At the start of the Stampeders’ bye-week break, Calgary head coach and general manager John Hufnagel shared his thoughts with the media in regards to where the team stood after seven weeks of play.
>> Insider: Coach Huff takes stock
In a nutshell, the boss still sees areas in need of improvement but he also sees evidence the club is on the right track. While stats never tell the whole story, the numbers tend to support an optimistic view.
The most important statistic of all, of course, are the five wins the Stamps have gathered to date, a sufficient success rate to give Calgary a share of top spot in the West Division with the Edmonton Eskimos.
Three of those victories came in Weeks 5, 6 and 7 after a 2-2 start and the Stamps are an impeccable 4-0 on the road.
After an inconsistent start, the offence is starting to round into form as Calgary’s total of 194 points scored is best in the West and overall is second only to the Montreal Alouettes’ 222 points. The Stamps are also second to the Larks in net offence with 377 yards per game.
After averaging less than 24 points per contest in the season’s first four weeks, the Stamps have averaged 33 points in their past three game including a season-high 45 against Saskatchewan in Week 7.
The defence, meanwhile, also ranks first in the West and No. 2 overall. The Stamps are allowing an average of 331.7 yards per game — Winnipeg leads the way at 285.1 — and Calgary ranks in the top three in 16 other categories including league-best totals in fewest completions allowed (130) and interception-return yards (313).
Interestingly, despite the Stamps’ solid numbers in the league rankings, Calgary hasn’t picked up a single CFL offensive or defensive player-of-the-week award as recognition from the league has come in the form of two special-teams honours (Rene Paredes and Larry Taylor) and one top-Canadian nod (Jabari Arthur). That probably has a lot to do with the Stamps’ committee approach on both sides of the ball.
For instance, despite being second in the CFL with 291.4 passing yards per game, Calgary has only one player who appears in the CFL’s top 14 receivers by yards — veteran slotback Nik Lewis is seventh with 514 yards.
Quarterback Henry Burris likes to spread the ball around as 13 different Stampeders have recorded a reception this season. That especially holds true in the red zone as Calgary leads the CFL with seven receivers who have one touchdown pass. As a matter of fact, each of those seven Stamps pass-catchers has exactly one touchdown reception.
Defensively, it’s a similar story as the Stamps’ leading tackler — Brandon Smith — is well down the CFL list, ranking only in a tie for 27th place.
That said, there are several Calgary players who appear near the top of CFL offensive and defensive categories.
Burris, for instance, is second in passing yards to Montreal’s Anthony Calvillo.
Keon Raymond is tied for second with three interceptions and leads the league with two interception-return touchdowns, including a franchise-record 117-yarder in Week 7 at Saskatchewan.
Charleston Hughes is tied for third in sacks with four.
As far as league leaders go, it’s on special teams that the Stamps have made the most impact. Taylor, added in the off-season to juice up the return game, has done just that as he ranks second in the CFL in total kick-return yardage, all-purpose yards and punt-return yards while holding third place in kickoff-return yards.
Calgary’s Burke Dales is second in punting average at 46.2 yards while Paredes has filled in admirably as an emergency replacement for injured starter and 2010 CFL scoring champion Rob Maver.