While much fuss has been made about slow starts by the Stamps in 2008, truth be known, only two CFL teams have scored more first-quarter points than Calgary this season. A trend around the league is one of slow starts.

First quarter scoring

As a whole, CFL teams are averaging just 4.425 points per first quarter. The Stamps are averaging 4.8.

Now, this isn’t to say the Stamps are lighting it up, but the tendency of teams taking a quarter to feel out the opposition has become a league-wide trend.

There have been 1,093 points scored in the CFL this season and just 177 have come in the first quarter. That works out to just 16.2 per cent.

A few further points of interest with regards to this trend:
• The Stamps have taken heat for “slow starts” but the truth is they’ve only trailed twice after the first quarter (11-0 in Mtl, 2-0 in Wpg). And only two teams have more first-quarter points.
• Montreal is the only team to score more than 10 points in a first quarter this season. They did it three times.
• Saskatchewan is 5-0 and only has one first-quarter touchdown.