STAMPS HAVE WORK CUT OUT
Upbeat Bombers pose big hurdle
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are coming to town.
After a week spent working on fundamentals and waiting to find out whom they were going to play in the CFL’s West Division final, the Calgary Stampeders are preparing for the Bombers.
On Monday, Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson provided some insight into where his team’s heads are at as they prepare for Sunday’s big game at McMahon Stadium (2:30 p.m., TSN/770 CHQR).
Here’s a rundown of what fans need to know:
1. FINE WITH IT
The Stampeders have been the best regular-season team in the league for the past two years but have fallen short in the Grey Cup.
That meant that whatever happened in the regular season, the 2018 Stamps were going to be judged by what they accomplished in November.
Is that fair? Dickenson said yes. “Honestly, you should judge every team that way,” he said. “The regular season does matter and you accomplish some things you should be proud of, but (with the Saskatchewan Roughriders), I don’t think you should judge them any more than (on) losing the West Division semi.
“If we lose, it’s the same thing, we didn’t get it done."
2. WITH THAT BEING SAID
It’s worth noting that while the Stampeders teams of 2016 and ’17 featured largely the same personnel, this year’s squad has a lot of new faces in key positions.
It’s not entirely fair to hold the playoff shortcomings of the last two years over the heads of this season’s Stampeders.
“I have a big-time different team anyways,” Dickenson said. “There’s not that many guys, more than half the guys weren’t here last year let alone two years ago. We’re approaching it as ‘take advantage of today’ … If (we) don’t get it done, go ahead and judge us that way. I think that’s fair. There’s an opportunity staring at us, let’s take advantage of it.”
3. LOOKING BACK
While it might feel like it was a lifetime ago, the last time the Stamps and the Bombers faced off was only two-and-a-half weeks ago. That game ended in a 29-21 victory for the hosts in Winnipeg.
There was some controversy, too, as a relatively clear touchdown for Stamps receiver Eric Rogers was ruled an incompletion. But while the Stampeders can point to the fact they were integrating new pieces into the offence and really only got beaten badly in the third quarter, Dickenson largely dismissed that idea.
“We lost — end of story on that,” Dickenson said. “I would have to think anyone watching the game — on their side, too — knew it was a tightly-contested battle. I know we had the lead at halftime, and, like I said, we struggled in the third quarter, but we lost, so no consolation prizes on that.”
4. DOES IT MATTER
The Bombers are riding a high right now. They just beat the Roughriders in the west semifinal, and there’s no question that winning a single-game elimination matchup — in a rival’s stadium — will have given them a confidence boost heading into Sunday. Will it matter? Well, the Stamps have hosted the Western Final for the past two seasons and have faced teams in virtually identical situations. They won both times.
“I’ll be interested to see how it plays out,” Dickenson said. “I listen to the media, as well, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re the underdogs. It’s going to be a toss’em, pick whomever you want. They’re coming in with momentum. We’ve done this in the past, though. A team that comes into our place (for the Western Final) is always on momentum because they just had a big win.
“We understand that.”
5. DECISIONS PENDING
DaVaris Daniels is good-to-go. His broken collarbone is healed, and he’ll be available for the Western Final. What that means for the Stamps’ receiving group is anyone’s guess, though.
After spending two months trying to piece together enough American receivers to field a football team — this is an exaggeration, but not much of one — the Stamps now have five healthy guys and only three positions.
This will be one of the big storylines of the week, as the CFL’s ratio rules are going to make it difficult to play four Americans. To do that, they’d need to drop a Canadian receiver — either Juwan Brescacin or Lemar Durant — and start a national player somewhere else on the field, and there’s just no obvious way to do that.
One, or maybe two, of Daniels, Eric Rogers, Bakari Grant, Chris Matthews and Markeith Ambles is going to be left off the roster.
6. NEEDED REST
Dickenson wasn’t about to start spilling secrets about who was in and who was out for Sunday’s game. But based on what we know, the Stamps defence should be in relatively good shape.
They had three practices last week, and while there were a few players who sat out, there was no indication that halfback Brandon Smith should be expected to miss the West final. And from the sounds of it, the extra rest was needed for a backfield that didn’t quite look like itself in the final month of the season.