By Mike Hardiman
Special to Stampeders.com

The Pregame

The Calgary Stampeders begin the 2014 CFL season at home against the Montreal Alouettes as the Red and White embark on their 69th season.

The Stamps captured the West with 14 wins in 2013, marking the 17th time in club history they had finished first in the West and the fourth time they had won at least 14 games in a single season. The playoffs, however, were a different story as the Stamps fell at home in the Western Final to the eventual Grey Cup champions, the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Stampeders are in search of their seventh CFL title and first since 2008 and are looking to get back to the championship game for the first time since losing in 2012 to the Argos in Toronto. Calgary will open against Montreal for the third time in six seasons, 2009 and 2012 being the other two times. The Stamps are 1-1 in those games, losing 40-27 to the Als in 2009 and winning 38-10 in 2012.

The Stamps will also open the season at home for the 10th straight year (and for the 17th time of the past 18 seasons).

The Stamps and Als met in back-to-back games in Weeks 3 and 4 last season, with Calgary sweeping the series including a 38-22 win at McMahon in the second game. Calgary has won the past four games against Montreal at home, scoring 38 points in each of the last three meetings (38-31 in 2011, 38-10 in 2012 and 38-22 in 2013). The Stamps were an impressive 8-1 at home in 2013 and are 33-11-1 in the past five seasons at McMahon Stadium. Calgary was 7-1 against Eastern teams in 2013 and is 27-13 over the past five seasons versus the East. 

The Kickoff

When/Where: Saturday, June 28 at 1 p.m. MDT at McMahon Stadium in Calgary
Television: TSN, RDS
Radio: News Talk 770
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders

The Stamps won 14 regular-season games last year, most in the CFL, and have kept their core mostly intact. Head Coach John Hufnagel returns for his seventh season as top football man (head coach and GM) but was forced to replace defensive coordinator Rick Campbell, who left to be the head coach in Ottawa. His replacement is longtime CFL defensive coordinator Rich Stubler, who spent the past two seasons with the Lions.

Key departures for the Stamps from 2013 are QB Kevin Glenn (BC), DE Corderro Law (NFL), OL Jon Gott (Ottawa), DB Derrius Brooks (NFL), S Eric Fraser (Ottawa) and KR Larry Taylor (Montreal). Calgary added CFL veterans DB Josh Bell (BC), DB Lin-J Shell (BC) and RB/KR Jock Sanders (Saskatchewan) while adding four rookies to the 46-man roster. OL Brander Craighead, the team’s first-round pick in 2013, joins 2014 first-round selections OL Pierre Lavertu and DL Quinn Smith and international QB Bryant Moniz as rookies to make the team. 

Who to watch:

Bo Mitchell, QB, #19

2013 stats — 135 attempts, 94 completions, 69.6-per cent completion rate, 1,156 passing yards, 10 TDs, 3 INTs, 111.2 QB rating, 3-0 in three starts in 2013
Last start – 30 attempts, 20 completions, 66.7-per cent completion rate, 251 passing yards, 2 TDs , 2 INTs, 87.8 QB rating at Hamilton, Week 14,  2013
2013 vs Mtl. — 13 attempts, 7 completions, 53.9-per cent completion rate, 49 passing yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT 

Jon Cornish, RB, # 9

2013 stats — 258 carries, 1,813 yards rushing, 7.0-yard average, 12 rushing TDs. Led CFL in rushing, CFL all-star, CFL’s Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian 
2013 vs Mtl. – 29 carries, 199 yards, 6.9-yard average, 1 rushing TD; 7 receptions, 1 receiving TD  in two games

Jock Sanders, RB , #2

2013 stats — 30 touches, 193 yards from scrimmage; 35 kickoff returns, 787 return yards, 22.5 yard average, 0 Tds; 64 punt returns, 505 return yards, 7.9 yard average, 0 TDs with Saskatchewan
2013 vs Mtl. — 5 returns, 89 return yards in one game

Charleston Hughes, DE , #39

2013 stats — 39 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 18 sacks, 1 INT, 3 pass knockdowns, 3 forced fumbles. West Division nominee for Outstanding Defensive Player; West all-Star; CFL all-star
2013 vs Mtl. – 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble in one game

Juwan Simpson, MLB, #12

2013 stats – 56 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 6 sacks, 1 INT, 6 pass knockdowns, 1 fumble return, 2 forced fumbles. West all-star
2013 vs Mtl. – 6 tackles, 1 pass knockdown in two games

The Alouettes                                                                  

The Alouettes won only eight games in 2013, their lowest win total since 2007 when they also won eight times. The club peaked in 2009, winning 15 games en route to a Grey Cup win over the Riders, the first of two straight championships, but have won fewer games each season since.

Montreal brought in new head coach Tom Higgins — a former Stamps head coach (2005-2007) — to help right the ship but also have said goodbye to key veterans such as the CFL’s all-time passer Anthony Calvillo, his No. 1 target, SB Jamel Richardson and CFL all-star LB Shea Emry. 

QB Troy Smith (#1) will try and guide an Alouettes offence that still has plenty of weapons including RB Brandon Whitaker (#2), SB S. J. Green (#19), WR Duron Carter (#89) and former NFL all-pro Chad Johnson (#85), who is attempting a comeback after two years away from football.

Montreal’s defence is pretty much intact from last year and led the CFL in takeaways and fewest yards allowed per game. LB Chip Cox (#11) was named the league’s top defensive player and LB Kyries Hebert (#34) is one of the hardest hitters in the league, while former U of C Dino S Mike Edem (#21) looks to improve on his solid rookie season in 2013.

Other veterans to watch are DE John Bowman (#9) and DB Billy Parker (#17), both East all-stars, and CB Geoff Tisdale (#12) and DB Jerald Brown (#9), who were both named to the CFL’s all-star squad. 

Who to watch:

Troy Smith, QB, #1

2013 stats – 114 attempts, 60 completions, 52.6% completion rate, 884 passing yards, 9 TDs, 5 INTs,  86.3 QB rating – three regular season starts, Weeks 17, 18 and 19
2013 vs Cgy. –  did not play

S.J. Green, SB, #19

2013 stats –  83 receptions, 1,197 receiving yards, 14.4 yard average,  13 TDs –  CFL All-Star, third straight season over 1,000 yards
2013 vs Cgy.  – 10 receptions, 157 receiving yards, 15.7 yard average, 1 TD in two games

Chip Cox, LB,  #11

2013 stats – 115 tackles,12 tackles for loss, 9 special teams tackles, 4 INTs, 2 pass knockdowns, 1 fumble return.  CFL Most Outstanding Defensive Player, CFL all-star
2013 vs Cgy. – 22 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT in two games played    

Stats

Here are the two teams’ offensive and defensive totals and league rankings for last week’s games

The CFL this Week

Thursday, June 26, 6:30 p.m. – Toronto at Winnipeg
Saturday, June 28, 4 p.m.  – Edmonton at BC
Sunday, June 29 , 5 p.m.  – Hamilton at Saskatchewan