2010 CFL Western Preview - Calgary Stampeders

Football Betting Lines

06/21/2010 - Calgary, AB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FACTS & FIGURES: Division - West. 2009 record - 10-7-1. Playoff result: Lost, 27-17, to Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup Playoffs Finals. Stadium - McMahon Stadium. Capacity - 35,650. Colors - Red, white and black.

Calgary head coach John Hufnagel took his Stampeders to the top of the mountain in 2008 when the club won its sixth Grey Cup title, but the squad took a step backwards in 2009 and will have to regroup in order to make a run at the championship once again.

The Stampeders had three players land in the top five in the CFL in terms of touchdowns, so it is easy to see why the team ranked third in the league in overall points tallied last season.

Although he failed to lead the Stamps back for a shot at back-to-back Grey Cup titles, quarterback Henry Burris was still one of the top signal-callers in the league. Burris ranked second in the CFL in passing yards with 4,831, completing more than 59 percent of his attempts, yet he was saddled with 16 interceptions while tossing just 22 scores.

Now 35 years old, Burris has a career passer rating of 91.0, his top mark of 103.8 coming in 2008 when he guided his squad to the ultimate prize. Slotted in as backups to Burris are Zac Champion and Drew Tate.

In 2009, it was slotback Jeremaine Copeland who carried much of the load for the Stampeders in terms of receiving, leading the squad with a league-best 12 touchdowns on 81 grabs. However, Copeland was traded to Toronto in the off- season for fellow receiver P.K. Sam, a seldom used two-year performer who has a total of just five TDs in his brief career.

It is expected that Romby Bryant will now be the focal point of the passing attack for Calgary, even though he somehow managed to make a total of 47 catches between the Stamps and Winnipeg last year and never made it into the end zone. Calgary hopes Bryant returns to the form that saw him average more than 18 yards per grab and tally nine scores in his first CFL season in 2008.

Of the nine players to record at least 1,000 yards receiving in the CFL last season, Nik Lewis is the one who the Stamps can count on the most. Lewis, the only receiver on the roster who has played more than two seasons with Calgary, is one of the most reliable performers the program has, having logged six straight seasons with at least 1,000 yards.

With the running game all but an afterthought in Canada, the Stamps saw an opportunity and ran with it last season as they led the league with close to 130 ypg on the ground. The squad ripped off a league-best six yards per attempt and paired that with a league-leading 8.4 yards per pass gained. Joffrey Reynolds shouldered much of the load in that department as he led the league in rushing for the second straight season with just over 1,500 yards. Reynolds, who was named to the CFL All-Star team and was the West Division's nominee for Most Outstanding Player, posted nine games with 100 yards or more on the ground. But more than just a ball carrier coming out of the backfield, Reynolds also contributed with 36 receptions for a career-best 431 yards, making him the top man in terms of yards from scrimmage (1,935) in 2009.

However, as great as Reynolds played last season, expecting him to take so many hits yet again is a lot to ask. He was one of nine players in the league to be credited with more than 100 carries, while Burris delivered on 105 attempts and matched Reynolds with 11 rushing scores.

As great as the offense was for the Stamps last season, the defense could not keep pace and was second-to-last with 368.1 ypg allowed. The run defense had the hardest time keeping up with the competition, permitting a league-high 6.6 yards per attempt. It also didn't help that the secondary permitted foes to convert on almost 65 percent of their passing attempts, yet somehow the group still managed to place third in the CFL with 24.6 ppg allowed.

In his first year with Calgary, defensive lineman Malik Jackson led the way in terms of total tackles for the club with his 65 stops, adding three sacks. Linebacker Charleston Hughes had barely one-third the number of tackles in 2009 (24) as he did in his first year in 2008 (66), yet he still came up with a team-leading six sacks. Unfortunately, Calgary finished second-to-last in the league with 35 sacks.

Another aspect of the defense that might hurt the Stamps this season is losing Dwaine Carpenter who was released in the middle of May and signed less than two weeks later by Toronto. Carpenter paced Calgary in both forced fumbles (three) and fumble recoveries (four), the latter tying him for the league lead.

With Burris at the helm of the offense the Stampeders always have a shot for great things, but the switch from Copeland to Sam could well be the one factor that dictates how successful Calgary will be in 2010. Reynolds won't be able to stand up to so many hits from opponents, so the Stamps have to find suitable subs to keep the running attack on the move.