TEST FOR STAMPS’ OFFENCE
As the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers meet at 5 p.m. on Saturday at McMahon Stadium, hopefully the wind will have died down, the rain will have subsided and the sun will shine on all combatants. Regardless of the conditions, these are five t
1. Offence starts up front
It’s been the chatter all this week in the Stamps’ camp: How the squad will fill in the holes vacated by left tackle Edwin Harrison and right tackle Dan Federkeil, the former gone for the year, the latter not quite that long. International Garry Williams, who has NFL experience, will man the left spot, while Spencer Wilson, who typically is found at right guard, will slide over to tackle. Secondyear man Brad Erdos starts at the right guard post — his first call for a full game — backed up by the Stamps’ 2015 top draft pick, Karl Lavoie.
2. Don’t forget Bombers’ O-line
When they weren’t talking about their own offensive line, Stampeder players were giving their thoughts on facing Winnipeg’s newest left tackle, Stanley Bryant, who plied his trade quite well here in Calgary for a number of years. He’ll be called upon to keep the Calgary defensive linemen at bay in protecting QB Drew Willy. At right guard, another familiar face to Calgary university football fans — Sukh Chungh — gets his fourth start of the season.
3. The penalty brigade
Will they or won’t they? The officials, that is, and will they penalize the Red and White as often as they did in the last game, to the tune of 18 infractions for a whopping 147 yards. Not if GM-head coach John Hufnagel has anything to say about it. Hufnagel brought up the penalty problem as one of his biggest concerns coming out of the Toronto win last weekend and is hopeful that his players will play by the rules as they’re written. If not, it will prove costly.
4. Offence needs to click
The Bombers come into this game as the ninth-ranked defence in the league. Yes, that would mean the worst. They’ve allowed a CFL-high 440 yards per game. Former Stamps DBs Chris Randle and Lin-J Shell will no doubt try to keep the opposition’s air game to a modest total. Winnipeg is also eighth in rush defence at 130 yards. This would seem to be the opportune time for Calgary’s run game, in particular Jon Cornish, to put up some flashier numbers and perhaps rattle off that elusive long run.
5. Rookies getting a chance
Apart from Lavoie, who is set to make his first appearance in a CFL regular season game after being on the injured list, receiver Lemar Durant is hoping to make the most of his opportunity at slotback, in behind Eric Rogers and Anthony Parker. After a short week of preparation and getting his share of reps, Durant is confident in his knowledge of the playbook. He’s also no doubt hoping to show those teams that bypassed him in the draft (Calgary plucked him at 18th) that he does indeed have the right stuff.