Murray Wood: Reflections on a Rider loss that should have been a win.
If bad teams find a way to lose and good teams find a way to win, Murray Wood wonders why a good team sometimes finds a ...
Sportsnet’s Arash Madani tweeted that the Riders extended a contract offer to Darian Durant earlier this week. As expected the report triggered varying opinions about Darian Durant’s worth. Should Durant settle for a base salary that is worth, let’s say, $100,000 less than the top earning quarterback in the CFL? I think not.
Those who believe Durant should be paid less point to his inability to stay healthy and his age. At 34, Darian Durant still has some good football in him. We just saw Henry Burris take the RedBlacks to back-to-back Grey Cup games at 40 and 41. The last quarterback to lead a CFL team to back-to-back championships was Anthony Calvillo at 37 and 38 years of age in 2009 and 2010. Those teams implemented game plans that played to their quarterback’s strengths.
If this Rider coaching staff sets up an offensive scheme that plays to Durant’s strengths this team can be good for a long time. If someone other than Durant is quarterback, welcome to year two of re-building.
