WESTERN FINAL: BC Lions vs STAMPEDERS

[Flickered Flame]

It was my first playoff game at McMahon and wow did it ever get loud a couple of times, especially in the 4th qtr. They made more plays than Lions and that is all that it takes. It is usually 5 or less plays that determines the outcome of the game. The Lions lost the game, imo, when they were first and goal from the 1 or 2 yard line and the Stamps d had their goalline stuffs. A TD for the Leos there and I think they don't look back. The Stamps didn't play their best but next Sunday I expect to see the Stamps at their very best. GO STAMPS GO!

[pope04]

Originally Posted by Flickered Flame;1518395[B

]It was my first playoff game at McMahon[/B] and wow did it ever get loud a couple of times, especially in the 4th qtr.

Congratulations!

I've been to roughly fifteen playoff games, all but one at McMahon. Too damn many I've left sooooooo disappointed.

That last play with one second left........man, my heart was in my mouth. I must be getting old, because as I was walking out, my legs felt like they were made of rubber.

Labinjo was a monster.

[pope04]

Originally Posted by Daradon

HAs it ever gotten loud at McMahon. Been a long LONG time since we've heard that.

My buddy and I brought our lung-powered horns to the game. Holy cow are my lips sore today!

[worth]

That stadium was unreal loud yesterday. Major props to the fans!

[OzSome]

well, i am still recuperating from losing my voice after that game at McMahon. I kept on yelling GO STAMPS GO or D or whatever I can yell... no profanity though. It seems like my section doesn't yell much unless Ralph the Dog is there or someone starts yelling. Pretty happy when the game is over and just want to rub it in to the Riders fan in our section. He is the only one wearing green and I was actually annoyed with him. When the Lions are leading, he was yelling and so on... then when the game tied someone said something to him and he said "I don't really care who wins.... blah, blah, blah..." Then Lions came close to scoring again and he was yelling. I feel like telling him .... you do care who wins because you were cheering for the other team moron.
Anyways, I thought our special team especially the return came through for us. Summers was awesome and he could have score a couple of times. He gave the Stamps good field position when needed. Howell was not too bad either. He made some good return and to tell you the truth, that's the Markus Howell that I was looking for early this season. Then Labinjo was huge for us, Browner, Anderson and even JR Ruffin on his first game came up big. I was not very impressed with Jojuan Armour's tackling on Logan though. He keep missing the guy and can't wrap him up. I though he would be the difference for us but I was wrong. Thank god that Huffer replaced Tim Higgins as a head coach otherwise we won't have the chance to see Mike Labinjo, Miguel Robede and even Wes Lysack really show what they can do. My other favorite defensive player Charles Hughes also made some good plays. Hats off to the secondary for not letting the Lions scored any TD reception. Ruffin did a good job covering Geroy Simon even though the guy caught over 100 yards. I just can't stand that Superfreak Simon guy and I am so glad I did not see his faggy TD pose.
One question, does anyone see that Kory Banks #24 being so cocky all night. Also, I am glad that idiot streaker got caught right away. The Stamps are getting momentum at that time when that idiot streaker run on the field only to be tackled by security.
Anyways, I will have to call Expedia and see if I can change my flight back to Calgary from Vegas on Sunday. Game starts at 4pm and I arrive at 8:45pm. I wonder if they will let me even i pay more.

[rubecube]

Good game. My only comment/question is why are CFL fans so dumb? When your offense has the ball in the redzone SHUT THE F UP! College and NFL fans get it, what do CFL fans find so hard to understand?

[WindomURL]

Really rube? I think the fans in McMahon have learned that very well in the last few years. I remember maybe 3 or 4 years ago, they used to cheer madly with the Stamps on offense. Henry even had to make the "quiet down" motion with his hands a time or two. Yesterday, the cheers were there, but people knew not to make it too loud.

Was there a particular series you noticed this happening? I didn't see the TSN broadcast at all, I was in the stands and I always have that on my mind to yell like mad only when our D is on the field. And the fans were awesome at that yesterday. The 13th man ruled! Wish the Calgary Sun would have written about it.

[spydermal]

A little off topic but McMahon's bathrooms were probably the worst lineups I have ever seen for a guy's washroom. Now I really fell sorry for women when they have to line up.

[calf]

Originally Posted by WindomURL

Really rube? I think the fans in McMahon have learned that very well in the last few years. I remember maybe 3 or 4 years ago, they used to cheer madly with the Stamps on offense. Henry even had to make the "quiet down" motion with his hands a time or two. Yesterday, the cheers were there, but people knew not to make it too loud.

Was there a particular series you noticed this happening? I didn't see the TSN broadcast at all, I was in the stands and I always have that on my mind to yell like mad only when our D is on the field. And the fans were awesome at that yesterday. The 13th man ruled! Wish the Calgary Sun would have written about it.

I remember it right before Burris went in for the TD. People were jacked, so were cheering...add in the fact that there's more casual fans in attendance, and you have inappropriate cheering. The sideline host guy even came on and said "the Stamps need you to be quiet here". I was actually glad to hear them take initiative on that for once.

[moon]

Originally Posted by spydermal

A little off topic but McMahon's bathrooms were probably the worst lineups I have ever seen for a guy's washroom. Now I really fell sorry for women when they have to line up.

Really???

I found the line-ups to be short or non-existent and certainly a million times better than at the Flames games that I have been to over the past couple of years.

[krazycanuck]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Good game. My only comment/question is why are CFL fans so dumb? When your offense has the ball in the redzone SHUT THE F UP! College and NFL fans get it, what do CFL fans find so hard to understand?

agreed, there were a group of idiots way up in section P, chanting 'Go Stamps Go' and pounding on the group suite every time we were on offense...even after the guy on the PA told everyone to shut up when we were on O. 5-10 rows Lower where all the season ticket folks sit, we were all trying to get those idiots to shut the crap up.

But boy...that place was loud on defense. I've been to a couple NFL games in Seattle, a place that has a rep for being the loudest in that league. Mcmahon was right in that loudness range Saturday afternoon, especially in the 4th quarter when everyone was standing up and going wild.

[worth]

I thought the stadium as a whole did really well with the noise on defence and generally being quiet on Offence. If you compare te two situations, Offence was much much quieter than defence was. It was rocking. I agree and think the fans have come a long way in knowing when to cheer and when not to cheer. I think Saturdays game was an awesome job of cheering by the fans.

[worth]

Here's what Huffer had to say on the crowd:

Hufnagel praises McMahon crowd

Stamps coach and general manager John Hufnagel clearly had something on his mind when he addressed the media Sunday afternoon.
You. All of you.
Yes, his players ultimately decided things during Saturday's West Division final victory over the B.C. Lions.
But in Hufnagel's mind, the sold-out crowd made a difference.
"I thought they were terrific. They showed up, they were excited, they made the stadium electric," said Hufnagel. "Believe me, there were points in that game where the support from our fans helped our football team win that game."
So as turning points go, I suppose the 35,650th ticket sold, which clinched a sell-out, probably could stand as one.

http://communities.canada.com/calgar...r/default.aspx

[troutman]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Good game. My only comment/question is why are CFL fans so dumb? When your offense has the ball in the redzone SHUT THE F UP! College and NFL fans get it, what do CFL fans find so hard to understand?

Stamps fans are smart - getting CGY ready for the noise in MTL.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by worth

I thought the stadium as a whole did really well with the noise on defence and generally being quiet on Offence. If you compare te two situations, Offence was much much quieter than defence was. It was rocking. I agree and think the fans have come a long way in knowing when to cheer and when not to cheer. I think Saturdays game was an awesome job of cheering by the fans.

I was at the game too, and the noise on defense was very loud, and the noise on offense was VERY quiet relatively. At least in section P, the crowd did not take even one BC offensive play off in terms of being loud. There was not a single play by the stamps on offense where the crowd was as loud as even the quietest BC offensive play.

The crowd was suberb, very different than the regular season games, where the crowd is fairly quiet until a big play happens.


As far as the kneeing/throwing out of bounds goes, the play calls on first and second down were the problem, not the one on third down. Instead of kneeling so quickly on first and second down, all the stamps had to do was run three to four seconds off of the clock on each play, which easily could be done with a handoff to the running back, who just runs into the line. If the stamps do that, the possibly could kneel on third down, or throw it out of bounds EASILY.

Burris' first down scramble ended with the clock showing 1:08, which means that they have to snap the ball at 49 seconds left, if the play takes 4 seconds, the clock stops at 45 seconds for second down. The ball should then have been snapped at 26 seconds, another four second play means that the clock stops at 22 seconds, meaning third down can be snapped with 3 seconds left, which is an easy kneel, or an easy long toss out of bounds.

But the stamps could have taken a time count penalty on each play as well to take off an extra second off the clock before each play, in fact, if the stamps just take the time count penalty instead of calling a timeout before third down, that last second comes off the clock on third down.

But there was also bad coaching and game management for the Lions as well in the last couple minutes. For example, why in the world did the BC returner run the missed FG attempt by DeAngelis out of the end zone with ~2:00 left? Calgary was up by 4, giving up the single point make it a five point game - i.e. no difference at all. So instead of taking the ball at the 35, they start their drive in which they need a touchdown on their own 13.

Also, BC giving up the safety in the first half when the line of scrimmage was the 18 yard line may have ended up costing them as well. Calgary ran back the free kick to a point where they would have likely ended up with the ball after a punt (around midfield) anyway. If those two points are taken off the board (and everything else stays the same), BC has a chance to kick a 49 yard field goal on the last play of the game to win the game.

[troutman]

The Esks did a terrible job managing the clock in MTL. Needing two TDs they took their sweet time running plays in the last half the 4th quarter - why no hurry-up?

Hopefully Coach Danny will be back for many more seasons!

[cyclone3483]

For those of you thanking the fans, I just want to say. "You're welcome, I did my best."

Three guys in our section were leading the crowd in the area in typical cheers of "Go Stamps Go", "BC Sucks", and "D Fence"...and we all joined in. But when there was about 3 mins to go and they tried to get a "Grey Cup" cheer going, dead silence...not one of the fans joined in...no one wanted to jinx it.

This Stamps team has that kind of attitude this year. Did they enjoy the WF trophy? You bet...but you get the impression that nothing short of the Grey Cup will do and that is the difference that Hufnagel brought to the team this year.

P.S. I like Mike Labinjo

Note to Demetrius Summers/Marcus Howell, when you beat everyone on a kick return and all you have left is Paul McCallum, SCREAM, LOWER YOUR SHOULDER, AND GO RIGHT AT HIM. He might stop you the first time, but you'll get a free pass the second time. Guaranteed.

P.P.S. Only workers on kickers not named Sandro DeAngelis.

Most kickers have the kiwis to knock you out of bounds, but only one will take a head-to-head hit to make the play.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by cyclone3483

Note to Demetrius Summers/Marcus Howell, when you beat everyone on a kick return and all you have left is Paul McCallum, SCREAM, LOWER YOUR SHOULDER, AND GO RIGHT AT HIM. He might stop you the first time, but you'll get a free pass the second time. Guaranteed.

P.P.S. Only workers on kickers not named Sandro DeAngelis.

Most kickers have the kiwis to knock you out of bounds, but only one will take a head-to-head hit to make the play.

Burke Dales had a sweet touchdown saving tackle too - a tackle that not many of the other punters in the CFL would have made.

It's great that we actually have 12 tacklers on the field for both FG attempts and for punts.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by cyclone3483

For those of you thanking the fans, I just want to say. "You're welcome, I did my best."

Three guys in our section were leading the crowd in the area in typical cheers of "Go Stamps Go", "BC Sucks", and "D Fence"...and we all joined in. But when there was about 3 mins to go and they tried to get a "Grey Cup" cheer going, dead silence...not one of the fans joined in...no one wanted to jinx it.

This Stamps team has that kind of attitude this year. Did they enjoy the WF trophy? You bet...but you get the impression that nothing short of the Grey Cup will do and that is the difference that Hufnagel brought to the team this year.

P.S. I like Mike Labinjo

Note to Demetrius Summers/Marcus Howell, when you beat everyone on a kick return and all you have left is Paul McCallum, SCREAM, LOWER YOUR SHOULDER, AND GO RIGHT AT HIM. He might stop you the first time, but you'll get a free pass the second time. Guaranteed.

P.P.S. Only workers on kickers not named Sandro DeAngelis.

Most kickers have the kiwis to knock you out of bounds, but only one will take a head-to-head hit to make the play.

Or Burke Dales, He's made a few tackles that lest few years that resembled linebacker tackles and not just diving at the guys knees.

On another note, props to the West side fans for ensuring that Labinjo's goalline stands proved to be the turning point by giving the defence a standing 'O' when returning to the bench. I'm convinced that with the crowd and the defence fired up BC had no hope on offense for the rest of the game.

[cyclone3483]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Burke Dales had a sweet touchdown saving tackle too - a tackle that not many of the other punters in the CFL would have made.

It's great that we actually have 12 tacklers on the field for both FG attempts and for punts.

I agree about Dales, but was specifically talking about kickoffs, not punts. Both TD saving 'tackles', and by 'tackles' I mean 'gentle nudge out of bounds', by McCallum were on kickoffs.