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Rider QB Darian Durant (CP)

1. OK, THIS SLOW START THING IS GETTING SILLY NOW...

Some theories that have been shot down as to why the Bombers are such an awful first-quarter squad: It's not the pre-game prayer; it's not a snoozer of a speech from the head coach or a bad meal. And if it's not the schemes -- as the players insist -- then it's up to the 42 men in uniform to pull their heads out of their collective you-know-whats and get it done while the last notes of the national anthem are still echoing through the stadium. In eight games this season the Bombers have been behind on the scoreboard six times after the first quarter. And when a team is struggling like the Bombers and on the road in a madhouse like Taylor Field, falling behind early only serves to compound things negatively.

"You would like to have a fast start in Regina to get their crowd out of it," said head coach Paul LaPolice. "Now, Edmonton won the game (last week) on a last-second field goal so it's not crucial. But taking their crowd out of it is executing, whether it's a field goal on the first drive or a 12-play drive early on."

2. THE DURANT FACTOR

The Roughriders have spent a lot of time this week working on a new formation: rushing to quarterback Darian Durant's defence. It's a long way from the first week when the young pivot was hailed after throwing for five TDs in a dramatic win over Montreal. But in the last five games -- and a 2-3 record for the Riders -- Durant has thrown for just four touchdowns against a whopping 11 interceptions. His numbers were especially awful in Edmonton -- 211 yards passing with zero TDs and three picks -- and in the wake of that performance head coach Ken Miller is urging Durant to stop pressing.

In the meantime, the citizens of Rider Nation are getting louder and louder in their criticism of No. 4. Said Miller when asked if he was surprised fans are jumping off the Durant bandwagon: "There are a lot of people who get a lot of exercise jumping on and off the wagon here, so it doesn't surprise me at all."

The key to stopping Durant is to tackle well -- no QB in this league is more adept at squirting out of would-be sacks to make things happen -- get in the face of the receivers and camouflage coverages.

"I wouldn't say man for man they are necessarily the most talented offence in the CFL, but the way they execute their plays and the precision in which they run their offence is tremendous," said Doug Brown. "You can see they're a really well-drilled group and we really have to hone in on our keys and visual tendencies in order to have a chance to stop their offence."

3. SOME SPECIAL TEAMS MAGIC

The Bomber season started with an awful omen -- does it get any worse than surrendering a score on the opening kickoff of the campaign -- but the special teams have regrouped and are now emerging as a force. Jovon Johnson leads the CFL with two punt-return scores and the coverage units have been solid. Newcomer Justin Palardy is one-for-one in field-goal tries and punter Mike Renaud is an outstanding directional hoofer.

The Riders, meanwhile, have struggled to find some of their own magic on special teams. It's a problem that dates back to November of 2009 and the infamous 13th-man disaster in the Grey Cup loss to Montreal. But Saskatchewan was also burned for a 118-yard missed-field goal return by Montreal's Tim Maypray in a loss last month and had a punt blocked by the Eskimos that led to a TD in the loss to Edmonton. The Rider return game has been searching for any kind of production -- especially after the club released Marcus Thigpen and has watched him instantly light it up as a sparkplug offensively and on special teams in Hamilton.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 4, 2010 D3