CFL.ca Staff

TORONTO -- CFL.ca columnists Matt Cauz and Jaime Stein along with Mitch the Intern will grade each team heading into the Eastern and Western Division Finals. Cauz and Stein have shared their opinions on the CFL all season long on CFL.ca. Mitch the Intern produced the weekly CFL.ca Rookie Report and is a lifelong Rider fan, giving him license to weigh in on all things CFL.

Below is the report card for the defending Grey Cup Champions, the Calgary Stampeders:

	MATT CAUZ	JAIME STEIN	MITCH the INTERN
QBs	A-	A-	B+
RECs	A	A	A
RBs	A+	A+	A+
OL	A	A	A-
DL	C	C+	B-
LBs	C	B-	B
DBs	B+	B+	B
STs	B+	A	B+
Coaching	B+	A-	A

CAUZ says: I would have given Burris an A grade but he had four games with a QB rating below 55. Burris is a great QB but every now and then he will throw up a stinker. That said, the guy has a ton of playoff experience and is dangerous running with the ball as well.

Again Calgary is another team with great wide receivers. One week Jeremaine Copeland is the best player on the field, the next week it is Romby Bryant and then in their playoff win vs. Edmonton Nik Lewis is going off for 100 yards to help defeat the Eskimos. Unbelievable depth on this team.
 
I love this offensive line. The team was second in yards gained on offense and were second overall in sacks allowed (29).
 
Right now there is no better running back than Joffrey Reynolds. As I mentioned last week the guy is the Mariano Rivera of the CFL. No one is a better closer than Reynolds. You need a four yard gain late in the 4th quarter to keep a drive alive? No worries, give the ball to Joffrey, he'll get the job done.
 
Beyond Dwight Anderson and Brandon Browner, there really isn't that many players that scare you defensively on this team. I can't think of many other DB's that tackle as well as Anderson, while Browner is one of the better cover guys in the league.
 
Again though, remember this is a team that ranked near the bottom in yards allowed, but to their credit they were 3rd in points allowed.
 
Would anyone be surprised to see Calgary representing the West after this weekend? I can't wait for the Western Division Final!

STEIN says: Henry Burris is a champion. There is no doubt about that. He carries a ton of experience along for the ride as well. But as Cauz mentioned, he can be inconsistent, and that in my opinion is the difference between an A and an A- on this report card.

The Calgary receiving corps started the year as one of the best. They took a bit of a nosedive when they lost Ken-Yon Rambo to injury, but now people are saying “Ken-Yon Who?” Jeremaine Copeland revitalized his career in 2009 with an all-star season. Add in Romby Bryant and Arjei Franklin in the trade from Winnipeg plus Nik Lewis and Brett Ralph and this group is legit.

The Horsemen will turn to running back Joffrey Reynolds to carry them past the Riders. Reynolds ran for more than 100 yards in all three games against Saskatchewan this season. Not only does he show up in big games, but he is consistently outstanding. He has posted five straight seasons of 1,200 yards or more. And in 2009 he had a career high 6.4 yards per carry.

Calgary’s offensive line is strong. Ben Archibald is up for the league’s top lineman award, but the future may be brightest for guard Dimitri Tsoumpas.

Calgary’s defensive strength lies in its secondary. Brandon Browner is one of the better coverage guys in the league along with Dwight Anderson. It is a shame Mike Labinjo has missed so many games this season. His presence has been missed on defence. Calgary lacks a decent pass rush. Charleston Hughes tied for the team lead with six sacks in eight games after rejoining the team following Labour Day. However, after recording those six sacks in his first three games, he didn’t record another one for the remainder of the season.

Prior to last weekend’s game against Edmonton, Calgary’s special teams had not allowed a kick return touchdown since 2005. Special Teams Coordinator Craig Dickenson runs a solid group. Add in one of the best kickers in CFL history in Sandro DeAngelis and the league’s top punter in 2009 in Burke Dales and this group is worthy of receiving an A.

John Hufnagel is one of the top coaches in the CFL.

MITCH the INTERN says: Henry Burris had an up and down season yet still managed to finish second in passing yards and third in touchdown passes. He also ran in 11 touchdowns. Smilin’ Hank’s biggest advantage over Durant heading into the Western Final is that he has done this all before.

Who would have thought the Stampeder receivers could be so good without Ken-Yon Rambo and veteran Ryan Thelwell. But Jeremaine Copeland’s big play ability and Nik Lewis’ big body and good hands have kept the Stamps receiving corps among the league’s best. After last week's Semi the September trade that brought in Romby Bryant and Arjei Franklin is looking like the move of the year at this point.

I love watching Joffrey Reynolds. In the year of the running back he stood above the rest. Cauz compared him to Mariano Rivera. I couldn’t think of a better analogy – when the Stamps are leading late you know he is getting the ball – and you know nobody is going to stop him. When Burris struggled earlier this season Reynolds kept the Stamps afloat. A very deserving nominee for the MOP.

A big reason for Reynolds’ success has been the outstanding run-blocking by the Stamps O-line. The Stamps bigs dominated opposing D-Lines all season in opening up holes for Reynolds and were solid in the passing game as well. I’m looking forward to the matchup between John Chick and Stamps tackle Jeff Pilon. Chick exposed Pilon’s limitations as a pass-blocker the last time the two teams met, but Pilon had a great game last week against Edmonton. A potential cause for concern for the Stamps line heading into the Western Final is an injury to C Rob Lazeo.

The Stampeders D has looked like a revolving door this season and gave up a league high 6.6 yards per rush to opponents this season. Opposing quarterbacks also completed 64.9% of their passes against the Stamps. Only the Argos were worse at 67.0%. Late additions such as Tim Johnson, John Eubanks and the return of Charleston Hughes definitely helped the D down the stretch though.

Sandro DeAngelis is as good a kicker as there is in the CFL and he has a penchant for nailing big field goals. Burke Dales led the league with a 46.0 yards per punt average but saw a few too many opportunities to pin opponents deep sail into the endzone for singles for my liking. He kicked a league high 10. The cover team while usually solid also looked surprisingly shaky in last week’s game against Edmonton.

Like I said before, the trade to bring in Bryant and Franklin from Winnipeg was a great move. Credit to Hufnagel for pulling off the deal and giving up some young talent to make his team better.

Calgary vs Saskatchewan is my favourite matchup in the CFL and I can't wait for this weekend's Western Final!

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