Calgary Stampeders were ‘hanging on by fumes’ ahead of fatal third-down stop in Toronto: Dave Dickenson

Photo courtesy: Andrew Lahodynskyj/CFL.ca

When CFL coaches choose to go for it on third down, it typically comes from a sense of confidence in their team. When Dave Dickenson rolled the dice on third-and-one near midfield at the end of Thursday’s loss to Toronto, it was based on the exact opposite belief.

“First off, I wasn’t too sure we had a lot left in us if it went to overtime. I felt like we were beat up and just basically hanging on,” the Calgary Stampeders’ head coach said of his decision to keep the offence on the field with 1:35 remaining, which resulted in a turnover on downs.

“When the call doesn’t work, you do look back and think, ‘I could have done something differently.’ But I did feel like that, like I said, the gas tank was super low at that point. We needed that play. If we get that first down, hopefully we could milk the clock enough, and I had a lot of faith in our kicker.”

Sitting at the Toronto 53-yard line with the score knotted at 30-30, a first down would have put Calgary in good position to win the football game. The gamble was one that the majority of CFL decision-makers would have emulated, though the play call by offensive coordinator Pat DelMonaco defied conventional wisdom.

Rather than line up under centre and plunge forward with short-yardage quarterback Quincy Vaughn, the Stampeders left starter Vernon Adams Jr. on the field and lined up in shotgun formation. Star running back Dedrick Mills started nearly 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage in a single-back set, telegraphing who the ball was going to.

“I did think we should be able to get a yard. We haven’t done great at that, especially when they get into their big-people personnel; we’ve kind of went with sneaks and haven’t got that. We tried to go with our bellcow Mills and the safety, he filled the gap and made a great play,” Dickenson said

“I don’t know if we were changing the snap count out or not, but it did feel like they had a good jump on us. They were the aggressor, and they made the plays.”

Bubba Bolden played hero for the Argonauts, stepping up into the hole to stonewall Mills short of the line to gain. The textbook run stuff gave Toronto back the ball, with a chance to mount a game-winning drive of their own.

Embattled quarterback Chad Kelly, who threw four interceptions in the contest, delivered where Mills could not, converting a key first down for the home team with a 31-yard completion to Damonte Coxie. That allowed Brady Lidster to hit a chip-shot field goal and take the lead with just 11 seconds remaining.

Dickeson gave credit to his defence for generating five takeaways in the game, but noted that they weren’t the same unit in the fourth quarter, which is why he felt the need to attempt the third-down run in the first place.

“We were just hanging on by fumes, to be honest with you. You could tell we had injuries in the back end,” he said. “Certainly, a lot of fight, and they were still working hard. I did feel like the gas tank was pretty low, and they just kept fighting. Credit to them for giving us a chance.”

The Stampeders (4-5) will return to the field on Thursday, August 13, when they host the B.C. Lions. Kickoff is slated for 9:00 p.m. EDT from McMahon Stadium.