The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
June Issue 104
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www.thenewsyneighbour.com
As much as it hurts to say this, the
Calgary Stampeders will not win 14 games this season. The Stamps will not
finish in first place in the CFL Western division. They should be a playoff
team but even that is far from guaranteed. As the old saying goes, this
organization will take a step back before it takes two steps forward.
The Stampeders lost the best receiver in
the league to the NFL. The best running back retired because of concussion
issues. The best and most respected head coach in the league stepped aside and
handed the reigns over to his apprentice. The assistant general manager and top
American scout jumped ship to Regina. The defensive coordinator bolted to
Toronto, while the defensive captain retired and the team's inspirational
leader left because of free agency.
The on-field loss of Eric Rogers, Jon
Cornish, John Hufnagel, John Murphy, Rich Stubler, Juwan Simpson and Keon
Raymond would mean playoff death for most teams in the Canadian Football
League, but for the new-look Stampeders, they see it as an opportunity.
"We need to get younger," was the
clear and concise postmortem from pending head coach Dave Dickenson after the
Stamps were dismantled by the Eskimos in the West Final last season. "We
need to be faster and we need to be bigger."
I'm not going to sugar coat the facts in
this article. While there are many reasons for Stampeder fans to be optimistic
heading into a new season, there are just as many (or more) to be pessimistic.
Here are the facts!
The Calgary Stampeders will not be able to
replace receiver Eric Rogers. His size, his hands, his speed and his age made
him a hot commodity for NFL teams. You just can't replace the best receiver in
the CFL! It was not a surprised when his home town San Francisco 49ers offered
him a healthy signing bonus. The injury plagued Jeff Fuller is also gone while
veterans Marquay McDaniel and Joe West are now 32 and will be pressed by
younger recruits like Carlton Mitchell, a receiver out of South Florida with 16
NFL games on his resume. Former Hamilton Tiger Cat Bakari Grant was a free
agent signing in the off season and he will have big shoes to fill.
The strength of the Stampeder receiving
core could be on the national side. Anthony Parker is coming off a career year.
Simon Charbonneau-Campeau is
healthy, second year receiver Lamar Durant looks ready to take off and a lot of
eyes will be on 2016 second round pick Juwan Brescacin. Brescacin is a big
target at 6'3, with above average speed.
Left tackle Dan Federkeil is a ratio
changer on the offensive line, but he has only started 9, 12 and 11 games in
the last three season. It's clear his 32 year old body can't make it through an
entire season. The Stamps depth on the offensive line was severely tested last
season and the organization really didn't address this issue in free agency or
the CFL draft. If the line can stay healthy, they will be okay, but it's
certainly not the strength of the offense.
The battle to replace Jon Cornish is going
to be very intriguing. Jerome Messam was re-signed in the off season but the
organization is not committed to starting a national at this position. Tory
Harrison was the team's rookie of the year nominee in 2015 and the team wants
to give Lache (pronounced Lake) Seastrunk a good hard look in preseason. Seastrunk was selected in the sixth round (186th
overall) by the Washington Redskins in the 2014 National Football League draft.
He has been on the practice roster for the Carolina Panthers and Tennessee
Titans and he attended training camp with the Dallas Cowboys in 2015. Seastrunk
played two seasons (2012-13) at Baylor and surpassed the 1,000-yard in rushing
both years. The team will have options in 2016, but
overall success of the running game will depend on the health of the offensive
line.
The only reason you can't get too negative
about the offense this season is Bo Levi Mitchell. Mitchell had a superb year last season (4,551 passing
yards and 26 TD passes) and will build on that this year. He's just entering
his prime at age 26 and after a vigorous off-season program, he will be right
back among the elite this year. The CFL is a quarterback driven league and the
Stamps have the best young QB in the league.
The biggest concern I
have with the Stampeders this season is on the defensive side of the ball. Former
defensive coordinator Rich Stubler liked smaller, athletic players, while new
DC Devonne Claybrooks wants to go bigger and younger. The Stampeders will miss
the leadership of Juwan Simpson and Keon Raymond but these changes had to be
made. Free agent middle linebacker Taylor Reed is only 24 and was an emerging
star in Hamilton. The organization is also excited about first round draft pick
(6th overall) Alex Singleton, a three year starter at Montana State. Singleton
is American born and was on the Ottawa Redlbacks negotiation list, until he
realized his mother had a Canadian passport, and become eligible for the 2016
draft.
The old ‘Keon Raymond
position’—more accurately a rover, is also up for grabs. Joe Burnett is the
leader for that position, but he has big shoes to fill. It will be another
great battle to watch in training camp.
While the Stampeders kicking game is solid
with Rene Paredes and Rob Maver, long snapper Randy Chevrier is no longer part
of the mix and there are still many questions on special teams. There will be
big pressure on special team’s coordinator Mark Kilam this season. The Stamps
gave up far too many big plays last season, while their own return game has
been average at best.
Like most Stampeder fans, I have all the
confidence in the world in new head coach Dave Dickenson. However, he is not
John Hufnagel! There will be a transition. This team will have some highs and
most certainly a few lows with the new head coach. Dickenson says he will lean
on Hufnagel when needed, hopefully fans will give him some time to grow in the
position knowing Huf is upstairs in the GM and president's chair.
The biggest loss of the off season may not
be felt till next year. Assistant GM John Murphy was the life line for the
team's international recruiting. While most of his work is reflected at this
year's training camp, the pressure is now on Hufnagel and his son Cole, to make
sure the Stamps remain one of the most feared organizations in the CFL.
About Jock Wilson:
Jock has been involved in the Calgary sport media scene for over 30 years. He hosts the
Calgary Stampeder football broadcasts on Newstalk 770 and is the co-host of
Sportstalk with Mark Stephen from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Email: jock@am770chqr.com
Twitter: @sportson770
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