For Saskatchewan Roughriders legend Darian Durant, he knew when CFL preseason games could either be easy or challenging.
"It's very important when your media guy passes out the rosters of the other team, you need to see who's playing in that preseason game. They're loading up a whole bunch of rookies who have nothing to lose and are going to be coming at you 1,000 miles per hour, you know as a quarterback I'm looking to get rid of that ball and make sure I don't even risk anything," Durant explained on the SportsCage.
"If you're playing against the starters, a bunch of veteran guys, we have an understanding. You want to go out there, get your reps, make sure everyone is going into Week 1. Everyone's on the same page as far as veterans in the preseason, but you gotta watch out for those rookies if you're a starter because some teams they rest all starters and they go out there with a bunch of rookies. If you're a veteran going out there against a bunch of rookies, you better watch out."
Durant believes players at some positions over others need to step up in preseason games.
"Receivers, these guys run so much in practice every day. They're doing one-on-ones, you're getting tons of looks at the receivers and what they can do. I don't think the game really changes much from that perspective," Durant said.
"Now your linebackers, your defensive linemen, guys who have to tackle, you have to bring guys down to the ground, something that coaches won't allow to happen at practice. This is where you get a chance to evaluate those guys, see if they're physical, see if the attributes that you see on paper can match up in a game-like situation. "
Recently, two Riders free agent signings, Sean McEwen and Philippe Gagnon both suffered injuries, which forced Saskatchewan to move pieces around the offensive line.
"I was looking forward to Gagnon coming over and joining the Riders. I call him Gags because he was with me my last year in Montreal. I know him very well, I know what type of energy he brings," Durant said.
"It's sad that the Riders are having these injuries up front for the second year in a row. I saw McEwen went down as well. It's unfortunate, but this puts J.O. to the test to see what he can do to have the backups ready to go."
Durant does not think the Riders changes along the offensive line will bother Trevor Harris.
"I think that's for Tommy Stevens and your short-yardage guys who will be under centre. They have to ensure that they're getting the right fit so that they're ready to go in second and one or second and short situations. As far as you know, sitting in the shotgun and receiving the snap, it won't be that difficult," Durant detailed.
"Trevor has played with a ton of different centres over his time. Whether it's a spiral or whether it's a J.O. floater coming back there, I'm sure he'll be fine."
Durant believes there's a fine line between the offensive line protecting their quarterback and the QB getting used to the flow of the game again in preseason.
"As a quarterback, I hate to say this, but you want to hit the ground a time or two. You want to make sure your shoulder muscles and everything can brace yourself as you're falling," Durant said.
"You need to get back into shape to hit the ground, so to speak. That's actually an art that people don't really know about. Hitting the ground is a skill and it's something that if you don't do for a while, you can kind of lose it. For Trevor, it's important that he goes out there, gets pushed down a little bit and can get the rhythm and feel for how his O-line is going to hold up against a pretty good defensive line."
