With a break in the schedule dead ahead and a full two weeks until the Stampeders once again take the field for real, Saturday morning seemed like an ideal time to reflect on the 2011 Canadian Football League season to date.

With the prodding of a cluster of reporters at McMahon Stadium, head coach and general manager John Hufnagel did just that, starting with a progress report on the Red and White.

“Well, we’re 5-2,” said Hufnagel of the club’s record, which is good enough to give the Stamps a share of top spot in the West Division. “We’ve done some good things, we’ve played hard each and every game and we’ve been in each and every game. There are a lot of things to correct, though. A lot of room for improvement and we need to work to get to where we want to be.

“There are things I’m very pleased about and there are things I’m very displeased about. I’m ambivalent, but we are a winning football team at this moment. We’ve won four on the road, which is a great accomplishment, and we’ve won our last three. So there are a lot of good things but on the other side of the coin, there are lots of things we need to clean up.”

The most obvious area in need of cleansing involves penalties — Calgary has been flagged 72 times for a league-high 742 yards, including 16 infractions for 155 yards Friday night in Regina.

What else?

“In three out of the last four halves,” replied Hufnagel, “the defence hasn’t played to the level we’d like to see them, nor that (defensive coordinator) Chris Jones would like to see them. So we need to figure out how we can better position our players to succeed.”

Still, Hufnagel believes the team is on the right track.

“We’re becoming a more cohesive unit all across the board,” he said. “You know, we’ve played a lot of young players this year. One, because they’ve earned the job and two, because of the injuries that we’ve sustained. With change, you have a little period of adjustment, so we’re getting better in that area.”

The Stamps have been forced to be especially creative with the mixing and matching on the offensive line as all-star Dimitri Tsoumpas was sidelined to start the season and 2010 rookie of the year nominee Edwin Harrison is still recovering from injury.

“The (pass) protection has been better,” said Hufnagel. “Henry (Burris’) reads are better because he has a little bit more time and guys are catching the football and making some plays. Our running game isn’t quite where we want it to be — it’s not the fault of the running backs, it’s just the way the games have played out.”

Those are some of the tasks on which the Stamps will hammer away when the team reconvenes next weekend to start preparations for the Aug. 27 home date with the reigning Grey Cup champions, the Montreal Alouettes. In the meantime, Hufnagel has given his coaching staff a little homework.

“During this period,” he noted, “the project I give the coaches is to do self-scouting. In what areas are we deficient? In what areas are we good? n what areas do we need to improve? What plays should we throw out and what plays do we want to add? What’s our ratio in the pass-run? Why do we turn the ball over? What type of penalties are we having and how can we fix those?”

The answers to those queries, obviously, will shape the remainder of Calgary’s season.