Above is an article that talks about how there are a score of fans blaming Durant for the 0-3 start.
It explains how some are calling for Dinwiddie to start. The article then goes into detail reminiscing about how Ron Lancaster was booed off Taylor field in his last game with the Riders and how Kent Austin was sent packing with hostility and how the fans used to chant Rocky (Butler) to replace Kerry Joseph. I also remember "Put Crandell in!" being shouted almost every game while KJ was QB with us.
The point is, all the GC-winning QBs in Saskatchewan have been treated poorly by Rider fans, because many of us believe we know better. But, those who think they're smart are usually too stupid to realize they're not.
Darian has my support. Our problems have very little to do with Darian. The D sucks and he puts a lot of pressure on himself to make up the difference in order to win - unfortunately we have a receiving corps that is not up to the task. The only receiver out there giving 100% is Dressler and because of his lack lustre team mates he is always in double coverage. One also has to remember that Durant is only in his 3rd year as a starter. So keep your chin up Darian - learn from your experiences and mistakes and continue to improve - behind you 100%.
I agree with you. Anyone who wants Darian gone truly wants the bad old days to return. We have one of the best players at the most critical position. He is a game changer. Granted, he had the worst game ever in Hamilton. He is in his third season. Give him some time as he is clearly working through some mental/physical issues. He has my support.
Excellent comments - Darian isn't to blame for this, and quite frankly the negativity from some of the fans is nothing short of nasty. Pretty sure most of us aren't as good at what we do at work every day as Darian is at being a QB, but we get the job done most of the time. There are those days for all of us when nothing works, everything is bad, and that's just the way life is. I am glad the people I work with aren't as eager to kick me to the curb when I have a bad day. Darian will rebound, and there isn't another QB in the league that should be starting for us. We are only three games in to the season and the fans are writing the team and the season off already? Yikes!
I’m a Durant backer also, I’ve said it before; IMO Darian has one of (If not) thee strongest arms in the league. Without Question I’ve seen him gun more than one down the middle, thus plays with heart and passion as most players do. On the bench; sure he was dissapointed but when the Riders do win their first game, they’ll do it with “VENGEANCE”.
Fans in this league like to blame the QB for everything. Receiver doesn't get open? Blame the QB! No protection from the line? QB! Defense gives up a lot of points? QB! Special teams can't stop Randorf? QB!
I’m replying to depop’s post from another thread to stay on-topic.
Great point. Some fans forget that DD is still ‘young’ in terms of his years as a CFL starter. He’s done great things over the past two years, but he isn’t what I’d call a veteran at his position, and it’s also only his second season with the same OC (and, I believe, with a new QB coach, now that Crandell is in Edmonton). For someone in Durant’s situation, you need stability at other positions on offense. Specifically, you need a dependable receiving corps. Unfortunately, NFL opportunity and injuries have left Darian with a questionable, hot-and-cold group that isn’t stepping up for him in critical situations. Getzlaf is inconsistent. Clermont’s best days are behind him. Dressler is great, but he’s getting suffocated by defenses who know the Riders can’t, at the moment, make them pay for double-covering him. The rest are unproven.
I posted a fair bit in the offseason about the significance of Andy Fantuz’s departure to the NFL. At the time, popular Rider opinion seemed to be that the team had the depth to replace him. My feeling, then, as now, is that it is almost impossible to replace your top receiver overnight. Sure, you can throw a warm body in there, but there will be a dropoff and a lengthy adjustment period.
Fantuz was for SSK what Richardson is for the Als, Lewis is for the Stamps, and Stamps is for the Esks – a marquee player whose prolonged absence would create a significant void in each team’s receiving corps. You can’t just plug an aging Clermont or an unproven college cut into Fantuz’s spot and assume he’ll be able to break 1000 yards on the season. Moreover, you can’t assume that said receiver can generate the ripple effect that all no. 1 receivers create, whereby other receivers on the team have more space to operate because enemy defenses have to double-cover the top guy.
Anthony Calvillo is a veteran in his fourth year of Trestman’s offense, but if you removed Richardson and Watkins for the year (simulating the absence of Fantuz and Bagg) and took away Green for an extended period (simulating Koch’s absence), his numbers would undoubtedly go down.
Finally, I believe Cates’s age is creating another problem for the offense: the inability of the running back to be a viable checkdown option on swing and dump passes and curls to the flat. Cates doesn’t have the speed anymore to be an effective underneath receiver when Durant’s primary reads are taken away.
I’m not saying Darian shouldn’t take his lumps here. He himself has to step up his level of play. But there are IMO a lot of factors at work besides just his individual performance.
It would be nice if Rob Vanstone would write an article with quotes from fans who support Durant. There are as many or more fans who support him and know his value than those who don't. For some reason they get way more attention.
well said disciplineandpunish, and yeah, obviously the loss of Andy is huge, especially in combination with injuries thus far this season. I do feel they have the talent to make decent replacements for Andy, but yeah, not an overnight thing.