The class of the CFL for a healthy chunk of the last 35 years, the Calgary Stampeders now appear to be at the other end of the spectrum.
The Stamps’ 18-season playoff run might be all but snapped if Calgary (4-7) can’t bounce back and beat the Edmonton Elks in a Labour Day rematch on Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
While the playoff consistency is impressive (it’s the fourth longest such run in CFL history), Calgary was lucky to sneak in last season with a 6-12 record before losing in the West semifinal for a fourth season in a row.
The Stamps are going in the wrong direction on and off the field, where attendance has slipped in recent years at aging McMahon Stadium.
“What we’re trying to do is flush the negativity. It’s hard. We know it’s out there,” Stampeders GM/coach Dave Dickenson told reporters after practice Thursday.
“I told the guys ‘Listen, we’re playing and coaching the game we love for a living but we also understand losing can have an effect on your livelihood.’ Got to get back to our winning ways. Let’s get back and think positive thoughts, think we’re going to make a play, think we’re going to play well and go up there in Edmonton and do it.”
Before their biggest crowd of the year Monday for the traditional holiday rivalry, the Stamps were a disaster on both sides of the ball in a 35-20 loss to the improving Elks (4-8).
Calgary rushed for just 18 yards, quarterback Jake Maier threw four interceptions and the defence allowed Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to throw for a whopping 486 yards.
Maier, per Justin Dunk of 3DownNation, will not start Saturday, with Logan Bonner getting the call after he came in late in Saturday’s loss.
Promoted to the Stampeders’ top job midway through the 2022 season ahead of veteran Bo Levi Mitchell (now with Hamilton), Maier just hasn’t taken that next step.
Though he’s really been the only quarterback in the league to stay mostly healthy since being installed as a No. 1, Maier has not proven he’s a top starter. That’s tough to see for a franchise used to elite quarterback play from the likes of Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia, Dickenson and Mitchell during its days atop the league.
But the Stamps also need far better play from a defence that ranks eighth in the nine-team league.
Assuming the Stamps’ playoff streak ends this season, there are bound to be tough questions. Dickenson hasn’t won a playoff game since going to three straight Grey Cups to begin his coaching career from 2016-18. Could he become a full-time GM with assistant head coach Mark Kilam, a candidate for head coaching jobs in recent years, taking a step up?
The Tiger-Cats made a similar move this past off-season with president of football operations Orlondo Steinauer relinquishing coaching duties and offensive play-caller Scott Milanovich becoming head coach. Of course, it should be noted that Hamilton’s plan hasn’t produced better results.
At quarterback, too, it’s entirely possibly next year’s No. 1 is not on Calgary’s roster. All eyes will be on B.C. after the Grey Cup with the Lions employing two of the league’s best in Nathan Rourke and Vernon Adams Jr. The latter could be headed elsewhere after the Lions reunited with the homegrown Rourke following NFL cuts.
But Adams will be in demand if he’s available. The Chad Kelly return is off to an uneven start in Toronto and at least three other teams (Hamilton, Saskatchewan, Edmonton) have what appear to be uncertain 2025 quarterback situations.
“I’m not saying quarterback has been any different than a lot of our players on our team and the coaches,” Dickenson said. “Everybody needs to be a little bit better and it’s obvious.”
In the Lions’ den
Adams is listed as the Lions’ backup Friday in Montreal as he returns to the lineup for the first time since suffering a knee injury in early August.
After two shaky starts to begin his second stint with the Lions, Rourke was excellent last week in a blowout win against the Ottawa Redblacks in Victoria. The win snapped B.C.’s five-game losing streak
Where the Lions go from here will be very interesting, especially in a year in which they are hosting the Grey Cup.
“Like we’ve said from the very beginning, we want to utilize these two guys the best we can to help the B.C. Lions win games,” Lions coach Rick Campbell said Tuesday, per Steve Ewen of Postmedia.
Mack out of attack
The league-leading Alouettes got some bad news this week as star receiver Austin Mack suffered an ankle injury in practice and was placed on the six-game injured list Thursday.
Mack returned to the Alouettes late last month after being cut by the Atlanta Falcons and then signed a four-year extension with the CFL club.
Fortunately for the Alouettes, they’re in a very good spot at 10-1. They’re the only team in the league to have clinched a playoff spot and probably don’t have to do anything more than go 4-3 the rest of the way to secure home field and a bye to the East final.
Riders DL defends himself
Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Miles Brown heard the criticism from Winnipeg president Wade Miller after he knocked Blue Bombers star quarterback Zack Collaros out of last week’s game with a high hit.
A fuming Miller told the Winnipeg Free Press that commissioner Randy Ambrosie has to do a better job protecting quarterbacks, and pointed to Brown also taking out Ottawa Redblacks QB Dru Brown earlier in the season with a low hit.
This week, Brown responded.
“I think a dirty player, malicious intent is a little too far, especially for me — I’m not that kind of person, I’m not that kind of player,” Miles Brown said, per Justin Dunk of 3Down Nation. “I don’t see value — you don’t gain anything from playing dirty. I think that was too far, a little egregious. Not at all did I mean to try to hurt him or intend to hit him in the head. I genuinely believed I hit him in his chest.
“If that’s how he feels, it’s very clear he doesn’t know me. When a president of a team is calling a player dirty, naturally you influence the emotions of some people. He can’t control what happens. I think it’s really dangerous when you say things like that, especially in the media. We’ll see what Saturday holds for us.”
Brown was fined by the league for the hit on Thursday.
After the Blue Bombers’ dramatic win in Regina last weekend, the teams meet again Saturday in Winnipeg.
Collaros has been practising with the first team this week and is expected to start.
Game of the week
The Roughriders-Blue Bombers rematch is the highlight of a tripleheader on Saturday.
The Bombers and Lions are tied for first in the wild West, one point ahead of the Roughriders. The winner of the Stamps-Elks game won’t be far behind a playoff position when the week comes to an end.
Here’s the full Week 14 schedule.
Friday, Sept. 6: B.C. Lions (6-6) at Montreal Alouettes (10-1), 7:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 7: Toronto Argonauts (6-5) at Ottawa Redblacks (7-3-1), 1 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 7: Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-6-1) at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6), 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. local
Saturday, Sept. 7: Calgary Stampeders (4-7) at Edmonton Elks (4-8), 7 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. local