learn from our mistakes the previous week.”
Glenn is no stranger to being a band aid on a quarterback wound. He twice replaced Drew Tate in Calgary and led the Stampeders to the 2012 Grey Cup final before losing to Toronto. Last year he made 17 starts for the Lions as Lulay dealt with shoulder problems.
Durant is four years younger than Glenn, a little taller and about 10 pounds heavier. He’s also much more mobile.
Both quarterbacks have strong arms but Glenn sometimes pushes passes into coverage, resulting in interceptions.
Chapdelaine knows any player has his limitations. That doesn’t mean a change at quarterback rips whole pages out of the playbook.
“I’ve never been a strong believer in being totally radical in the exclusion and the inclusion of certain things,” he said. “I think this may not be a strength but can (he) still do it? What are the changes we can make to it so he can do it?”
“I think it’s important if you can’t show the parameters you want to use to attack the defence, at least create a healthy illusion you can still maintain those. That’s the biggest thing.”
Patience is important when dealing with young quarterbacks or moving a backup into the starting role.
“In the first game they came in, maybe they couldn’t do everything,” he said. “We continued to work on the development, let the relationship develop, so we can see how much of plan A can be infused into plan B.”
“That takes a little bit of time. If you radicalize yourself totally, then you don’t give yourself an opportunity to explore those opportunities.”
Chapdelaine came to the Riders after spending a year as head coach at Simon Fraser University, where he played in the 1980s. The school, in Burnaby, B.C., plays in the NCAA’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Having spent most of his coaching career as an assist, Chapdelaine enjoyed the demands and responsibilities of being a head coach.
“In a way it’s very liberating,” he said. “You are in charge.”
“You set your own boundaries and limitations as opposed to basically following someone else’s vision. From that point of view it was a lot of fun. You could come in and even try some different things.”
The move to SFU came after Chapdelaine had spent nine of the previous 10 seasons working with B.C., the last three as offensive co-ordinator.
“It was a good change for me,” he said.
“When I left the Lions, it was time for me to change. I think it was a time also for the BC Lions to go through their own changes.”
Under Chapdelaine, SFU had a 2-9 record (2-4 in conference games) and finished fifth in the seven-team conference. Chapdelaine was looking forward to a second season when the Riders offered him the chance to return to the CFL.
“My intentions were not to leave,” he said. “This was just an opportunity that came.”
“When you compare that with the opportunity at SFU, the security, the financial opportunity, the chance to play in a market that is as exciting as it is, it was too good to pass up.”
Chapdelaine played seven years in the CFL as a slotback for BC, Montreal, Hamilton and Calgary. He spent 13 years as a coach with Calgary, BC and Edmonton before joining the Riders.
The passion of the Roughrider fans means the team has no shortage of coaches. Every decision can be second guessed and debated. Losing your starting quarterback doesn’t lower the expectations of Rider Nation.
Chapdelaine knew the oven he was stepping into when he took the job in Regina. Managing a season without Durant has simply turned up the heat.
“People are very proud of their team,” he said.
“I really like being here. People are very knowledgeable. They are critical in a healthy way. I think they have the right to do that as fans, but they are also extremely supportive. They are die-hards.”
