By Mike Hardiman
Special to Stampeders.com

The Pregame

The Stampeders travel east to the shores of Lake Ontario to tangle with the Toronto Argonauts after opening the season with a Week 1 win over Montreal.

The Stamps had an early bye in the schedule last week as the league adjusts to a nine-team alignment and re-introduces byes into regular rotation (Calgary will have another one in Week 16).

The Stamps (1-0) sit in third place in the West while the Argos are tied for the lead in the East with Montreal at 1-1.

Calgary won its third straight season-opener, beating the Alouettes at McMahon by a 29-8 score. Toronto bounced back from a tough opening loss to Winnipeg by embarrassing the Roughriders at home in Week 2.

Calgary and Toronto split their meetings in 2013, with each team winning in the other’s stadium. Calgary trounced the Boatmen 35-14 in Toronto before the Argos gained a measure of revenge with a 33-27 win in Calgary four weeks later.

The win last season in Toronto broke a three-game losing streak for the Stamps at Rogers Centre.

Calgary finished 6-3 on the road last season and is 23-13 in the past four seasons away from home. The Argos were 4-5 at home in 2013 (and 7-2 on the road) and have posted a have a losing record at home since 2007, winning only 25 games and sporting a dismal .397 winning percentage. 

The Kickoff

When/Where: Saturday, July 12 at 4:30 p.m. MDT at Rogers Centre in Toronto
Television: TSN, ESPN3
Radio: News Talk 770, SiriusXM 167
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders

The Stamps opened the 2014 season in fine form, playing a solid game from top to bottom and beating the Alouettes in every facet of the game. Calgary QB Bo Levi Mitchell ran his career record as a starter to 4-0 and threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, the second time in those four games he has hit the 300-yard mark.

WR Brad Sinopoli led the team with four receptions and WR Maurice Price had the biggest play of the game, hauling in a 102-yard TD pass from Mitchell. SB Jeff Fuller impressed with his three-catch, 56-yard performance, showing he is ready to take the next step and be one of the top receivers on the team.

RB Jon Cornish began his quest for another rushing title with 67 yards before he was knocked out of the game with an injury. Calgary still managed to top the century mark in rushing and also hit the 400-yard plateau in total offence without a single turnover.

On defence, DE Charleston Hughes led the charge once again with a team-high five tackles, one sack and one pass knockdown. Hughes led the CFL in sacks with 18 in 2013. DB Brandon Smith also had five tackles while CB Fred Bennett picked up his first pick of the year.

Calgary was plus-1 in the turnover battle and the Stamps are 9-2 since the start of the 2013 season when they has a positive differential.

Calgary allowed only eight points in the win, the lowest point total by an opponent since the Stamps beat Winnipeg 44-3 at home in 2012. 

Who to watch:

Jeff Fuller, SB, #31
2013 stats – 15 receptions, 254 yards, 16.9 yard average in three games
Last game – 3 receptions, 56 yards, 18.6 yard average
2013 vs. Tor. – Did not play

Calgary offensive line
Last game – Allowed only one sack and Calgary rushed for 116 yards in Week 1 against Montreal
2013 – The Stamps led the CFL in rushing (141.5 yards per game) and fewest sacks allowed (36)
Rene Paredes, K, #30
2013 stats – 213 points, 49 of 50 converts made, 54 of 57 field goals made (94.7 per cent), 81 kickoffs, 63.5 yard kickoff average – CFL all-star
Last game  – 9 points, 2 for 2 in field goal attempts against Montreal in Week 1
2013 vs. Tor. – 20 points, 4 for 6 in field goal attempts in two games

Corey Mace, DE , #99
2013 stats – no stats in 1 game played; missed 17 games due to injury
Last game – 1 tackle, 1 sack against Montreal in Week 1
2013 vs. Tor. – Did not play due to injury

Fred Bennett, CB, #8
2013 stats – 38 tackles, 2 special teams tackles,  2 tackles for loss, 3 INTs, 2 pass knockdowns, 3 forced fumbles 
Last game – 1 interception against Montreal in Week 1
2013 vs. Tor. – 2 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass knockdown in two games

The Argonauts                                                               

The Argos got off to a rough start in 2014, dropping their first game in Winnipeg by a 45-21 score, but they righted the ship last week by taking to the defending Grey Cup Champions at home and beating the Roughriders 48-15 at Rogers Centre.

Head Coach Scott Milanovich has seen a huge turnover of his roster since winning the Grey Cup in 2012, with only one starter left from that championship team on defence and a new defensive coordinator in Tim Burke.

QB Ricky Ray (#15) lost out to Calgary’s Jon Cornish for the league’s MOP award in 2013 but showed last week why he is considered one of the best players in the CFL, shredding the Rider defence for over 400 yards passing and completing better than 77 per cent of his passes. His main weapons are SB Chad Owens (#2), the 2012 CFL MOP,  and SB Andre Durie (#32) while RB Curtis Steele (#29) and rookie Canadian Anthony Coombs (#1) will carry the ball for the Double Blue.

The only holdover from the 2012 championship defence is DB Jalil Carter (#19), who had two sacks and four tackles last week, but he has plenty of good players by his side. LB Antwaun Molden (#24) had a big game against the Riders with six tackles and two picks, including one he took back 109 yards for the touchdown. DT Cleyon Lang (#90), LB Shane Horton (#27), LB Shea Emry (#41) and S Jermaine Gabriel (a former Calgary Colt) are others on the Argos defence to keep an eye on. 

Who to watch:

Ricky Ray, QB, #15
2013 stats – 303 attempts, 234 completions, 77.2-per cent completion rate, 2,878 yards, 21 TDs, 2 INTs,  126.4 QB rating – CFL All-Star, East nominee for MOP
Last game– 37 attempts, 29 completions, 78.4-per cent completion rate, 407 yards, 3 TDs , 0 INT, 140.3 QB rating – Week 2 against Saskatchewan, CFL Offensive Player of the Week
2013 vs Cgy. –  6 attempts, 5 completions, 83.3% completion rate, 56 passing yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 166.0 QB rating in one game played (left due to injury)

Chad Owens, SB, #2
2013 stats –  94 receptions, 979 yards, 10.4-yard average,  2 TDs. 1,268 return yards, 1 TD –  East all-Star
Last game – 11 receptions, 159 yards, 14.4 yard average, 1 TD; 6 punt returns, 89 return yards – Week 2 against Saskatchewan
2013 vs Cgy. – 6 receptions, 76 yards, 113 return yards in  one game

Shea Emry, LB, #41
2013 stats – 44 tackles, 2 special teams tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 INTs, 2 pass knockdowns, 1 fumble return, 1 forced fumble
Last game  – 2 tackles – Week 2 against Saskatchewan
2013 vs Cgy. – 7 tackles, 1 sack in two games played with Montreal 

Stats

The CFL this Week

Friday, July 11, 5 p.m. – Winnipeg (2-0) at Montreal (1-1)
Friday, July 11, 8 p.m. – Ottawa (0-1) at Edmonton (2-0)
Saturday, July 12, 7:30 p.m. – BC (0-2) at Saskatchewan (1-1)