Durant talks aren’t simple
Darian Durant is the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ principal asset and primary question mark.
Yes, that is a contradiction. The same can be said of Durant, who regressed in 2011 after piloting Saskatchewan to a Grey Cup berth in each of the previous two CFL seasons.
Most teams that are in a rebuilding mode — such as the Roughriders, circa 2012 — would love to have a quarterback with Durant’s resume.
But if the reconstruction of the Green and White is to be an immediate success, his performance must be vastly improved.
In fairness, Durant’s struggles of last season coincided with a lack of structure on offence.
There was a philosophical chasm between Durant and offensive co-ordinator Doug Berry, who was fired along with head coach Greg Marshall after the team’s record descended to 1-7.
However, Berry’s offence looked like a Peyton Manning production in comparison to the sickly, dysfunctional unit that was inflicted upon the fans during the stretch run — which the Roughriders muddled through without an offensive co-ordinator, per se.
Moreover, the team did not see fit to employ a quarterbacks coach for the entire season.
The lack of structure was one reason why Saskatchewan went 286 minutes 29 seconds without an offensive touchdown, and a once-unfathomable 410:10 between touchdown passes.
Nonetheless, Durant must shoulder a share of the blame that is commensurate with his status as the starting quarterback.
By the same token, Durant deserves immense credit for guiding Saskatchewan to West Division titles in both of his first two full seasons as the team’s No. 1 pivot.
In 2009, Durant led the Roughriders to first place in the West’s regular-season standings for the first time since 1976. He was also named the division’s all-star pivot.
The following year, he amassed a league-high 5,542 aerial yards. Then came the eyesore of 2011.
So, which Darian Durant are the Roughriders going to get in 2012?
And how much is he going to get in 2012?
Durant is entering the option year of his contract, which the Roughriders would like to extend.
Under the terms of the existing pact, he is said to earn in the vicinity of $300,000.
Based upon last season, Durant was overpaid.
Yet, he was one of the league’s biggest bargains in 2009 and 2010.
This has to complicate the bargaining process as the Roughriders and Durant attempt to reach a common ground during the offseason. If you are Durant’s agent, you are asking Saskatchewan GM Brendan Taman for a base salary and, just as crucially, a guaranteed signing bonus that reflect the quarterback’s peak productivity. If you are Taman, how do you not factor 2011 into Durant’s body of work and temper your offer accordingly?
For Taman, securing a long-term deal with Durant is very much on the agenda. This process would be considerably simpler if not for last year’s Rider slide to the bottom of the West Division.
The West kingpins — the defending Grey Cup-champion B.C. Lions — faced fewer variables in negotiating a lengthened deal with their quarterback, Travis Lulay.
Lulay was entering his option year before the Lions announced Tuesday that an additional season had been tacked on. The new contract calls for a salary exceeding $300,000 and is said to make him the highest-paid quarterback in the division.
That was a no-brainer after Lulay was named the CFL’S most outstanding player and Grey Cup MVP last season. In Lulay’s case, the talks had to be aided by the fact that both parties’ appraisal of the quarterback could not include a “yeah, but ...’’
If only it were as rudimentary for the Roughriders.
There is unanimity in the fact that the team has made it clear that extending Durant’s deal is a priority — a notion to which he is amenable. Whenever the media has inquired about such a long-term commitment, Durant has routinely cited his desire to be a 10-year starter in Saskatchewan.
In order to enjoy such longevity, Durant must prove that 2011 was an aberration while emerging as the Roughriders’ unquestioned onand off-field leader.
One sign of progress would again involve a contradiction — a quarterback who takes an emphatic step forward while reminding people of two or three years ago.