Stamps prepare for finale vs. Lions
It’s a game which means nothing as far as standings but everything in terms of momentum.
So it’s a fine line the Calgary Stampeders must walk on Saturday when they play the B. C. Lions — their opponents in the West Division semifinal at McMahon Stadium on Nov. 15 — in Vancouver.
Some nicked vets will sit, others will see limited duty, while some youngsters will get significant time on the BC Place field. That, for defensive lineman Derek Wiggan, is nothing new.
The 23- year- old out of Queen’s has been a frequent contributor for the Stamps in his rookie season, appearing in 14 games as part of the rotating D- line unit. His play has not gone unnoticed.
“He’s actually been one of the great surprises,’’ admitted defensive line coach DeVone Claybrooks.
“He came in, he was an undersized D- end in college. We asked him to put on some weight, sent him back to school; he came back, gained some weight. He’s got arguably the best get- off of my Dlinemen. He works hard, having a good year for us, does all the little things, flies around; he’s been a great surprise.’’
“I’m very pleased,’’ the six- footone, 250- pounder commented. “My mentality was just to make this team and contribute anyway I can. I’ve gotten the opportunity to make some plays. Just watching film, I see I’m leaving a lot more plays out there so each game I want to get better, work on those things. I have fairly big goals for myself, so I’m happy, but I’m not satisfied.’’
Surrounded by a truckload of experienced talent, Wiggan just needs to turn his head to one side or the other and he’ll pick up his share of pointers.
“Watching and listening to what they tell me,’’ he explained. “We have a pretty tight- knit D- line group; we’re all in meetings, we all talk, we talk about things to look for. It’s a really warm, welcoming room for me, which I really appreciate. Just watching Micah ( Johnson), Junior ( Turner), those guys go to work, on the field and in the classroom ... those guys are so great, so I’m learning a whole bunch from them.
“You can always get better at pass rushing, I need to keep working on that. Technique stuff ... if I keep working on it, it’ll become automatic, being assignment- sound.’’
Wiggan, who has three sacks to his name in 2015 while backing up at defensive tackle, will get yet another opportunity to add to his resume on Saturday.
“He wasn’t expected to play initially, we threw him in, he made a play here and a play there and he keeps getting better week in and week out,’’ noted Claybrooks. “I don’t think this week will be any different.’’
“First of all, you never want to put bad tape out there,’’ suggested Wiggan.
“Whenever you’re playing in the bright lights, you want to perform to your very best and that’s our job. We want to win every game we play. We want to bring the passion, effort, execution and from there see what happens. If we bring those things, we expect to win.’’
In Tuesday’s practice, the defensive line welcomed back prodigal son Quinn Smith, who for the past half- dozen weeks has been working out with and backing up the offensive line.
Stamps head coach/ GM John Hufnagel said that Drew Tate will get the start on Saturday and that probably all three quarterbacks will play. Straddling that line between being careful and going all out to win will indeed come into play.
“It’s a little bit of a contradiction,’’ Hufnagel admitted. “But having said that, I just want to play a lot of the players. Everybody that goes to the game will play, get a nice rotation and hopefully we’re prepared well enough, we play hard enough and we have some good fortune and we win the game also.’’
Hufnagel added he will determine who will sit after the Day 3 workout on Thursday. One candidate may be halfback Brandon Smith, who has had his share of nicks this season.