Coming off a shellacking in Ottawa on a short week with long travel and a practice schedule interrupted by forest fires, the Calgary Stampeders had much to prove heading into Sunday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts in front of a little more than 19,000 fans at McMahon Stadium.
The first half saw the home side escorted to the locker room by a chorus of boo-birds as they trailed 22-6. They’d been largely ineffective offensively, having scored a pair of long field goals, punted three times, and turned the ball over twice — once on a fumble and another time via interception.
It was something the Stampeders heard on their way to the room and there was some grumbling amongst the players who were undefeated on home turf to that point.
“We earned it and everyone got all upset about it but, to me, it’s reality. We weren’t playing well,” said head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson postgame when asked about his halftime advice to the team. “Just quit talking, and try to physically up your game.”
The Stampeders clearly did so, holding the Argonauts to a single second-half point, while scoring 21 in the fourth quarter to come away with the 27-23 win.
With the victory, the Stampeders moved back to even on the season with a record of 4-4 and within a game of the West Division-leading B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, both of whom lost this week.
Below are my thoughts on the game.
Sack attack
The Stampeders came into the weekend with the lowest sack total of any team in the league, having got to the quarterback just eight times through the first seven games of the year. They will be much closer to the league lead after taking down Argonauts’ pivot Cameron Dukes six times.
Mike Rose had a pair of sacks in the game and, when asked what worked differently this week, he laid credit at the feet of his teammates.
“My (defensive ends) are dogs, and they got to be dogs,” said Rose. “They did their job at the highest level possible, and I am the beneficiary of their greatness.”
James Vaughters, Clarence Hicks, Julian Howsare, and Justin Sambu were each able to get to Dukes and take him down. Sambu was actually drafted by the Argonauts earlier this year before being released by the club at the end of training camp, signing with the Stampeders three weeks ago.
You can’t break if you don’t even bend
I gave the defence the stick in this space last week as they couldn’t get off the field against the Redblacks. This week, they forced eight punts and collected a pair of turnovers late in the game to seal the win.
The first came on a third-down play that was batted away at the line of scrimmage by Julian Howsare. During the final seconds, Demerio Houston won a tip drill to collect his third interception of the season.
Calgary’s defence held former Stampeders’ running back Ka’Deem Carey to a pedestrian 31 yards on eight carries, with nothing longer than seven yards. Dukes ran for 95 yards when he escaped pressure with three runs longer than 10 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown scamper after shaking off a defender’s grip in the backfield.
In the passing game, however, Dukes was held to just 177 yards total as he completed 18-of-26 pass attempts.
Maier breaks out of slump
Jake Maier completed 26-of-37 pass attempts for 287 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, which may not feel like a spectacular day at the park because it wasn’t. The day started with some throws that were slightly off target and drops plagued the team throughout the game.
A very promising opening drive that featured a few longer throws was spoiled by a fumble deep in Argonauts’ territory, which took a challenge to be ruled as such. Toronto came into the game as the league leader in the team sacks category, which seemed like a recipe for disaster after the Stampeders allowed four to Ottawa last week and was forced to shuffle their offensive line.
That implication bothered Maier.
“I hate the narrative and I hate the idea that last week was something they should be upset about,” he said. “I’ve always thought they played well and they played well tonight.”
Maier avoided one sack by throwing the ball to offensive tackle D’Antne Demery, who, to his credit, caught the ball and rumbled forward for a three-yard gain, albeit seven yards short of the first-down marker. The resulting penalty was declined, giving the offensive tackle his first career catch.
Is there an Echols in here?
Cameron Echols has had a few head-turning performances this season and the catch he made against the Argonauts in the fourth quarter will definitely make highlight packages for the 2024 season.
CALL IN THE CIRCUS!!!🎪🎡
Cameron Echols (@CLupe_11) hauls down a prayer from Jake Maier and leaps into the end zone.#CFL #Stampeders #TogetherWeRide
pic.twitter.com/a9NAXKfhyD— 3DownNation (@3DownNation) August 5, 2024
Echols went over the defender to secure the 40-yard toss from Jake Maier, landing untouched at the two-yard line. He even had the presence of mind to get back up and cross the goal line.
“That was unbelievable,” Maier said. “It really is a game of inches, right? I felt like I got enough on it and then as it was coming down, I thought, ‘This DB is really making up some good time here.’ But he got it just over his fingertips, and Cam did what Cam does.”
Tommy Stevens still perfect
The Stampeders have a benefit that not every team in the league shares and that is the work of Tommy Stevens.
The third-stringer on the depth chart, Stevens is as automatic on short yardage as they come. He was called upon to run the ball on nine occasions in this game, eight of which resulted in a first down.
The only time Stevens was asked to convert and it didn’t was on a second and a little over yards. He would eventually get it on the next play though, meaning he remains perfect on the season, at least on third down.
I asked Maier what it’s like to know that if the team gets eight yards or more within the first two downs, the drive will continue.
“If we are efficient on first down, we are going to be tough to beat,” Maier said. “I’d even back it up a yard and extend that to second and three just because of how valuable he is.”
So is Paredes
Another night at work, another perfect output from Rene Paredes.
The Venezuelan-born kicker continued his perfect streak to start the season with another four-for-four performance, with all four attempts coming from 43 yards or longer.
Paredes is now 23-of-23 on the season and he added a crucial 100-yard kickoff single, matching the one authored by Toronto kicker Lirim Hajrullahu on the opening play of the game.
Wind was a factor at McMahon Stadium but neither kicker missed and both punters were able to maximize their distance with the wind while slicing through it with lower attempts when it was in their faces.
A lighter moment
The Stampeders saw a penalty you don’t see that often early in the fourth quarter.
As best as I could understand it, the Stampeders got a 10-yard objectionable conduct penalty for impeding an official on the sidelines. Without the benefit of the broadcast, I’m not sure exactly what happened, but in the moments following there was a delay to restarting the game, which led me to believe it was possible a player was being ejected.
It turned out the delay was caused by the official being unable to locate the flag that they had thrown to indicate the penalty. The same wind that was extending kickoffs to 100-yard lengths grabbed the flag and carried it into the stands.
The fan who caught it had a great time spinning it over their head before wisely handing it to the police officer who was rapidly approaching, allowing the game to restart.
Occasionally, a player will send a ball into the stands for a lucky fan but this is the first time I’ve seen an official try it.
Do it all again next week
Last week, there were justifications given for the beating Calgary took in Ottawa, given the time, travel, and turnaround involved between games.
There will be no such excuse this week as these two teams will square off again during Week 10 action in Toronto.
If the Stampeders can go into Toronto and win, it would be their first road victory this season and perhaps an indicator that the reload is on pace.
