CFL.ca
It’s mid-season for the CFL, the time when concentration and focus can wane.
The excitement of the start of a new season is long gone, the inevitable bumps are starting to add up for all players, but it is far too early to contemplate the playoffs or any post-season possibilities.
In the first half of the season the Calgary Stampeders have steered clear of that trap, entering the Toronto game, the team sports a 9-1 record while coming off a home-and-home sweep against the Edmonton Eskimos.
Now they face the Argonauts, a team that has bedeviled the Stampeders over the last several years. The only Stampeder loss at home last year came to Toronto and the Argos are looking to continue that pattern and make a statement after their uneven opening half.
Entering the second half, the Stampeders appear to be firing on all cylinders. Bo Levi Mitchell was the unanimous choice of the CFL.ca writers as the league’s top quarterback after a season that has consisted of a series of strong, but not eye-opening performances.
In short he has managed the game very effectively, throwing just four interceptions as the Stampeders have a league-low eleven turnovers.
Mitchell and the Calgary offense has also shown an ability to spread the ball around with only one receiver, Marquay McDaniel, a top ten receiver in the league. As a team, the Stampeders are in the middle of the pack in passing yardage statistics but are second in touchdown passes behind Toronto’s Ricky Ray.
The Stampeders early surge has also been aided by their kicking duo.
After an erratic start, all-star kicker Rene Paredes seems to have returned to form. His record-setting season in 2013 was always going to be tough to follow but the Concordia product appears to be doing just that.
All-Star punter Rob Maver is also enjoying a strong year. His punting accuracy has resulted in balls sailing out of bounds inside the twenty, negating returns and throughout the season he has had the best or nearly best net punting average in the Canadian Football League.
All isn’t ideal for the Stampeders, their defense came under scrutiny in Edmonton after the team allowed the Eskimos to turn a rout into a one possession game. After the game, the Stampeders did not hand out a traditional game ball to the defense, saying they didn’t play well enough. Overall the defense has been a strength but a lapse in concentration nearly cost them a big lead and a game in Edmonton.
This push to keep rolling through the middle of the season is important for the Stamps.
They are well aware of their last several strong regular seasons that have not produced playoff success and the team had consistently downplayed their achievements to date in 2014. Acknowledged, yes, but not celebrated.
With a season-ending string of games against division rivals and the playoffs looming, the team knows they have to keep the intensity level high.
