Mark Stephen
CFL.ca
The Canadian Football League is in Bye Week mode. All Western teams, except the Calgary Stampeders, play this weekend. Stamps are next in action on August 27 when Montreal heads to McMahon Stadium.
The Stampeders enter the break with a quiet confidence. The team has won three straight and five of their last six. However, the break will also give the team time to heal a nagging stream of injuries that have forced the club to regularly reshuffle the lineup.
Here is a glance at the Stamps achievements prior to the Bye Week break:
Offence
Stamps offence has begun to mesh and put up some solid numbers. The team is second in the league in scoring and passing yards, as well as third in touchdowns. In addition, they have begun to start firing earlier in games. The team has scored first drive touchdown in their last two games.
Henry Burris has led the resurgence of the offence, with a 69% completion percentage in his last three games. Over his last five games, he has tossed seven touchdown passes against just once interception. Burris has also racked up 197 yards with his legs – best among quarterbacks.
More important is the impact of his runs. He has carried the ball 21 times, chalking up 11 first downs on those carries. Burris has been good at spreading the ball around to his various receivers.
While having the second most yardage through the air, the Stamps have only one receiver in the top ten. That top ten candidate would be Nik Lewis. The durable veteran has hauled in 38 passes for 514 yards. He also has a league-best 256 yards after catch.
The Stampeder offence may have been behind the defence to start the season, but that group appears to have caught up and is poised for a strong finish to the year.
Defence
It is a bit risky, maybe even foolhardy, to start handing out team hardware after just seven games. But if you had to hand out a Stampeders outstanding player award for the first few games, a strong case could be made for defensive back Keon Raymond.
The fourth year Stampeder has three interceptions, including two for touchdowns. One of those returns was a dazzling, team-record 117-yard return, last week in Saskatchewan.
His fellow defensive back, Brandon Smith is also off to a strong start. Smith has an interception and a team best 22 tackles. The strong play of the pair has smoothed over concerns about the secondary’s play following the departure of all-Canadians Brandon Browner and Dwight Anderson.
The halfbacks have led a Stampeder defence that has been very consistent this season. The group is second in passing and rushing yards allowed, as well as second in low completion percentage. All that took place with a series of injury induced changes on the line and the absence of middle linebacker Juwan Simpson for a couple of games.
While things have been generally strong for the defence, there is one glaring hole in the team’s defensive record. That hole would be in the penalty department—specifically roughing the passer penalties.
The Stampeders have been flagged for that infraction ten times in the first seven games. The league’s other seven teams have been flagged for the infraction a combined eleven times. By whatever means necessary, the Stamps must cut back that total in a hurry.
Special Teams
Special teams have been a mixed bag for the Stamps. Larry Taylor was signed as a return specialist to boost the Stamps return game. He has done just that. The tiny speedster leads the league in average kickoff returns yards and is tops in punt return average (minimum 20 returns).
Next up? Stamps fans hope for a touchdown celebration. The last time Calgary fans saw a punt returned for a touchdown was October, 2007 (Markus Howell) and the last kickoff return for six was July, 2009 (Titus Ryan).
Punter Burke Dales is second in the league for punting, averaging at 46.2 yards, and is having his best season as a Stampeder. The placekicking department has been in flux. Incumbent Rob Maver struggled with an injury and was placed on the nine-game injured list. Replacement Rene Paredes has settled down after an up-and-down start. In his six games, he is 13 for 18, including 8 for 10 in his last three outings.
In summary, the Stamps are pleased with many aspects of the pre-bye portion of their season. But they are well aware the hard work is only beginning.
