DURANT OL’ RELIABLE IN CHAOTIC RECEIVING CORPS
Stampeders in position to earn divisional title with win over Lions
The injury bug caught on like wildfire among the receiving corps of the Calgary Stampeders.
Down went the team’s passcatchers, one by one, with seemingly no end in sight as the CFL season wore on.
Through it all, though, Lemar Durant has managed to stay pretty healthy, giving Bo Levi Mitchell a constant — really, only one of two — among the handsmen of the club.
But even Durant, who’s playing in his 16th game of the season Saturday against the host B.C. Lions (8 p.m., TSN/770 CHQR), isn’t immune to the frustration that comes with watching his comrades fall to injury. After all, it affects him, too. “Yeah, it’s frustrating,” said the 26-year-old Durant, who’s seen only fellow Canadian Juwan Brescasin play more games this year (17) among Stamps receivers. “At the start of the year, you’ve got your spot that you’re kind of locked in on. You know what guys are good at and what you bring to the table. But when you have guys go down, guys are rotating and you’ve got to fit into different spots and getting used to play some different areas and getting used to doing things you might not have expected to do at the start of the year. “It’s a mental battle.”
Although Durant & Co. refuse to use the injuries as an excuse for their October swoon — they’ve lost three straight — those injuries certainly have bearing on why the offence has struggled to find the usual consistency it has enjoyed in earning the label of regular-season juggernauts over the last decade-plus.
“Every week, it’s tough when you get new guys in and in new spots,” said Durant, a 6-foot-2, 218-lb. receiver in his fourth CFL season. “But every week for the last month, I felt like we’ve been ready, things just didn’t go our way. But if you look at our guys, we’ve got playmakers all around the field.
“But this week, I feel that we’ve had more time to get used to all the changes and I think that we’re going to have a good game.”
Durant, himself a Vancouver native and former star of Simon Fraser University, should be feeling pretty good himself for two reasons. He’s playing in his hometown. And he’s coming off a solid game in last week’s loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Last week, the second-round pick in the 2015 CFL Draft equalled his season-high reception count with five from Mitchell. Durant racked up 60 yards with 43 coming on one play.
“I felt that I had a good game,” Durant said. “Bo just has some trust in me — like on the deep one (last week), he just let me go up and get it. That’s why I think I was brought here. I feel like I can make a lot of those big plays.
“Overall, I think I had a good game and I can build on that,” added Durant, who has caught 29 balls for 268 yards and two touchdowns this season. “Things don’t always go your way, but coaches always have faith in me. As long as I just keep doing what I’m doing, then they’ll be some bigger games to come for me.”
WILLIS FINE WITH COMMISSIONER
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie and Lions defender Odell Willis say they’re on the same page when it comes to player safety.
That after a chat between the two Friday morning at the Lions Waterboys Breakfast, where both were in attendance just hours after Willis voiced his displeasure via Twitter at the way the commissioner handled an incident in Week 20.
Willis was fined the maximum amount by Ambrosie and the league Wednesday for his high hit last week on Saskatchewan Roughriders QB Zach Collaros.
What followed Thursday was venomous tweet from Willis aimed at Ambrosie — “Y’all fined me the maximum amount for leading with my shoulder, that’s kool!!! Next time ima just lead with my head since y’all gon fine me the max anyway” punctuated by three shrugging-man emojis.
Then in a cooler-head-prevailed move came an apology from the Lions defensive end. He tweeted, “@RandyAmbrosie with all due respect I’m sorry and I apologize for the tweet if it came off negative or threatening. It wasn’t meant for that. I just don’t understand and I open to any feedback u might have. Again I apologize 4 the earlier tweet. It wasn’t meant 2 be negative”.
Then came a face-to-face meeting and subsequent chat on the eve of the Lions’ game with the Stampeders.
“Thank you commissioner @RandyAmbrosie for the conversation this morning,” Willis tweeted after the breakfast function.
IN & OUT
The Stamps made five moves to the roster from last week’s loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to this week’s venture in Vancouver.
In are WR Bakari Grant, CB Tre Roberson, LB Jameer Thurman, OL Randy Richards and DL Derek Wiggin. Roberson, Thurman and Wiggin all missed the Week 20 loss due to injury.
Out are WR Eric Rogers, RB Romar Morris, DB DaShaun Amos, OL Nila Kasitati and DL Esa Mrabure. Morris and Mrabure join Rogers on the onegame injured list, while Amos and Kasitati were put on the practice squad.
Despite seeing some action during practice this week, DL James Vaughters was put on the one-game injured list.