STAMPS STRIVE TO REFOCUS
Team prepares for Western Final
There were, of course, 60 minutes of football played the last time the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers faced off.
In a lot of ways, though, the 29-21 loss Oct. 26 was a result of what happened during one pivotal eight-minute stretch of the third quarter.
Coming out of the locker-room after halftime with a one-point lead, the Stampeders would end the third quarter down 26-18 and searching for a way to stop the bleeding.
The Bombers had spent more than eight minutes making big plays and building momentum, while the Stampeders looked like a deer in the headlights.
As the Stamps prepare to host the Bombers in Sunday’s Western Final at McMahon Stadium (2:30 p.m., TSN/770 CHQR), that stretch has been the focus of a lot of film study as they try to ensure nothing similar happens again.
“That’s just bad football, in general,” said Stamps QB Bo Levi Mitchell. “The defence was on the field too long — the offence wasn’t on the field enough. Offensively, I think we had two-and-outs at the wrong time coming out of halftime, and they put together some drives and some big plays, and that’s going to hurt. “It was eight minutes of hell, basically.”
It’s worth revisiting just how the crucial stretch played out.
After exchanging drives in which each team went two and out, the Bombers began to find their groove with quick, short passes that moved the sticks. Then, QB Matt Nichols found receiver Darvin Adams for a 50-yard touchdown to give his team a 13-12 lead.
Adams was being covered by Stamps defensive back DaShaun Amos, who was playing in his first CFL game at corner.
The Stamps did respond with a touchdown drive of their own, but a missed two-point conversion meant their lead was only 18-13.
It was here when the wheels really came off.
The next drive saw Nichols find Drew Wolitarsky for another touchdown, this time a 60-yarder. It can credibly be argued that there should have been a holding call against the Bombers on the play, but the refs didn’t see it that way.
The Stamps got the ball back down 19-18, but a Don Jackson fumble gave the Bombers possession on the Calgary 19-yard line and an already-exhausted Stampeders defence could do nothing to keep the Bombers out of the end zone for their third touchdown of the quarter.
By the time it was over and the teams were getting ready for the fourth quarter, the Bombers owned a 26-18 lead.
“What I’m concerned about is why did we have that lapse?” said Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson. “Basically, we gave up three big plays, and then offensively, we just stalled, couldn’t handle the noise anymore, turned the ball over ...”
The Stamps did bounce back in the fourth quarter and should have been awarded a touchdown when Eric Rogers came down with the ball in the end zone, but that’s hardly the point.
What matters is ensuring they don’t have a similar extended slipup on Sunday.
They were out on the field during their bye week working to prepare for both the Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who were defeated by the Winnipeg visitors in the West Division semifinal last weekend.
Their beat-up receiving corps is healthier and has had more time to build chemistry with Mitchell, while the defensive backs got some badly needed rest. There’s reason to believe they’ll be better, in other words, and may be able to prevent momentum from fully going the Bombers’ way if they do start to make things happen.
“We’ve just got to make sure we keep our focus, and I know it’s a saying, but we need to play 60 minutes,” Dickenson said. “You’re going to be locked in early, and the best teams stay locked in.”
BACK AT IT
The Stampeders will be back on the practice field and going fulltilt again on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, however, they took time for a rare late-afternoon walk-through to start devising a plan to beat the Bombers.
“We brought the guys in a little bit just to get in an on-field walkthrough and try to get the plan in a day early,” Dickenson said. “I’m a big believer in just trying to set a schedule as consistent as possible.”
That means the Stamps will practice every day from Wednesday to Friday and then hold another walk-through on Saturday before taking the field to fight for a chance to play for the Grey Cup.
Don’t be surprised if we see some new things from the Stamps when they do come out of the locker-room at McMahon Stadium on Sunday.
“You’ve gotta change — you’ve gotta do lots of different stuff,” Dickenson added. “You can’t just sit back and run the same stuff.”
That’s just bad football ... The defence was on the field too long — the offence wasn’t on the field enough.