Courtesy Calgary Herald:

Football coaches aren’t paid to make predictions. That’s the job of beat writers (15-and-3? What were we thinking?).

But even Calgary Stampeders coach and general manager John Hufnagel expected his defending Grey Cup champions to get out to a better start than the 5-4 log they’ve put together.

“We’re probably a little behind, truthfully,” said Hufnagel on Tuesday, a day after his team got over the .500 mark for the first time this season with a 32-8 dismantling of the Edmonton Eskimos. “We got off to a rough start (0-2). I knew it was going to be a very competitive West Division, so the fact we’re tied with other teams, that doesn’t surprise me. But maybe the record, I thought would have been a win or two better.”

Having said that, though, it’s not terribly difficult to figure out why the Stamps struggled over the first nine games. They were young on defence. They had injuries in key positions. They couldn’t stop the run. And they took too many penalties.

But the signs are there that just like last season, when the Stamps had the same 5-4 record at the midway point of the campaign, that better times are ahead. Since that 0-2 start, Calgary is 5-2, and has played two terrific defensive games in a row since adding some experience on defence, and has also cut down on penalties.

“We had a tough first nine games, so I’m not disappointed with where we are right now,” said Hufnagel. “I think we’re a team that has faced a lot of adversity in the first part of the season, so the fact that we have come to this point and we’re in the position we’re in, and I believe we’re going in the proper direction — I’m pleased with that.”

Here’s our purely subjective mid-season report card, breaking down the Stamps in 10 key areas:

Quarterback

OK, we’re nitpicking here, but it might be nice if Henry Burris could come out of the gates a little quicker. But, real­ly, those slow starts are about the only real issue that Burris has had this season. He has been a leader in the true sense of the word. When the Stamps have needed him to be brilliant in the late stages of games, he’s done just that — see the late touchdown drives against Edmonton and Toronto last month as evidence. He leads the league in passing touchdowns, and no quarterback has rushed for more yards. He’s playing the smartest football of his career, and is more than worthy of the No. 1 spot he now occupies on the Stamps’ all-time passing-yardage list.

Grade: A-minus.

Receivers

The loss of a receiver like Ken-Yon Rambo, the league yardage leader last season, would have crippled a lot of teams, but the Stamps’ ball-catching depth is paying off. Slotback Jere­maine Copeland is having a career year, leading the league in touchdowns with nine, and most have them have been clutch. Nik Lewis is on pace for another 1,000-yard year, he still does the dirty work better than any other receiver in the league, and it’s just a matter of time before he gets his first touchdown. Ryan Thelwell always makes big catches, Brett Ralph has come back from strong from a tough game in Winnipeg, and rookie Jermaine Jackson continues to make the best of his opportunities.

Grade: B-plus.

Running Back

After a slow start during which he had just 97 yards in the first three games, Joffrey Reynolds has turned it up with four 100-yard games in his past six games to charge back into the rushing title race. But Reynolds’ contributions go far beyond running with the ball. He’s improved catching balls out of the backfield, and is one of the best blocking tailbacks in the CFL.

Behind him, Jon Cornish is rounding into shape after a pre-season knee injury hampered his effectiveness, and he gives the Stamps a much-needed one-two punch in the backfield. The jury is still out on oft-injured Demetris Summers.

Grade: B-plus

Offensive Line

There have been some challenges here: veteran centre Rob Lazeo has had knee and elbow problems that have kept him on the sidelines for a few games, while it took Jesse Newman some time to recover from an off-season ankle injury.

But through it all, the O-line has played with consistency, which is what you’d expect from a group that took major strides last season.

Second-year players Newman and Dimitri Tsoumpas continue to improve, Pilon has been solid as usual, Tim O’Neill has stepped up to replace Lazeo, and if Ben Archibald isn’t the best left tackle in the league, he’s certainly in the discussion.

Grade: B-plus

Defensive Line

Over the first seven games, you’d have been kind to give this unit a passing grade. Running backs were simply shredding Calgary’s front four and racking up huge yardage. In fairness, injuries — notably to Mike Labinjo — were an issue, as was youth as the Stamps had to replace three starters. The lone bright light was rookie end Odell Willis, who had six sacks, but has been shut out in four straight games.

But in the past two games, Calgary has taken significant strides in stopping the run, and the signings of DeVone Claybrooks and Jim Davis have added a much-needed veteran presence. It won’t hurt to add Charleston Hughes, last year’s league leader in tackles for a loss.

Grade: D in the first seven games; B in the last two.

Linebackers

Another position bolstered by a mid-season signing. NFL veteran Tim Johnson has been splendid in the middle since taking over from rookie Tray Blackmon, who struggled against the run. Shannon James has been his usual consistent self, and moving Malik Jackson from defensive end to weakside linebacker has paid massive dividends in the suddenly improved run defence. Dwaine Carpenter, who was replaced by Jackson as a starter, is a solid situational player who makes few mistakes.

Grade: B-minus

Secondary

In a possible case of misleading stats, Calgary has had one of the best passing defences in the league so far this season. Part of that, no doubt, is due to the fact the Stamps have two terrific cornerbacks, Brandon Browner (out with an injury) and Dwight Anderson, and the hardest-hitting safety in the league, Milton Collins.

But it’s also partly due to the fact teams didn’t need to pass against Calgary because the Stamps’ run defence was so shoddy.

Still, this is a solid unit. Rookie halfbacks Davanzo Tate and Ronnie Amadi struggled early. Amadi has kept his job and continued to improve, while Tate has since been replaced by John Eubanks, and that has strengthened the secondary.

Grade: B

Kicking/Coverage

Hey, what a shocker: Sandro DeAngelis is the most accurate kicker in the CFL with just two misses in 26 attempts this year, so nothing new there. And punter Burke Dales, while his numbers are slightly off last year’s pace, has taken solid strides forward in his directional kicking, which has been the one consistent knock against him. He played through agonizing hamstring pain in his kicking leg in the Labour Day win and still averaged nearly 43 yards per kick.

The cover teams have done their part, too. They’ve been solid.

Grade: B

Returns

Rookie Titus Ryan made a splashy CFL debut on July 1 against the Montreal Alouettes, returning a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown. No scores since then, but it’s obvious he’s a threat every time he touches the ball, and he leads all kick returners (with 20 or more returns) with a 25-yard average. On punt returns, he’s been less prominent, averaging 7.9 yards per touch. But there’s always the potential he will make something good happen.

Grade: B

Coaching

It’s been a challenging half-season for coaches because of injuries and inconsistency, particularly on defence. But the sign of a good coaching staff is that it can adjust on the fly, and over the past two weeks, we’ve seen that. Positional changes, player signings and other assorted tweaks have resulted in a vastly improved performance.

There are still issues with regards to on-field discipline as the Stamps remain one of the league’s most penalized teams. But as was the case this time last year, there is hope on the horizon. This is a far better team than we saw over the first seven games, and Hufnagel often preaches it’s important to peak at the end of the season, not the beginning. The signs are there it will happen again.

Grade: B

Read more…