History be damned!
Despite their lack of success in hoisting the Grey Cup, Stampeders will beat Scullers today
OTTAWA — With the Calgary Stampeders being seven-point favourites in Sunday’s 105th Grey Cup game, you’d think we’d have heard a lot of chirping from the Toronto Argos about being underdogs. Crickets. “We’ve never really talked about being the underdog much this year,” said quarterback Ricky Ray. “We really didn’t use that as a thing.
“We’re a new team with a new coaching staff and all that kind of stuff. We’re just kind of getting started here. We just know we’re playing good teams and we have to play our best. We have to prepare hard. We believe we can play with anybody but we have to go out and do it.
“It’s that way with every team against Calgary. They’ve been a really good team for a while now. They have a lot of experience with a lot of big games. They were in this game last year. That’s what their focus has been all year long — redemption from last year.
“We know their story. We know where they’re coming from. We’re in a different spot.”
The Argos were 5-13 and dead last while being outscored by a league-worst 185 points last season.
This year, under new head coach Marc Trestman, they finished 9-9, which would have been fifth in the West but was first in the East and won the East final against Saskatchewan, the crossover team.
There are points to be made for the Argos but Toronto players haven’t grabbed any bullhorns to be making them.
Toronto is 6-2 in its last eight games, including the East final. Yes, the Stampeders beat the Argos by 16 and 17 points on the front end of the schedule but Toronto’s two most recent losses have been by a field goal.
Meanwhile, after their 13-1-1 start to the season Calgary has lost three of its last four games.
Of course, the Stamps had turned off the key at that point. And they’re being given credit for turning it back on in their 36-32 win over the Eskimos in the West final.
The Stampeders have definitely dialed down their swagger this year, although not completely.
“We are 100% confident in what we’re doing as a team and we have the approach that we’re the best,” said Charleston Hughes at the Stampeders media day session Thursday when the teams held closed practices. “You want to call that cocky? Or confident? It’s up to each person to interpret it the way they want.”
If offence sells tickets and defence wins championships consider this: Calgary gave up the fewest points (349), the fewest first downs (343), the fewest touchdowns (343), and the fewest yards (5,664) in the league this season.
You may have noticed that despite Calgary’s domination in just about every statistical area, commentators are much more reluctant to declare this to be a Calgary walkover this year. Two reasons. History. And history. The short-term history is, of course, that Henry Burris took 8-9-1 Ottawa to a Grey Cup game victory over the Stampeders in overtime last year.
And the long-term history is that since 2008 when John Hufnagel took over, Calgary has averaged 13 wins a year and has only hoisted the Cup twice.
The Stampeders, who are in their fourth Grey Cup in the last six years, wouldn’t be the first team in history to get themselves back in the game for a do-over and win it the year following a Grey Cup defeat.
Ottawa did it last year after losing to the Eskimos in 2015.
Toronto did it in 1983 after the Eskimos beat them to complete their five-in-a-row run a year earlier. Calgary rebounded in 1993. Baltimore did it in 1995. Hamilton did it in 1999. Montreal bounced back in 2009.
But the all-time champion at overcoming a loss in the Grey Cup to become champions the following year is Edmonton.
The Eskimos came off back-to-back Grey Cup losses in 1973 and 1974 to win in Calgary in 1975. Edmonton came off the Staples Game loss to the Alouettes in 1977 to win the five in a row. After losing 39-15 to Hamilton in 1986 the Eskimos rebounded to beat the Argos in one of the greatest Grey Cup games ever played the following year. And after losing a Grey Cup game at home in Ricky Ray’s rookie year in 2002 Edmonton bounced back to win it in Regina in 2003.
I’m predicting Calgary to join that list. One reason. Last Sunday in Calgary the Stampeders won the West final involving the two best teams in the league. If they can win that one, they can win this one.
Calgary 33 Toronto 22.