Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
As football fans we focus far too much of our collective attention on offence. Considering how much I focus on and write about quarterbacks, I am as guilty of this as anyone in our cult-like worship of deep pass plays, long runs up the middle and of course, the all mighty touchdown!
I’ve waxed poetic about offensive line play, I’ve wondered on this site if Jeremiah Masoli is “elite” (I’m really sorry about that one, Hamilton!), and I’ve dedicated entire columns to a Nik Lewis first down reception. Isn’t it time that the other side of the ball got its due? Isn’t it time we move away from our fantasy football-inspired adoration of skill position players? Isn’t it time we give defence their time in the spotlight?
To all these questions I say yes!
Now, before you praise me for my progressive desire to bring more inclusivity into our CFL coverage, you should really just be thanking the Calgary Stampeders defence. What this team has accomplished so far through the first seven weeks of the season is just nuts and overshadows anything being done by any of the league’s quarterbacks.
Calgary as a team is allowing 11.3 points per game. Read that last sentence again! The next lowest total comes from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 19.8 points per game. It’s mind-boggling enough to have that number in single digits, but it’s even crazier when the next best defence is giving up more than double the points.
(Shameless Ferris Bueller’s Day Off reference: Hey Ed Rooney, can you tell me how many times the Stampeders give up a point offensively in a game?)
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If you go check out the league wide statistics so far in 2018, Calgary is the leader in every category and often there is a noticeable discrepancy between Calgary and whoever is second. Just look at total yardage: the Stamps are the only team allowing fewer than 300 yards per game. The Bombers are a distant second.
Calgary’s defence isn’t just blowing up statistics, it’s also destroying narratives. I was asked last week “What is wrong with Trevor Harris?” My answer was nothing; he’s just had the misfortune of facing Calgary twice already. Against the Stampeders, Harris threw for an average of 113 yards, completing 53 per cent of his passes, none for a touchdown with three interceptions. Those sorts of numbers would get you benched in Montreal. Compare that with his four non-Calgary games, where suddenly Harris looks like an all-pro, averaging 320 yards a game with six touchdowns to only one interception and his completion percentage has magically jumped all the way up to 68 per cent.
This collection of defenders not only can kill your Fantasy team but damn can they harsh your CFL buzz! Imagine if you were settling in on Saturday night to watch the best looking matchup of Week 7 between Calgary and the Saskatchewan Roughriders and watching that first quarter! That defence just sucked the life out of that game by the end of the first quarter.
They snuffed out a third-and-short on the Roughriders’ first drive by forcing and recovering a Marcus Thigpen fumble. Next play was a Marken Michel 41-yard score. A couple possessions later defensive lineman Ja’Gared Davis fought off a block and flattened the hard-to-flatten Jerome Messam for a loss of two yards. Saskatchewan would have to punt one play later and Terry Williams returned that for the second major of the game. Less than 10 minutes into this contest and Calgary is up 17-0 with the defence playing the key role.
Calgary would tack on another touchdown to push their lead to 24-0 and what started that drive was another fumble forced this time by Micah Johnson and recovered by Ja’Gared Davis. Brandon Bridge and the Roughriders had as many first downs (2) as Calgary had fumble recoveries. By the end of that quarter it was time to decide what movie should I flip to, all thanks to a defence that lost its best pass rusher in Charleston Hughes who is leading the league this year (eight sacks) and Tommie Campbell who was one of the best corners in football in 2017.
Yes, Saskatchewan fans, I know your team cut the lead to 24-19 late in the third quarter, but there was no way you were winning this game. I welcome all the agreement I shall be receiving from Regina and the world.
Here’s my message to all of you who root for greatness on the football field: Let’s start cheering when Calgary’s opponent punts the ball. I don’t expect you to do this when the Horsemen are playing your favourite team but for everyone else, give a fist bump when the punting unit takes the field. Celebrate when that team is thwarted on second and short by Alex Singleton. Revel in yet another two-and-out because Jameer Thurman and James Vaughters blew things up behind the line of scrimmage. I know this may all seem counter initiative, but neither is watching a team give up less than 250 yards and 10 points per game
