Calgary/Edmonton thoughts
Ken Reh
I realize it is early in the season but my goodness Calgary looks
disorganized.
First on offense, Calgary runs Anderson 20 times, and Garcia scrambles
6 times .... at the same time Garcia "who we were led to believe was a
"great qb" makes just 27 pass attempts.... haven't they been watching
the CFL lately .... you win in the air. It's not just the pass/run
ratio but the fact the ball went exclusively to Anderson ... what???
no using the fullback, no laterals to the slots etc (at least once in
a while to keep defenses honest) By comparison, Edmonton ran the
ball 14 times, and made 47 pass attempts.
On defense, the final score doesn't indicate it but look at the game
stats and you'll see McMannus shredded Calgary's secondary ... "347
yards, 33 receptions on 47 attempts, and only 1 interception"???? this
is Danny McMannus for god's sake.... and McMannus spread the ball
around too, Even Eric Blout caught to passes!!!!
Again, it is very early in the season, and I'm no Cassandra (look up
your Greek Mythology if that reference is too high-brow) but Calgary
may be hurting this year.
Ken "things may be looking up in Riderland" Reh
Michael Skeet
In article <33b29...@eclipse.wincom.net>,
agr...@ciaccess.com (Ken Reh) wrote:
>Again, it is very early in the season, and I'm no Cassandra (look up
>your Greek Mythology if that reference is too high-brow) but Calgary
>may be hurting this year.
You should be grateful that you're no Cassandra. (Look up your Greek mythology
if that sub-reference is too high-brow.)
Agree with you that Calgary didn't look particularly ept. (That's the opposite
of inept, isn't it?) However, I disagree that the establishment of a running
game is an indication of this. A balance of running and passing is what wins
games in November. What's missing from Calgary's offence right now is the
passing part.
Actually, it was kind of nostalgic for me. Watching a scatterbrained Calgary
team playing below its potential and snatching another last-minute defeat from
the Eskimos took me back to the mid-seventies. Is Jeff Garcia another Joe
Pisarcik? Whoa.
Michael
Jon LeBlanc
On 27 Jun 1997, Michael Skeet wrote:
:In article <33b29...@eclipse.wincom.net>,
: agr...@ciaccess.com (Ken Reh) wrote:
:>Again, it is very early in the season, and I'm no Cassandra
:>(look up your Greek Mythology if that reference is too
:>high-brow) but Calgary may be hurting this year.
:
:You should be grateful that you're no Cassandra. (Look up your
:Greek mythology if that sub-reference is too high-brow.)
Well, if I may play Argus for a moment, my all seeing view is
that the Stampeders have gone without a running game for quite
some time, and with the sudden disappearance of Sapunjis and
Pitts, it is more necessary than ever to make sure that as many
offensive guns are available as possible in case the replacement
receiving corps does not quickly fit the bill. Thus, the running
game has been deliberately elevated in status. I was a little
mystified that the great running of Duane Forde and Farrell
Duclair during the preseason was not used in the season opener.
Still, Kelvin Anderson had a fine game. See my comments on the
Esks running game below.
What seemed to be obvious is that a great deal of work needs to
be done to get Jeff Garcia and his corps of receivers in sync.
Only time will do that. Joseph Rogers was not particularly
impressive in preseason, yet he caught 6 passes on Wednesday.
He'll be fine with more time. The same is absolutely true of
Gerald Wilcox, who looks to be playing from a broken
Etch-a-Sketch these days rather than a Stampeders playbook.
Again, time will fix these things. Moore and Vaughn have already
proven themselves as top-rate wide receivers.
From what I could tell, the defensive backs for Edmonton played
an exceptional game, as did Calgary's. This is always to be
expected early in the season, so a little leeway must be given
to McManus and Garcia for their performances. Glenn Rogers Jr.
and Kenton Leonard were standouts for their squads.
I think another thing to consider about the game is that there
was no particular sense of urgence anywhere on the field all
evening. Robert Holland is long gone, and Anthony McClanahan is
doing his best Marcel Marceau imitation these days. Even Alondra
Johnson didn't threaten to wup anyone. This is not the Battle of
Alberta anymore, folks. Sorry for getting your hopes up. More
on that topic below.
The Eskimos lulled *all* of us (fans and players) to sleep. Apart
from the rather rude awakening in the last 2 minutes, they were
awful. I turned to my buddy Gord midway through the second
quarter and asked him if he ever remembered seeing the Esks put
up only *18* yards rushing on the scoreboard by that point in the
game. We were both shocked! So, apart from the depressing
ending, I am shedding no tears over this loss. Both teams need
major work.
If there is a negative side to the game for both teams, it is
that rookies and newcomers to the Battle of Alberta may have got
the wrong impression of what our enormous rivalry is all about.
Maybe it *is* better to wait until Labour Day before they meet...
perhaps having Edmonton and Calgary meet in the first game of the
year cheapens the rivalry. Just a thought...
:Actually, it was kind of nostalgic for me. Watching a
:scatterbrained Calgary team playing below its potential and
:snatching another last-minute defeat from the Eskimos took me
:back to the mid-seventies. Is Jeff Garcia another Joe Pisarcik?
:Whoa.
All I can say is that it doesn't take the Oracle at Delphi to
know that Garcia will get yanked sooner or later if he does not
produce. Buono will be reluctant to do that, but Dickenson
awaits. To answer Michael, I don't believe that Piscarcik ever
had any serious threats to his starting position like Garcia
does, so we won't have to go through all that again! ;-)
Jon LeBlanc jcjl...@acs.ucalgary.ca
SunCAP Representative Sun Microsystems Inc. &
Programmer/Analyst University Computing Services
University of Calgary Alberta, Canada
RPhilipp1
Well, if you all allow me to be Hermes for a second
I'd like to add....um...oops.
Lost my message.
----------------
Ron Philipp
Founding Member--'Lords of the J5V.'..Duke of Designated Driverdom!
Member 'Friends of the Argonauts.' , Argos Season Ticket Holder.
I Disavow all knowledge of the Argonut.;-) This sig will self destruct in 6...5...
Bradley & Christine Pedersen
Jon LeBlanc wrote:
> If there is a negative side to the game for both teams, it is
> that rookies and newcomers to the Battle of Alberta may have got
> the wrong impression of what our enormous rivalry is all about.
> Maybe it *is* better to wait until Labour Day before they meet...
> perhaps having Edmonton and Calgary meet in the first game of the
> year cheapens the rivalry. Just a thought...
>
It is early in the season. And, yes both teams have alot of bugs to work
out. But, why would Calgary be trying to run the football so early in
the season? Just get the two points and then run.
I also agree that seeing these two teams play in the home opener was a
let down. Calgary and Edmonton should'nt see each other until Labour
Day. That's when everyone is trying to decide which team in the west is
the best.
But for now, THE ESKS RULE!
Brad
GO ESKS GO!!!!!!!
Michael Skeet
In article <5p1dhu$8...@ds2.acs.ucalgary.ca>,
Jon LeBlanc <jcjl...@acs.ucalgary.ca> wrote:
>To answer Michael, I don't believe that Piscarcik ever
>had any serious threats to his starting position like Garcia
>does, so we won't have to go through all that again! ;-)
Are you suggesting that Bruce Threadgill was no serious threat? (I know, they
weren't in Calgary at the same time.)
Michael
Jon LeBlanc
On 29 Jun 1997, Michael Skeet wrote:
:Jon LeBlanc <jcjl...@acs.ucalgary.ca> wrote:
:
:>To answer Michael, I don't believe that Piscarcik ever
:>had any serious threats to his starting position like Garcia
:>does, so we won't have to go through all that again! ;-)
:
:Are you suggesting that Bruce Threadgill was no serious threat?
:(I know, they weren't in Calgary at the same time.)
You're being facetious, aren't you? I'd take Gerry Dattilio
over Bruce Threadgill! Yes, wrong years, but it's *my* time
machine so I get to! ;-)
Theodore Kamena
In article <5p8mt5$18...@ds2.acs.ucalgary.ca>,
>:Jon LeBlanc <jcjl...@acs.ucalgary.ca> wrote:
>:
>:>To answer Michael, I don't believe that Piscarcik ever
>:>had any serious threats to his starting position like Garcia
>:>does, so we won't have to go through all that again! ;-)
>:
>:Are you suggesting that Bruce Threadgill was no serious threat?
>:(I know, they weren't in Calgary at the same time.)
>
>You're being facetious, aren't you? I'd take Gerry Dattilio
>over Bruce Threadgill! Yes, wrong years, but it's *my* time
>machine so I get to! ;-)
As long as we've got the time frame all screwed up ... do I
hear a Bernard Quarles, anyone? Jack Gotta thought he was the
greatest thing since sliced bread.
Butch Kamena
Michael Skeet
In article <5pc064$16...@ds2.acs.ucalgary.ca>,
tka...@acs.ucalgary.ca (Theodore Kamena) wrote:
> As long as we've got the time frame all screwed up ... do I
>hear a Bernard Quarles, anyone? Jack Gotta thought he was the
>greatest thing since sliced bread.
My own personal favourite is the guy who was supposed to replace Pisarcik:
Matthew Reed. Guy was built like a linebacker, and threw like one too. He
reminded me a lot of Bobby Douglass, the Bears' QB of the early '70s.
Michael Skeet
Jon LeBlanc
On 2 Jul 1997, Michael Skeet wrote:
:My own personal favourite is the guy who was supposed to replace
:Pisarcik: Matthew Reed. Guy was built like a linebacker, and
:threw like one too. He reminded me a lot of Bobby Douglass, the
:Bears' QB of the early '70s.
Yup, Reed had a big buildup but just couldn't come through for
us. OTOH, my least favourite Stampeder quarterback ever was the
oh-so-bland Ken Johnson (ca 1977-79). I've heard that he thought
he owned the team. AFAIK, he never had any serious challenges
either.