For years, the Calgary Stampeders have preached the “next man up” philosophy when it comes to injuries. Fans of the Red and White have often suggested that the team was similar to a shark’s teeth — lose one and another replaces it that’s just as sharp.
Against the Ottawa Redblacks, that proved to no longer be the case as the team lost 31-11 to a team that has beaten no one else this season.
Walker has rough debut
When P.J. Walker signed in Calgary last season, he was immediately heralded as the saviour of a franchise that had fallen off under the leadership of former starter Jake Maier.
At that point, it was well-known that Maier would not be back in Calgary, and Walker was coming in as the former XFL passing leader and the man that had broken all of Henry Burris’ records at Temple University.
The offseason acquisition of Vernon Adams Jr. from the B.C. Lions changed everything, however, and Adams has looked like an M.O.P. candidate in Calgary, prior to getting injured last week against Montreal.
While Walker had positive moments in the game against Ottawa, he also made some suspect decisions that quickly reminded people that it was his first real CFL start.
Finishing the game completing 20-of-37 pass attempts for 273 yards and one touchdown, the performance was overshadowed by three interceptions, including one in the fourth quarter that was returned for a touchdown, all but sealing the team’s fate.
There were also moments of inaccuracy, such as a ball that was thrown behind a wide open Dominque Rhymes behind coverage that would have led to a long footrace for a potential touchdown from deep in Calgary territory.
Walker wasn’t helped much by a receiving corps that dropped balls throughout the game, killing drives. The Stampeders are also fighting the injury bug at receiver as Jalen Philpot, Reggie Begelton, Damien Alford, and Clark Barnes were out of the lineup.
Speacial teams were anything but
Everything that could go wrong for the Stampeders did in this game on special teams.
Rene Paredes missed two field goals, including a chip-shot from 31 yards out that showed the league’s oldest player angrily addressing a teammate in the aftermath.
More egregious though were penalties.
There were five penalties on special teams that continually buried the Stampeders deep in their own end or gave up valuable field position in what was a two-score game for most of the night.
The worst of them all was a penalty that took a touchdown off the board in the fourth quarter, although it could be argued that without the hold on that player in that moment, there wouldn’t have been a touchdown in the first place.
If Craig Dickenson had a less measured reputation, I would suggest the special teams meeting room may need a fresh coat of paint following game review.
Rare defensive miscues
For the first time this season, the Stampeders allowed a pair of relatively uncontested touchdowns, both to Justin Hardy.
The first found Hardy in a soft spot in the zone in the first quarter, but the veteran was wide open in the back of the end zone for the second score.
Calgary did make a game-time decision to start Godfrey Onyeka as Adrian Greene wasn’t able to play at cornerback, which may have been a factor in the miscommunication.
Otherwise it was another solid performance from the Calgary defence, and while it will count against the stats, I won’t hold the one-yard touchdown plunge from Dustin Crum late in the game against them as the drive started there after a Stampeders turnover left the ball just three feet from the goal line.
Mills held silent
Dedrick Mills was limited to just 11 yards on seven carries in a game where it was clear that Ottawa was focused on ensuring they took away the run game, forcing Walker to beat them through the air.
The Stampeders are the number one team in the league when running the ball, but struggled to get anything going against a stout Ottawa defensive front.
Winnipeg again?
Next up for the Stampeders is another game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the third meeting between the clubs in just six weeks.
It is expected that Vernon Adams Jr. will be back in the lineup as the Stampeders return home for the Saturday matchup.
Calgary will be looking to sweep the season series against the five-time defending West Division champions.
Tranquil Stream
Finally, unrelated to the game itself, why is it that I can use a VPN to pretend to be in Germany and watch the game on CFL+ at any time within the first two days of it happening for free, but can’t do the same on the broadcast partner’s website, which I have to pay for?
I logged on to the TSN app and the On Demand games that were available were all from last week, and had been uploaded on Tuesday.
The league needs to focus on streaming in its next media rights deal, to make the game as easy as possible to access. TSN needs to be forced into offering a better option for those who can’t watch live immediately.
