Cauz: How Stamps vs. REDBLACKS became must-see TV

Matthew Cauz

CFL.ca

@mcauz56

If we’re all being honest, about 10 days ago the collective level of interest for this Sunday’s Ottawa REDBLACKS-Calgary Stampeders game might have rated no higher than a “meh.”

If you had asked me before the conclusion of the Week 6 slate of games how I planned to finish off Week 7 in the CFL I would have told you the game would be on in the background, I’d check in here or there, but it would not be a priority. Could you have blamed me? Jake Maier was lackluster at best (122 passing yards and zero touchdowns) in a 24-11 loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Meanwhile in Ottawa we were all feeling the gut punch of the Jeremiah Masoli injury.

The Stampeders had a losing record and Maier was dead last among starting quarterbacks in completion percentage while Ottawa’s lone win was against the Edmonton Elks and they were about to start their fourth different starting quarterback and it’s not even August! But after whatever it was we witnessed in the Stamps’ last second 33-31 come-from-behind win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders and that miracle of a win by Ottawa over the Bombers, suddenly the weekend gets to end with must-see TV.

The strangest part about re-watching Ottawa’s 31-28 stunner over the Bombers earlier this week is that I still didn’t believe Dustin Crum and company were going to win when they were down 25-9 at the three-minute mark.

That may sound crazy, but I found myself staring at the TV screen like a cat watching the Goldfish Channel, thinking there is no way the REDBLACKS are going to come up victorious, even though the conclusion had in fact occurred days earlier. This was the comeback that no one could see coming. Crum’s first pass of the game was a badly overthrown attempt to Justin Hardy. Ottawa had minus-five yards after the first quarter and a paltry 17 at the half as Crum spent more time being sacked by Winnipeg’s all-star defensive players than completing passes.

TD Place Stadium was awfully quite after Demerio Houston’s second quarter interception and that silence turned to loud booing on Ottawa’s next drive that ended with a Jackson Jeffcoat sack. I felt so bad for the home crowd having to endure Andrew Harris jersey-clad Bombers fans loudly enjoying that first half dominance by the road team.

Then as you know everything slowly started to change. Crum began to settle down as his pass protection got better while Nate Behar, Justin Hardy and Jaelon Acklin started to get in sync with their newbie quarterback.

Now lets be honest: Crum’s heroics and the Ottawa comeback do not happen without two critical mistakes by Winnipeg. First, Dalton Schoen dropped a deep shot in the fourth quarter that could have easily put this game away and then Brandin Dandridge’s interception return touchdown off of a slightly behind pass by Zach Collaros to Drew Wolitarsky. On the other side, give credit to Ottawa for not giving up and battling even when the odds were stacked against them. Who doesn’t want to see what Crum can do next with his legs after crossing over one of the game’s best tackles in Adam Bighill, or outracing everyone on the game-winning 29-yard touchdown run in overtime?

The story of this game that we will be talking about for years to come is of course more than about this mysterious MAC quarterback. Ottawa’s running backs’ ability to pick up blitz after blitz was critical in the second half, as was the defence’s ability to neutralize Winnipeg’s running attack. Everyone knows there is plenty of talent on the REDBLACKS roster, but they need that quarterback to help unlock it all, that final puzzle piece.

It’s too early to say Crum is the answer. There is much work to be done from a passing standpoint. His best throw of the game was a sure deep touchdown pass to Savon Scarver that was dropped, but the potential is undeniable. Crum was a couple yards short of possibly tying the Tiger-Cats in Week Five and he got to be the hero against a stacked Bombers squad.

After Calgary’s loss to the Bombers, head coach Dave Dickenson had this to say about his passing game: “We’ve got to make plays. You can’t win with 122 yards passing.”

No argument here. The fact is Jake Maier’s start as the team’s No. 1 quarterback has been a rocky one. But last Saturday we started to see the player who looked the proper choice to replace Bo Levi Mitchell and in fact we saw it on the first play.

It won’t be remembered considering the Stampeders’ first drive ended with a punt but on that initial play to start the game Maier rolled out to his right and had several short options open but instead hit Marken Michel for a 15-yard gain. Yes, it wasn’t a go-for-the-jugular, mighty heave downfield but it also wasn’t a simple pass to a fullback for three yards. For a quarterback struggling with the deep passing game this was the sign of good things to come.

My favourite Maier moment came after his worst throw of the day, that ugly forced moon shot that ended in a jump ball interception by Deontai Williams in the fourth quarter. On Calgary’s next possession in a 27-24 game with 2:38 left Maier, rolling to his right uncorks a dangerous across the body, middle of the field throw to Reggie Begelton. The ball travels about 30 yards downfield and leads to a Rene Parades field goal. Maier was not afraid after throwing an interception to challenge the Roughriders deep and it paid off. Sometimes as a great quarterback you have to be a gun slinger, destroy all short-term memory and trust in your arm talent. On that play it all came together.

So now what do we have in store for this Sunday? Crum trying to continue his magic with his legs against a defence that terrorized the Roughriders last week with seven sacks. I’m down for some Crum versus James Vaughters matchups. Let’s see if Lorenzo Mauldin IV (a game-time decision on Sunday) can unlock a Stampeders’ offensive line that did an excellent job maintaining a proper pocket for their quarterback.

In Week 6 we were all treated to two of the most entertaining games you could watch thanks to two young quarterbacks and their supporting cast helping to lift them up. What I love about this game is we have no idea what it is going to look like, just like we had no idea Crum would scramble his way to the year’s biggest upset or that Maier would step up and have the best game of his season. About two weeks ago I thought I had an idea of what this match-up would look like. Now I’m completely in the dark and so excited about the million different potential outcomes. This is no longer a “in the background” game.

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