By Mike Hardiman
Stampeders.com

The Pregame

The Calgary Stampeders travel east to Montreal to play the Alouettes this week, their last 2014 regular-season game against a team from the East Division.

The Stamps are riding high, coming off the biggest comeback win in club history as they erased a 26-point second quarter deficit to defeat the Argos at home 40-33. Calgary was down 29-3 before turning the game around and outscoring the Boatmen 37-4 including 30 second-half points.

The win was Calgary’s sixth straight, the team’s longest win streak since 2010 when the Stamps won seven consecutive games. Montreal was on the losing end of a 33-16 score against the Eskimos in Edmonton and the Alouettes are now 2-1 in their past three games.

The two teams last met back in Week 1 at McMahon when the Stamps kicked off the 2014 season with a 29-8 win over the Als. Calgary is 3-3 in its past six trips to Montreal (dating back to 2008), winning last year’s road contest by a 22-14 score.

Calgary is a perfect 5-0 on the road and 7-0 against the East while Montreal has split its games at home (3-3) and is a dismal 1-7 against Western teams. 

The Kickoff

When/Where: Sunday, Sept. 21 at 11 a.m. MDT at Percival Molson Stadium in Montreal
Television: TSN, ESPN2
Radio: News Talk 770, SiriusXM 167
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders

The Stamps’ powerful running game was in full force in the comeback win over the Argos, producing 124 rushing yards in the second half alone.

The Stamps sit second in the CFL in average yards rushing  at 142.1 yards per game but Calgary has racked up 757 rushing yards in the last four games alone, an average of 189 yards per game. The 209 yards on the ground gained by the Stampeders last week was the highest total of the season and second time that the team has topped the 200-yard rushing mark.

Calgary rushed for 116 yards and had a season-high 313 passing yards in the Week 1 win over the Als. RB Jon Cornish continues to tear up the turf, rushing for 174 yards in the win (including a career-high 79-yard TD run) and now has 446 rushing yards in his past three games. Cornish was named the league’s top Canadian for the third straight week and top offensive player for the second time in three weeks.

Calgary will face a Montreal run defence that was playing pretty well before the loss to Edmonton, allowing only 265 yards in its previous three games before giving up 187 yards to the Eskimos.

QB Drew Tate came off the bench to replace an injured Bo Levi Mitchell and engineered two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. SB Nik Lewis caught a season-high seven passes as the Stamps once again had nine different receivers catch passes.

The Stamps defence gave up more than 30 points and four touchdowns for the second straight game and allowed the Argos to pass for more than 300 yards for the second time this season. They were tighter however against the Als in Week 1, giving up only 175 yards of offence in the win.

CB Quincy Butler returned to the lineup for the first time in 2014 and had four tackles while DE Shawn Lemon had the first interception of his CFL career. LB Deron Mayo chipped in with six tackles and a fumble recovery. 

Who to watch:

Drew Tate, QB, #4
2014 stats – 9 attempts, 9 completions, 100.0% completion rate, 109 passing yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 158.3 QB rating – first start of the season
Last game – 6 attempts, 6 completions, 100.0% completion rate, 74 passing yards, 2 TDs , 0 INTs, 158.3 QB rating – Week 12 vs Tor.
2014 vs Mtl. – 2 carries, 4 rushing yards, 2.0 yard average – Week 1 at Cgy.

Nik Lewis, SB, #82
2014 stats –  18 receptions, 164 receiving yards, 9.1 yard average, 0 receiving TDs
Last game –  7 receptions, 54 receiving yards, 7.7 yard average, 0 receiving TDs – Week 12 vs Tor.; led team in receiving
2014 vs Mtl. – 1  reception, 16 receiving yards, 16.0 yard average, 0 receiving TDs – Week 1 at Cgy.                                            

Juwan Simpson, MLB, #12
2014 stats – 40 tackles, 2 tackles for losses, 3 sacks, 3 pass knockdowns – third on team in sacks
Last game – 7 tackles, 1 sack – Week 12 vs Tor.
2014 vs Mtl. –  3 tackles, 1 sack – Week 1 at Cgy.

Brandon Smith, DB, #28
2014 stats – 56 tackles, 2 special teams tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass knockdown, 2 forced fumbles – leads team in tackles, second in CFL
Last game – 10 tackles, 1 pass knockdown – Week 12 vs Tor.; tied career high in tackles, led team
2014 vs Mtl. – 5 tackles, 1 special teams tackle – Week 1 at Cgy.; led team in tackles

The Alouettes                                   

The Als have three wins to this point in the season but are still in the hunt for not only a playoff spot but a chance to host the East Final as well.

Offence has been the issue as the team sits near the bottom of most of the major statistical categories. Montreal has had more than 300 yards of offence only four times this year and has had less than 200 yards three times. The 59 rushing yards total put up by the Als last week in Edmonton marked the fourth time this season that Montreal rushed for 60 or fewer yards in a game.

Turnovers are also an problem as Montreal has 29 giveaways, the third worst total in the league.

QB Jonathon Crompton (#18) has been given the keys an offence that still has plenty of firepower in the likes of WR Duron Carter (#89), SB S.J. Green (#19), WR Brandon London (#14) and RB Brandon Whitaker (#2). Whitaker sits second in CFL rushing with 605 yards and is tied for the team lead in catches with 40.

Montreal’s defence is also full of veterans who know how to win including CB Geoff Tisdale (#12), S Kyries Hebert (#34),, DB Jerald Brown (#39), DE John Bowman (#7) and LB Chip Cox (#11).

DT Gabe Knapton (#55) is the hottest d-lineman in the league with nine sacks in his past four games while LB Bear Woods (#48) has been making an impact with 32 tackles and three sacks. Montreal’s defence is second last in points allowed and yards given up but can still make plays as evidenced by its 32 sacks and 23 takeaways thus far this season. 

Who to watch:

Jonathon Crompton, QB, #18
2014 stats – 108 attempts, 66 completions, 61.1% completion rate, 886 passing yards, 2 TDs, 5 INTs, 74.1 QB rating – fifth straight start
Last game – 27 attempts, 15 completions, 55.6% completion rate, 169 passing yards, 1 TD , 0 INTs,   86.8 QB rating – Week 12 vs Edm.
2014 vs Cgy. –  did not play

Deron Carter, WR, #89
2014 stats – 40 receptions, 510 receiving yards, 12.8 yard average, 2 receiving TDs – leads team in receiving, seventh in CFL
Last game – 3 receptions, 64 receiving yards, 21.3 yard average, 1 receiving TDs – Week 12 vs Edm.; led team in receiving yardage 
2014 vs Cgy. – 4 receptions, 32 receiving yards, 8.0 yard average, 0 receiving TDs – Week 1 at Cgy.

Chip Cox, LB, #11
2014 stats – 43 tackles, 3 special teams tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 1 sacks,  3 pass knockdowns, 1 forced fumble, 1 TD return – second on team in tackles
Last game – 2 tackles – Week 12 versus Edmonton
2014 vs Cgy. – 4 tackles – Week 1 at Cgy.

Stats

The CFL this Week

Friday, Sept. 19,  8 p.m. – Toronto (3-8) at BC (7-4)
Saturday, Sept. 20,  5 p.m. – Edmonton (8-3) at Hamilton (3-7)
Sunday, Sept. 21,  2 p.m. – Ottawa (1-9) at Saskatchewan (8-3)
Bye: Winnipeg