GAME 6: Montreal vs CALGARY STAMPEDERS

[OzSome]

Game time: 5:00pm Saturday, August 1st at McMahon Stadium
Televised: TSN (in Canada) and ESPN3 (in US)

The visiting Montreal Alouettes(2-2) is coming from a bye week against Calgary Stampeders(3-2) tomorrow night. Calgary lost their last game to Ottawa Redblacks last week in overtime. Stamps other losses is against the same Alouettes with the rookie QB playing his first game on Week 2. The game was full of mistakes, penalties and maybe the defense worst game in the last few seasons.

OFFENSE:

The 5 starting Offensive Linemen survived the whole game last week and I guess that is one of the most positive things that happened during that game against Ottawa. Calgary lost RB Jon Cornish to thumb injury last week so expect to see Matt Walter starting as RB and platooning with Tory Harrison. R Eric Rogers been having a good season so far having 4 TDs so far in 5 games (6 in 7 career games). QB Bo Levi Mitchell still hasn't been playing his potential but he's been getting better in the last few games. Rookie R Greg Wilson will play his first CFL game tomorrow replacing the injured R Joe West.

DEFENSE:

Defense allowed 8 passing plays of more than 30 yards in 5 games. This is unusual for the Calgary defense especially having the best defense last season. DE Charleston Hughes had 5 QB sacks so far this season and he is tied with Eskimos DL Markus Howard for the CFL lead. MLB Juwan Simpson who missed the Week 2 lost to Montreal will definitely make sure they will not give up the worst 159 rushing yards they gave up in Week 2 against Sutton and rookie QB Cato. DE Brandon Boudreaux will be in the lineup replacing the injured Dequin Evans. DB Ciante Evans will play his first game in the CFL replacing the injured DB Buddy Jackson.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

I guess the Special Team coverage did well last week stopping Speedy Banks. Returner Tim Brown will be count on to get a good game. ST will miss one of their ace special teamer Adam Thibault due to injury but they will get Glenn Love back and Charlie Power.

OPPONENT:

QB Rakeem Cato won 2 games and lost 1 so far this season and he's been playing like a veteran QB. I am sure Calgary will not take him lightly this time. R Nik Lewis will be so pump up playing his first game in Calgary after signing with Montreal in the off-season. Last game against the Stamps in Montreal he caught 3 passes for 65 yards and 1 TD. Veteran R Fred Stamps will be missing the game tomorrow for personal reason.

INS and OUTS:

IN: DB(#0) Ciante Evans, RB(#34) Tory Harrison, LB(#36) Glenn Love, RB(#46) Charlie Power, R(#84) Greg Wilson and DE(#98) Brandon Boudreaux.

OUT: RB Jon Cornish(thumb), DB Buddy Jackson(leg), DB/ST Adam Thibault, R Joe West(I believe minor leg problem), R Kamar Jorden, and DE DeQuin Evans.

************************************************** *********
Stamps need to play much better defense than the way they played in Week 2. They need to pressure Cato a lot and hope he makes the mistakes. With Cornish out, Stamps receivers need to catch the ball better and Bo Levi avoid over or underthrowing his receivers. Rumour has it that Shawn Lemon has been released by NFL Pittsburgh Steelers so there might be a possibility he'll be back with Stamps this season if he doesn't get signed by the other NFL team.

GO STAMPS GO!!!!

[Sainters7]

Going to the game tonight, first one on the season for me. Fired up.

Fully expecting the O to still be a little rusty with all those injuries, but I really hope the D gets it's butt in gear already. So far it resembles nothing of the best unit in the league last year. Would love to see Lemon return.

[OzSome]

son of a b#%ch!! Stamps DB got burned again with 50+ yards TD. No pressure on Cato at all. I guess they did not learned from Week 2 that Cato can throw the ball.

[CofR]

Ugh, not a great start for the D

[CofR]

:(

[OzSome]

WTF!!! Defense sucks so far, Offense is not doing crap and now Special Team just got burned. Unbelievable!! 17-0 Montreal. What a crappy start!

[OzSome]

I like Matt Walter but Stamps need to put Harrison on RB. Walter is not very creative with his run and rarely get the first down on his run.

[CofR]

Good series to lead to the TD. 17-7 now

[Nammer403]

There you go! Great 2nd so far

[OzSome]

I am glad they woke up after that Stefan Logan's punt return TD. Both offense and defense responded very well. Love that Greg "White Lightning" Wilson's speed. Of course the end zone is Mr. Rogers' neighbourhood. 5th this season.

[OzSome]

What a catch and an interception by Joe Burnett!!

[OzSome]

Oh Fck!! OL Garry Williams is holding his elbow. I hope it is not another injury.

[OzSome]

Another stupid and unnecessary penalty cost them 4 points. Instead of getting a chance to score a touchdown, they ended up with FG instead. Everybody knows you get penalized whenever you throw the ball to the opponent with intent or not.

[OzSome]

First half is over. Montreal 20 Calgary 17. First quarter is a killer getting burned with 2 TDs. Run Defense was actually doing well as they are not giving Sutton much room to run the ball. Unfortunately it looks like the Pass Defense was forgotten. There was absolutely no pressures on the rookie QB Cato in the first quarter but it was different in the 2nd quarter. Maybe they woke up after the ST gave up a punt return TD. Offense has been getting 2 and out, lucky to have 5 plays in one series. Definitely misses Jon Cornish as the running game was non-existence with Matt Walter. Walter need to be creative and now just slash and run. He is not a big running back and it doesn't help that we are missing 2 starting OLine already. Of course when you can't rely on the running game, they are forced to use the passing play as much. Mitchell started off slowly again but he picks up in the 2nd quarter. Offense must woken up too after Logan's TD. I am just glad Stamps came back with 2 TDs right away. Looks like LT Garry Williams is done for the day. Sucks that we are losing our 3rd OLine and CFL is only 6 weeks old.

[OzSome]

Yes TD by Quay!! Looks like Huf's gamble in taking the ball in the 3rd quarter with the wind on their back paid off. Stamps had some combinations of run and passing plays on that first series.

[St. Pats]

Feeling nervous with them not converting offensively despite wracking up yardage.

[The Big Chill]

How does that holding not get called?

[The Big Chill]

Impressive outing for the D after a shaky start. Good win!

[OzSome]

Chip Cox is freaking sore loser..cheapshot artist. I can't believe he hits Bo Levi Mitchell with no time left on the clock. Stamps won 25-20 after a bad start. 2nd and 3rd quarter was a good quarters for them.

[calgarybornnraised]

I don't think I have ever complained about broadcasters. But man was Rod Black horrible,you would think it was gale force winds out there,and on a repeat loop. Just terrible.

[tvp2003]

Virtually every point scored with the wind. Not sure I've ever seen that before.

Stamps D coming up in the end; another close finish at home ends in favor of the Stamps.

Hopefully we can figure out a way to score more than 26 points per game; until then, rest up on the bye week and then revenge against Ottawa at home.

[JiriHrdina]

Rod Black is always horrible. The worst. And why can't he call Bo Levi Mitchell by the name that everyone else uses, instead of "Bo Mitchell".
Can't stand him.

[zyzz]

Why was Cornish in the stands and not on the sidelines? Seemed very strange.

[corporatejay]

Where was cuthbert?

[Da_Chief]

Why was Cornish in the stands and not on the sidelines? Seemed very strange.

He may have been visiting someone as he was on the sidelines later on.

[Mathgod]

Late last year Derek Wills coined the term "Find A Way Flames".

I think it's fair to say that the 2015 Stampeders are the "Find A Way Stamps".

[calf]

I seem to remember last seasons Stamps scrapping and clawing and coming from behind quite a bit, despite the amazing record. Not sure why this year should be different, especially with how theyare defending champs and teams are gunning for them

[calf]

I don't think I have ever complained about broadcasters. But man was Rod Black horrible,you would think it was gale force winds out there,and on a repeat loop. Just terrible.
Dont forget about how Cato continually turned water into wine.

[OzSome]

I am actually impressed with Rakeem Cato. The guy is legit and Als will have a hard time trying to figure out their QB situations when all their QB are healthy again especially Crompton and Tanner Marsh situation. The way Cato is playing, would he go back to 3rd stringer(not even in a roster before)?

As for the Stamps, another OLine down and out. Tackle Garry Williams is out with injury so I guess they will put Andre Ramsey on roster for next game. Only 6 weeks and we already lost Bryant, Federkeil, Lavoie and now Williams. Spencer Wilson is not really a 100% this season but still playing. I thought Swiston played well once he was put in. Running game finally came up in the 2nd half.
I am glad R Greg Wilson finally got the chance to play. Unfortunately he had a so-so game catching a nice pass by BLM then McDaniel on the next play. He then dropped the ball that would have been an easy catch. Against in his defense he got blinded by the sun I guess I am not sure. The other one was a long bomb by BLM. He beat the DB big time but the ball was overthrown a little. If he caught the ball, it could have been an easy touchdown.
Not sure if ther are any injuries but Wall got hurt in the game and came back so that was a good sign. Walter had some cramping issues in the 3rd but he too came back after a few plays.
It was a nice comeback from 17-0 but for some reason this season they always needed a wake up call before they start playing well. On Defense, they were playing well against the run defense in the first quarter but seems to forget that Cato can run as well and also can throw. He was having lots of time out there. Offense started off flat. Running game was awful with Walter trying to run like Messam instead of looking for some holes. Harrison didn't even touch the ball in the first quarter. Special Team made one crucial mistake on that first quarter. As I remember, the guys in front of Maver was changing positions and stuff then Montreal almost blocked Maver's punt. The next thing you know Logan was off to the end zone. I am glad they adjusted in the 2nd quarter and scored 2 quick TDs. Huf's gamble in getting the ball with the wind on their back in the 3rd quarter was a genius move. They could have scored a couple of TD in that quarter but dumb penalty prevented them. Also I didn't get why they ran the clock late in that quarter while they are on scoring zone. Paredes probably could have the FG if they kicked it with the wind on their back. Paredes ended up missing the field goal a few plays later early in the 4th quarter. Exciting win though.

[browna]

Rod Black is always horrible. The worst. And why can't he call Bo Levi Mitchell by the name that everyone else uses, instead of "Bo Mitchell".
Can't stand him.

Rod Black has fully bought into the the TSN memo of trying to dramatize every tid bit into a story or a theme. He also makes sure he says enough one line statements "xxx has had a game for the ages etc", or regionalizing things "I know the Stampede was last month, but this play looked like a rodeo" etc so that one of them gets picked up on SportsCentre after.

The situation is further amplified when the games are on also shown on US TV and he feels the need to pander to an American. Suitor (with Cuthbert) also turns even more annoying, trying far too hard to be some serious, indepth analyst/ambassador and knower of all football, not just CFL.

Weak linkages between the CFL and NFL are used as far as players careers, random NFL name dropping occurs, Canadian rules are explained like teaching the alphabet to a learning 3 year old,and the term "professional football" is used a lot, all to make sure (I assume) the Americans don't feel alienated when turning on the TV and so that those guys are shown as being "aware" of the NFL.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

I seem to remember last seasons Stamps scrapping and clawing and coming from behind quite a bit, despite the amazing record. Not sure why this year should be different, especially with how theyare defending champs and teams are gunning for them
After 6 weeks I am of the opinion that the the Stamps are still the top of the league but the talent gap between them and other teams shrunk a lot quicker than most people expected

[OzSome]

After 6 weeks I am of the opinion that the the Stamps are still the top of the league but the talent gap between them and other teams shrunk a lot quicker than most people expected

I still think they are the top team in the league. All they have to do is eliminate the dumb penalties, some mistakes and also get rid of the overconfident thing. That's because the team is playing a rookie QB, it doesn't mean you take them lightly(case in point: Week 2 lost to Cato). Right now they are lacking the killer instinct. They could have beaten Ottawa easily last week but it seems like they took them lightly. Of course they have a lot of mistakes too and Jeff Fuller was one of the biggest culprit dropping some balls. Yesterday, they seemed to eliminate a lot of dumb penalties but they still made some mistakes(not as much).

[jayswin]

After 6 weeks I am of the opinion that the the Stamps are still the top of the league but the talent gap between them and other teams shrunk a lot quicker than most people expected

uhhhh injuries? :blink:

[M*A*S*H 4077]

uhhhh injuries? :blink:
True, but every team has injuries. Montreal doesn't have their top 2 QBs, Edmonton is missing their QB, Toronto missing their QB. Hamilton had half their team on IR to start the year. Just something you have to deal with. Calgary has the depth to overcome. They're still the best until someone else proves otherwise, but that gap is shrinking.

[jayswin]

True, but every team has injuries. Montreal doesn't have their top 2 QBs, Edmonton is missing their QB, Toronto missing their QB. Hamilton had half their team on IR to start the year. Just something you have to deal with. Calgary has the depth to overcome. They're still the best until someone else proves otherwise, but that gap is shrinking.

Fair enough, I just don't think that gap has shrunk since last season myself. Every team has injuries, but we've been absolutely decimated.

[Da_Chief]

Fair enough, I just don't think that gap has shrunk since last season myself. Every team has injuries, but we've been absolutely decimated.

Not really. Pretty much all the projected D starters are healthy outside of Mace, not a big drop off to Turner or Smith though.

The receivers, we lost SCC but he's not clearly ahead of Parker/Durant etc anyways.

Lost Cornish but that's only been one game with the OL injuries the running game has been non-existent.

The big hit was taken at OL with Harrison, Federkeil, Craighead, Lavoi, Williams all injured and Jones and Bryant no longer with the team. If couple of those guys from last years team are still here we're in good shape.

Lions - Fairly healthy
Esks - Starting QB (Reilly), starting RB (White), starting national rec (Chambers), OL (Groulx, Wojt, Rottier)
Riders - Starting and backup QBs (Durant and Glenn), MLB (Emry), DB (Brown), MacDougall
Bombers - DL guys Bryant and Peach
Als - First 3 QBs (Crompton, Marsh, LaFevour), Starting safety (Edem), Top D player (Woods),
Argos - Starting QB (Ray), Durie, Underwood, Waters, Gabriel
Cats - Lots of guys, well advertised
Blacks - Noting significant

Our injuries are no different then anyone elses. QB is the most important position. The emergence of young QBs has closed the gap. Cato doing well in Montreal, Harris in Toronto, Collaros in Ham, all from the East has made it a competitive league. East is not a pushover anymore.

[Mathgod]

Not really. Pretty much all the projected D starters are healthy outside of Mace, not a big drop off to Turner or Smith though.

The receivers, we lost SCC but he's not clearly ahead of Parker/Durant etc anyways.

Lost Cornish but that's only been one game with the OL injuries the running game has been non-existent.

The big hit was taken at OL with Harrison, Federkeil, Craighead, Lavoi, Williams all injured and Jones and Bryant no longer with the team. If couple of those guys from last years team are still here we're in good shape.

Lions - Fairly healthy
Esks - Starting QB (Reilly), starting RB (White), starting national rec (Chambers), OL (Groulx, Wojt, Rottier)
Riders - Starting and backup QBs (Durant and Glenn), MLB (Emry), DB (Brown), MacDougall
Bombers - DL guys Bryant and Peach
Als - First 3 QBs (Crompton, Marsh, LaFevour), Starting safety (Edem), Top D player (Woods),
Argos - Starting QB (Ray), Durie, Underwood, Waters, Gabriel
Cats - Lots of guys, well advertised
Blacks - Noting significant

Our injuries are no different then anyone elses. QB is the most important position. The emergence of young QBs has closed the gap. Cato doing well in Montreal, Harris in Toronto, Collaros in Ham, all from the East has made it a competitive league. East is not a pushover anymore.

Let's break this down:

Federkeil, Harrison, Craighead, Lavoie all on the 6-game list with Harrison gone for the year. Not to mention Lavertu has been playing banged up. These O-line injuries have hampered the Stamps' offensive attack and has made life difficult not only for the replacement Olinemen but for the entire offense. Mitchell hasn't been getting as much time to throw the ball as other QBs around the league have been. Having your Oline beat up like this is almost like having an injury to your QB too since his effectiveness becomes limited.

We can squabble over hypotheticals of certain players from last year that aren't on this year's team (ie: Jones, Bryant), but the fact is that they didn't stay so it's not relevant to play the what-if game. Fact of the matter is that they haven't been available and aren't available.

Yes Simon CC is our top Canadian receiver. Durant is talented but inexperienced; Parker has a chronic case of the dropsies.

Cornish is the best player on this team, period. Losing him for six games is a huge blow. If you want to play the "the run game was non-existent anyway" card, you have to admit that it magnifies the importance of the Oline injuries. It should also be noted that the few times the Oline HAS held up you saw Cornish tear off big runs, just look at the Winnipeg game as an example.

You shrugged off the D-line injuries but they are nothing to shrug off. Micah Johnson is our best DT and he's been missing through the first 6 games. Mace is an excellent DT and also a Canadian, so losing him meant putting strain on the team's ratio situation. Ben D'Aguilar is a good Canadian DE that can play special teams as well as on defense and he's also been out for 6 games.

Others on the 6 game list include Tim St Pierre and Max Caron.

So yeah, I'd say there's a strong case to be made that the Stamps have been decimated by injuries.

[Da_Chief]

Let's break this down:

Federkeil, Harrison, Craighead, Lavoie all on the 6-game list with Harrison gone for the year. Not to mention Lavertu has been playing banged up. These O-line injuries have hampered the Stamps' offensive attack and has made life difficult not only for the replacement Olinemen but for the entire offense. Mitchell hasn't been getting as much time to throw the ball as other QBs around the league have been. Having your Oline beat up like this is almost like having an injury to your QB too since his effectiveness becomes limited.

We can squabble over hypotheticals of certain players from last year that aren't on this year's team (ie: Jones, Bryant), but the fact is that they didn't stay so it's not relevant to play the what-if game. Fact of the matter is that they haven't been available and aren't available.

Yes Simon CC is our top Canadian receiver. Durant is talented but inexperienced; Parker has a chronic case of the dropsies.

Cornish is the best player on this team, period. Losing him for six games is a huge blow. If you want to play the "the run game was non-existent anyway" card, you have to admit that it magnifies the importance of the Oline injuries. It should also be noted that the few times the Oline HAS held up you saw Cornish tear off big runs, just look at the Winnipeg game as an example.

You shrugged off the D-line injuries but they are nothing to shrug off. Micah Johnson is our best DT and he's been missing through the first 6 games. Mace is an excellent DT and also a Canadian, so losing him meant putting strain on the team's ratio situation. Ben D'Aguilar is a good Canadian DE that can play special teams as well as on defense and he's also been out for 6 games.

Others on the 6 game list include Tim St Pierre and Max Caron.

So yeah, I'd say there's a strong case to be made that the Stamps have been decimated by injuries.

I already said OL has been decimated. Not arguing that.

Sure OL is important but so is your starting QB, you can have the greatest offensive player but without a legit QB, you aren't going anywhere. This is where teams like Riders/Als/Esks are hurting the biggest now add Bombers to that list too.

Cornish has been missed one game. To me it also looks like he's lost a step. Now that is partially on the OL too but i didn't see the same runner as last year who wont he rushing title despite missing 8 games. He's still a big loss though.

SCC maybe our top Canadian receiver but he's not Durie/Fantuz etc. He's like the 5th/6th read on almost every play. I like him but Parker or Durant coming in and we won't miss a beat in that spot.

Micah played 6 games last year and 0 this year. To call him the best DT is bit much since who knows how he'll be able to come back after successive knee surgeries. Then again we're starting Nation DTs, a position usually where Imports are much better, so chances are him at 80% would be better then Turner/Smith etc at 100%.

I'm not arguing we don't have injuries but s do other teams. Our most important player is still healthy in Bo. With him in the lineup, I'd take our team over anyone else's.

[Mathgod]

You're applying a double-standard. With our injuries it's "not that big a drop off" from the injured player to the replacement, but you don't seem to apply that same type of logic to other team's injuries.

Has Cato really been that big a drop off from Crompton?

Has Harris really been that big a drop off from Ray?

Have Edmonton's QBs been that big a drop off from Reilly?

Was Glenn (before he got injured) that big a drop off from Durant?

Besides, football is a team game. You can have the greatest QB in the world but he won't be able to succeed if the people around him aren't doing their jobs well.

You can argue that other teams have had some key injuries as well but I don't accept the idea that the Stamps haven't been one of the hardest hit teams in terms of injuries.