By Joel Gasson

Tino or Seth, Riders still not ready to name a starting pivot

Sep 29, 2014 | 5:23 PM

The Roughriders quarterback situation is as clear as mud.

When the team returned to Regina from their 24-0 defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Eskimos, head coach Corey Chamblin wasn't ready to name a starting quarterback for Friday's showdown with the Calgary Stampeders. Chamblin suggested he needed to get a better look at the footage of the game again and make a decision from there.

Now that the game has been reviewed, has a decision been made?

“Those guys, they're battling right now,” said Chamblin. “We'll make a decision after day two, heading into day three, so we can give that guy, whoever it is, the sense of knowing that he'll start and preparing like that.”

The battle does appear to be on in practice this week as Sunseri and Doege both took reps with the first-team offence on Monday.

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“The biggest thing is how they manage the offence and how they practice,” said Chamblin, when asked what he's looking for. “Who's making the throws? Who has the understanding of the offence?”

There has been a lot of speculation lately about the Green and White bringing in another, more experienced quarterback. Chamblin was asked specifically about the report that the Riders had made some offers to the RedBlacks for Henry Burris that were rejected; Chamblin deferred that question to management.

Management hasn't been made available to discuss the quarterback situation since Durant was originally placed on the six-game injured list.

Sunseri, who has started every game since Durant tore a tendon in his elbow, isn't reading into the rumours surrounding the team.

“We're going out there like every other day, trying to make sure we put balls on people, we make sure that we're being accurate,” said Sunseri.

Doege isn't thinking about what may or may not be happening this week either.

“I'm going to go about it as I am,” he said. “I think Tino is too, so we'll both be ready to go when the whistles blow.”

As for the guy who started this whole situation, don't rule out Durant for the 2014 season just yet. Chamblin was asked on Monday how his franchise quarterback is doing and the coach couldn't say for sure when Durant may be back but he is coming along and could begin throwing against in two or three weeks.

News and Notes

Receiver Taj Smith has been placed on the six game injured list with a broken clavicle he suffered late in the game against Edmonton. Dan DePalma can come off the injured list this week and it looks like he might return to the line-up. Chamblin wasn't ready to declare Smith's 2014 season over.

Middle linebacker has been an issue for the Riders lately and it appears that Sam Hurl could see more time there on Friday night. Chad Kilgore took limited reps and appears to be headed towards a special teams role this week. Defensive back Mark LeGree could also be returning this week.

There could be change coming at left tackle as well. Levy Adcock was with the 1st team O-Line today with Xavier Fulton working on the scout team. Chamblin wouldn't confirm any changes there.

Some Canadian depth could be nearing a return. Fullback Spencer Moore can come off the six-game injured list this week and was practicing. Neal Hughes and Chris Best also practiced in a limited fashion. Best does still have a cast on his injured hand.

Punter Josh Bartel was also at practice and took part in some individual drills but Chris Milo was still punting during special teams periods.

news@panow.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow