The Stampeders have resided in a league of their own during the CFL season thus far. They haven’t just won games, they have been trouncing teams by double digits. Earning the franchise’s best start to a season since 1995.
Despite their undefeated season being spoiled by their rival Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Stampeders have owned the standings. Remaining in 1st place with the Eskimos and Redblacks not far behind.
Concern in their Defeat
In Week 10 the Stampeders took on the Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium, where they were handed their first loss of the season. Despite their superiority in the standings, the loss against the Roughriders warranted concern. This exposed some of the flaws in the Stamps system.
The Stampeders have started games with an air of confidence, rightfully so based on their record. However, this is a trait that has gotten them into trouble early in games. The Stamps were down 14-0 to Saskatchewan going into the second quarter with no sense of urgency to regain the lead. The potential of the Stampeders that we have witnessed thus far this season, being down by 14 after one quarter appears to be a result of indifference opposed to inability. The Stamps were able to finish with 27 points, however, this was not enough to overcome their early deficit.
Defensive backs coach Joshua Bell expressed concern in the first Stampeders practices back at McMahon Stadium following the Stamps defeat. “Maybe you allow three or four more yards on the tackles, right?” Bell explained to Calgary reporters. “It’s big to some teams. To some teams, that’s pretty doggone good, to miss the tackles and allow two, or three, or four more yards. To us, it’s below our standards. We’re looking at tackles for a loss instead of tackles for two. It’s just a standard-thing. We were below our standard.”
The defensive line allowed quarterback Zach Collaros the space to perform, he and wide receiver Jordan Williams-Lambert went to work. Collaros completed 25 of 34 attempts for 270 yards and Williams-Lambert impressed with 10 receptions for 152 yards.
“We got out-played and out-coached,” Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson told reporters following the game.
“They seemed to play faster and they had a little bit more edge. They were a little more physical. They executed a little better. When you put all of those things together and when you’re playing a good team you’re going to get beat. We did fight. I’m not going to say we laid down—we fought hard, we kept coming after it… I’m proud of my guys for that,” Dickenson said.
Hope in their Redemption
The tenacious fight that Dickenson saw in the Stamps was on display in Week 11. Their next game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers proved why the Stamps have remained first place in the standings. They were able to demonstrate their ability to not only learn from their mistakes but also fix them.
Despite their performance in the Stampeders loss to the Roughriders, the defence came up big against Winnipeg. The defence kept the league’s most dangerous running backs Andrew Harris to only seven carries for 13 yards. Linebacker Jameer Thurman came through for the defensive line with 11 tackles and one sack.
All three Week 11 Shaw Performers of the Week belonged to the Red and White. Unsurprisingly, the first-place spot was awarded to quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who completed 25 of 45 attempts for a blistering career-high 452 yards.
The second-place spot was given to wide receiver Kamar Jorden, who had 10 receptions for an equally-impressive 249 yards, breaking the Stampeders’ franchise record for receiving yards in a single game. Previously held by Herm Harrison’s 237 receiving yards on September 29th, 1968.
The third-place Shaw Performer of the Week was Ja’Gared Davis. He created trouble for the Blue Bombers offence with two interceptions. This has only been done once before in league history as a defensive end. On one of his interceptions, he ran the ball back for a pick-six with 1:10 remaining in the game, causing pandemonium at McMahon Stadium.
The Labour Day Classic
With the Stampeders coming off a statement win against Winnipeg, the Edmonton Eskimos will need to put in impressive work to win this upcoming Labour Day Classic. Even though the Stamps remain undefeated at home, with key players for the Edmonton dominating at their positions, the Eskimos are in a prime position to be able to take down the Stamps at McMahon Stadium.
Quarterback Mike Reilly leads the league in passing yards (3296) and touchdown passes (22). He is also tied with the Redblacks’ Trevor Harris for the highest number of completions with 234. With Reilly under centre, the offence has also been able to shine. Wide receiver D’haquille Williams leads the league with 947 receiving yards while running back C.J. Gable is among the top three players in the league in rushing yards with 613.
The key aspect that may play into Calgary’s favour during the Labour Day Classic is momentum. The Eskimos are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Despite having a 24-10 lead going into the second half, the Eskimos did not put up a single point the rest of the game, going on to lose 25-24.
Even though the Eskimos dominated the second quarter, where they racked up all 24 of their points, they were not able to take this momentum into the second half. “We played well in one quarter out of four and just didn’t play well enough in three,” said head coach Jason Maas to reporters.
“We’ve done that before and lost games because of it, too. We’ve got to figure it out, we’ve got to play better 60 minutes of football, more complementary football, help our defence out. Our offence didn’t stay on the field long enough tonight and just didn’t make enough plays to win it,” said Maas.
Another component to their game where the Eskimos need to improve is their discipline. The CFL conducted a Discipline Ranking through the first 10 Weeks of the season, the Edmonton Eskimos were ranked dead last. The Eskimos have been flagged 93 times, giving up 1000 yards in penalties. Having lost their game against the Tiger-Cats by only one point, improvement in this stat alone could show different results for the Eskimos.
In the Labour Day Classic, if the Eskimos are able to finish a game with the same strength as how they start a game while staying out of penalty trouble, this could be the edge they need to upset the Stampeders.
The Last Word
The true test for the Stamps will come in their final weeks of the season, as six of their remaining nine games are against West Division rivals. Their domination of the East has shown glimpses in their potential, however, Calgary’s true strength as a team will be decided in whether they can keep the same consistency in their games against the West.
With only one loss posted on the season thus far and their follow-up game exceeding expectations, it appears the best is yet to come.
Will the Stamps’ first quarter apathy come back to haunt them again in the postseason? Or will this be the year they get over that hurdle and reach their championship potential?
Third time’s a charm.
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