Music: {allcanada} Riders sticking with Durant

REGINA -- There is no quarterback controversy with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Incumbent Darian Durant drew the ire of Riders fans after a lacklustre performance in the club's 17-14 road loss last week against the Edmonton Eskimos. But head coach Ken Miller says when Saskatchewan takes on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sunday (4 p.m. ET), Durant will be under centre.

"Particularly in the last game he was pressing, he was trying to carry the offence on his back," Miller said. "What he has to do is operate the offence because the offence is set up in a system so that if you throw it to the guys who are open and throw the ball accurately and on time that you're going to move the football well.

"Like I said, he was trying to carry the offence on his back and he doesn't have to do that."

Durant finished 19-of-39 passing for 211 yards against Edmonton and also had three interceptions against no TD strikes. An elusive runner, the five-foot-11, 214-pound Durant had seven carries for just 19 yards versus the Eskimos, who rallied from a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to earn just their second win of the season.

Durant leads the CFL in passing with 2,474 yards but his 58.8 per cent completion average is the second-lowest among league starters. And he has thrown more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (11).

Saskatchewan (5-3) has dominated the Labour Day series with Winnipeg, winning the last five matchups. And the Bombers (2-6) head into the contest having lost their last four straight games.

Last season, Miller briefly employed a quarterback rotation between Durant and Steven Jyles before Durant emerged as the club's permanent starter. Even though Jyles is now in Winnipeg, Miller said he's never thought of returning to a rotation for one simple reason.

"He's the quarterback," Miller said matter of factly.

And Miller added he's not the least bit surprised that some Riders fans have jumped off the Durant bandwagon following the loss to Edmonton.

"No, there are a lot of people who get a lot of exercise jumping on and off the wagon here," he said.

As for Durant, he's taking the public criticism in stride.

"If that's the way people feel after one game, than so be it," he said. "All I know is we are 5-3 and that's all that matters.

"It's one bad game, it's not the end of the world. We have 10 games to play and I know there's going to be some good and some bad. I'm just going out there to play football and not worry about what people have to say."

Durant was the toast of the town after a stellar start to the 2010 season when he completed 29-of-44 passes for 481 yards and five TDs in Saskatchewan's thrilling 54-51 overtime decision over Montreal in a rematch of last year's Grey Cup finalists. Durant has levelled off since then but Miller isn't concerned because that's to be expected of a player in just his second full season as the starter.

"No, because in the overall scheme of things he's still a relatively young quarterback," Miller said. "He's going to have spurts where he accelerates and he's going to have areas where he levels off.

"He's gone a period where he's levelled off a little bit but I'd anticipate in the very near future that he's going to accelerate and climb again. It's a normal learning curve and I think that's what we're seeing."

While the Riders know who their starter will be, the same can't be said for the Bombers as head coach Paul LaPolice. He has yet to decide whether Buck Pierce or Jyles will be under centre in Regina.

Pierce has missed four games with a knee injury while Jyles has injured ribs and is sporting a flak jacket. But both have practised this week and say they'd be ready to play if called upon.

"I haven't been told yet," Jyles said when asked if LaPolice has decided upon a starter. "But I'm fine with everything.

"It's all part of the job. All you can do is prepare like you're going to start, which is something you do every week anyways."

If Jyles does play against Saskatchewan, he's expecting to see an ever-changing Riders' defence.

"They give you a lot of different looks," he said. "I think they're the team in the CFL that gives you the most looks up front and they also give you different looks in the secondary."

The contest will be Jyles' first at Mosaic Stadium since leaving the Riders in the off-season but he's not returning with a chip on his shoulder.

"Not at all," he said. "I was on the visitors' sidelines when I was with Edmonton (in 2006-'07) so I know what to expect but I honestly can say I really enjoyed my time there.

"It's like just another game because we need to win. I only want to be productive and do everything I can to help our team get the victory."