Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Every week of the 2016 season, CFL.ca columnists Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate over one of the league’s most contentious storylines. In Week 14, we ask the question: which team poses the greatest threat to the Calgary Stampeders?
10-1-1; nine game winning streak; unbeaten in 11. That’s what the other eight teams in the CFL are up against when it comes to the Calgary Stampeders, the undisputed top-ranked team in the league through 14 weeks of the season.
Yes, the Stampeders are the class of the league right now and it’s not even particularly close. They dominate on the offensive and defensive line and win the turnover battle almost every time out on the field, while their quarterback, Bo Levi Mitchell, looks like a runaway winner of the year-end Most Outstanding Player honour thus far.
Can anyone make it stop? The answer to that question is yes, someone definitely can, but who? History suggests that there is such a thing as peaking too early, and the hottest team in July, August or September isn’t necessarily the team that goes on to win the Grey Cup Championship.
» Related: Friends turn enemies in a battle of the CFL’s hottest teams
Matt Nichols will duel Bo Levi Mitchell and the Stamps on Saturday (The Canadian Press)
The BC Lions are the only team that’s beaten Calgary this season, earning a Week 1 win over the Stamps and pushing them to the brink in an overtime game the second time those teams met. The Lions have the second best record in the league and are sound on both sides of the ball while featuring the league’s most exciting young pivot in the 24-year-old Jonathon Jennings.
Winnipeg is in third place in the West but hardly has the outlook of a third-place team, coming into this weekend’s test against Calgary with seven straight wins. The Bombers are a takeaway machine, leading the CFL in forced turnovers and turnover ratio on the way to turning a 1-4 start into an impressive 8-4 record.
Then there’s the East Division, which remains totally up for grabs by the Argos, REDBLACKS and Ticats. While the REDBLACKS represented the East in the Grey Cup last year and boast one of the league’s most productive pivots in Trevor Harris, the Ticats are a team that historically struggles early and heats up late under Kent Austin.
Twice in a row in 2013 and 2014 the Ticats got hot at the right time and appeared in the Grey Cup, and a third straight appearance might have been likely last season had Zach Collaros not gotten hurt.
Who can slow the Stampede? Steinberg and Ferguson debate in the latest Berg vs. Ferg.
| BERG VS. FERG: WEEK 13 RESULTS |
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CFL.ca |
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Steinberg – 747 (52%) Ferguson – 696 (48%) |
Steinberg – 151 (76%) Ferguson – 48 (24%) |
Steinberg – 898 (55%) Ferguson – 744 (45%) |
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BERG (4-5): WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE = WIN GAMES
Pat Steinberg, CFL.ca
@Fan960Steinberg
When Ferg and I were issued our topic for this week, I had to think long and hard about who I’d pinpoint as Calgary’s biggest threat. Hamilton, Ottawa, and BC all make very compelling cases to get the nod, but with the way they’ve played for the last two months, I can’t choose against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. They’ve emphatically proven me wrong and they’ve gone from a feel good story to a legit threat for a home playoff date.
I just can’t look past the turnover numbers for the Bombers. They lead the CFL with 22 interceptions and sit second with 14 forced fumbles; Winnipeg’s 43 total turnovers lead the league by a wide, wide margin. We know this defence is explosive, so it won’t surprise you that it’s also tied for the highest-scoring group in the league. But let’s not forget, that unit has also allowed the second-fewest points this season, so it works both ways.
It’s okay that the Bombers don’t boast staggering individual offensive stats; right now, they don’t need to. Many times, all Winnipeg has to do is manage the game properly and convert solid field position into points. They’ve done that with a steady quarterback in Matt Nichols and an elite kicker in Justin Medlock. They can do the job offensively, but it’s their defence that makes them tick right now.
The best part of this week’s topic is the timing. We’re talking about who poses the biggest threat to the Stampeders as we move towards the post-season. Well, my choice just happens to go head-to-head with Calgary on Saturday afternoon, so we’ll get a chance to see how right or wrong I really am. They’re not at the level of the Stamps yet, but I think they can put up a good fight.
FERG (5-4): IT’S ALL ABOUT PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca
@TSN_Marsh
I believe the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are the Calgary Stampeders’ biggest threat in taking this season’s Grey Cup.
Based on mediocre performances against Winnipeg and BC this season, having to come from 25 points down against Edmonton to get a miraculous win and a less-than-convincing victory against the Alouettes this past week, this choice might make you scratch your head.
That’s okay — everyone is scratching their head trying to figure out the 2016 Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
I hedge this bet with my partner in crime Jamie Steinberg on the premise that Hamilton is due. So often it is not the best team all year who wins the grey cup, but the best finisher.
Hamilton has experienced a downturn in both performance and in record this season. That has me convinced based on the law of averages and the roster Kent Austin and Eric Tillman have compiled that the Tiger-Cats are due for a serious upswing sooner rather than later.
Zach Collaros burst out of the gate returning from his ACL tear, something to be expected if you know the man and the frustration he had waiting around for his body to catch up to his mind. Since then, Zach has regressed slightly — predictable based on recent history of quarterback play in the CFL.
Predicting CFL quarterback play is an inexact science. Even some of this year’s best and most consistent performers – Harris, Reilly, Jennings come to mind – have had their moments of normality. Collaros will snap out of this and has proven through the first 38 starts of his career he is most likely to do it when all the chips are down.
Brandon Banks has not been himself lately either. ‘Speedy B’ had three return touchdowns in the first seven games of 2016 but none since Aug. 13.
Banks’ explosive nature is due to reappear; Collaros’ consistency and playmaking ability will peak at the right time and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will give the Stampeders all they can handle come late November.
DON’T SIT ON THE FENCE!
While both sides are pretty convincing, someone’s got to take it. Whose argument convinced you the most?
You can vote for this week’s winner both on CFL.ca and Twitter. Meanwhile, continue the conversation by tweeting @Fan960Steinberg and @TSN_Marsh. While the discussion never ends, polls close on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m ET.
The winner will be revealed in the following week’s Berg vs. Ferg.
