The Calgary Stampeders’ 31–4 win over Edmonton caps off a perfect preseason.
It was a bit of a weird game since it was Calgary’s second and Edmonton’s first. Calgary played more starters than their opponents.
Nevertheless, a win is a win, and 2–0 is 2–0.
Preseason wins don’t always translate to regular-season wins, but it’s better than nothing. Now the Stampeders have two weeks to focus on getting ready for the real season.
While there is still plenty of room for improvement, there were a lot of good things we saw in the final preseason game.
Offense
The offense was clicking most of the day. It wasn’t perfect, but the 31-point day was enough to get fans excited about the season.
Quarterbacks
Vernon Adams Jr. finally made his Calgary debut. He looked every bit the 10-year CFL veteran he is.
Backup QB P.J. Walker played well at times, but his 2 interceptions highlighted the need for improvement.
- 13/19
- 138 yards
- 1 Td
- 2 Ints
After the game, Coach Dickenson pointed out that Walker is still new to the Canadian game. It will take time for him to find his footing. He has more than enough talent to get the job done.
Short Yardage
The CFL has a unique offensive role not found in other leagues. I’m speaking about the short-yardage QB. Calgary seems to have several options.
Canadian Quincy Vaughn lined up at FB several times, but also went under center twice in two games. Those two attempts resulted in one TD and a first down.
Another option is American Logan Bonner. Bonner entered the game 3 times to perform the QB sneak. He was perfect on the day (2 touchdowns and 1 first down).
Recievers
Several receivers had solid days despite not playing an entire game.
- Dominique Rhymes (4 catches, 81 yards)
- Cam Echols (3 catches, 51 yards)
- Ishmael Hyman (3 catches, 35 yards)
Defense
Keeping the other team out of the endzone is obviously a good game. But the Stampeders were helped by it being the Elks’ first game. There were a lot of mistakes on their part.
That doesn’t take anything away from the job the defense did. They flew to the ball all day.
The defense did
give up some passing yards, but they limited the Elks to 54 yards rushing. They also tackled well most of the day.
The pass rush was particularly impressive with 5 sacks on the day.
Special Teams
Rene Paredes shows no signs of slowing done in his 14th season. He was a perfect 3/3 on both field goals and extra points. That included a 52-yard bomb.
The battle betwe
en the two Australian punters is too close to call based on game action alone.
- Fraser Masin had two punts for a 48-yard average.
- Mark Vassett had two punts for a 47-yard average.
It will be
interesting to see which one wins the job going into the regular season.
Next Game
The preseason is over for Calgary. They now have two weeks to get ready for the regular season.
They open the season against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on June 7th.
