Duelling QBs are the best of buds
Despite lighthearted jabs, Calgary is taking game with Winnipeg seriously
The mutual admiration society, which includes buddies Bo Levi Mitchell and Matt Nichols, was in full force again Thursday.
Though not without a good- natured jibe or two.
“If you look at the stats, I was a bit better,” Nichols said with a grin, alluding to their college days. “Hope he has a rough night ( Friday).”
“Ah man,” Mitchell replied with a sigh, “is that what he said?
“Hope he throws a lot of completions, whether it's to our guys or their guys. I hope he plays well, but at the end of the day, I hope he loses the game.”
The like- minded pair of Eastern Washington products — best friends off the field — will be at the controls of their respective offences Friday night ( 6: 30 p. m. MDT, News Talk 770, TSN) when the Calgary Stampeders pay a second visit to Investors Group Field to lock horns with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The friendship between the two QBs is a definite sidelight to this contest.
“It's awesome, man,” Mitchell said. “It's good to go out there and play your buddies. You're friends before and after the game. He was one of the main reasons I went to Eastern. He has a great wife and a great kid. I'm excited for the guy to go out there and make a name for himself and show everybody who he really is.”
The Stamps, sitting pretty at 9- 3, are not in a precarious position like the Bombers, 4- 8, but being the consensus favourite isn't all it's cracked up to be.
“We've had two very good emotional practices,” head coach/ GM John Hufnagel said. “Yesterday wasn't so good, but I don't want my players to burn out on Day 3; I want them to come out and play emotional football ( Friday) night because we're going to need that. We have to match their energy, we have to match their emotions and know we're in for hard work for 60 minutes.”
“Winnipeg's a good team, they have a lot of talented athletes,” running back Jon Cornish added. “I think just like the Roughriders, they're one or two plays away from having a very different record. I think if we underestimate this team, it'll be our problem.”
The Stamps have won all three games they've played at Winnipeg's new digs, which may augur well because the 2015 Grey Cup will be held there in late November.
“We've played well in this stadium; we just have to keep proving we can play on the road,” Mitchell said. “It's a place you want to make sure you have a good feeling in.”
“I feel this is the most truly CFL stadium and it's very cool to play here,” Cornish said. “It's intimate, the crowd is normally loud and I like the direction the CFL stadiums are going.
“I wouldn't mind playing back here in a few months.”
Cornish, who sits sixth in rushing with 366 yards — roughly 300 behind leader Andrew Harris — was reminded that six 100- yard games would probably win him his fourth rushing title.
“Listen, I know the math,” he chuckled. "At this point, I know my own limitations. I don't think they would prevent me from having some great games, but I have to take into account the league's different this year.
“Last game, I almost felt like a dinosaur out there. Passing balls left and right. The run game seems like a diminished component of CFL offences this year.
“I think defensive linemen have improved. I think some of the ideas that used to work don't necessarily work with the rule changes. It's different. The game's evolving.”
Additions to the Stamps' 46- man roster for Friday include receiver Kamar Jorden, who has yet to suit up in a game in 2015. As well, veteran pass- catcher Joe West has recuperated from turf toe and takes his customary place on the one side, sending Greg Wilson back to the one- game injury list.
Newcomer Skye Dawson has not been activated and Hufnagel was mum on who would be taking the kicks, though there are several possibilities — Anthony Parker, Tory Harrison, Lemar Durant, Joe Burnett, etc.
Punt returner Nathan Slaughter, who was released this week, was put on the six- game injury list when it was discovered he has a fractured wrist.