Calgary Stampeders

It's that time in Canada once again for the winter classic known as the Grey Cup Championship game.  And for the second consecutive year, the game will be indoors.  And for the first time since 2002, the home team will be playing for the Grey Cup on home turf come Sunday, November 23rd.

The Combatants and Their History

The 96th Grey Cup, hosted in Montreal's Olympic Stadium, will feature the Beast of the East Montreal Alouettes (11-7) playing in their first Grey Cup since 2006. Anthony Calvillo and company easily defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 36-26 in the Eastern Semi-Final to move on to the Alouettes 17th Grey Cup appearance in franchise history. 

It will be the first time since 1979 that the Alouettes have played in the Grey Cup game that they have also hosted in the same season.  That season, the Alouettes were defeated by the dynastic Edmonton Eskimos 17-9.  It would be the second of five straight Grey Cups for the Eskimos.

The Alouettes have also appeared in home Grey Cup games in 1977 (a 41-6 win over the Eskimos) and in 1931 as the Montreal AAA (22-0 win over the Regina Roughriders).

In their 17 Grey Cup appearances, the Alouettes have won five, the last coming in 2002 (25-16 over the Eskimos).

Meeting the Alouettes in the 96th Grey Cup will be the western champion CalgaryStampeders (13-5).  The Stampeders, led by outstanding quarterback Henry Burris, defeated the BC Lions 22-18 in the West Semi-Final to advance to the Stampeders 12thGrey Cup appearance—of which the Stampeders have also won five, the last coming in 2001 (27-19 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers).

Historically, the Stamps and Als have met only twice in the Grey Cup, with the Als winning both times—once in the 37th Grey Cup in 1949 (28-15 win for the Als) and again in the 58th Grey Cup in 1970 (23-10 win for the Als).  

With their appearance in the 96th Grey Cup, the Stamps end a six-year drought from the Grey Cup game, the second longest drought from the Grey Cup game next to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, now at nine seasons (since 1999).

With Montreal being the hosts this season and Calgary being the hosts for the 97th Grey Cup next season, this is a big game.  A win for Calgary could put them in a situation to repeat at home next season.  No CFL team has repeated as champions since the Toronto Argonauts won the 84th and 85th Grey Cups (1996 & 1997).

In a miraculous act for all Bombers fans, Ryan Dinwiddie led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to their first win of the season against the now 3-2 Calgary Stampeders. Dinwiddie threw 24 completions of his 39 attempts for 450 yards, with one TD pass on the day. This TD pass was the game winner in their contest against the Stamps'.

However, in my opinion the game should not have been so close. Alexis Serna missed his first two field goals, and the Bombers' had to settle for two single points on the returns being conceded in the end zone. Also, a TD pass was called back on a holding call for the Bombers in the second quarter.

The Stamps' started off with the game, but on the first play, Ken-Yon Rambo fumbled the ball he caught after being hit by Jovon Johnson. This resulted in a Bombers' ball after the recovery was made by Johnson. The Bombers would not be able to make progress, and Serna would come out to kick, but missed his 44-yard attempt. The Stamps', however, conceded a single point for the Bombers'.

Serna would also miss later in the first quarter, this time from the 39 yards. The Calgary Stampeders conceded a point in the end zone once again, giving the Bombers' another point. The score was 2-0 at the end of the first quarter.

At the beginning of the second, the Bombers' had the ball on third down, and quickly made a 5-0 lead after Serna redeemed himself with a 24-yard field goal attempt.

On the Bombers' next possession, Rombey Bryant caught an amazing pass for 28 yards, putting the Bombers in the red zone on the five-yard line.

On the next play, Derick Armstrong was roughed up in the end zone by Brandon Browner, bringing a forward pass interference call and placing the ball on the one. There was also a roughing up at the passer penalty on Shannon James. Graeme Bell would run in a one-yard score on the next play, making the score 12-0 for the Bombers.

Calgary progressed on their next drive, however. After two consecutive completions to Rambo totaling 49 yards, the Stamps were on the 13-yard line. After two straight incompletions and a penalty, making the play still second down, Henry Burris would connect with a 13-yard score for Nik Lewis.

The ruling of TD was challenged by Coach Doug Berry of the Bombers, but the call stood, thinning the Bombers' lead to 12-7.

Alexis Serna put up a field goal before the half ended, and DeAngelis put up a field goal as well. Adding a single point by punter Burke Dales, the score was 15-11 at the half.

On the Stampeders' first drive of the half, Joffrey Reynolds had a huge 29-yard catch to help put the Stamps on the board in the third quarter with a field goal, making the game a close 15-14 in favour of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

On the Bombers next drive, Arjei Franklin would catch a 24-yard catch before being pushed out of bounds by Shannon James. After a 19-yard pass to Franklin on the very next play, the Bombers were on the 17-yard line.

After going two-and-out, Serna would come in and kick a 20-yard field goal to put the Bombers up by four. Another field goal on their next drive put them up by seven.

Calgary's first possession was huge, and with the Stamps being down by a touchdown and 8:39 left on the clock, Henry Burris threw a pass to Lewis, who, after watching it bounce off his hands, caught the ball and ran all the way into the end zone. This tied the game for the Stampeders at 21-21.

On the Bombers' next possession, Ryan Dinwiddie threw a deep pass to Terrence Edwards, who would catch it for a gain of 41 yards, putting the ball in Stamps' territory, on the 36-yard line. After going two-and-out, Serna missed once again, making this a one-point game after a single point on the play.

After an 11-yard run by Joffrey Reynolds on the first play of the Stamps' next drive, Burris threw what seemed to be a perfect spiral to Chris Jackson, but Kelly Malveaux showed up in front of Jackson, catching Burris' only interception of the game and returning it eight yards.

Serna would get a field goal out of this opportunity, making it a four-point game, and meaning that the Stamps would need a touchdown if they wanted to win.

On their next drive, the Stamps' dominated down the field, and after many short yardage catches, Calgary was on the six-yard line. On the next play, Burris found Jeremaine Copeland in the end zone, putting the Stamps' up by three.

It seemed that this may have been another B.C. Lions game for the Blue Bombers, who were defeated last week in a fourth quarter comeback by the Vancouver-based team.

However, Dinwiddie would throw back-to-back first down passes, with an 11-yard pass to Charles Roberts and a 27-yard pass to Arjei Franklin, putting the Bombers' on the 35-yard line.

The big question for the Blue Bombers now was, with 20 seconds left, do you move and then try for the field goal, or do you go all the way? Most coaches would say, "Bomb it out on first down, then if you don't make it, run it up a bit on second down and kick the field goal on third."

That's exactly what Dinwiddie did.

With TSN commentators pondering aloud if we would have the year's first overtime, Dinwiddie sent the fans home buzzing, wondering not only if Winnipeg could defeat the Argos next week, but who Doug Berry would start in that game.

Dinwiddie stepped back and threw a beautiful pass to Rombey Bryant, who fell back into the end zone for the touchdown.

So, with 12 seconds left Ryan Dinwiddie had won the Winnipeg Blue Bombers their first win of the season with a beautiful pass. Fans were cheering loudly, and I'm sure Boise State fans all over the United States were cheering on their former QB on his first professional win.

Player of the Game

For those of you who didn't see this coming, I can't help but wonder who you chose and why the heck you would choose them over the one man who truly deserves this. Congratulations to Ryan Dinwiddie on his game well played and his first CFL win.

Also, congrats on being the only QB to record a win with the Bombers' this season, and the first QB besides Kevin Glenn to record a win with the Bombers' since Glenn started playing with Winnipeg.

Ryan truly deserves this award, and as a Bombers' fan, I hope he gets the start next week against the Argos.

Four weeks of CFL football have had some people scratching their heads, while others are ecstatic with the outcomes of their teams.

The Grey Cup Runner-up Winnipeg Blue Bombers are winless after most people anticipated they'd repeat as East Division Champs.

The BC Lions are now getting back on track after starting 0-2.

The Calgary Stampeders are 3-1 after overhauling a defense that was last in almost every possible stat last season.

And the Saskatchewan Roughriders are 4-0 for the first time since 1970, and are winning well with a brand new quarterback who was the third stringer at the beginning of the season.

All of these things have made for an interesting beginning to the season.

Most people who know football would say that Calgary and Saskatchewan are the elite teams in the CFL this season. They have the best records, they have the two top rushers, and they are doing what it takes to win. There is only one loss between the two teams, and that belongs to Calgary.

With their perfect record, the Saskatchewan Roughriders would be the perfect choice as the team to beat. They have played very well as a team, finding ways to win when most people would have thought they'd lose.

Last year the BC Lions were a team that wasn't as good as their record. I thought this might be what was happening to the Riders—until Damian Durant beat the Montreal Alouettes.

To start the year, I wasn't sure how well the Riders would do. Marcus Crandell is not the player to lead a team to the Grey Cup. The team is strong enough to lead a quarterback to a winning record, but do they have a quarterback that can lead them to the Grey Cup?

Kerry Joseph may not be the perfect quarterback when it comes to stats, but he could pull out a win when it mattered if he had the team. He showed that just yesterday with a win over Edmonton.

The Riders were lacking that quarterback at the start of the season. Then Marcus Crandell went down with an injury and Damian Durant stepped in. Durant won against Hamilton and played well. He even showed can throw a couple interceptions, and still bring the team from behind to win.

Now the Riders have a quarterback that can lead them to the Grey Cup. They are a better team now with Durant at the helm. But are they good enough to beat the Stampeders?

Riders fans know how good Henry Burris is. They wouldn't have been as angry as they were when he left to Calgary.

He has now gained 15 pounds of muscle, and his passes look extremely crisp. There is an accuracy to his passes that wasn't there before. He has five solid receivers to throw to, has the top running back in the league to hand off to, and can take off running on his own to get the job done.

This isn't new to anyone. So let's take a lot at the defense. It's the biggest question mark.

There are a bunch of new players on the Stampeders team, and there is a new defense with coordinator Chris Jones. Whatever the questions, the Stampeders' defense has been up to the task.

The secondary held BC to 250 yards in week one, but was exploited for 450 yards passing in week two against the Eskimos. They did, however, fix what needed to be fixed for the next week and were able to beat the pass happy Alouettes. A win over Hamilton without Jesse Lumsden can't be looked at as a huge victory, but a 27-point win over any team is convincing.

So what is going to happen between the Stampeders and the Roughriders? There is still one week before the first game between Calgary and Saskatchewan, and things could totally change before then.

The Stampeders play a distraught Winnipeg team that is missing some key players, but could pull out victory. I don't think so, but it could happen.

The Roughriders play the Toronto Argonauts, who have now rallied behind Kerry Joseph to bring them back to a place where they think they can win. There is a distinct possibility the Riders could suffer their first loss of the season, especially since they decided to go back to Marcus Crandell. I don't think it will happen, but don't be surprised.

If both teams win this week, it sets up a battle for the ages in Calgary next weekend. Both teams have the ability to run, both teams have the ability to shut down the run, both teams have the ability to spread the ball in passing, and both teams can be susceptible to the pass on defense.

That being said, I think the Stampeders are going to beat the Roughriders on August 2.

The game is in Calgary, and in both cases the home team has the advantage. It will be much harder the next week for the Stamps to walk into Taylor Field and pull out a victory. Especially when the Stamps win in Calgary.

Quarterbacks will also be a factor in the game. Riders fans hate Burris, but look at him through anything but your green glasses on, and you have to admit that Burris right now is one of the best, if not THE best quarterback in the league and is doing a great job at running his offense.

Darian Durant has been stellar at running his offense as well, but unless Marcus Crandell gets injured again, Crandell will be the starter. Rider fans must be hoping Crandell gets injured or plays horribly so Durant starts against Calgary.

The Riders have faced some solid offenses so far, and have done a great job. The only problem is they haven't played a team yet that has thrown a balanced attack them. Edmonton can only pass, BC was asleep, Hamilton can only run, and Montreal can only pass.

So bring in a Joffrey Reynolds and the best receiving core in the CFL, and you are going to be tested. The Riders normally do have one of the best receiving cores, but are missing a big piece in DJ Flick. Even backup Weston Dressler, who did a great job, is still injured.

I could go on all day, and at the end of the day I am biased. If I'm a Rider fan, don't underestimate the Stampeders. As a Stamps fan, prepare for one heck of a game!

The CFL season is just over three weeks old, and we have already seen some very exciting football. Exciting things that may go against what we originally thought would happen.

We have learned that Anthony Calvillo is NOT ready to retire, Ricky Ray and Jason Tucker can still pull out the spectacular pass and catch, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will NOT be a pushover without Kerry Joseph.

We have also learned that Henry Burris has bulked up, and it has effected more than just his biceps.

I hate giving out this distinction this early, and although I am always excited for a new season, this year is different.

Last year's Stampeders were great on offense, but couldn't shut down a team to save their lives! This year's team has the same explosive offense, but has revamped a defense that can only get better.

The interesting thing about the defense is that not many CFL vets were brought in except for a few players. It was sad that Calgary had to lose football great Brian Clark, who was not physically close to retiring. Calgary also let go of fellow linebacker Scott Coe.

Clark's leadership and talent were very evident, and Coe was an animal out on the field. I'm not sure I liked Coe's attitude, but he was talented. 

Bringing in JoJuan Armour eased some of the pain of losing Clark and Coe.

Armour was the TiCats leading tackler last year, and has speed to burn. There have been a few players who have been added to a defense that has come together better than last year's team. Are they more talented? One would say yes, but I think more importantly they are playing well together and making plays.

Week one was a test against the No. 1 rusher in the league from one year ago, which they passed with flying colors. I don't think BC will be that easy to push over every time they play, but it was a huge confidence builder.

Week two was a big test against the passing game, and they didn't have a terrible game. They did give up more that 300 yards passing to a revamped Edmonton Eskimos, but they started to gel in the second half. They did lose, but Jason Tucker had to make a circus catch in order to secure that win.

Week three was a very solid effort. Anthony Calvillo had a solid game throwing for 274 yards in the first half. Now, 120 of those yards came on two plays.

On the first, the defensive back went for the pick and got burned for a huge touchdown. The second one was a dump off to the running back, who was being covered by a D-lineman who dropped into coverage.

Take away those points and yards, and Calvillo had just an average game, and the secondary had a strong outing.

Week four wasn't as close as it would have been with the Jesse Lumsden in the lineup for Hamilton, but the Tiger-Cats aren't completely pathetic. They showed signs of talent in their win over Toronto, and it wasn't just Jesse Lumsden that was putting up points against Saskatchewan.

With that being said, I think the Calgary Stampeders have become the team to beat, and here's why.

The BC Lions are much more talented than they showed in Calgary, but the Stamps have shown that they are very strong against the run and that they can handle the Lions' pass attack. The Lions passed well last week, but that was against the winless Blue Bombers.

The Edmonton Eskimos got the win against Calgary in week two, and were very good against Toronto last week. The way they are playing, they won't be in the basement come playoff time. The only knock against Edmonton is the run. They have done alright against some teams so far, but if a team can shut down their aerial attack, and keep the ball themselves, the Eskimos run game will not win them any games.

The Montreal Alouettes are a very strong team and will remain the top in the East, but are beatable, and Calgary showed that in week three.

The biggest controversy here is in Saskatchewan. You may be saying, "But Saskatchewan is 3-0!" That's a very good point, and they have beaten Edmonton, BC, and Hamilton.

Darian Durant has also surprised me with how he has handled being a starting quarterback. He will be a great quarterback, and I would not be surprised to see him as the starting quarterback at the end of the season.

One fact still remains. 

Durant is still a rookie. He played perfectly against the Tiger-Cats. Not super flashy, but he got the job done and didn't make mistakes. That is huge for confidence, and can make him much more effective this season.

Hamilton has shown they aren't the best defense, so this next week will be the real test for Durant. Montreal's defense is much stronger, and if they make it through this week against Montreal, the scene will most likely be set for a battle with Calgary for first in the West.

The Riders are a great squad who play VERY well as a team, and have proven to a lot of teams and to myself that they are serious contenders again this year. I still don't think they are quite there yet, and these next few weeks will show.

If week six is where my point has to be made or broken, so be it.

Week one is done and the scoring is up.

The CFL season began in Hamilton, where the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Tiger-Cats 33-10.

Montreal QB, Anthony Calvillo, went 25-37 for 293 yards and 2 TDs.

Hamilton QB, Casey Printers countered with a 15-21-completion rate for 203 yards.

Chris Allen has more on the game here.

Henry Burris', Calgary Stampeders, had a strong start to the season taking down the BC Lions 28-18.

Burris went 22-for-32 for 274 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT.

BC's quarterback tandem did not do as well, as Buck Pierce and Jarius Jackson split time due to an apparent injury to Pierce.

Pierce went 9-for-14 for 160 yards and 1 TD while Jackson went 8-for-18 for 95 yards and 1 TD.

In a tight game, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers fell to the Toronto Argonauts 23-16.

A late game drive by the Bombers resulted in another Argonaut defensive shutdown.

Michael Bishop and Kerry Joseph split time, with Bishop scoring a TD and going 6-for-14 for 111 yards.

Kevin Glenn had a strong game going 32-for-48 for 321 yards yet also had three INTs.

In the Saturday match-up, Saskatchewan defeated Edmonton 34-13 at Mosaic Field.

Marcus Crandell threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Adarius Bowman to seal the deal for the Roughriders who start off their defense of their Grey Cup title with a victory.

Ricky Ray went 25-for-37 for 249 yards while Crandell went 19-for-29 for 278 yards.

For more information, visit www.cfl.ca or www.tsn.ca/cfl

This has been the CFL Rewind.

If you haven't yet bought your plasma HDTV, you might want to do it before tomorrow night.  Why, you ask?  That's when the 2008 CFL season kicks off with the Montreal Alouettes marching into Ivor Wynne Stadium to take on the Hamilton Tiger Cats at 7 PM ET.

Just to let you know, the game will be on TSN HD.

After the match at Ivor Wynne, the scene shifts to the second part of the opening night double header in Calgary where the BC Lions play the Stampeders at 9 PM ET.

Finishing out Week 1 of CFL play are the Toronto Argonauts playing the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Canad Inns Stadium while the Edmonton Eskimos march into Regina to take on the defending Grey Cup Champion Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Yet this will be an entirely different Roughrider squad that took home the Grey Cup last season.  With the loss of QB Kerry Joseph, the Riders are looking to Marcus Crandell to lead the offensive charge.

Compared to many seasons previous, the 2008 CFL season boasts many top name quarterbacks that could help the league's overall scoring to go up during the 2008 campaign.  With veterans Anthony Calvillo and Ricky Ray back, along with Winnipeg's Kevin Glenn and Toronto's two-pronged QB attack with Michael Bishop and Kerry Joseph, the CFL could be looking at an offensive outburst this season.

Despite many proven quarterbacks playing, the BC Lions hopes rest on the arm of Buck Pierce.  After passing Jarius Jackson on the depth chart list during training camp and the pre-season, Pierce has earned the recognition of legendary head coach Wally Buono after the departure of Dave Dickenson.

The kicking drama in Winnipeg continues to grow with the injury to punter Duncan O'Mahony.  While getting up in the middle of the night in his house, O'Mahony stubbed his toe and broke it.  Rookie Alexis Serna will take the role of both punter and field goal kicker against Toronto on Friday.

To get more info on the going-ons in the CFL, check out Kelly Bundle's "CFL Quick Fix".

For CFL This Week, I'm Matt Eichel

Sources:

www.cfl.ca

www.bluebombers.com

www.riderville.ca