GAME 4: Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs STAMPEDERS

[OzSome]

Calgary Stampeders will be playing their 2nd game in 5 days today at McMahon Stadium against Stanley Bryant, Lin J-Shell and the Blue Bombers.

Game Time today(Saturday, July 18) at 5:00pm at McMahon Stadium
Televised on TSN and ESPN3

Both teams have 2-1 record so far this season. Winnipeg is the first Western team Calgary is playing early this season. Stampeders committed way too many penalties last game against the Argonauts and I hope they will cut it down as season goes on.

OFFENSE:

Calgary's offense finally started clicking last game. QB Bo Levi Mitchell did not throw any interception for the second game in a row after committing 3 of them on the first game. He threw 34 times and connected 25 times for 303 yards and 2 TD passes. RB Jon Cornish on his assessment needs to starts gaining some yardages. He's off to a slow start rushing for less than 100 yards each game in the first 3 games. WR Eric Rogers is continuing to impress Stampeders fans with his 6 receptions for 114 yards and 1 TD.
The biggest news last game was the Offensive Line. Stampeders lost both LT Edwin Harrison and RT Dan Federkeil to injury. Both linemen will not play today. Due to the shortage of OLinemen, Stamps were forced to insert DT Quinn Smith to OLine and he did an outstanding job filling in. In today's game, International and former NFL Garry Williams will be playing as left tackle, while Spencer Wilson will slide in to right tackle and Brad Erdos starts at right guard backing up by rookie Karl Lavoie(Calgary 1st pick in 2015). R Lemar Durant, another Stamps 2015 draft pick in 2015 will be backing up on SB position.

DEFENSE:

Stamps defense played their best game so far early in this season last game. Argos QB Trevor Harris did not have his best game because defense were all over him and Argos receivers. LB Deron Mayo had 4 tackles vs Toronto and he was tied with DB Brandon Smith for the most tackle last game.
According to the lineup, DE Brandon Bodreaux will not be in the lineup and National Shomari Williams will be in.

SPECIAL TEAM:

Special Team played so much better last game than the first two games. Tim Brown is starting to find the opening and blocking was much better. ST coverage was also better shutting down Chad Owens last game.

************************************************** *****

Not sure how is this 4 days rest going to affect the Stampeders but I am sure it won't be a real factor. I am hoping they will cut down on the penalties especially the bad ones in this game. Looking forward to the game tonight and it looks like we might have a nice weather.

GO STAMPS GO!!!

[White Out 403]

Will I witness my first Bomber win Calgary? 0-9. Missed last years win, of course.

[Howie_16]

Will I witness my first Bomber win Calgary?

No. The Jets & Blue Bombers suck.

[transplant99]

Gonna be a very difficult game for the guys today.

That O-Line is frightening.

Williams, Bergman, Lavertu, Erdos, Wilson.

Yikes. All this with exactly 2 practices together...ever.

Defense has to very reallllly good for the Stamps to win this one me thinks. Bo is gonna have to be really quick and accurate with his decisions. Quite a test for him.

Really interesting match-up.

[nixon45]

Well that's no good

[transplant99]

Auspicious start at best.

Ugh.

[nixon45]

Lavertu hurt now... Great

[White Out 403]

Really poor attendance for a sunny weekend afternoon.

[OzSome]

Not a good start for the Stamps. Defense gave up a big play for a TD then the offense is not clicking so far. To top it off rookie Karl Lavoie is playing centre because Lavertu went down for I hope a couple of series only.

[MissTeeks]

Linemen dropping like flies.

[White Out 403]

Penalty 4.

[nixon45]

Going to be a long afternoon I think

[Jbo]

Getting ugly

[White Out 403]

6 flags and a shocking start to the game. I'll take it though.

[JiriHrdina]

They are ruining the CFL week by week

[OzSome]

I thought the OLine is the question mark in today's game. It looks like Stubler's defense is the biggest question mark so far. Defense better get their act together soon or else Stamps is going to be in trouble. Why are the Stamps very undiscipline with penalties this season so far. Way too many for a team who had the least penalized team last season.
Come on Tim Brown!! Gave up 2 singles already this game?

[nixon45]

This is hard to watch.

[nixon45]

Wow finally a break goes our way

[JiriHrdina]

Well that was dumb

[OzSome]

Finally!! a break for the Stamps! Fumble recovery on punt return. Yes!

[OzSome]

Bo to Rogers.. Touchdown!!!

[nixon45]

Can anyone on here get down to the stadium to play centre? We may need you.

[JiriHrdina]

That's a great veteran play by Chevy - a guy that just continues to do his thing.

[transplant99]

Can anyone on here get down to the stadium to play centre? We may need you.

I'd give it a go but I'd probably break my leg leaving the house.

This run of leg injuries is insane.

[nixon45]

Jesus parades. Smh

[transplant99]

good grief.

[JiriHrdina]

If his leg is bad enough he can't kick properly - get another leg out there.

[OzSome]

A little higher pass from Bo, i think Fuller is gone.

Uugh El Matador missed the FG... this guy been struggling the last two season. He better watch it because if he still missing some FG after 6 games, he'll be in trouble as Tyler Crapigna is waiting in wing and will be out of the 6-game injured list.

[nixon45]

Beauty!!!!!

[OzSome]

If his leg is bad enough he can't kick properly - get another leg out there.

They put Crapigna is a 6-game injured list even though he wasn't injured.

Yes!! Another big break!! Hecht blocked the punt and Thibault gone for a TD.

I guess it was Adam Berger wo blocked the punt.

[JiriHrdina]

Wow. Huge play. WPG should be up easy in this game and instead a bad fumble and a big special teams play and we are even steven.

[MissTeeks]

What a block!

[OzSome]

So Paredes missed the convert but got the point anyways on a kickoff point. 16-16

[MissTeeks]

A healthy Maver has to be better at kicks than an injured Parades.

[transplant99]

Don't understand why Dickenson isn't rolling Mitchell out...with a depeleted line and Bo so good throwing on the run, its a natural.

[OzSome]

Stupid refs can't get their act together. That could have been a nice sweep play on McDaniel but play was stopped because of refs not having a clue on what is going on.

[Armchair Quarterback]

Cornish needs to get the ball more, he is being vastly underused by this offence.

[OzSome]

A healthy Maver has to be better at kicks than an injured Parades.

I think we might see Maver trying to FG if Paredes keeps missing today.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Cornish needs to get the ball more, he is being vastly underused by this offence.
He's going to ask for a trade if they don't start using him. 4 touches in the first half is embarrassing. Why even bother dressing a RB?

[Armchair Quarterback]

He's going to ask for a trade if they don't start using him. 4 touches in the first half is embarrassing. Why even bother dressing a RB?

Yep, IMO a big lack of imagination in playcalling and offence this year. The sweep looked like it would have been good but the refs seem to be having trouble managing the game :bag:

We need to give Cornish a chance for his breakout run.

[Armchair Quarterback]

On another note, that Atlantic Lobster sub from Subway looks pretty gross

[nixon45]

Facepalm

[nixon45]

Bo looks brutal out there

[Frank MetaMusil]

Cornish is pissed.

[nixon45]

Give it to #9 and we get first downs. What a shocker

[Frank MetaMusil]

Hmmmm, 3 good running plays. Unreal how well that worked.

[Armchair Quarterback]

What a difference a few run plays makes.

[PostandIn]

Great drive by the Stamps

[OzSome]

Finally Tate is successful on the short yardage. Definitely credit to Jon Cornish on that scoring drive. He is getting hot now.

[nixon45]

The look on Cornish's face even after that TD drive would make me very nervous if I'm a bomber fan/player

[nixon45]

Nik looking fresh as always

[Armchair Quarterback]

Lol you don't need to bring 7 on the blitz on 1st and 20...because that's what happens

[OzSome]

Buddy Jackson got beat big time on that TD. Bombers' kicker missed the convert. I guess convert is not automatic anymore. We've seen at least 5 or 6 FG convert missed already this season.

[Armchair Quarterback]

I hate Glen Suitor.

[Frank MetaMusil]

No Cornish, 2 and out again. Cmon Dickenson.

[OzSome]

Ref gave Winnipeg a good extra yard on that play. Instead of 2nd and 2 Winnipeg even got a first down. Wow!

[OzSome]

Stamps are not getting a good spot from freaking referee today. Tate definitely got the first down on the 2nd down try.

[White Out 403]

So what's the penalty count now?

[puffnstuff]

A bazillion

[Armchair Quarterback]

Mediocre play by our offence this game.

[transplant99]

wow.....the Stamps just stold that one. Good stuff.

[OzSome]

Juwan Simpson for an interception. And that's the ball game!!!

[MissTeeks]

What a pick!

[puffnstuff]

Simpson just stood still and the ball came to him. Didnt see a reciever anywhere there.

[Redrum]

Haha! Did they just say Bombers fans are complaining about the zebras? I thought they'd at least concede that one. Zebra's gave them every chance to take this one, including a free touchdown.

[Machiavelli]

Idiotic loss...gave that one away.

[OzSome]

What a squeaker. I guess a win is a win so we can't really complain about it. First half was a bad but thanks to special team's plays in the 2nd quarter, the score was tied after the first half. The first special team fumble recovery gave the Stamps an offensive TD a few plays after the fumble. Then they scored another on a punt blocked by Adam Berger with Adam Thibault recovering the ball for a TD. The 2nd half was pretty much all Cornish. Even though Cornish did not score the TD on the scoring drive, he was the reason they even end up on the end zone. I thought even though the defense was not perfect, they played well when it counts. Offense was okay and still need some improvement. Still way too many penalties today which is getting to be annoying.

[tvp2003]

I'm getting concerned about the O-line situation. Going to need some reinforcements because its only week 4 and flipping Quinn Smith every game isn't going to cut it in the long run.

Good to get wins early but the offence is far from firing on all cylinders. Good game from the special teams; defence allowed those two big plays but was otherwise solid when it counted the most.

[Armchair Quarterback]

Another gritty win, mainly from excellent defensive plays (with the exception of the two breakdowns leading to TDs). The offence really needs to get going. Injuries on the o-line are a big concern, but the main issue seems to be execution, play calling, and the mental game.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Defence wins games, that was on display again tonight.

Mitchell and Fuller were in different play books tonight they were so badly out of sync.

[JiriHrdina]

^Defence wins games and idiotic returns lose them.
Honestly that guy was by far the biggest reason for the loss. His fumble coupled with a terri-bad decision on the final return.

[White Out 403]

that was a very disappointing game for a Bomber fan lol. :(

[Trojan97]

So pathetic to see so many empty seats today. It must be so disheartening to be the best team in the league by a mile and have your city not show up time and time again. With that said, the people who were there today did a good job making noise. Well done on that front.

[JiriHrdina]

So pathetic to see so many empty seats today. It must be so disheartening to be the best team in the league by a mile and have your city not show up time and time again. With that said, the people who were there today did a good job making noise. Well done on that front.

Build a better stadium

[White Out 403]

Build a better stadium

this, sort of. calgary will soon have the very worst stadium in the league when regina opens up their new shed.

with that being said, though, the stadium is located right on a train line and isn't hard to get to. attendance like this for the defending champs on a beautiful weekend with no hockey in town is actually really bad.

[Mathgod]

Simpson just stood still and the ball came to him. Didnt see a reciever anywhere there.
Yeah one has to wonder what Willy was intending to do on that play. He threw it directly at Simpson!

-----

Stamps are very fortunate to be 3-1 as their 3 wins were by a combined 7 points and they could very easily be....... wait, nevermind, I'll get in trouble if I say it.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day good teams find ways to win. Bad teams (coughriderscough) find ways to lose.

All in all a gutsy win by a team that was playing on just 4 days of recuperation from their last game (and not to mention dealing with key injuries).

The offense has been consistently inconsistent this year. Jekyll & Hyde. Brilliant at times, but downright terrible at times. Bo still seems to be having some trouble hitting receivers every now and then. Sometimes he makes reads that have me scratching my head, but then again it's infinitely easier to judge a play when you're sitting up high in the cozy concourse and can see everything happen vs being behind center with your arse in the line of fire. There is plenty of time between now and the playoffs and he's got plenty of time to work through it.

Oline? Oh man, if the injuries keep coming at this rate they're going to have to bring Labinjo out of retirement to play Oline.

Defense? Excellent game outside of those two TD bombs. The secondary has to study the tape and ensure that they don't make those types of mistakes again. One of those two plays had more to do with terrible tackling than anything else. It's correctable.

Hate to say it but Paredes might be on the decline. Every time you think his struggles are behind him they somehow just don't seem to be. Crapinga will be off the injured list soon and Huf has an interesting decision ahead of him.

Punt cover teams were brilliant today. The Bombers could not get anything going on returns (except for one run of 26 yards) today, and Cote put an exclamation point on it with his tremendous effort on that last punt to pin the Bombers deep.

One thing that REALLY needs to happen is that the punt return team needs to quit taking holding and illegal block penalties. Time and time again they cause us to start drives very deep in our own end and it's a problem.

[JiriHrdina]

this, sort of. calgary will soon have the very worst stadium in the league when regina opens up their new shed.

with that being said, though, the stadium is located right on a train line and isn't hard to get to. attendance like this for the defending champs on a beautiful weekend with no hockey in town is actually really bad.

Again. Build a better stadium.
McMahon is uncomfortable. It is a horrible game experience for 2015.
I can stay home - where my seat is more comfortable, the beer is colder, the burgers better and I don't have to line up to take a leak.

The Dome needs to be replaced too but it is nothing like the football stadium. I still will pay good dollars to go see a Flames game because it is worth it. I'm not interested in paying to see a Stamps game until they replace the stadium.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Again. Build a better stadium.
McMahon is uncomfortable. It is a horrible game experience for 2015.
I can stay home - where my seat is more comfortable, the beer is colder, the burgers better and I don't have to line up to take a leak.

The Dome needs to be replaced too but it is nothing like the football stadium. I still will pay good dollars to go see a Flames game because it is worth it. I'm not interested in paying to see a Stamps game until they replace the stadium.
I fully believe McMahon should be replaced before the Dome. Other than the sight lines the place is a complete dump. The only thing it has going for it is there really isn't a bad seat in the place


EDIT: that said, the Stamps are the most successful team in Calgary, they should be supported more by the city. Want to see a winner? Go see the Stampeders play. I know more Rider fans who are Stampeders' season ticket holders than Stampeder fans

[The Big Chill]

I thought it was a pretty good turnout tonight. Must have been close to 30,000 people.

[Yoho]

I thought it was a pretty good turnout tonight. Must have been close to 30,000 people.

Yep, just under 29,255 official attendance.

[Bar-Down]

I thought it was a pretty good turnout tonight. Must have been close to 30,000 people.

Yeah I don't know why everyone is saying the Stamps attendance is that bad.

The only other team that has higher attendance regularly is Saskatchewan.

Stamps usually get 27,000-30,000 on an average game, which is pretty good for that crappy stadium.

Here is a link to the CFL schedule that shows the attendance at each game.

http://cfl.ca/schedule/year/2015/time_zone/0

Hell, Sask only had 26,159 this week and Calgary had 29,225.

[You Need a Thneed]

Was at the game, and it looked like around 30k, maybe slightly above average these days.

Of course, it looks really empty for the first couple minutes of both halves.

[OzSome]

OLine situation situations is concerning but Stamps seems to have some depth on tha position. The one that concerns me lately is the struggle of Rene Paredes. Even though he's got a couple of winning field goal so far, I am not as comfortable whenever he kick a field goal right now. Obviously he is struggling since last season and it is starting to get to him. I hope he gets back to being consistent kicker again. Huf has to hide Tyler Crapigna to a 6-game injured list in order of not losing him to another team. I am sure that is on the back of Paredes' mind.
Our offense is starting to pick up. Trouble is, Cornish is not being used as often so far so it is kind of easy for the other team how to stop Stamps' offense. That is to stop Bo Levi's passing game. Hopefully after tonight's Cornish performance, DD will start using the run offense more often.

[JoseCuervo]

Yeah people who are saying the attendance is low are dead wrong, I was at the game and other then the high corners it was packed.

[Armchair Quarterback]

Yeah I don't know why everyone is saying the Stamps attendance is that bad.

The only other team that has higher attendance regularly is Saskatchewan.

Stamps usually get 27,000-30,000 on an average game, which is pretty good for that crappy stadium.

Here is a link to the CFL schedule that shows the attendance at each game.

http://cfl.ca/schedule/year/2015/time_zone/0

Hell, Sask only had 26,159 this week and Calgary had 29,225.

This. Calgary has had exemplary attendance for most of the season so far. Sure, McMahon seats around 35,000 (IIRC) but averaging around 27,000-28,000 per game is very healthy attendance. Cgy fans are just as dedicated as those from Saskatchewan!

McMahon stadium is showing its age but I think a few upgrades, like putting in actual chair seating everywhere (rather than just bench seats in certain sections) would make it more comfortable for fans.

[transplant99]

Yup...attendance was fine. Things are always down a bit until Labor Day, and that happens league wide.

Also....some were saying that the Stamps weren't running the ball enough. I disagree. Yes Cornish wanst used as much in the 1st half, which is true, but in the end it was a very nice balance of 23 rushes and 21 pass attempts. When you have guys like Rogers, McDaniel and Fuller on the squad, you have to get the ball in their hands as well as Corndogs. Also, Cornish make a very good decoy which should open up other options.

All questions on offense pretty much start and stop with the O-Line. I thought they did a great job last night considering the circumstances and 3 of them had never played a CFL down before. They will be OK but they have to get some reps in together. Losing Lavoie really sucks and throws the ratio into turmoil. Huf and company have to get another non-import guy or 2 in town pronto.

[OzSome]

Yup...attendance was fine. Things are always down a bit until Labor Day, and that happens league wide.

Also....some were saying that the Stamps weren't running the ball enough. I disagree. Yes Cornish wanst used as much in the 1st half, which is true, but in the end it was a very nice balance of 23 rushes and 21 pass attempts. When you have guys like Rogers, McDaniel and Fuller on the squad, you have to get the ball in their hands as well as Corndogs. Also, Cornish make a very good decoy which should open up other options.

All questions on offense pretty much start and stop with the O-Line. I thought they did a great job last night considering the circumstances and 3 of them had never played a CFL down before. They will be OK but they have to get some reps in together. Losing Lavoie really sucks and throws the ratio into turmoil. Huf and company have to get another non-import guy or 2 in town pronto.

I heard the reporter was asking Huf on losing Lavoie to injury. He didn't mentioned how bad. I know he had some knee problem during the training camp but looks like someone fell off his lower left foot. I hope it was just a minor and he can come back on Friday's game. I thought Lavoie did well in his time at centre against Winnipeg.

[Erick Estrada]

Yeah people who are saying the attendance is low are dead wrong, I was at the game and other then the high corners it was packed.

Attendance was 29k and change which is pretty good for a summer weekend. It's not like Regina has sold out a game yet this season either and I would be more concerned about BC and Edmonton as they had pretty poor attendance for their openers.

[transplant99]

I heard the reporter was asking Huf on losing Lavoie to injury. He didn't mentioned how bad. I know he had some knee problem during the training camp but looks like someone fell off his lower left foot. I hope it was just a minor and he can come back on Friday's game. I thought Lavoie did well in his time at centre against Winnipeg.

Lavoie left the stadium before the game was over and headed for x-rays and an MRI. That's very rarely anything but bad news.

More telling was his own reaction as he walked off the field after that TD and him smashing his helmet into the turf in frustration when he realized it was not good.

Hopefully its a short term thing but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[tvp2003]

Parades has been injured, no? Guy has been pretty clutch; when was the last time he missed a last minute game winning/tying field goal?

[Pizza]

with that being said, though, the stadium is located right on a train line and isn't hard to get to. attendance like this for the defending champs on a beautiful weekend with no hockey in town is actually really bad.

A huge factor in the attendance is the local economy, which happens to be O&G where many are getting laid off

Hard to justify spending money on entertainment when you're unemployed and have mouths to feed

[jayswin]

A huge factor in the attendance is the local economy, which happens to be O&G where many are getting laid off

Hard to justify spending money on entertainment when you're unemployed and have mouths to feed

That's not the issue with Stamps attendance, it's been hovering around 26-28k for a few years now.

This year is actually a little better than previous years for early season games. It's a combination of the stadium's archaic, brutal condition and all games now being televised.

I think someone showed CFL ratings for TSN somewhere and they were very strong for what the league is. The fans are here. A lot of casuals have been permanently removed from the "attending games" group due to just watching at home for cheaper, but many more are just temporarily removed from attending games due to the Stadium.

I would suspect you'll see our new stadium seat 31 - 34k and we'll likely see sellouts on regular basis. And honestly, with the way CFL stadiums are around the league we end up looking worse on TV as a 36k stadium is on the large end for new CFL stadiums.

Nobody looks at a game in Ottawa and says what a weak turnout.......but their stadium holds 25k which the Stamps beat every single game. And nobody looks at 29k in Winnipeg and says what a weak turnout because their stadium is modern and the empty seats are less obvious on TV.

We have those huge empty corners where the sightlines aren't that great, you're really far away, and the benches are ****ing brutal to sit on. The fans that would normally be up there were the first ones to say "The games are all on TV? Perfect, **** that experience, I'll just get drunk with friends at home and forget the pricy game/transit/vendor food/beer evening out.

And if I recall correctly the Stamps have a hand themselves in the corners looking empty as I believe those used to be very cheap/affordable tickets but they decided to start trying to make better coin off them. Hopefully someone can confirm.

[jayswin]

And before you throw stones at Stamps fans Resurrection, here's an article from last season. You have a smaller stadium and it's new which attracted extra fans, as will Calgary's new stadium, but Winnipeg isn't a slam dunk football town.

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/bombers-attendance-down-more-than-1-800-fans-per-game-1.1995826

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers hosted the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Banjo Bowl at Investors Group Field on Sunday.
This is one game the home team expects to sell out every year, but overall, this season ticket sales have been disappointing.
Sunday’s game, the teams sixth at home this season, was the first sellout of 2014, something they had already done twice by this time last year. Overall, the team is averaging 30,002 fans per game, down 1,846 customers per game compared to the first six home contests in 2013

"You know, it does surprise us a little bit, especially with the winning and the product on the field. It certainly is surprising,” said Bomber fan Dan Labelle outside the stadium Sunday Which is exactly what you were saying when you took a shot at our fans.

The lower corners at investor group field often look like the upper corners of McMahon, except they're lower.....nicer.......and in a brand new amazing stadium.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/football/article12509104.ece/BINARY/w620/WPGT107_FBO_Argonauts_Blue_Bombers_20130612.JPG (http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCJGGx8D-6sYCFQHYPgodTrEFfQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com%2Fsports% 2Ffootball%2Fblue-bombers-open-investors-group-field%2Farticle12509967%2F&ei=FZWtVdGnCIGw-wHO4pboBw&bvm=bv.98197061,d.cWw&psig=AFQjCNGy674IsHtyhmFNsDzF4rNkkCxcQw&ust=1437525607738895)