Odds and Sods - Game 11 - Calgary Stampeders vs the two time defending Champs Blue Bombers

[TrueBlue4ever]

Do or Die M.I.A so far, so I will be presumptuous, un-cap the gin bottle, and try to fill some very large legendary shoes (think DT replacing the GOAT Bob Irving - be kind and understanding while I tackle this) with the O&S, limited engagement run:

Gorgeous night for football, and 30,000 in attendance agree…….

Call in from Saskatchewan complaining about us stealing the “3 stripe” idea from them for our helmets tonight, as it took us two years to co-opt what it took them 97 years to earn. I shrug………..

Bombers win the toss, take the ball, and come out strong with a powerful run by Brady O, a solid crossing route from Demski, and a deep heave to McCrae in the end zone, who gets run over by the Calgary DB in goal….

…..but makes a superb one-handed catch anyway to complete the major on the opening drive. 

Leggs on for the convert, which is true….may convert some fans as well if he repeats this a few times. 7-0 Blue

Stamps turn and they bust a big return by Logan on the kickoff…….before a holding penalty costs them 50 yards of field position. Hmm, this Logan kid looks fast…

……..BLM all helmeted up watching Maier audition for his job….

…..and Jake looks comfortable early 

…..KaDeem Carey with two 10+ yard plays on run and catch, and another mid-range completion to Henry……..before a home run shot to Henry again……where Houston has a problem, and Malik goes untouched for a long counter-strike TD and we are quickly tied at 7…….

Waiting to hear cheerleader Hot Lips Houlihan scream “Oh my God, they shot him!” to coach O’Shea as Houston comes off doubled over in agony, short night’s work for him….Rene will replace him on the corner…

……except he won’t, as he blows out a knee on the kick return. Curious to see how the defence looks next time out. May need a 15 minute drive by Collaros to let them sort it out. 

Zach sort of complies, using only 3 minutes to complete a carbon copy of drive #1 with a Brady O run for 10, Demski crosser, and deep shot, this time to Bailey for a PI, before dropping one to Nic for another TD and it is 14-7

Already a better offensive performance tonight than what we saw all game against the Als last time out……

Calgary back at it as new guy Jamal Parker now playing the corner. Good thing Janarion Grant was hurt, or we may not have rostered the extra DB tonight….

Calgary punter unleashes a monster that Taylor stares at as it flies overhead, and the single brings them within 6…..

Brady O is just a different back now, hitting holes……and opposing tacklers…..with purpose

Prukop also running better on sneaks…..the Streveler package back in vogue with him healed up…

Weird challenge as Dickinson says Collaros fumbled….which he did….except no one recovered it so it won’t help the Stamps……so the refs give Calgary the sack yardage as compensation, and Leggs trots out to successfully make his 3rd 32 yard kick tonight, this time for 3 more points………

……..as I quietly mutter why he couldn’t have done this last game at least once more (internal monologue whispers “let it go, let it go”)………..

3 drives, 3 scores, but the defence seems willing to return the favour as Maier moves the ball fairly easily downfield himself against the re-built secondary……..

……Until pressure and an intentional grounding call resulting from a referee’s convention leads to a Paredes field goal, 17-11.

Quick 2 and out and the Stamps back at it, taking what the Bomber defenders are giving them…….which is quite a lot…….

Lots of loose change as Maier nickel and dimes Winnipeg all the way down the field….

Logan shows off his speed and elusiveness some more……Bombers did not game plan for his talents enough, it would seem……

…..or Malik Henry’s for that matter, as he is wide open on the post pattern for his 2nd TD, and the Bombers trail for the first time tonight, 18-17…….fans around me talking about Swiss cheese for some reason……

Each team 4 drives and only one punt each……difference is that Calgary’s went for a single and the one-point lead.

Fortunately, Zach has time to get the last drive of the half into scoring position……which he does thanks to Oliviera just dominating the run game…….and a nice contribution from McCrae to boot….before abandoning the hurry-up for one play and then forcing a throw that ends up on the hands of the wrong jersey. Bad decision, bad result…..Stamps escape the half with the lead 

Despite Calgary seemingly marching at will, Bombers actually have more yardage on offence…..what adjustments will be made by either defence?

Well, Bombers did study film at the half as Calgary is quickly 2 and out before another cannon from the punter Grace……

So far, Parker on kick returns and Ford on punts have not made us miss Grant……Nick Taylor on punt returns not so much……

Woli with a nice reception in traffic, and McCrae is making the most of his second chance…..

Bombers, and Brady O especially, running at will against the Calgary line……

…..as Prukop comes in for a McCrae sweep, pushes for 4 yards himself ….and stays in for a pass play, inserting a play from the Streveler option playbook with a throw to Bailey at the goal line, and the Blue and Gold re-take the lead, 24-18. 

Stamps’ turn, as another good Logan return starts a drive, and Maier continues to pick apart the defence with swing passes that we have no answer for…….

More Logan around the edge, checking my fantasy to see if I picked him……or at least bet the “over” on total yards for both teams in this game on Bet365……and Calgary is knocking on the door again……

……….which they tear off the hinges and knock down…..and the ref as well(nice commitment to the call after being wiped out, BTW)…….as Henry completes the hat-trick and the lead flips again, 25-24 Calgary……last score wins feel to this one…..

CFL might as well pick the “3 Stars of the Week” all right now from this game, given some of the offensive stats racked up so far……..

Bombers out on offence again, but not Oliviera, who is on the sidelines but the docs have taken his helmet……the M*A*S*H unit being kept busy tonight……….

……Speaking of injuries, we did dress Dalton Schoen for the game, right? Contemplating buying a milk from concessions and looking for his picture on the carton…….

Next man up continues, as Johnny Augustine continues the run game dominance, with lots of help from Demski and McCrae, as we saunter down the field once again to take the lead…….

…….or not, as Zach underthrows yet another deep pass tonight……and this one is picked off by Muhammad for his second end zone pick of the game…….

No challenge by O’Shea, despite a hand to the back of McCrae on the INT, which may or may not have had any impact on his stumble…..but Collaros giving away points in a game where getting any kind of stop has proven near impossible………

And the beat goes on, as Maier…..and Logan…..and Carey…..and Henry, shred the Bomber D with short range plays, poor tackling, missed assignments, and big YAC yards…..although a missed call where Taylor gets tackled from behind by an o-lineman trying to make a tackle on Carey himself does not help…..

Bombers cannot afford to go down by more than one score……and somehow they don’t as a rare miss from Maier on 2nd and 5 forces a field goal….28-24 other guys, 13 minutes to go

Augustine not getting into the second level on his runs like Oliviera was, but he is getting yards after contact due to his great balance, keeping his knee from touching on more than one play….

The amber alert has been cancelled as Dalton Schoen has been found, and his clutch catch extends the drive…..

…….which Demski follows up on with yet another even-more-clutch crossing route reception…….

The Schoen catch reminded Zach who he is, so he is targeted again………and goes big for 26 and the Bombers are on the march…….

Wolitarsky gets his nose dirty with a tough catch, thunderous collision, and scrappy YAC yards in triple coverage……but at what cost, as concussion protocol rears it’s foggy head……..are the football Gods giving us our own brand of karma tonight with all these injuries as pay back for Brandon’s comments dissing Andrew Harris and his injury as karma in like fashion?…….

Dakota back in with 5 chances to go 3 yards, but the efficiency expert does it in 2, and out comes Leggs again to restore a 3 point cushion halfway through the final stanza…….wonder what Lirim Arugula is doing…..wonder if anyone cares anymore right now?………. 

Lots of time for another Stamp response…….CFL should bottle what ever these two team have when they play each other and sell it league-wide, because this is tense, tough, exciting, entertaining football that showcases the game at its best, regardless of outcome…..

Willie J’s quiet game ends as he blows up the game once again with a huge forced fumble……but laundry flies as Jeffcoat scoops and scores what would be a game-breaking TD, which no one really cheers as we all know what is coming……

……and sure enough, roughing the passer…..although not at all sure what for after watching the replay, as contact was on the shoulder with the ball in Maier’s hands, but again, O’Shea decides to keep his handkerchief in his back pocket……..

Stamps don’t take advantage as a Jeffcoat knockdown and Gauthier sack once again brings out the punt team….  Bomber D finally looking like the 4th quarter demons they are……..

The kicker’s bionic leg soars one over Taylor’s gaze, for a more questionable single point here, and Calgary can now win and not just tie with a FG……if they pull it off will their punter be their saving Grace? 31-29 Blue

Bombers take the field position but a poorly blocked-up sweep and an ill-conceived deep pass and the worst possible time for a two-and-out comes to pass…..Liegghio’s meh punt doesn’t help, and Calgary in business at their own 40 as the 3 minute warning looms………

Fan behind me screaming since the conceded single to anyone who is listening that “it’s these failures by O’Shea in the small details that they always do that are going to make the Bombers lose the Grey Cup this year” as I smile quietly  to myself……never change, Bomber fans, never change………

Maier gets 7 from a Begelton reception, but Nick Taylor redeems himself for his punt return duties with a big stick on Carey….3rd and 2 upcoming  and Stamps opt to go for it instead of kicking away……and Carey just gets it with a determined run……

Until another flag flies, and a (some say weak) holding call against the o-line negates a big 3rd down gamble, and Calgary is forced to kick it away and hope to get it back……

……and at this point I turn around around and remind the “small details” fan that if not for the conceded single and 30 yards of gained field position by the Bombers, that Calgary could have been lining up a 39 yard game-tying field goal instead of punting……no more O’Shea bashing from behind me for the rest of the game….

Bombers step on the field to grind out the last 2 minutes, and Augustine does his part, Demski with one more crosser for 9…..no, 7 yards leaving us in 3rd down territory……check that, let’s call it 9 again on the command centre re-spot and a first down, which relieves the tension but denies us an extra down to burn the clock…….no matter as Johnny bulls his way for 13 and the clock ticks down on win number 400 in Bomber home history, a CFL all-time best. 

Bombers hit double-digit wins for the sixth straight year, tying the club’s all-time mark from the 1957-62 glory years…..we are witnessing history, folks…….

Bombers keep finding ways to win……as the gin keeps finding it’s way into my glass……and as they raise their record to 10-1, I raise a glass to Do or Die with this attempt, hope I did right by you with this write-up. 

[Brandon]

Well done Good Sir!

[Piggy 1]

Good job , but I dare say Do or Dies sentences were a tad shorter. Or maybe its the Bombay i consumed to this point....Either way, nice job.

[TrueBlue4ever]

1 hour ago, Piggy 1 said:

Good job , but I dare say Do or Dies sentences were a tad shorter. Or maybe its the Bombay i consumed to this point....Either way, nice job.

A tad shorter?  And the sun is a tad hot. 

My biggest flaw (and your all’s biggest burden to read) as a blogger. DoD certainly is a master at short prose.