GREY CUP WIN OR LOSS?
McDaniel could make the difference
OT TAWA Marquay McDaniel has always been careful when he talks about last year’s Grey Cup.
The Calgary Stampeders receiver went down in the first quarter of his team’s loss to the Ottawa Redblacks, and it’s easy to wonder what might have happened if he’d been available for the entire game.
McDaniel is Bo Levi Mitchell’s most reliable receiver, after all, and might have provided the outlet his quarterback needed to extend drives when their team was stumbling to a big deficit in the first half.
But McDaniel doesn’t want to hear that. Suggest his injury was the difference, and he immediately shuts you down.
Getting hurt in such a big moment was rough, but he promises it wasn’t the reason the Stamps lost.
“(The injury) was on a crazy play, a fluke play, nothing I can control,” McDaniel said. “It stung a lot, but we still had a chance to win on the two-yard line. I knew (former Stamps receiver Bakari Grant) could do his job, but we just didn’t get it done.
“I don’t think if I (played) we would’ve won. I don’t think that at all.”
It’s great that McDaniel is humble enough to say his presence wouldn’t have made a difference, but there’s lots of evidence to suggest he might be wrong on this one.
This season, the Stampeders lost four games. McDaniel happened to be out for three of them.
Even if there isn’t a direct correlation between those two things — and there probably is — there’s little question his presence in the Stamps offence is a huge factor in their continued success over the last couple seasons.
Even when his numbers aren’t huge, like in last weekend’s West final when he had four catches for only 21 yards, McDaniel draws extra attention from opposing defenders, which in turn helps other receivers get free.
Having McDaniel fully healthy and available for Sunday’s Grey Cup is a big boost compared to last year when he carried a hamstring injury into the championship game.
“He’s a huge part of our offence,” said fellow receiver DaVaris Daniels.
“Having him in the game last year, it definitely would have helped us. We were kind of used to it because he did miss the last few games of the season last year, but having him in the game would have definitely been a bonus for us.”
LIKE A HOME GAME
In last year’s Grey Cup against the Ottawa Redblacks, the crowd in Toronto had a distinctly antiStampeders bias.
Alex Singleton doesn’t expect the same thing when the Stampeders play the Argonauts on Sunday in Ottawa.
“I don’t know, we’re in the hotel, it’s busy downtown Ottawa, and Ottawa doesn’t like Toronto,” said Singleton, who was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player on Thursday evening. “Last year, Ottawa is a big football city. Sadly, Toronto isn’t as big.
“Redblacks fans planned on being in Toronto last year, regardless of whether their team was in the Grey Cup. This year, those same fans bought tickets and everyone I talked to is so happy we let them win last year, I guess, and they’ve all said they don’t like Toronto.”
Among other things he said Friday, Singleton also expressed his disappointment in the shortage of red Gatorade at media events during Grey Cup Week.
The CFL seems to put two Gatorades on stage for most of their media events, but so far Singleton claimed every single bottle has been blue.
There are bigger things to worry about, obviously, but Postmedia will absolutely revisit this sportsdrink controversy in the off-season.
STAYING CAREFUL
While the Toronto Argonauts practised at TD Place Field for the first time on Friday, the Stampeders chose to have one more training session at the University of Ottawa’s indoor field.
At first, it seemed a little odd that the Stamps were turning down a chance to familiarize themselves with the stadium where they’ll play Sunday, but as it turns out, head coach Dave Dickenson had an understandable explanation for his decision.
It all came down to the setup at TD Place. The stadium is beautiful, but it’s surrounded by highrise condominiums.
“The thinking for me, honestly, is the condo buildings right behind the stadium, I’m not comfortable knowing who is in those buildings,” Dickenson said. “Nothing against Toronto, I think they’re respectful, you just don’t know who is there. There’s enough information you can get from practice.
“It’s just one of those things where we’ve been burned in the past.”
If Dickenson sounds paranoid, check Instagram.
After the Argos practised on Friday morning, several video clips emerged online that were filmed from their practice.
The Stamps, it seems, were right to be careful.