The Calgary Stampeders’ sick bay is full.
On Tuesday morning, the Stamps confirmed that several of their players are in COVID-19 protocol and at least one of them has come down with pneumonia.
It’s a brutal diagnosis, especially with a massive game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coming up on Saturday evening at McMahon Stadium (5 p.m., TSN/770 CHQR).
When the team’s injury report was released two hours after practice, it listed Jameer Thurman, Derek Dennis, Tommy Stevens, Ka’Deem Carey and Charlie Moore as being out with ‘illness’.
“We’ve got some health issues,” Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson said. “I’ve got some guys in the protocols, I’ve got a few guys in the protocol who are sick, and I’ve got some pneumonia, so I don’t know … it just happened.
“We weren’t sure, and we took the precautions, and we’ll see who can play.”
The Stamps understandably didn’t elaborate on who was had tested positive for COVID-19 and who had pneumonia. It is possible that some of them may be available for this weekend’s game if they test negative in time.
“The protocol is really confusing for me,” Dickenson said. “When did you have symptoms? And this and that. If you have symptoms, but (if) you’re not positive, you should be able to play. Pneumonia’s a problem — that one is going to be tough.
“Your body, on a bye week, sometimes just kind of relaxes. There’s things out there — not just COVID. There’s other things, and we’ve got it all.”
Dickenson was clear that the Stampeders have been following the COVID rules laid out by the CFL and will continue to do so with the health and safety of the players at the front of everybody’s minds around McMahon Stadium.
There is a game to prepare for, though, and the Stamps are moving forward with their preparations. It’s not an ideal scenario, by any means, especially with a game on-tap that could go a long way towards determining who finished atop the West Division at season’s end.
They could potentially be down their starting middle linebacker — in Thurman — their starting running back — in Carey — their starting left tackle — in Dennis — as well as their third-string quarterback — in Stevens — and a vital special teams player — in Moore.
But the Stamps are playing the hand they’re dealt. It’s all they can do.
“It’s different for every person. Why did you get symptoms? How are you doing?” Dickenson said. “It’s just a mess, but we’re willing to do it the right way, and I’ve got to come up with the best team to play.”
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KEEPING BO STANDING
This is a topic to address at greater length in the coming days, but the Stamps are certainly hoping to do a better job of keeping the Bombers’ defensive linemen away from QB Bo Levi Mitchell.
After surrendering only four sacks in their first four games this season, the Stamps allowed Mitchell to get taken down three times in their last game with the Bombers a week-and-a-half ago. The Bombers’ defensive line has a tendency to cause trouble for whoever their opponent is, but the Stamps will need to do something to contain their pass rush on Saturday night if they want to reverse the result of their loss in Winnipeg.
“They didn’t even rush that many guys — they played a lot of coverage,” Dickenson said. “I was expecting a little bit more blitz, and they were able to get the pressure without it.
“Big challenge, first off for our tackles, but it was more than that. We didn’t hold up inside — we did run the ball, though. So it was good and bad on that game. It was noisy, and they seemed to get the jump on us. They weren’t offside, though.”
Losing Dennis for this weekend’s game would definitely make the job even harder, but the Stamps’ o-line believes it is capable of rising to the challenge.
“I think we’ve just got to take care of our own assignments and execute properly,” said Stamps centre Sean McEwen. “Yes, they’re a very good group, but at the same time, I think we have the ability to play to their level and we have to make sure we don’t have any of those self-inflicted wounds.
“There are going to be times when you get physically beat, but we can’t beat ourselves. That’s something we’re going to be looking to take care of this week at home.”
QUICK HITS
While the number of players being sick will definitely be the main story coming out of Tuesday’s practice at McMahon Stadium, it’s worth nothing that there were some positive developments for the Stampeders. DB Branden Dozier was a full participant after missing the entirety of the season so far, while rookie WR Jalen Philpot was back in action after missing last week … DL Cameron Judge was listed as a limited participant because of a hamstring issue … Word is the crowd for Saturday’s game is trending towards being the biggest of the season at McMahon.
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