CFL.ca
CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — With the 2014 calendar year coming to a close and the focus shifting to the off-season, CFL.ca takes a league-wide look at what went down in 2014 — one team at a time. Next up are the Calgary Stampeders.
The Stampeders accomplished the rare feat of leading the CFL standings from wire to wire, sitting number one atop the CFL.ca Power Rankings from the first week of the season right through the very last, then capturing victory in the 102nd Grey Cup Championship in Vancouver.
Questioned early on when the Stamps opened the door for Bo Levi Mitchell to compete for the starting QB position in training camp, the 23-year-old proved to be one of the highlights of the entire CFL season, losing only two starts in his first full season as a starting quarterback.
The Stampeders were dominant in every facet of the game, as 2014 left no question as to which CFL team is best.
| CFL.ca Season Rewind |
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 The Stampeders are champions after a season full of peaks and valleys for every team in the CFL. Follow along as CFL.ca takes a look at the season that was and looks ahead to 2015 where every team hopes to stand at the top of the heap in Winnipeg. CFL.ca Season Rewind |
Overview:
The Stampeders built momentum in Mitchell’s first two starts with comfortable wins over Montreal and Toronto, before scrapping out an intense defensive 10-7 victory over Hamilton to start their season 3-0.
Their biggest early test came against the also-undefeated Eskimos, as the Battle of Alberta between two undefeated teams took centre stage – but after a hard-fought close battle, special teams and turnovers wound up making the difference, as the Stamps made the most of their opportunities in pulling out a 26-22 road win.
A surprising 25-24 loss to BC on home turf followed, as Mitchell threw a pick-six and the offence fumbled late to lead to his first career loss as a starting quarterback.
A few games later, Mitchell was injured during the second half of a win over the Argos, one in which the Stamps once trailed 29-3 but rallied back for an historic 40-33 victory. The Stampeders rattled off six straight wins while Mitchell was in and out of the lineup, and with Drew Tate as the starter they fell on the road to Montreal.
Mitchell returned soon after and the Stamps lost only one more game the rest of the way, securing a first-round playoff bye and then easily taking care of business against the Eskimos in the Western Final.
The rest is history, as a dominant first half helped the Stampeders build a 17-0 lead out of the gate in the Grey Cup game against the Ticats. Hamilton battled back, but Calgary’s red zone defence shut down Zach Collaros while Rene Paredes provided the eventual winning points for Calgary with a pair of field goals.
The Good:
Everything. Seriously, everything about Calgary’s 2014 season was good. The Stamps went 8-1 on the road and 7-2 at home, tying a CFL record with a combined 17 wins over the span of the regular season and playoffs.
The run game was dominant, led by hands down the best back in the league in Jon Cornish and his unfathomable 7.8 yards per carry average. The passing game was explosive, as a shifty young Bo Levi Mitchell was almost impossible to catch in the backfield – his arm, however, as good as any other in the league.
Calgary’s offensive line was impenetrable, as the Stampeders gave up the fewest sacks in the league while also paving the way for a relentless downhill rushing attack.
The defence wasn’t the best in the league, at least statistically, but Calgary’s 347 points against was second best in the league, and only seven points behind second-place Edmonton.
And more than just winning the Grey Cup, the Stampeders did more to build their lasting dominance across the league. Their star quarterback is 23, while young receivers like Eric Rogers and Jeff Fuller will be ready to dominate the receiving leaderboard in 2015.
All in all it was a dream season for Calgary, as literally nothing went wrong.
The Bad:
They’re the Grey Cup Champs, what else is there to say? The Calgary Stampeders seemingly made every right decision in 2014, as even through injury they were by far the most dominant team in the CFL.
The one bad thing about Calgary’s season, while out of anyone’s control, was the trouble for Jon Cornish to stay on the field. He only played half the season and won the rushing title, and quite frankly could have easily been Most Outstanding Player.
His numbers projected over a full 18-game season put him on pace to break the single-season rushing record, and it would have been a lot of fun to see that play out. He’s the best and we wish him better health in 2015 as he looks to capture another Grey Cup.
Highlight of the season:
Winning the Grey Cup was without a doubt the highlight of Calgary’s season, as the team accomplished what it set out to do in 2014: finish. That was the key word of the season, and while it came down to the wire following a Brandon Banks punt return called back in the last minute, the Stampeders captured their goal.
Bo Levi Mitchell seemingly won over a nation with his Grey Cup performance, as he was unstoppable through the first half and into the third quarter, at one point even flirting with Doug Flutie’s Grey Cup completion percentage record.
Then, by the time the Ticats finally started to contain Mitchell and the rest of the Stamps’ offence, they couldn’t solve Calgary’s stingy red zone defence, settling for field goals all three times down there in the second half.
The 102nd Grey Cup wasn’t a shootout, nor was it a pretty display of just offence – it was two of the best-coached, deepest and best-rounded football teams engaged in a chess match from start to finish. The Stamps coming out on top is a highlight they won’t soon forget.
Potential departures:
Many Grey Cup winners have a difficult time maintaining their core the following year, as when you win, everyone wants a piece of you. For the Stampeders that shouldn’t be the case, and on top of that John Hufnagel has built more than enough depth to overcome any key losses.
Stanley Bryant, Edwin Harrison and Brett Jones are key potential losses on Calgary’s league-leading offensive line, as Jones could be headed south after winning Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman honours.
Quincy Butler and Shawn Lemon would mark tough losses on Calgary’s defence, as the latter was one of the top defensive linemen in the league, recording double-digit sacks and leading the CFL in fumbles.
The Stampeders also stand to lose some quality Canadian content on top of Jones, as Simon Charbonneau-Campeau and Matt Walter are free agents. Meanwhile, the status of international slotback Nik Lewis is also up in the air.
Here’s the list of Stampeders due to hit free agency on Feb. 10, 2015:
| CFL.ca Stamps Columnist |
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Mark Stephen » Mark Stephen’s Stamps coverage |
Stanley Bryant, OL, International
Quincy Butler, DB, International
Simon Charbonneau-Campeau, WR, National
Hugh Charles, RB, International
Edwin Harrison, OL, International
Micah Johnson, DL, International
Brett Jones, OL, National
Shawn Lemon, DL, International
Nik Lewis, SB, International
Glenn Love, LB, International
Keenan MacDougall, LB, National
Brad Sinopoli, WR, National
Matt Walter, RB, National
Why they’ll win the Grey Cup in 2015:
The better question: why won’t they win the Grey Cup in 2015? Even with some potential losses looming via free agency, the Stampeders are the easy pick right now to win it next year. They have no glaring weaknesses, while young Mitchell is poised to take another step forward in just his second season as a full-time starter.
The Stamps should also get stronger in their front seven as Charleston Hughes and Demonte Bolden return to the lineup at full strength, while the offence should be excited to see its first full season with explosive emerging receivers like Eric Rogers and Jeff Fuller.
Calgary’s main core is getting a little older, but it’s supplemented by a burst of young talent that is rapidly on the rise. With so much depth and front-line talent on both sides of the ball, plus John Hufnagel set to coach in his final year, expect to see a well-oiled machine in Calgary.
