Stampeders brush up on Lions
No one can assess Rich Stubler’s defence better than the man himself and what ails them is pretty obvious to him.
“We just need to get back to playing with passion,” offered the Calgary Stampeders’ defensive coordinator. “That’s something we’ve addressed and hopefully we’re over the mark with that.”
Calgary, 10-2, has a couple of days to brush up on the B.C. Lions, 7-5, as their Western rivals are the opposition on Saturday night, 7:30 p.m. kickoff, at McMahon Stadium for the second meeting of the season.
In their first encounter on Aug. 1 in Calgary, Kevin Glenn connected with Ernest Jackson with less than two minutes left in the game for the winning score in a tight 25-24 victory. There will also be a third game between the two, that being the regular season finale on Nov. 7 in Vancouver.
No coach wants to see his unit be as generous as the Stamps’ defence has been these past three games, giving up an average of roughly 33 points. But the ebbs and flows of a long season take their toll and Stubler — a veteran of 27 CFL campaigns — has seen that more often than most.
“We’ve been banged up, but being banged up early didn’t bother us,” he said. “We kind of hit the mid- season malaise, which is generally what happens in an 18-game season. We’ve played well; we just haven’t played with great passion. ”
If any team could be forgiven for using injuries as a crutch (no pun intended), the Stamps would be one of those. But Stubler will not be party to that logic.
“Guys get sore, but that’s no excuse,” he said, matter-of-factly.
No one of this coaching staff probably knows the Lions quite as well as Stubler, as he spent the past two seasons designing their defensive schemes. In spite of their erratic play on offence this 2014 season, he agreed their arsenal is still one to be feared.
“They have probably the second best running back in the league, what I would consider,” he said of Andrew Harris. “He and Jon (Cornish) are pretty close together. We give Jon a lot more chances here than they give Andrew there. He’s very, very talented. He’s very versatile. ”
Harris leads the CFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,076 and has scored six touchdowns, second on the team to the imposing Emmanuel Arceneaux, who has seven.
“Manny is a great receiver,” Stubler continued. “He’s scoring touchdowns. He’s big, he’s physical and he can run. (Shawn) Gore’s done a great job. They’ve done a great job with their line. Jovan (Olafioye) is an all-pro guy, (Dean) Valli’s been there for a while and Kevin’s 12 years ... nobody intimidates Kevin. He just plays.
“… And their defence is playing well, so it all hooks together.”
The Lions and Stamps are virtually one-two in several defensive categories. B.C. has given up the fewest touchdowns, 15, while Calgary is next with 20. The Leos have surrendered an average of 285 yards, while the Stamps are mid-pack at 321. Where it most counts, on the scoreboard, Calgary has allowed a league-low 232 points in 12 games, followed closely by B.C. at 236.