Desperation key to success, QB says
Mitchell calls for players to adopt same mindset in playoffs they showed in B.C.
Bo Levi Mitchell wants his teammates to remember what catapulted the Calgary Stampeders to Saturday’s victory over the B.C. Lions and first place in the CFL’s West Division. Desperation.
They ’ll need that feeling again in the coming weeks, says the quarterback, if they want to hoist the coveted Grey Cup Nov. 25 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
“The reason we played like that is because we practised desperate,” said Mitchell of the 26-9 triumph over the host Lions to wrap up the regular season and send the Stampeders into the post-season with the best record in the league, giving them the all-important bye into the West final on Nov. 18.
“We prepared desperate, we wanted it bad,” Mitchell continued. “We’ve got to practise and prepare like that for the entire playoffs.”
He’s right.
The proof in the pudding lies in how the Red and White made a mess of the four games leading up to Saturday’s desperation win at B.C. Place.
Sure, they opened October with a win over the host Montreal Alouettes but if you remember, it was that 12-6 Thanksgiving turkey that saw both teams looking like tryptophan kicked in before the holiday feast.
That ugly holiday Monday decision ensured the Stamps a home playoff date since, with a 12-2 record at the time, they would finish no worse than second place in the West.
But from that dog of a game came a run of football that saw them ease off the gas and fall into a downward spiral.
Whether they want to admit it — and you wouldn’t want to within earshot of head coach Dave Dickenson — the Stamps simply didn’t appear to feel the urgency to step up and achieve the next goal, that being one last win to clinch top spot in the West and advance them directly to the second round of the post-season, the West final, to be hosted at McMahon Stadium.
First came a 26-21 loss at home to Wally Buono and the Lions.
Then came a 29-24 defeat at McMahon to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Then came a 29-21 loss to the host Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Three whiffs in games that hon- estly didn’t grab enough of their attention to care. After all, heading into each one, the Stamps knew they still had opportunities to achieve their goal of scoring the coveted bye. There was no do-ordie at hand.
But with each passing loss came a growing sense of concern that eventually snowballed into genuine worry they couldn’t get the job done.
And they didn’t get the job done. “When you lose three games in a row, it starts to chew at your confidence,” said Stamps running back Don Jackson, whose 91 yards led the ground attack in the win over the Lions. “And then there’s all that noise around you. Everybody was kind of bashing us. We felt like our backs were against the wall.”
So along came some urgency — finally.
And, finally, that win they needed.
“Our guys played extremely hard,” Dickenson said after Saturday’s win. “They knew what was at stake.”
And that sense of relief was obvious in the moments immediately after the victory.
“Hell, yeah, what?” said a smiling Mitchell, when asked if he felt relieved in getting win No. 13. “I’m excited. We went and got the goal done that we wanted to get done this whole time. There were a lot of doubters, and rightfully so. You know what I mean? But I think everybody answered the bell.
“I think guys had their eyes on the prize.”
Now that October swoon is forgotten, right?
Not a chance, says Mitchell. The superstar quarterback told everybody in the lead-up to Game 18 that, win or lose Saturday, the Stamps needed to learn from those three straight defeats.
They won and really, they dominated by going up and down the field at will on the Lions in the first half and then bleeding the clock in the second half to ensure victory.
It was enough to ignite a little celebration, but ...
“Enjoy your days off, but even on your days off, keep your mind on football,” said Mitchell, talking publicly to his teammates. “There’s no time to need time to recharge. Yeah, get healthy and let your body rest, but keep your mind on football and continue to prepare desperately. Don’t think that the win has changed anything in the last four weeks.
“That was a great performance, but again, remember why we played like that.” Desperation.
“I like a desperate Calgary Stampeders team,” Jackson said. “Everybody was balling (Saturday). Nobody wants to accept a loss.”
Added Stampeders star defender Alex Singleton: “We controlled our own destiny pretty much the entire season. So to come out and finish it the way we wanted is pretty good.
“We clinched the West. We got a bye week into the West final, that’s all we asked for.”
But there’s still some desperate football to be played.