By Mike Hardiman
Stampeders.com

The Pregame

The Toronto Argonauts travel to Calgary to take on the defending Grey Cup champions on Monday night.

The Argos ran their record to 2-0 with a thrilling 42-40 win over the Riders at Mosaic last week while Calgary stumbled on the road in Montreal, dropping a 29-11 game to the Alouettes.

Calgary sits at 1-1, the fifth time in the last eight seasons that they have split their two opening games. In the previous four seasons in which they have that opening split, the Stamps are 3-1 in the third game with all four games having been played on the road.

Calgary swept the Argos in 2014, winning 40-33 at McMahon in Week 12. Calgary scored 30 second-half points en route to overcoming a 26-point deficit and completing the biggest comeback in franchise history. The Stamps and Argos are tied with three wins a piece over the past six seasons at McMahon but when Calgary wins, the average margin of victory is 18.6 points compared to just 5.3 points in the Argos’ wins.

Calgary is 1-0 at home in 2015 and 1-1 against Eastern teams while the Argos are 1-0 on the road (the game they played against the Eskimos in Fort McMurray in Week 1 was technically a home game) and 2-0 against the West.

The Kickoff

When/Where: Monday, July 13 at 7 p.m. MDT at McMahon Stadium in Calgary
Television: TSN Monday Night Football, ESPN3
Radio: Newstalk 770, SiriusXM Channel 167
Internet: www.newstalk770.com

The Stampeders

The Stamps will be looking to get back on the winning track this week and getting the running game up to speed would be an important factor in any return to form.

The Stamps are off to a slow start along the ground, averaging only 74.0 yards per game in 2015 compared to their league-leading totals of 143.9 yards per game in 2014. RB Jon Cornish averaged 120.2 yards per game last season but has totalled only 141 yards in two 2015 games. In his past three seasons, (all 1,000-yard rushing seasons), Cornish averaged 80 yards per game after the first two games with only one 100-yard rushing game. His average bumps up to 91 yards per game in Games 3 and 4, including three 100-yard rushing performances.

The Stamps ran for 309 yards against Toronto last season, highlighted by Cornish’s 174 yards at home in Week 12. QB Bo Levi Mitchell also had more Mitchell-like numbers against the Argos in 2014, throwing for 395 yards and six touchdowns in the two wins.

The Stamps defence may be a bit lower in the CFL rankings early in 2015 but the numbers are not very far off from their 2014 defensive stats, with one exception. The Stamps so far have only one takeaway and are dead last in the CFL in turnover ratio at minus-7, compared to plus-14 last season. The Stamps are one of only two teams to have lost the turnover battle in both games they have played this season. Calgary only lost the turnover battle three times in 2014, all losses.

The Argos offence has used RB Brandon Whitaker as its security blanket (29 touches, 290 yards from scrimmage, 2 TDs in two games) so this is the key match-up for the Stamps defence while Calgary’s veteran receivers will go head to head with Toronto’s rookie-laden secondary in the other matchup to watch.

Who to watch:

Marquay McDaniel – SB, #16
2015 stats – 7 receptions, 119 receiving yards, 17.0 yard average, 0 TDs
Last game – 6 receptions, 113receiving yards, 18.8 yard average, 0 TDs – Week 2 vs Mtl.; led team in receiving
2014 vs Tor. – 4 receptions, 63 receiving yards, 15.8 yard average, 1 TD in two games

Jeff Fuller – SB, #3
2015 stats – 9 receptions, 148receiving yards, 16.4-yard average, 0 TDs
Last game – 9 receptions, 148receiving yards, 16.4-yard average, 0 TDs – Week 1 vs Ham.; led team in receiving
2014 vs Tor. – 5 receptions, 58 receiving yards, 11.6 yard average, 2 TDs in one game

Bo Levi Mitchell – QB, #19
2015 stats – 66 attempts, 41 completions, 62.1% completion rate, 507 passing yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs,  72.0 QB rating
Last game – 31 attempts, 19 completions, 61.3% completion rate, 244 passing yards, 0 TD , 0 INTs, 86.0 QB rating, Week 2 vs Mtl.
2014 vs Tor. – 25 attempts, 16 completions, 64.0% completion rate, 31 passing yards, 2 TDs , 0 INTs, 134.3 QB rating in one game

Juwan Simpson – MLB, #12
2015 stats – 3 tackles in 1 game
Last game – 3 tackles – Week 1 vs Ham.
2014 vs Tor. – 11 tackles, 2 sacks in two games

Jamar Wall – DB, #29
2015 stats – 11 tackles
Last Game – 6 tackles – Week 2 vs Mtl.; led team in tackles
2014 vs Tor. – 5 tackles in two games

The Argonauts                                                           

Toronto head coach and former Calgary Stampeders QB Scott Milanovich knew he was going to be starting the season without his starting QB Ricky Ray but things have worked out just fine for the Argos offence under fourth-year Argo Trevor Harris (#7).

Harris has a nice mix of veterans and rookies at his disposal and the combination has the Argos offence sailing along. RB Brandon Whitaker (#3) came over from Montreal and combines with SB Chad Owens (#2) to give the Argos a solid 1-2 punch. Toronto has three big rookie receivers in Kevin Elliott (#13), Vidal Hazelton (#21) and Tori Gurley (#81) who have sparked the passing game but are going to miss SB Andre Durie who is out for the season because of an injury. Second-year SB Anthony Coombs (#1) will fill in for Durie.

The Argos defence is also a mix of new and old with three rookies in the secondary and four second-year players. DE Ricky Foley (#95) is the veteran, returning to Toronto from Saskatchewan while Canadian LB Cory Greenwood (#27) gets his chance to start at linebacker after a stint in the NFL. MLB Greg Jones (#53) starts in the middle while former Stamp Brandon Isaac (#28) returns to round out the linebacking crew.

Toronto is playing a rookie kicker in Ronnie Pfeffer (#17) after all-Canadian Swayze Waters was placed on the six-game injured list. Owens is also the Argos key return man and has five punt- and kickoff-return touchdowns in his career.

Trevor Harris – QB, #7
2015 stats – 65 attempts, 54 completions, 83.1% completion rate, 614 passing yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT,  140.2 QB rating – leads CFL in touchdown passes
Last game – 38 attempts, 30 completions, 78.9% completion rate, 267 passing yards, 4 TD , 1 INT, 121.3 QB rating – at Ssk., CFL # 3 Top Performer for Week 2
2014 vs Cgy. – 6 attempts, 6 completions, 100.0% completion rate, 71 passing yards, 0 TDs , 0 INTs, 134.7 QB rating in one game

Chad Owens – SB, #2
2015 stats – 15 receptions, 187 receiving yards, 12.5 yard average,  1 receiving TDs; second in CFL in receiving
Last game – 8 receptions, 88 yards, 11.0 yard average, 1 TD – at Saskatchewan
2014 vs Cgy. – 9 receptions, 102 receiving yards, 11.3 yard average, 0 TDs in one game

Greg Jones – MLB, #53
2015 stats – 11 tackles, 1 special teams tackle, 1 pass knockdown; leads team in tackles
Last game – 9 tackles – at Saskatchewan; led team in tackles
2014 vs Cgy. – 2 tackles, 3 special teams tackles in one game 

Stats

Week 3 in the CFL

Thursday, July 9 – Ottawa 17 Edmonton 46
Friday, July 10 – Montreal 23 at Winnipeg 25
Friday, July 10 – Saskatchewan 32 at BC 35

Bye : Ham.

>> Pre-game press conference with Coach Huff
>> Pre-game press conferences with Bo Levi Mitchell and Juwan Simpson
>> The Other Side – Toronto Argos comments
>> Download Stamps depth & roster and game notes