Music: {allcanada} Stamps looking for momentum in Montreal

Friday, October 8, 2010

{allcanada} Stamps looking for momentum in Montreal

CALGARY -- That home playoff date keeps dangling in front of the Calgary Stampeders.

It's hung there for two weeks already. The Stampeders will reach for it again Monday, but they'll need the co-operation of the B.C. Lions to grasp it.

The league-leading Stampeders can't nail it down just with a win over the Alouettes on Monday, but a victory in Montreal combined with a B.C. loss to Winnipeg the same day would do it.

While that scenario could set up a semifinal at McMahon Stadium on Nov. 14, the 10-3 Stampeders have more ambitious plans. They want a record that will allow them to skip the semifinal altogether and host the West Division final a week later.

"Right now, our goal is not just to get a home playoff date for a semifinal, we want to have that bye in the first round just as anybody would want being in this position," Calgary quarterback Henry Burris said.

The Stamps are one game into a crucial four-game set that could determine whether they reach that goal. After a convincing 46-21 win Friday at home over Montreal, the rematch against the East Division leader and defending Grey Cup champions is Monday.

On Thursday, the Stampeders were on the sixth day of a nine-day stretch between games. They depart Saturday for Montreal. Given the intensity of their upcoming schedule, the players welcomed the extra couple days of rest.

After facing Montreal, Calgary travels to Saskatchewan on Oct. 17. The Roughriders (9-4) are currently just two points behind the Stamps. That game will determine which club takes the season series.

A B.C. loss would guarantee Calgary finishes no worse than second. The Lions are not likely to go quietly as they're fighting to hang onto the third and final playoff berth in the West.

"Basically it's pre-post-season," Stampeder receiver Ken-Yon Rambo said. "This is when it gets real thick.

"This is when everybody starts to peak too with the offence and defence and everybody getting their schemes down. This is when it starts getting fun."

Two weeks ago, the Stampeders had a chance to clinch a top-two finish in the division but they played a terrible game in a 29-10 loss to the Lions.

While he watched B.C. edge Winnipeg 16-14 last Saturday, Burris vowed he wasn't emotionally invested in the outcome.

"I really didn't care," he said. "They or Edmonton are going to make their move. Going down the stretch here, it's going to be a dogfight for that final playoff spot in the west."

Defensive lineman DeVone Claybrooks, who won a Super Bowl in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said it's probably tempting for younger players to get caught up in the fortunes of other teams at this point in the season.

"As an older guy myself, I try and let the young guys know it's a chance of a lifetime to win a championship," he said. "I've been fortunate and blessed enough to win a Super Bowl, so you have to let them know what that feels like because a lot of guys have been on teams (during their career) that were 3-15.

"You got to let everyone know to keep their nose to the grindstone and look at the task at hand and not ahead. It's only about us in that locker-room. It's only about us in that little woodshed and we're the only people that matter."

So while a semifinal at home is a lesser goal for the Stamps, they're not adverse to having it in their back pocket with over a month remaining in the regular season.

"Our goal is to win the West and anything less than winning the West will be a disappointment," Claybrooks said. "But we know that won't deter us from our goal of winning the Grey Cup. That will make it a little harder, but in the end, it will be the ultimate goal to play at home and then win at home and then go to the Grey Cup.

"If we have to take a little longer road, I'm sure we're prepared to do that."

The Stampeders have added three import players to their practice roster and two with considerable CFL experience.

Linebacker Shiddeeq Shabazz was with Winnipeg last season and with Edmonton for two years prior to that. Lineman Khari Long played for Hamilton in 2009. Running back Chad Kackert is a University of New Hampshire product.

"We want to try and get experience at positions we've been thin at," Calgary head coach John Hufnagel said. "The depth is important."