Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
Berg vs. Ferg returns for another season on CFL.ca as columnists Pat Steinberg and Marshall Ferguson debate over some of the league’s most contentious storylines. This week, they weigh in on whether the Calgary Stampeders will run the table to go 16-1-1.
It was a year ago at this time the debate really started: How far should the Stampeders go to try and make history? In the end, neither a Grey Cup nor a wins record was achieved. A year later, though, here we are again.
In 2017, the Calgary Stampeders truly have set the bar. They’re the only team in the league allowing fewer than 24 points per game (17.8, on average, to be exact) outscoring opponents by nearly two touchdowns per game on average. Among other impressive stats, the Stampeders are one of three teams with a positive turnover differential at plus-20 — way ahead of the next closest team, the Riders, at plus-10.
The numbers go on, and however you disseminate them, the end result is the same: The Stampeders are No. 1, and right now, no one is particularly close.
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For the Stamps, who can still taste last year’s bitter Grey Cup defeat to the 8-9-1 Ottawa REDBLACKS, the focus is clearly on getting back to the big game in Ottawa this November and winning it.
At the same time, the Stampeders have the opportunity to do what they didn’t last season: run the table and go 16-1-1, tying an all-time record for wins in a season (set by Edmonton in 1989). If you remember last year, the Red and White had the same opportunity last year, but lost their season finale while resting starters in Montreal, 17-8.
At the end of the day, there may be another difficult decision for Dave Dickenson and company. And surely, getting back to the Grey Cup will come first and foremost for the horses. Yet whatever ends up happening — even if starters are sat — a chance at the history books is impossible to ignore.
Will the Stampeders win out and go 16-1-1? The debate is on in this week’s Berg vs. Ferg:
| BERG VS. FERG: LAST WEEK’S RESULTS |
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Will a defensive player win MOP in 2017? |
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Ferguson: No (410 votes, 54%) Steinberg: Yes (345 votes, 46%) |
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BERG (8-7): THE STAMPS ARE IN A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Pat Steinberg, CFL.ca
@Fan960Steinberg
The Calgary Stampeders put together one of the most dominant regular seasons in CFL history in 2016, setting the bar for this season at an almost unattainable height. Of course, almost didn’t really matter in the end, because I think the Stampeders are better right now than they were during last year’s sparkling campaign. With 16 wins still on the table, Calgary has every opportunity to join the 1989 Edmonton Eskimos in the record book.
On the field, this team is really good, and there’s just no other way to put it. This defence is one of the best groups the league has ever seen and is showing no signs of slowing down. Sure, the Stamps might not be putting up points quite the same way they did last year, but they’re still the CFL’s second highest scoring team. Jerome Messam leads the league in rushing yards by a fair margin, and despite his stats being down, Bo Levi Mitchell is still the best big-game quarterback in the country.
But to get to 16 wins, Calgary is going to need more than just an outstanding group on the field. It’s also going to need a lot of things to go right, and that starts with the schedule. Well, that shapes up okay for them with five games to go. First off, the Stamps play three of their final five at McMahon Stadium, where they haven’t lost since 2015. Calgary has won 17 straight regular season games on home field, and that number inflates to 19 when you account for a pair of playoff wins.
Things shape up well for the Stamps when it comes to their opponents, too. Calgary has two winnable games against East Division opponents in Montreal (Friday night) and Hamilton (week 17) in the immediate future. Following that, the Stamps take on Saskatchewan at home, travel to Edmonton once more, and finish off playing host to Winnipeg. Now, none of those games are going to be easy, but it’s important to note Calgary is a combined 5-0 against those teams in 2017.
The toughest test for the Stamps looks to be their Week 20 showdown with the Blue Bombers. Clearly the second best team in the league right now, Winnipeg could prove to be a tough out to finish off the season. Because that could end up being a Western Final preview, I can see the Stamps giving playing time to some of their top guys, even knowing it’s the final game of the season with the playoffs looming; that also plays in their favour.
Calgary is in the midst of a 10-game winning streak and showing no signs of slowing down. If the Stamps win out, they’d also tie their CFL record win streak of 15 set, you guessed it, during the 2016 season. If Calgary is better than it was a year ago, why is it crazy to think the Stampeders could win out to finish the season? It’s right there for the taking.
FERG (7-8): ONE GOAL AND ONE GOAL ONLY FOR THE STAMPS
Marshall Ferguson, CFL.ca
@TSN_Marsh
The Calgary Stampeders are a GREAT team. They play complementary football which is essentially the highest praise you can give a football team from a coaching perspective.
What ‘complementary football’ means is that any of the three units (offence, defence or special teams) can struggle on a given day, but the other two units can make up for it. It also means that a team can do things like have a punt returned for a touchdown followed by a two and out on defence, which gives them a short field which is in turn converted to points.
Basically, it means to have a TEAM, not a good unit or two.
The Stampeders have this. They have talent. They have drive.
The problem is they also have a stranglehold on the West Division, and a couple key players in quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and Jerome Messam who have battled injuries through this season.
Those guys will need time, and they’ve earned that time to get healthy and prepare for the 100-metre dash that is the CFL Playoffs. Really a 60-metre sprint when you factor in Calgary’s assumed home field advantage and bye to the Western Final.
When Messam and Bo Levi take their time with reliable backups ready and waiting for live reps, the Stampeders COULD lose. The scary part about this Calgary team is that the backups have performed better than other teams’ starters at various points this season, including Andrew Buckley against Hamilton in Week 6 and several defenders in Week 7 at Toronto.
The Stamps might be able to run the table with or without their starters in the game, but I actually hope they do lose again in 2017.
Not because I somehow despise the West or the Stampeders, but because I genuinely believe a loss at the back end of a regular season is good for teams with playoff aspirations.
The Stamps will not allow what happened last November to repeat itself, regardless of how the regular season ends, but I don’t think they will run the table.
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.
The winner will be revealed in the following week’s Berg vs. Ferg.
