Stamps wary of winless Riders
The tension in Saskatchewan is being felt all the way to Calgary.
At least, that seems to be the case at McMahon Stadium, where the Calgary Stampeders are prepping for this weekend’s game that has all the makings of a mismatch.
The Stamps will arrive in Regina later this week feeling pretty good about themselves, coming off a blowout win over the Ottawa Redblacks. They are on guard, though, about letting that confidence turn into cockiness.
Over in Saskatchewan, the Roughriders are searching for ways to end a seven- game losing streak to start the season, the worst start from Gang Green in nearly 40 years.
The Riders, down to their No. 3 quarterback in Brett Smith, come in desperate for a win. The Stamps don’t want to be the first team to taste defeat at their hands this season.
“If you lose, you lose, it doesn’t matter what their record is,” said Stamps quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. “They are a good team. They don’t deserve to be 0- 7. They’ve played some great games, right down to the wire, especially early in the season.
“Their record doesn’t speak to how they play as a team. They play fast. They are well coached. We’re not playing an 0- 7 team. We know who they are.”
What the Roughriders are, is a team with the worst record in the CFL, but the Riders have experienced a lot of bad luck this season.
In their season opener at
If you lose, you lose, it doesn’t matter what their record is. They are a good team. They don’t deserve to be 0- 7.
home, against Winnipeg veteran quarterback Darian Durant suffered a season- ending Achilles injury. They lost by four points. The following week, the Toronto Argonauts beat them by two in an overtime thriller. Two straight three- point losses to the B. C. Lions, the first in overtime, put them at 0- 4. Then, backup quarterback Kevin Glenn went down with a torn pectoral muscle, meaning their insurance policy ran out. In that game, they lost by 10 points to the Hamilton Tiger- Cats.
They’ve lost the past two games with Smith running the offence, but they’ve been close. They had a chance to regroup with a week off, and the Stamps realize what that can do for a team. In beating the Redblacks, the Stamps improved to 9- 0 following bye weeks since head coach John Hufnagel took over the team in 2008.
Regardless of how things look on paper, the Stamps are expecting the usual problems going into Saskatchewan ... a boisterous crowd, a close game and thrilling finish.
“We understand Sask is a tough team, contrary to what their record might show,” said Stampeders linebacker Juwan Simpson.
“They get paid just like we do. We will approach it like any other week and prepare to beat them.
“The parity in this league is crazy. B. C. started off poorly a couple of years ago ( 0- 5 in 2011), and they came back to win the ( Grey) Cup. The guys who’ve been here understand it. That’s the good thing about having vets. We can impart to the young guys not to be fooled by what you read or hear. Every team up here is competitive.”
Before last week’s action, the Riders ranked last in 15 of the 25 defensive categories tabulated by the CFL, including passing yards and average gains per rush and pass.
Over the past two starts, Smith has improved and kept his team in the game for a while. Two weeks ago in Toronto, the 23- year- old had the Riders leading by a touchdown going into the fourth quarter before things fell apart.
So Mitchell hopes his team doesn’t take the rookie lightly in his first home start, although the pressure will be on him.
“When I saw him in the pre- season, I thought he was a heck of a quarterback,” Mitchell said about the 5- of- 6 passing for 99 yards and a touchdown in the exhibition opener. “He’s an athletic guy. He’s a ( Travis) Lulay type who can put the ball down and run when he has to. He will do a good job. We have to make sure on defence we contain him.”