September Issue 107
www.thenewsyneighbour.com
Provided by Jock Wilson of JockTalk
At the halfway point of the CFL season, there's
no debate. The Calgary Stampeders are the class of the league. The Saskatchewan
Rough Riders are the laughing stock and everybody else is living in a world of
parity.
"The Stampeders have the best
quarterback in the league," says TSN analyst Glen Suitor. "They also
have the best secondary in the league. We all know this is a league that is
driven by quarterbacks and if your defense is tough you are going to win a lot
of games."
It's too early to predict a Grey Cup
Championship for the red and white but there's a reason Las Vegas book makers
have made the Stamps the mid season favourite.
NO quarterback in CFL history has won more
games than Bo Levi Mitchell in his first 43 starts. With a winning percentage
of over .800, he's better than the great Jackie Parker, Kenny Ploen and Tracy
Ham. While Ham and Ricky Ray had better passing yards and more TD's at the age
of 26, Mitchell continues to rack up wins as a game manager.
Despite a patchwork offensive line,
Mitchell has been sacked less than any other QB in the league.
"You need great communication,"
says Stampeder head coach Dave Dickenson. "Every guy on the same page. They
can blitz, they can outnumber you, but Bo is very good at reading those
situations. We sacrifice extra passing yards as we leave our running backs in
to help. We want our quarterback to be up right as much as possible."
Another key to the team's success is
discipline. In a flag happy first half, the Stampeders were the least penalized
team.
"That's something we've always
stressed," says Dickenson. "I get very frustrated with offside
penalties and penalties on special teams but in general we have been very
good."
Another factor for the Calgary Stampeders
is their overall team depth. Corner Tommie Campbell won a job out of training
camp and S24-year-old Ciante Evans displaced Fred Bennett midway through the
first half. Bennett was traded to the Riders along with national DB Jeff Hecht
and the organization cleared up much needed salary cap space.
"I really thought we needed to get
younger in the offseason, especially in the secondary," says Dickenson. "I
knew our defense would have to step up in the first half and they have done a
great job."
5 things to watch during the second half of
the CFL season?
1) How will the Stampeders match up with
the defending Grey Cup Champions in the Battle of Alberta? The Stamps lost the
season series to the Eskimos last season. It cost them home field advantage in
the West Final and a trip to the Grey Cup. The Eskimos have had some major defensive
issues in the first half, but with Mike Reilly at quarterback and receivers
Derel Walker and Addarius Bowman, they are still a serious threat.
2) The Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Bombers
have not been in the playoffs since 2011 when they won the Eastern conference. The
Bombers had a shaky start and it almost cost Mike O'Shea his job, but thanks to
Matt Nichols and a greedy, aggressive defense they have appeared to turn the
corner. Although the skeptics will say Nichols will end up being their
downfall.
3) Zach Collaros. The Hamilton quarterback
was on his way to winning the Most Outstanding Player award last season before
he was derailed with a serious knee injury. The Tiger Cats are hoping he writes
the same script as Mike Reilly did last season when Reilly returned for the
second half of the season. I will stick with my pre season prediction. The
Tiger Cats will represent the east in the Grey Cup.
4) The Saskatchewan Rough Riders. I have to
chuckle as there are a lot of red faced Rider fans who thought this would be a
playoff team under Chris Jones (I'm happy to report, I wasn't one of them). The
fines, the cheating, the mismanagement, the Riders have been an embarrassment. The
Riders won't make the playoffs but let's hope they start to show some
improvement.
5) Challenge Flags. The season got off to a
messy start with coaches testing the new challenge rules. Fans were not happy
and the flow of the game was being affected. The league has backed off some of
the questionable by the book calls and the coaches are getting a better feel
for it, so let's hope we see a much more fluid second half.
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 host of
Sportstalk from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
Email: jock@am770chqr.com
Twitter: @sportson770
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