Durant Traded to Montreal.

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squishy35
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Montreal got him for a steal. The Riders are now challenged to find an experienced QB for the 2017 season.
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SammyGreene
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Nice pick-up for the Als. Durant can still play. Thought he would get Lulay treatment at the minimum with the Riders given all he has done for the franchise. Now, I guess Jones goes hard after Franklin but his asking price from a divisional rival just went up given the Eskimos now know the Riders' QB situation. Should have acquired him first then traded Durant.
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squishy35
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SammyGreene wrote:Nice pick-up for the Als. Durant can still play. Thought he would get Lulay treatment at the minimum with the Riders given all he has done for the franchise. Now, I guess Jones goes hard after Franklin but his asking price from a divisional rival just went up given the Eskimos now know the Riders' QB situation. Should have acquired him first then traded Durant.

I can't see Edmonton making this trade to a divisional rival. I would suspect that the Riders will try to get Cato, or will be forced to sign Glenn as a stop gap.
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WestCoastJoe
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A bit of a shocker. Jones owns that team now. And it ain't necessarily pretty.

Could be good for Jacques Chapdelaine and the Alouettes.

Jones has shown that he can coach defence. Has he really shown anything else? Management? Hmmmm ... Quarterbacks? He inherited Mike Reilly in Edmonton. He didn't develop him in the CFL. Seems like in Regina it is Jones' way or the highway.

Ah well, turmoil for the Riders. CFL fans of other teams can take satisfaction.
MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes got the veteran quarterback they were seeking Friday when they acquired Darian Durant from the Saskatchewan Roughriders for two draft picks.

Durant played 11 seasons for Saskatchewan. He is eligible to become a free agent Feb. 14 and reportedly turned down a lucrative recent contract offer from the Roughriders.

"We are more than pleased to be able to acquire a quarterback of the calibre of Darian Durant and we are confident that we can reach a new agreement with him," Kavis Reed said in a statement after his first major move since replacing Jim Popp as the Alouettes general manager Dec. 14.

"As we stated from the get-go, our intention was to acquire a veteran quarterback and we just obtained a player who continues to perform at a high level, which will make him the ideal role model for our young quarterbacks."

On his website, Durant thanked Riders fans for their support.

"Dear Ridernation: This is a very emotional time for me right now and it's hard to put my thoughts together, but I wanted to send out a thank you from the bottom of my heart," he said in a statement. "Eleven years ago when I came up to Saskatchewan, I never could have imagined the love and support I've felt from the Rider fans across the world!

"Although I wanted to stay, everyone's time comes and this is mine. I have so many cherished memories of my time in green. I'm excited for a new opportunity. I'll say more later once this has sunken in. Thank you again!"
Sounds like Durant wanted more money than the Riders were willing to pay.

As Sammy notes, one might have expected that he would get the Lulay treatment. Good pay, backup status and mentorship for the young QBs.
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Two successive years of a salary cut obviously were not something Durant was willing to accept. And I can hardly blame him. The writing was totally on the wall with this and I can hardly blame other CFL GMs to wait out Jones and let him pull the trigger. Now Jones is at their mercy....too bad so sad.

The report referred to a recent lucrative contract offer but everything I read before the end of the season indicated the Riders were wanting to restructure Durant's contract yet again. I don't think I am wrong when I equate "restructure" with "salary cut".

That brand new stadium is crying out for a QB with an ounce of CFL credibility. Where are the Riders going to get that? Ricky Ray? Kevin Glenn? Brett Smith, Thomas De Marco?

I think the Riders are looking at another season of instability and upheaval. The defense got retooled and found some stability by year's end...now its the turn of the offense to get torn down and built back up over the course of the season?
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I have always respected Durant, being able to come back from back to back season ending injuries. I was really hoping to see him stay in Saskatchewan however, and play his whole career there, especially after everything that he's done for that team and what he means to the province. That's the business of football I guess.
Montreal got him for a steal though, and if they can get him signed in the next month they should have a pretty good team this season.
Chris Jones better have a plan, otherwise he will be carted out of town pretty quick. I can only imagine the s***storm going on at riderfans right now. :rotf:
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DanoT
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WestCoastJoe wrote:A bit of a shocker. Jones owns that team now. And it ain't necessarily pretty.

Could be good for Jacques Chapdelaine and the Alouettes.

Jones has shown that he can coach defence. Has he really shown anything else? Management? Hmmmm ... Quarterbacks? He inherited Mike Reilly in Edmonton. He didn't develop him in the CFL. Seems like in Regina it is Jones' way or the highway.

Ah well, turmoil for the Riders. CFL fans of other teams can take satisfaction.
MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes got the veteran quarterback they were seeking Friday when they acquired Darian Durant from the Saskatchewan Roughriders for two draft picks.

Durant played 11 seasons for Saskatchewan. He is eligible to become a free agent Feb. 14 and reportedly turned down a lucrative recent contract offer from the Roughriders.

"We are more than pleased to be able to acquire a quarterback of the calibre of Darian Durant and we are confident that we can reach a new agreement with him," Kavis Reed said in a statement after his first major move since replacing Jim Popp as the Alouettes general manager Dec. 14.

"As we stated from the get-go, our intention was to acquire a veteran quarterback and we just obtained a player who continues to perform at a high level, which will make him the ideal role model for our young quarterbacks."

On his website, Durant thanked Riders fans for their support.

"Dear Ridernation: This is a very emotional time for me right now and it's hard to put my thoughts together, but I wanted to send out a thank you from the bottom of my heart," he said in a statement. "Eleven years ago when I came up to Saskatchewan, I never could have imagined the love and support I've felt from the Rider fans across the world!

"Although I wanted to stay, everyone's time comes and this is mine. I have so many cherished memories of my time in green. I'm excited for a new opportunity. I'll say more later once this has sunken in. Thank you again!"
Sounds like Durant wanted more money than the Riders were willing to pay.

As Sammy notes, one might have expected that he would get the Lulay treatment. Good pay, backup status and mentorship for the young QBs.


I think Durant was offered a backup type salary with incentives for playing time, which would allow Jones to "experiment" at will like he did at the end of the 2016 season by substituting QBs seemingly without allowing any of them to get in any kind of rhythm.

Riders are now the equivalent of an expansion team without an experienced starting or backup QB and few quality veteran players on either side of the ball. Riders now don't have a QB on the roster who could even be the backup on another CFL team. Jones didn't rebuild, he gutted. Actually they are worse than an expansion team because they didn't get the benefit of an expansion draft.

Chaps is now the happiest guy in the CFL and Durant's input will be a big help to the rookie HC. :thup:
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squishy35
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New deal signed between Durant and MTL.....

THAT didn't take long......

http://3downnation.com/2017/01/13/aloue ... extension/
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This is a great move for the Als, as long as Durant can stay healthy. He hasn't played a full season since 2013, when he almost singlehandedly led the Riders to a come-from-behind win over the Lions in the WSF and went on to win the Grey Cup. He doesn't help the Als get younger but he makes them a lot better, and gives Vernon Adams at least another year of development, which he clearly needs.
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I am sure that Rider fans will argue that it is catastrophic for the league if the GreenWhites struggle on the field. But I think it is far more important the Als start improving for their on-field performances and their attendance figures to help a see-saw Eastern Division with being competitive.

It looked the league was approaching parity in 2015 with the Redblacks, TiCats and Argos fielding competitive teams but in 2016 it was two-steps back.

I am glad to see the Als get Durant; I think it bodes well for their fans, the stability of their franchise (no more sh*t-show a la Duron Carter please) and the stability of the league as a whole.
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SammyGreene wrote:Nice pick-up for the Als. Durant can still play. Thought he would get Lulay treatment at the minimum with the Riders given all he has done for the franchise. Now, I guess Jones goes hard after Franklin but his asking price from a divisional rival just went up given the Eskimos now know the Riders' QB situation. Should have acquired him first then traded Durant.
I think that was the problem in Regina. It sounded like Jones was wanting to push Durant towards a Lulay role but Durant wasn't having any of it. The two players were in much different situations. In Lulay's case when he accepted that role the heir apparent, Jennings, was in place and it was clear the team would give him every chance to succeed. Also the way the QB landscape sat last February there were really no options elsewhere for Lulay that would've offered him the starting job or even an open competition to start. His choice was between being backup/mentor to Jennings and be ready to step in if he faltered or pack up the family and be backup/insurance/mentor to someone else. Durant's situation is much different. The Riders don't have a clear cut heir apparent. Durant knows he is the best option the Riders had with none of the others being a real threat to that in 2017. He also knew there were some realistic opportunities to start elsewhere. Toronto was one until they redid Willy's deal. Montreal was a possibility. Until Winnipeg gets Nichols extended they too were a possibility.
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WestCoastJoe
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An aside, related to Chris Jones, etc.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/01/31/nfl- ... i-disklike

Was reading a nice article on Bud Grant from a year ago.

In it he mentions that he always shook hands with the opposing coach. My recollection is that he was friendly with the other coaches, chatting before games, sometimes just waving a hand across the field after a game.

This came to mind re Chris Jones when he did not want to shake hands following a game.

I was pretty much always a football fan of Lombardi. Not really a surprise, however, to hear this about him. In his own words, winning was everything. Some of his players, though, truly did love the man.
So my first year with the Vikings, the first game I ever won as an NFL coach, was against the defending champion Packers in Milwaukee. We beat them in a very close game, and I think we only threw for about 80 yards, played good defense, ran the ball, got a couple breaks and won. After the game we’re walking off the field. I’ve always shaken hands after games, but your heart’s not in it. It’s a ceremony. So I put my hand out, and he (Lombardi) wouldn’t even shake hands with me. And that was the last time I ever talked to him. -- Bud Grant re Vince Lombardi
I think Jones is kind of a Lombardi wannabe. Or a Don Matthews wannabe. Good coach, though.

Way to go, Bud. Always an ambassador and a class act, in football and in life. :thup:

Grant with his father's leather NFL helmet.

Famous picture of Lombardi and Kramer following a Super Bowl win.
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Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

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maxlion
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Hambone wrote:
I think that was the problem in Regina. It sounded like Jones was wanting to push Durant towards a Lulay role but Durant wasn't having any of it. The two players were in much different situations. In Lulay's case when he accepted that role the heir apparent, Jennings, was in place and it was clear the team would give him every chance to succeed. Also the way the QB landscape sat last February there were really no options elsewhere for Lulay that would've offered him the starting job or even an open competition to start. His choice was between being backup/mentor to Jennings and be ready to step in if he faltered or pack up the family and be backup/insurance/mentor to someone else. Durant's situation is much different. The Riders don't have a clear cut heir apparent. Durant knows he is the best option the Riders had with none of the others being a real threat to that in 2017. He also knew there were some realistic opportunities to start elsewhere. Toronto was one until they redid Willy's deal. Montreal was a possibility. Until Winnipeg gets Nichols extended they too were a possibility.
Key difference between Durant and Lulay is that Durant is still a starting calibre QB.

No surprise that Durant didn't sign with the Riders--the writing was on the wall going back to the end of the season.

The only way Edmonton trades Franklin is if Franklin forces a trade, and if he does force a trade, chances are he will go to Winnipeg before Regina. Otherwise, Edmonton will hang on to Franklin as insurance for this year and possible replacement for Reilly the year after.

Regina will end up with Nichols if they are lucky, Glenn if they are not. Ray may be a good stopgap.

Excellent move by Reed as new Als GM. They are now set at QB for next year, and have some talent waiting in the wings. An ideal scenario for developing young QBs.
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squishy35
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Rumor now is that Sask is going to be negotiating for Drew Tate...



Arash Madani is feeding Twitter with a suggestion this may happen.
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squishy35 wrote:Rumor now is that Sask is going to be negotiating for Drew Tate...



Arash Madani is feeding Twitter with a suggestion this may happen.
Tate is 32, hasn't played much in his career and can be a hothead. He has had only two seasons in which he's thrown more than 100 passes. He's a 66% career passer with 32 TDs and 15 INTs on a perennially great team. I don't see him as a good option for a young, rebuilding team.
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