Sports Take

The Calgary Stampeders injury list is one of the longest if not the longest in the CFL, the 6 game injury list is:
Reggie Begelton 84 WR
Bryce Bell 66 OL
Nicky Farinaccio 41 LB
Anthony Federico 94 DL
Anton Haie 8 DB
Malik Henry 11 WR
George Idoko 47 DL
Jason Janvier-Messier 71 DL
Gary Johnson JR 56 LB
Ben Labrosse 29 DB
Marquel Lee 50 LB
Kyle Saxelid

On the one game list for the Saturday matchup with Edmonton in the Labour Day Rematch:
Morice Blackwell JR 45 LB
D’Antne Demery 60 OL
Adrian Greene 0 DB
Justin Herdman-Reed 59 LB
William Langlais 23 RB
Josh Love 16 QB (Not injured but not on practice roster)
Tyler Richardson 35 DB

Looking at this list and with star players Reggie Begelton, Malik Henry, Marquel Lee, Bryce Bell on the shelf for the majority of the season, in Henry’s case almost a full 3 years, is astouding that the Stampeders are where they are at all. So much talent on the IL, and yet they keep winning games. It’s something we haven’t seen in Calgary in a couple years when one player goes down another is ready to take over. I don’t believe in injuries costing a starting role, but it’s something that happens in football, a player get there chance to shine and they run with it and make it impossible to remove from the lineup. Chris Fortin is a fantastic example of the next man up mentality after Bryce Bell went down in week one, Fortin stepped into the Center role with ease. A true rookie stepping into the center position is something that is almost impossible to do without bad snaps, bad reads on the line and he has fit in to that role with ease. It’s something that Stampeder fans should be taking note of, as well as the CFL as a whole. The Stampeders lead the league in sacks allowed through 11 games, with 11. A sack against per game is something that is seriously impressive and doesn’t happen without communication from the center about who’s blocking who. The other aspect of a center is in the run game, the double team and reaching the second level, well the Stampeders lead the league in rushing yards and the only team above 1300 yards this season.

On the other side of the ball, Jacob Roberts has broken out as a star for the Stampeders after Marquel Lee exited the game against Toronto, moving Micah Teitz to the middle and elevating Roberts to the weak side linebacker role. Now Jacob Roberts is in contention for Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year award, if not one of the front runners. Leading the Stampeders in tackles with 65, good for 4th in the league, and is everywhere on the field around the ball becoming one of the best players on the Stampeders.

The next man up mantra has been within the Stampeders for decades starting with the reign of Wally Buono.