There’s no team in the CFL with more sacks than the Calgary Stampeders.
There’s no team in the league that’s giving up as few sacks, either.
If football games are won in the trenches, as we so often hear, then the Stamps have to be feeling pretty good about themselves.
Both their o-line and d-line have been good all season, but they seem to have hit another gear in September.
In their past three games, the Stamps have recorded 13 sacks and haven’t allowed a single one.
So yeah, that’s pretty good.
“Ultimately, I feel like when we play well we get after quarterbacks and I think we’re doing a pretty good job protecting because we’re balanced and all that,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson. “I also think our quarterback is also doing some good things and being smart with the football and not taking negative plays. That’s how you win at all football levels, but especially pro.
“There’s a lot of good players out there and if you can keep the negative plays down and get after the other team’s quarterback, you usually win.”
It’s worth noting that the impressive play by the o-line and d-line hasn’t come against slouches, either.
The Stamps had nine sacks in their two back-to-back games with the B.C. Lions. The Lions have allowed the second-fewest sacks in the CFL this season, with 25. That means that a full 36% of the sacks the Lions have allowed in the 13 games they’ve played this season have come in their last two games against the Stamps.
The Lions are also pretty good at getting after quarterbacks, too. Heading into their back-to-back with the Stamps, the Lions had the second-most sacks of any team in the league. They didn’t get a single one against the Calgary o-line.
So yes, things are going well in the trenches for the Stampeders. Derek Dennis’ season-ending injury presents a challenge for the o-line, but between Josh Coker and Hugh Thornton, the Stamps are confident they have cover for their injured vet.
And on the d-line, well, everything seems to be clicking in just the right way.
If the rest of the league hasn’t taken notice, it’s probably time they started paying attention.
“I would say it’s a culmination of hard work, dedication and belief in the cause, and the cause is we want sacks and we want picks and we want to be the best defence in the league,” said Stampeders defensive tackle Mike Rose. “The only way to do that is to make big plays.
“We know it, we’ve just gotta put it out there. People don’t believe it until the statistics and the wins show up. We’ve gotta find a way to get the statistics, but also the wins at the same time.”
What is going right for the Stamps d-line? A lot of things, ultimately.
“I think it’s two-fold, I think we have good players and a good scheme,” Dickenson said. “I think the coaches are doing a good job, I think Cornell Brown is doing a great job coaching. I think on the back end, the quarterback’s holding the ball because he’s a bit confused and not sure what he’s seeing.”
There’s a chemistry that has developed between the Stamps defensive linemen, too, as Shawn Lemon pointed out. The group has now been together for the better part of two seasons and are seriously familiar with each other’s tendencies.
“This is our second year playing together, so we know where everybody’s going to be. We’re just playing off each other,” Lemon said. “We’re keeping it going, we just like our matchups. We don’t really worry about the guys we’re going against, we know we’re on good rhythm and going after quarterbacks.”
RAMPING IT UP
Branden Dozier was taking a lot of starter reps at Thursday’s practice, which could be good news for the Stampeders’ defensive backfield.
The Stamps have eased Dozier back into action in recent weeks after multiple hamstring injuries kept him out for much of the early-going this season, but with Elie Bouka having a bit of a hip problem, Dozier could be set for a lot more playing time on defence this week.
“It should be an on week for Dozier,” Dickenson said. “We had a couple DBs yesterday kind of tweak things yesterday in practice, I’m hoping a couple of those guys will be on and be starters, but good to see Branden out there doing his thing.”
The Stampeders also added Oklahoma-product Parnell Motley to their practice roster Thursday. The 24-year-old has played five games in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions.
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