Calgary Stampeder Thread

[jerrym]

Despite their 12-2 record going into last weekend's game against BC, the official attendance was only 23,563, and as Danny Austin noted in his column and it seemed to me on TV that number seemed well above the actual number of fans at the game. This reflects an ongoing decline in attendance that has continued over the last five years.

[jerrym]

Two Stampeders are getting some consideration for Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Alex Singleton is second in DTs with 100. Micah Johnson is second in sacks with 11. However, at this point I would argue that Adam Bighill is the more likely winner as he leads the league with 101 DT. He also has 4 sacks, 2 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles and has helped transform the Bomber defence into a force in the second half of the season, while Singleton has no sacks or interceptions this year and 2 forced fumbles. Calgary's defence has also looked more more vulnerable in the second half of the season, giving up significantly more points than it did in the first half of the season when it was on a record-setting pace.

[argolio]

Micah Johnson is an easy choice for me. 11 sacks and tons of pressures from a DT/NT who often gets double-teamed is phenomenal.

[jerrym]

Even with WRs Begelton, Daniels, Michel and Jorden all on the six-game injured list, the Stampeders have Eric Rogers, Bakari Grant and Chris Mathews, all former 1,000 yard receivers, on the roster. No matter the situation the Stampeders always finds the talent.

[jerrym]

Calgary is looking at possibly making a change in its OL following the sacks and pressure that BC was able to exert on the Stampeders.

After a game against the B.C. Lions that saw quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell sacked twice and under regular pressure, the Stamps have opted to take a look at both Nila Kasitati and Justin Renfrow at right tackle during Wednesday’s practice. ...
“We split it up because we know we need to be better,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson. “We’ve got to make sure. We’re evaluating guys, even on scout team and letting everybody do that. The best players will play and give me that great work ethic. ...

Randy Richards has been the Stamps’ starting right tackle for the past couple of months and was still getting lots of reps at the spot this week. It doesn’t seem that the Stamps are ruling him out as the starter for this weekend’s game against the Riders. That the coaches are even giving other guys’ looks, though, is telling.
The Riders are going to bring a tonne of pressure at Mitchell. They’re tied for the league-lead in sacks, and when the Riders handed the Stamps their first loss of the season back in August they took Mitchell down five times. That can’t happen again if the Stamps are going to win on Saturday and clinch a home date in the West Division Final, so Dickenson and his coaching staff are looking for improvements. That’s something Dickenson has been saying consistently since Saturday’s loss to the Lions, when he specifically said the offensive line needed to be better.

https://calgarysun.com/sports/footba...t-right-tackle

[jerrym]

Alex Singleton has 100 DTs going into tonight's game and putting him on a pace for 121 for the season. If he reaches 120 DTs, he would become only the second player to do it in consecutive seasons, the other being Solomon Elimimian. This would also give Singleton a record 309 DTs for his first three seasons.

[jerrym]

Jamar Wall's and Dave Dickenson's assessment of Calgary's loss to the Riders Saturday:

“It’s getting closer,’’ murmured DB Jamar Wall, the mounting dissatisfaction of back-to-back losses evident, “so people are getting more uptight. We’ve still only gotta win one game. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But we’re making it awful tough on ourselves. Are we playing our best? That’s pretty obvious. Not even close. The last two weeks have been bad. We’ve had chances to win on all sides of the ball and haven’t stepped up. It shows. We’re getting beat.” ...

“I feel like there was some progress,’’ said coach Dave Dickenson, harkening back to last weekend’s loss to the B.C. Lions. “Unfortunately the D that’s been holding us in all year couldn’t get off the field and they made all the plays. You know what? There’s still a lot of fight. I like our team: A lot. I really do. I like our locker room. Those guys know what it takes to win. We’ve just got to keep building and hopefully get it done. Listen, we’ve lost two in a row. But I think we’re going to make a good run at it here, hopefully clinch the West.”

https://www.stampeders.com/2018/10/2...drawing-board/

[jerrym]

With the loss of four starting receivers, other teams, including the Riders, the Lions and the Als, have been focusing more on shutting down the Stampeder ground game, resulting in their entire offence become inconsistent.

[jerrym]

International WR Markeith Ambles, who has got into four games because of all of the WR injuries, had a breakout game against the Riders with eight receptions for 84 yards against the Riders.

[jerrym]

The Stampeders have added RB Gerald Holmes to their PR. He attended Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts camps after attending Michigan State University.

[jerrym]

In his third season, National WR Juwan Brescacin is becoming increasingly important to the Calgary offence, especially with all the injuries to other Stampeder starters. He now has 522 yards in receptions, placing him second among Canadian-born receivers.

[jerrym]

Bo Levi Mitchell lost three games in a row for the first time in his career in the 29-21 loss to the Bombers with an offence that once again looked ordinary because of it four missing starting receivers.

[jerrym]

Following the game Dickenson said they have an ongoing problem at right tackle. Nila Kasitati, who replaced Randy Richards because of his problems, had a tough game against Winnipeg. When asked about using Spencer Wilson, Dickenson said he has shown enough in practice to warrant that. In an interview Dickenson said "He's gotta come and change our minds" if he wants the job.

[jerrym]

Despite their 12-5 record, three consecutive losses and the loss of four starting WRs leaves the Stampeders an underdog for the playoffs.

[jerrym]

In their three consecutive losses their run game has not been good enough and their defence has looked vulnerable. Quite a change for a defence that was on record-breaking pace that had it kept going at the rate of the first five games would have taken the record number of points given up for a season down by almost 100 points.

[OV Argo]

Following the game Dickenson said they have an ongoing problem at right tackle. Nila Kasitati, who replaced Randy Richards because of his problems, had a tough game against Winnipeg. When asked about using Spencer Wilson, Dickenson said he has shown enough in practice to warrant that. In an interview Dickenson said "He's gotta come and change our minds" if he wants the job.

Wilson is a former Stamps O-lineman of the year and a veteran; so i guess his play musta really deteriorated? More like Dickenson & co. there will go out of their way to hand jobs to as many American players as possible with their 7 only NIs thinking. I thought the Stumps would just kicked @rse being able to go with the incredible luxury of 3 starting import O-linemen ? Looks good on the over-rated putzes getting smacked around for 3 games straight now. Love to see them get slaughtered in the play-offs.

[jerrym]

After losing three games in a row, the Stampeders need this week's game against BC to ensure them first place.

The Riders clinched a home playoff game – their first since 2013 – with the win but would finish first in the West if Calgary loses its final game of the year.

In that scenario, Calgary would host Winnipeg in the conference semifinal Nov. 11 with the winner facing Saskatchewan in the West final at Mosaic Stadium on Nov. 18.

Should Calgary prevail in Vancouver, Saskatchewan would host Winnipeg in the West semifinal and the winner would travel to McMahon Stadium on Nov. 18.

http://3downnation.com/2018/10/31/la...laim-the-west/

[jerrym]

LB Jameer Thurman and DB Tre Roberson were missing from the Stampeder defence last week and it showed in Calgary's 29-21 loss to Winnipeg. The Stampeders need both to play and be at full health if their defence is to return to its former form against BC this week.

[jerrym]

With WRs Begelton, Daniels, Jorden and Michel all on the injured list, the last thing Calgary needed was another WR injury, but that's what happened, as Eric Rogers will miss the final game against BC. Bakari Grant will replace him.

[jerrym]

The Stampeders showed they are ready for the playoffs with their offence back on track led by Bo's passing and Jackson's running.