Time to turn the page, say the Calgary Stampeders.
After they were stomped 33-6 on the road last Friday by the Ottawa Redblacks, the Stampeders will try to get back to .500 on Sunday against the visiting Toronto Argonauts.
Calgary (3-4) followed up a 25-24 win over a Grey Cup contender, the B.C. Lions, on July 21 with a genuine stinker against the Redblacks. The search for consistency begins anew against another East Division opponent.
“There’s no room for pessimism in this sport if you want to be successful,” said veteran center Sean McEwen. “So you’ve got to move forward optimistically and go out and take care of what we can take care of. It’s all about looking at that man in the mirror and saying, ‘What can I do to make the team better?’
“You’ve got to move on.”
The Stampeders might have to move on without key parts of the offensive line. Zack Williams (calf) is out for Sunday’s game, while fellow guard Bryce Bell only practiced on Friday after missing Wednesday and Thursday for personal reasons.
“Hopefully, we can get some guys in there and we can have the best group we can,” said Calgary coach Dave Dickenson.
Meanwhile, Toronto (4-3) climbed back over .500 last week with a 16-14 overtime win over the stumbling Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Argonauts held the Blue Bombers to two yards during their overtime possession, then walked off on Lirim Hajrullahu’s 34-yard field goal.
Toronto is winning in spite of an offense that continues to misfire without star quarterback Chad Kelly. He’s serving the eighth game of a nine-game suspension the league handed down for violating its policies against gender-based violence.
Cameron Dukes and Nick Arbuckle have struggled to spark the attack. Neither played particularly well last week, and coach Ryan Dinwiddie said he will likely use both again this week.
“I believe in Cam, still do,” Dinwiddie said, “but Nick, I have a comfort level with him.”
This is the first of a home-and-home series. The teams play again on Aug. 9 in Toronto.
–Field Level Media
