It appears Saskatchewan has one thing Calgary doesn't--one single professional sports team. With nothing to do and no reason to visit, home field advantage in Saskatchewan is a rambunctious affair. Not only is it loud, it also appears the Calgary Stampeders can't handle the pressure even with an 'apparent' new look team.
Stamps Destroyed on All Levels
Where to begin? It was close in the first half where the two teams traded scores but screaming fans are apparently too much for the Stamps. Around midway through the second quarter things began falling apart with the proverbial wheels becoming completely dismantled and melted down for scrap by the third quarter.
I will post a complete summary after the CFL web site comes back online. I want some stats to back up my observations (including a glorious 4 carries for #1 running back Reynolds....)
Well I was wrong, Reynolds had 7 carries, a couple in the last 3 minutes. Can you believe an offence as potent as Calgary rarely uses the league's best rusher? Just trade him for socks cause if you're only going to use Reynolds to block then save the money. But that wasn't all the bone head plays. Let's recap this game from start to finish.
First Quarter
Right from the gate Calgary showed why their defense has miles to go. Yes the coaching staff said there'd be learning curves but they also said this was a talented and fast defense. The secondary was beat for numerous long throws but more importantly, the defensive line couldn't make a stop until late in the fourth. The ejection of Terrius George (DE) in the second didn't help matters either.
Although going into the second quarter the score was tied 8-8, Calgary couldn't muster anything on offence. Nik Lewis had two consecutive drops, and Boerigter couldn't catch passes all night. It's a sad story when your sixth receiver Brett Ralph is the days top catcher. Why is it the entire offense appears to be centered around Boerigter? He caught one pass and was consistently covered. In fact, if Calgary's receiving corps is so good, why couldn't at least ONE of them get open for Burris? He had enough time but could never find an open receiver.
Akili Smith took over for Burris and the offence didn't fair any better. The same play calling all night was predictable as a Kevin Feterik offence. That's right folks, this team looked like the dump of a team 3 years ago. No quick dump passes, bootlegs, nothing, just straight up passes to receivers who were covered.
Worst Officiated Game Ever
That's a bit of an overstatement but some reviewable plays were not permitted by the refs much to the chagrin of everyone in TV land. Why is it that 15+ year vets in the CFL can't get simple review calls correct? The game's complexion wouldn't have changed, but still, there were some odd calls tonight.
Not a single facet of the team was working from the players to the play calling. The Stamps were outplayed, out coached, out everything. Special teams were abysmal; while other teams get huge yards off of kick returns (due to the new rules) Calgary struggles to even make a return. Markus Howell had two fumbles that lead to points, Calvin Bannister has never returned kick offs before so we can't expect him to be of help.
The team was terrible, period. What should we do for the next game? There's a quick turnaround this week with Toronto on the schedule this Thursday. Lots of time to get things back in order and lots of time for the coaches to actually come up with a better game plan with the right personnel on the field. Our front 7 on defense need help. The QB needs more time and no drops, and our RB needs to have at least 15 touches per game. All of these combined will make for an interesting match-up Thursday on TSN.
