Courtesy Calgary Sun:

If there is a pall hanging over the Calgary Stampeders right now, it hasn’t resulted in anyone bringing up past failures, just future possibilities.

The CFL club heads into the West semifinal Sunday in Regina against the Saskatchewan Roughriders without much mention of the two straight turnover-laden post-season outings.

Maybe that’s a good thing.

All week, talk away from the team has been about the impending hiring of John Hufnagel as the team’s new head coach.

Inside the locker-room, the mood is much different, with the running joke yesterday about how a media member who was berated by offensive-line coach Kris Sweet should join the one-one-one drills.

And if history is any measuring stick, maybe it’s that a lame-duck head coach can lead a team to a playoff victory on the road.

It happened last year when the Riders beat the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium as Danny Barrett was awaiting the axe. The players want to rally behind Tom Higgins, and the group seems a lot looser than one would expect.

“We don’t have pressure on our backs,” said receiver Jeremaine Copeland. “We’re not picked to win. People are picking us to drop out first and be watching.

“It’s not like the past where we were picked to win and we struggled with turnovers and penalties. People are going to be surprised with how our offence clicks and how well our defence will be playing.”

All it would take is a hot quarterback, and the Roughriders are wary of what Henry Burris can do when he gets on a roll. The one thing Burris is trying to do is erase memories of the two playoff disappointments. He threw four interceptions last year against the Roughriders after an equally sloppy performance the previous year against Edmonton.

Although Burris had an outstanding 2007 season despite missing four games with a shoulder injury, even Higgins admits his quarterback will not be in the elite class unless he wins playoff games.

A smart bet would be for him to prove that against his former team in a place where he was once loved. There is the added motivation to help his coach by winning.

“I don’t feel I have a lot to prove, but I do feel we need to be respected,” Burris said.

“The thing is we haven’t received our due respect. There are guys across the league who have respected us but it feels like people forget we have a good offence.

“We have a productive team. It’s much different from previous years. We’re more consistent now. We’re not a 55 percent completion team. We’re a 65 percent completion team.

“We haven’t had near the turnovers as the past. It’s things like that which have been the biggest improvements.”

The Stamps are a league-worst minus-20 in turnover ratio, with an astounding 54 giveaways. They don’t just struggle at time, they implode.

Fourteen of those turnovers came in Weeks 2 and 3 this season, all ancient history, just like last season.

“People bring it up when we don’t need to think about it,” said right tackle Jeff Pilon. “For us going to Regina, the advantage is there’s no pressure on us. We can go there and do our thing.”

Faced with all the talk about Hufnagel, Higgins has put on a brave face, calling it nothing more than a distraction.

The Stamps leave for Regina tomorrow, where Higgins expects his club to take care of business.

“People shouldn’t be surprised that we win some playoff games,” Higgins said. “There are a lot of people think we’re not a good team. That’s OK. We have the opportunity to surprise some people and win some games.”