Vancouver Sun

Stamps’ defence hungry for more

Calgary among leaders in sacks, has allowed least amount of points

- DANIEL AUSTIN daustin@postmedia.com @DannyAusti­n_9

By most statistica­l metrics, the Calgary Stampeders’ defence is on a roll right now.

They’ve allowed only 34 points in their last three games, have allowed the least amount of points of any team in the CFL this season and are among the league leaders in sacks, forced fumbles and pass knock-downs. Life’s good, right? Well, that’s in the eye of the beholder and when you ask anyone associated with the Stamps’ defence how they’re doing and, to a man, they’ll focus on the areas where they need to improve.

“We can improve on just making plays,” said Stamps defensive lineman Charleston Hughes. “When it comes down to it, we dropped a lot of picks this year, we missed a lot of sacks and I think more of what we need to do is clean up on all those missed opportunit­ies.”

To be clear, nobody should be expecting the Stamps to say anything different.

What are they going to do? Tell the world that they’re satisfied with their performanc­es in late-August, when there’s still half a season to play?

No, the Stamps are obviously going to spend their time focusing on areas where they can improve instead of resting on their laurels. They’ve got a game on Sunday against a Hamilton Tiger-Cats team that put up 53 points on the lowly Saskatchew­an Roughrider­s last weekend, so their confidence bubble could burst at any moment.

And with only four intercepti­ons, the Stamps have the thirdleast picks in the CFL heading into Sunday’s game, so yes, they can still get a whole lot better.

“We’ve got to come down with some intercepti­ons,” said Stampeders defensive co-ordinator DeVone Claybrooks.

“We’ve got some hands on balls, but we’re not picking them. We’ve got to finish our sacks. Just as a unit, we’re playing some things great and some things not so great, so you want to balance that out a little bit.”

It’s not as if the Stamps aren’t savouring their run of good form, though.

Since a tight 44-41 victory over the B.C. Lions on July 29, the Stamps have held the Saskatchew­an Roughrider­s to 15 and 10 points in consecutiv­e games before asserting their West Division dominance in a 37-9 victory over the Lions last week. They’re healthy and they’re clicking, which has meant that opposing quarterbac­ks have had little time to find receivers and that rival running backs have found little space to operate.

“Truthfully, it’s time,” said Stamps linebacker Deron Mayo.

“At the beginning of the season guys are just trying to jell. Chemistry is a big part of the defence, just learning how to communicat­e. We’re starting to hit our stride but I think we’ve still got a lot to improve on and the coaches think the same, the players think the same, but we’re getting there.”

 ?? DARRYL DYCK/ THE CANADIAN PRESS ?? Calgary Stampeder Quinn Smith celebrates after sacking Lions’ quarterbac­k Jonathon Jennings last week.
DARRYL DYCK/ THE CANADIAN PRESS Calgary Stampeder Quinn Smith celebrates after sacking Lions’ quarterbac­k Jonathon Jennings last week.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada